I picked up a 29g yesterday on CL, and it came with a fixture for a single 24" T8 tube. Is it going to be possible to get decent growth from any T8 bulb in this set up, or do I have to upgrade? I know I could stick with REALLY low light plants, but I'd rather not be so limited. Low tech tank (I might use a few root tabs, and perhaps excel, but nothing serious, and no CO2). Roughly 15" from light to sand.
Lighting a 29H with T8, or ...
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Like you said one t8 will be good for really low tech plants like anubias and java fern. But If you want fast growth you are going to need another t8. I use two t8s on my 55 low tech and I could grow a lot of stuff at a moderate rate before I started using co2. I had to switch to co2 though, I was having trouble will algae and I couldn't find a balance, so I added co2. I have a dirted tank though and I suspect the rate the dirt was releasing nutrience was faster than the plants could absorb it. But if you do something inert, like eco-complete with root tabs, you shouldn't have this issue. The Aqua-Glo is a good bulb to use for a planted tank so just gen another one of those and another fixture for it.
Thanks, all good to know, especially that the Aqua-Glo isn't junk. It seemed pretty low light to me, but that might just be the color.
I realized that I also got this (or something that looks suspiciously like it) in the box of extras in the sale.
Aquarium LED Lights: Marineland LED Aquarium Light
Mine may or may not be exactly the same. It has 42 white LEDs, but only a few of them are fully lit - the rest are doing what I assume is a "shimmer" effect. Is this good for anything? Are the six fully on LEDs enough to bother putting them on the tank? If I try to use both, it means buying a new glass lid. Not terribly expensive, but I'd like to know it is worthwhile before buying it.
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Had one of those in a 20gal hood.. Pretty worthless and no, there are not "shimmer" leds. All should be equal brightness.
Def. has problems.
The shimmer is just an overall effect..
If I get some time I'll look in my "box o parts" to verify...
so, what is going to be the most/best light that I can put on a 29 without needing co2?
1. Two T8 seems safe, for sure, but also seems like it might still be pretty low. I also hate losing so much light at the side with 24" tubes over a 30" surface.
2. Is T5HO too much?
3. I've also seen an older fixture using two power compact fluorescents. I'm having trouble even determining where these would fall on the lighting scale. Also, are the "too be avoided" by being uncommon?
4. I assume LED isn't worth the money unless I'm going all the way to high tech. True?
I need help! I definitely want more light, but don't want to buy something that's a) not much of an upgrade, or b) way too much.
1. Two T8 seems safe, for sure, but also seems like it might still be pretty low. I also hate losing so much light at the side with 24" tubes over a 30" surface.
2. Is T5HO too much?
3. I've also seen an older fixture using two power compact fluorescents. I'm having trouble even determining where these would fall on the lighting scale. Also, are the "too be avoided" by being uncommon?
4. I assume LED isn't worth the money unless I'm going all the way to high tech. True?
I need help! I definitely want more light, but don't want to buy something that's a) not much of an upgrade, or b) way too much.
60W of leds isn't way too much?
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I ended up ordering this...
Amazon.com : Beamswork HE 6500K 1W Series LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant (30") : Pet Supplies
It is a heck of a lot more light than I had. We'll see whether it is more light than I can handle without that dimmer!
Amazon.com : Beamswork HE 6500K 1W Series LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant (30") : Pet Supplies
It is a heck of a lot more light than I had. We'll see whether it is more light than I can handle without that dimmer!
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