29 gallon lighting

[Karlo]

I dont really want to spend all that money on a CO2 system and the dual is the only thing I can find that I can use for plants that isnt $300+. its so hard to find a decent light fixture for a 29 gallon tank. its 30in long. is there anything else available on the web under $150 that is less than 130 watts but can sustain plants without co2?

[dooboogoo]

how about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/30-Coralife-Fixt...QQcmdZViewItem

You'll just have to get a different bulb because this comes with an actinic one, and it'll bring the tank to about 2.24 wpg. You might need some diy CO2 or maybe dose excel.

[NyteBlade]

I had the Sattellite 65 watt fixture but the Coralife is basically the same thing. You can find a freshwater model of the Coralife too with the correct bulbs.

I like 29 gallon tanks in general. A little bit narrow though. 30" for some reason tends to be a difficult size to find lights for, especially for a 29 gallon. At 65 watts you're in the mediumish range but some foreground plants might struggle. At 130 watts you're blasting a ton of light into the tank and have to be at the top of your game Hopefully I get awesome plant growth!

[lauraleellbp]

Originally Posted by Karlo

I dont really want to spend all that money on a CO2 system and the dual is the only thing I can find that I can use for plants that isnt $300+. its so hard to find a decent light fixture for a 29 gallon tank. its 30in long. is there anything else available on the web under $150 that is less than 130 watts but can sustain plants without co2?

This one is easy. If you want a low light tank, go with this one from BigAls for less than $40! http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...lestriplight30

[SpeedEuphoria]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

This one is easy. If you want a low light tank, go with this one from BigAls for less than $40! http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...lestriplight30

I agree

[thefishmanlives]

honestly your better off keeping your current light and pending hte extra money on a co2 system. Obviously your looking for better platn growth and your just not going to get where you wanna be without the pressurized co2. Dont cheap out, get what you need. Take my advice as i was in your postition once before. You buy it once and you have it for years. ITs worth it. GEt a budget co2 system if you have to. DIY co2 sucks and excel aint going to cut it with anything resembling decent light. co2 is VERY important. your plant growth will suffer with out good stable co2. You will then play a guessing game as to why your plants arent growing that well and try to fool yourself into thinking its a nutrient deficiency and go crazy playing guessing games dosing more of this and that when its your co2. just get it.

[NyteBlade]

Originally Posted by thefishmanlives

honestly your better off keeping your current light and pending hte extra money on a co2 system. Obviously your looking for better platn growth and your just not going to get where you wanna be without the pressurized co2. Dont cheap out, get what you need. Take my advice as i was in your postition once before. You buy it once and you have it for years. ITs worth it. GEt a budget co2 system if you have to. DIY co2 sucks and excel aint going to cut it with anything resembling decent light. co2 is VERY important. your plant growth will suffer with out good stable co2. You will then play a guessing game as to why your plants arent growing that well and try to fool yourself into thinking its a nutrient deficiency and go crazy playing guessing games dosing more of this and that when its your co2. just get it.

I have to agree with this information here. Back in High School when I was just starting out, I tried DIY CO2 too because I didn't want to have to cough up the money for pressurized. I nearly killed myself trying to mix sugar and water together with yeast, and I never got very good results. Maybe if you're better at it it might not be bad, but for me it was a major pain in the butt. Without a doubt, the best thing I ever spent money on in this hobby was pressurized CO2. I bought a 5# tank for $80 and a JBJ regulator for $90. Fill-ups I believe range from $5-$8 around here, but I should hopefully only need one every 6 months or so. $16/year to run pressurized CO2 is probably even cheaper then sugar and yeast for a DIY supply. But it's far, far easier.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd look around for the cheapest deal possible on a 5# tank (maybe buy one online) and have it filled locally. The JBJ is okay, but if I had to do it all over again I'd buy a regulator from Orlando over at Green Leaf Aquariums or Rex Grigg. Orlando even offers a 2 year warranty on most of his stuff, so if you have my luck and things seem to break often, it's a good deal.


Back onto topic somewhat, I'd never venture into 130 watts over 29 gallons without CO2 and fertilizer. Even now I feel like I'm asking for trouble. The Current USA fixture I got refurbished is really quite nice. I'm running 2 dual daylight (6700k/10000k) bulbs in it. My only annoyance honestly is how loud the fans are. My Eheim filters run perfectly silent, and this light sounds like it's taxi-ing to the runway. I guess with 130 watts it would get pretty hot in there so I'd be afraid not to run them. Maybe one day if I feel confident enough I'll try to modify it to use much more silent computer fans.