[MadTurtle23]

I am setting up 29 gallon and am racking my brain trying to figure out which size light I need. It’s going to be a low tech tank, no CO2, with a dirt substrate capped with 3 inches of BDBS. I have decided on the hygger 957 LED’s because of the cost and ability to dim the lights as well as the ability to set my own lighting schedule. The 24 inch(36 W) will leave 3 inches on each side but I am able to raise the light up if that would help with the spread of the light. I guess my question is, do I really need to have the light run the entire length of the aquarium?

 

[Plinkploop]

Lol I've used clamplights and cfl with dirt tanks and been fine. Just keep most of your planting towards the middle. If you notice- a lot of nano cube lighting uses small square lights that don't run the length so it's much the same concept.

 

[ichthyogeek]

I use a 24" light on my 20L, and I regret it. I use the AquaNeat lights, which look similar to, but are cheaper, than the Hyggers. The light is really good on the center of the tank, but because I've blacked out the sides, the sides are visibly darker than the middle bit. Are you planning on blocking out the sides of the tank? Or keeping the glass panes clear?

 

[MadTurtle23]

I use a 24" light on my 20L, and I regret it. I use the AquaNeat lights, which look similar to, but are cheaper, than the Hyggers. The light is really good on the center of the tank, but because I've blacked out the sides, the sides are visibly darker than the middle bit. Are you planning on blocking out the sides of the tank? Or keeping the glass panes clear?

I have the back blacked out but not the sides. So you kind of wish you went the 30inch? How do your plants do? The fact is that there will be some plants around the outside of the tank. The more I think about it, the more I think that I should just go with the 30 inch. My concern was the wattage (48) being too much, and I didn’t want to grow an algae farm along side my plants. Being that the light is dimmable, and I will have it raised above the tank at least 4 inches or so, I am hoping that won’t be an issue. I am pretty new to planted tanks, and I have slight OCD 😁 so I tend to overthink things.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Well, the amazon sword plant I have is doing wonderfully, really rapid growth. But the stem plants I have on the side seem to be struggling.