My inexpensive CFL light solution

[m00se]

Yes, they're known as Yoyo Grow Light Hangers and you can get them on e-bay and amazon quite cheaply if you factor in S+H to the total price. One guy's got them for $7.00 + $3.65 But It Now price. Not too shabby.

[eelpout]

100% newb here.

I've managed to slowly kill lots of plants with the stock light that came w/ my starter tank package. I've also grown some algae. A bunch of online reading later, I think I some what get why. I also think I may have found part of my solution with this lighting set up.

I have a 37 gal. approx 30x12x22...22 TALL.

I'm attempting to get through 2 ft of water that's only 1 ft wide with this lighting.

Do I want the 23 watt spiral "bulbs" as that chart seems to say, or do I want something else?

Do I want the 10" chicken light fixture, or the smaller diameter ones? I was thinking 3x the 10" but perhaps that spreads the light out too much? Is 4x the smaller ones the way to go?

How many lamps and how many watts per each CFL "bulb"? I'd like to be able to lay them on top of the tank over the glass top.
I'll remove the plastic hing strip between the glass pieces of the top.

How much fertilizer? what specific brands/amounts? Hours of light per day? Keep it simple please. Low tech, non dirted, hard/high ph water, HOB POS filter.

I've read many different ways to skin this cat. I need a starting point.

Thanks all!

[Knox_legend]

Wow I'm glad I looked at this thread! I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for a 135 gallon tank it is 72"Lx18"Dx24"h I was wondering how may of these domes I may need and what wattage bulbs. I plan on having at least a 2" substrate of pool filter sand along with using root tabs for fertz and dosing excel as needed. I am wanting to go for a low to medium light tank.

[eelpout]

I went with 3x menards 8.5" chicken lamps for my 37 gal. approx 30x12x22...22 TALL.

I may have wanted the 10", but with the good clamp on the smaller ones, I have the option of resting them on the glass cover or clamping them to the back of the tank and getting them a few inches higher.

Since I got no response here, I bought 3x23watt/6500k (100 watt replacement) and 3x13watt/6500k (60 watt replacement) CFLs.

I'm new and confused about the light I need for a low tech tank. One of those charts seemed to say I needed the 23 watt to reach my substrate. Reading previous posts here seemed to indicate that the 23 watt is too much and I will have an algae problem.

I have to be away from the tank for a week. Should I use the 23 watt or 13 watt bulbs (on a timer)?

Thanks

[tlyons01]

Originally Posted by eelpout

Since I got no response here, I bought 3x23watt/6500k (100 watt replacement) and 3x13watt/6500k (60 watt replacement) CFLs.

I'm new and confused about the light I need for a low tech tank. One of those charts seemed to say I needed the 23 watt to reach my substrate. Reading previous posts here seemed to indicate that the 23 watt is too much and I will have an algae problem.

Thanks

Have you started your own thread? You might get more answers if you do. I wish I could help, but I actually came here looking for answers to my questions as well.
The forum lighting GURU is Hoppy, you could PM him with specific questions. He has taken the time to answer me in the past, as I'm sure he has many, many of us!
Good luck!

[Daximus]

Originally Posted by eelpout

100% newb here.

I've managed to slowly kill lots of plants with the stock light that came w/ my starter tank package. I've also grown some algae. A bunch of online reading later, I think I some what get why. I also think I may have found part of my solution with this lighting set up.

I have a 37 gal. approx 30x12x22...22 TALL.

I'm attempting to get through 2 ft of water that's only 1 ft wide with this lighting.

Do I want the 23 watt spiral "bulbs" as that chart seems to say, or do I want something else?

Do I want the 10" chicken light fixture, or the smaller diameter ones? I was thinking 3x the 10" but perhaps that spreads the light out too much? Is 4x the smaller ones the way to go?

How many lamps and how many watts per each CFL "bulb"? I'd like to be able to lay them on top of the tank over the glass top.
I'll remove the plastic hing strip between the glass pieces of the top.

How much fertilizer? what specific brands/amounts? Hours of light per day? Keep it simple please. Low tech, non dirted, hard/high ph water, HOB POS filter.

I've read many different ways to skin this cat. I need a starting point.

Thanks all!

Warning! Opinion, not necessarily fact to follow:

I'm running CFLs on two of my four tanks, and have ran them in some other situations. My personal experience has been about 2 watts per gallon for a nice low light tank using CFLs. Now, if you run around here saying watts per gallon people might freak out and punch you in the head...but for me...on my tanks, when in regard to CFLs, 2 watts per gallon has worked very well.

I have a 5 gallon tank that's doing very well with one 10 watt CFL just a couple inches above it. I also have a 10 gallon with two 10 watt CFLs replacing the incandescents that came with it and I swear it's the best balanced tank I have...lighting wise. I tried some 13 watt lights in the same 10 gallon and got some algae, so I backed off to two 10 watt bulbs and haven't looked back yet.

So I would attempt to get any non-Co2, CFL powered tank at or around 2 watts per gallon to start. You might need more, you might need less. There are a lot of variables to take into account and every tank is different. The good news is CFLs are cheap, and if they don't work in your tank they will work around the house, lol.

EDIT: Oh, and to get through that much water I recommend the aluminum "clamp plants". They have surprisingly good reflective qualities.

[Kelbrina]

I love this thread! I definitely want to do this for the 30g long I've had sitting around on my desk for the past 4 months. I've been humming and hawing about what to do because I don't want to fork over a lot of money for expensive light fixtures, and I think these look kind of neat and industrial!

I was thinking of mounting a shelf on my wall with these brackets from IKEA: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10136135/

I would then mount the hanging pendants from underneath the shelf. Do you guys think that would work?

Lighting is all very confusing to me, so how many fixtures would you recommend for my tank size? What kind of bulbs?

[m00se]

Hey Zed,

Welcome back! Hope the move went smoothly for you.

TTYS

[Azarakiah]

Originally Posted by m00se

Hey Zed,

Welcome back! Hope the move went smoothly for you.

TTYS

yeah everything went smooth just startin work so here in couple months ill be ready for a hook up lol had a heart attack few weeks ago... was in the hospital for few days everything came back fine for some reason oddly enough lol.

i do def miss having my tank to play with... my hands are too dry

[m00se]

Lemme know. Heart attack eh? Sheee-ooo! Careful there Bubba..

[eelpout]

Dax,
My previous post was an over-the-top reply to:
"Now, if you run around here saying watts per gallon people might freak out and punch you in the head"
What can I say, that struck a nerve at the wrong time.
Thanks for your constructive input.

Az,

i did and u do....I keed.

I came up with the watt choices based on your tank and other's tanks on this thread. Since your posts didn't mention if your tank was high or low tech, your posts were the least helpful.

Sincere thanks for your input (less the false assumption) and speedy recovery.


FWIW, my unbalanced, low tech, fish poo saturated, newbie tank had terrific algae growth w/ 3x23 watt CFLs at 2" above the water and 22" from the substrate on 10 hr timer....after a week of neglect. It looks nasty.
I switched to 3x13 watts resting on the glass cover, on 10 hr/day. Dosing mucho Excel, added Osmo+ fertcicles. Multipule 50%PWCs. Algae is dieing and plants appear to be rebounding, except the vals, my sacrificial Excel lambs. Fish are well...Momma Krib is about to pop. The SAEs are loving the all you can eat buffet.

Eelwattspergallonpout

[m00se]

Originally Posted by eelpout

I came up with the watt choices based on your tank and other's tanks on this thread. Since your posts didn't mention if your tank was high or low tech, your posts were the least helpful.

high, low...I don't think most people make a determination as to what is or isn't high or low tech because it's such an ambiguous definition. So am I high tech if I have CFLs, or MH, or do I need LEDs? Is it still low tech if I use CFLs and pressurized CO2? Am I high tech if I use a mineralized top soil and pressurized CO2 and MH lights? It's a worthless term in the end. Some people think Diana Walstad's no-maintenance-dirt tanks are the highest tech because they maintain themselves.

I think Az is learning here as we all are. I know his setup was "new" not too long before you joined the discussion. I don't think anyone is intentionally being vague or obtuse or trying to be cagey or otherwise unhelpful. Take the advice here as presented. This isn't a competition and we are hobbyists not professionals, aside from the notable exceptions. And not to sully Az's reputation which I have no intention of doing, but to illustrate how tanks can be fine one day and go south in a hurry: I inherited all his plants and fish when he moved. In my haste I didn't bleach dip those plants and I've been battling BBA ever since, and with a vengeance. It's a leaf here and leaf there now (after 2 months of daily futzing), but there you are. My allowing just one incidence pass without thinking through the consequences has cost me a whole lot of time and trouble....

Originally Posted by eelpout

FWIW, my unbalanced, low tech, fish poo saturated, newbie tank had terrific algae growth w/ 3x23 watt CFLs at 2" above the water and 22" from the substrate on 10 hr timer....after a week of neglect. It looks nasty.

To be expected. To utilize that much light would require pressurized CO2, a disciplined and accurate, dialed-in dosing regimen, and probably daily wet hands to stay on top of growth and nuisances (like algae) that pop up. You're driving that Mustang with the nitrous wide open as your description indicates.

Originally Posted by eelpout

I switched to 3x13 watts resting on the glass cover, on 10 hr/day. Dosing mucho Excel, added Osmo+ fertcicles. Multipule 50%PWCs. Algae is dieing and plants appear to be rebounding, except the vals, my sacrificial Excel lambs. Fish are well...Momma Krib is about to pop. The SAEs are loving the all you can eat buffet.

Osmocote + is really really easy to overdo. Just sayin... And in the long run, 13w CFLs will get you there just fine. Unless of course, you LIKE trimming and re-arranging plants every water change.

Cheers

[eelpout]

Agreed Moose. This site has been a wealth of info for me since I started reading it. I've been soaking up info whenever I get a chance.

My fingers are crossed w/ the Osmo. I added it sparingly against the glass bottom of the tank. My PWC's have been done gently/slowly. No spikes per my master test kit. -all I have to test with. I also put a big bunch of hornwort in to suck stuff out of the water column. I can see it get bigger daily.

The funny thing is, hornwort or something similar will be all over the pond in front of my place in another couple weeks. I wouldn't dare tell neighbors I actually bought some.

[Azarakiah]

Originally Posted by eelpout

Agreed Moose. This site has been a wealth of info for me since I started reading it. I've been soaking up info whenever I get a chance.

My fingers are crossed w/ the Osmo. I added it sparingly against the glass bottom of the tank. My PWC's have been done gently/slowly. No spikes per my master test kit. -all I have to test with. I also put a big bunch of hornwort in to suck stuff out of the water column. I can see it get bigger daily.

The funny thing is, hornwort or something similar will be all over the pond in front of my place in another couple weeks. I wouldn't dare tell neighbors I actually bought some.

i had my lights 6 inches above the tank rim, not water, i always kept my water lvl with the inside lip of the black trim, plus i have a lil bit of duck weed, hornwort, and a glass lid. lights were on 9 hours a day with only a diy co2 setup running non stop then a air pump pumping into the diffuser at a very low rate at night

[xriddler]

Thank you Azarakiah for directing me to this thread. I own a 40g breeder and would like to try my hands on growing hc cuba. Has anyone had any luck growing this carpet plant using clamp lighting? Would also like to find out your lighting conditions/parameters. 13w cfls as i read gives about 35par how much more do cuba's require? Would 4 8.5 inch shop lights with 23w cfls with 1600 lumens each bulb be enough to grow hc cuba? Would the spread of light cover my whole tank back to front? i cant afford pressurized co2 either and i asked my lfs if cuba can grow with diy co2 and they said definately. however i might use diy co2 or just dose excel not sure which way to go yet. Sorry im very new and this would be my first tank >_> please be kind if you need to chew me out for stupidity but please do tell me where i am lacking of knowledge. thank you all