In June I will be getting a 29-gallon tank, 30-inches long, 18 high, etc. Standard profile. We’re turning the back bedroom into an office and I have about 32 inches available. I don’t really have the ability to suspend lighting over the tank, so I’m looking at something sitting right on the tank. My goal is to have a good environment for the fish first, and to grow plants second. The plants are there to provide the good environment, if you follow me.
That said, I want to have sufficient lighting to give the plants good growth. I have read the epic thread on fluorescent lighting and the less epic but no less impressive thread on LED lighting. I spent a fair portion of this past weekend researching the lighting fixtures available. And I am completely overwhelmed. I've managed to thoroughly confuse myself with too much information, too little context.
CO2 seems to be out of the budget at first, I’ll likely be adding it later, I guess I’ll use Excel for a while. I like the idea of learning the chemistry and having the really beautiful plants I see with CO2, though. If I have high lighting I fear I will fight Algae. If I don’t have high lighting, will I not be able to add CO2 later? I think probably medium lighting will put me in a situation where I get what I want and can add CO2 later. Is that correct?
My main question is, how do I get off-the-shelf lighting for this tank that will grow plants? T5NO fixtures might be a good option, but they are no longer available except for a lone Aqueon fixture with a bad reflector they sell at PetSMart, and I feel the bulbs will soon not be available judging from the state of T5NO fixtures. T5HO will be too strong with dual lights, and still pretty strong with a single light. Marineland makes an LED hood for this size tank, but the hood is their single-strength LED and isn’t enough for plants per the LED thread. I can’t really identify a dual or triple T8 fixture at all, maybe I’m just dim (har!). The PC fixtures are all over the map in price and features but don’t seem to come in the right size; I’ve read Hoppy’s advice that a 24” light can be used with a 30” tank, but that it isn’t as effective as a full-width solution, maybe I am misunderstanding.
I am not a DIY kind of guy, I’m definitely not going to be good at building a hood or a reflector or anything, and am likely going to have trouble modifying a hood, like using the AH kits (or even deciphering their website).
Put straightforwardly, can someone recommend a good off-the-shelf flexible fixture to use with a 30” 29-gallon tank for growing plants with my parameters?
That said, I want to have sufficient lighting to give the plants good growth. I have read the epic thread on fluorescent lighting and the less epic but no less impressive thread on LED lighting. I spent a fair portion of this past weekend researching the lighting fixtures available. And I am completely overwhelmed. I've managed to thoroughly confuse myself with too much information, too little context.
CO2 seems to be out of the budget at first, I’ll likely be adding it later, I guess I’ll use Excel for a while. I like the idea of learning the chemistry and having the really beautiful plants I see with CO2, though. If I have high lighting I fear I will fight Algae. If I don’t have high lighting, will I not be able to add CO2 later? I think probably medium lighting will put me in a situation where I get what I want and can add CO2 later. Is that correct?
My main question is, how do I get off-the-shelf lighting for this tank that will grow plants? T5NO fixtures might be a good option, but they are no longer available except for a lone Aqueon fixture with a bad reflector they sell at PetSMart, and I feel the bulbs will soon not be available judging from the state of T5NO fixtures. T5HO will be too strong with dual lights, and still pretty strong with a single light. Marineland makes an LED hood for this size tank, but the hood is their single-strength LED and isn’t enough for plants per the LED thread. I can’t really identify a dual or triple T8 fixture at all, maybe I’m just dim (har!). The PC fixtures are all over the map in price and features but don’t seem to come in the right size; I’ve read Hoppy’s advice that a 24” light can be used with a 30” tank, but that it isn’t as effective as a full-width solution, maybe I am misunderstanding.
I am not a DIY kind of guy, I’m definitely not going to be good at building a hood or a reflector or anything, and am likely going to have trouble modifying a hood, like using the AH kits (or even deciphering their website).
Put straightforwardly, can someone recommend a good off-the-shelf flexible fixture to use with a 30” 29-gallon tank for growing plants with my parameters?