[Fayettevillian]

Satellite 18W Compact dual daylight
Red Sea Florabase or 60/40 Eco-complete/Sand mix
Aquaclear Mini (about 100gph)
Possibly DIY CO2

What do you think about using the PC light on the tank? Would that be good enough to grow rotala, ludwigia, chain swords, and a few others (albeit slow)? Also, would it have enough spread to cover the entire bottom?

Thanks

 

[mrbelvedere]

That doesn't sound like much light. Things should grow, just very slowly.

A 2x18 watt or a 36/40 watt unit would be much better.

 

[BSS]

You're posting this in the low-tech forum, but looking for high tech results, IMO. At first I thought 18w would be sufficient for low-tech. But, with the plants you mention and the results you desire, you could have a mismatch.

Welcome to the wonderful world of planted tank trade-offs!

 

[Fayettevillian]

Hmmm. I figured diy CO2 was pretty low tech, but oh well. Would that set up minus the CO2 be sufficient for easy plants/ low maintenance? All I have to do to my 29 every three months is do a water change, scrape the glass and thin the vals. Is that possible with a small tank like a 10?

 

[mrbelvedere]

Hmmm. I figured diy CO2 was pretty low tech, but oh well. Would that set up minus the CO2 be sufficient for easy plants/ low maintenance? All I have to do to my 29 every three months is do a water change, scrape the glass and thin the vals. Is that possible with a small tank like a 10?

DIY CO2 is what I call "medium tech". For easy low light plants, the setup you describe should work fine.

On my 10 gallon, I have super cheap lighting. Go to Wal-Mart, buy one of their incandescent hoods. Then, go to their lighting section and buy 2 Lights of America 20 watt 6500K daylight bulbs. They might be hard to find. I also spent $27 on my lighting, and I have to trim every week.

 

[EdTheEdge]

I've used a 18W CF on my 10 for years and was quite happy with it. But I did recently upgrade to two 18W last month when I got some higer light plants.

Low/Medium tech 18W should be fine if you don't want explosive growth.

 

[BSS]

You know, I might have been reading it wrong the first time. Seeing chain swords and 'spread to cover the entire bottom', my mind jumped to having a lush lawn with only 18w (though I now see your 'spread' comment was likely more in reference to the lighting). So, that's where some of my comment came from.