You will have a low light tank with a single strip bulb. Which is fine but limits the amount of plants that you can grow.
My First Planted tank (10g)
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Thanks for the suggestion! But I think I'm going to keep this tank as low tech as possible. For two reasons, I'm still learning and I need to keep my main focus on my reef tank because I have so much invested in it. This planted tank is kind of a side project. But I hope to be successful with it. I'm going to pick up a stand for the tank tomorrow and will be placing an order online for some supplies to get this tank up and running. I still haven't decided if I'm going to use straight tap water or RO/DI water for this planted tank... I'm leaning towards tap because the RO/DI wastes a lot of water so I kind of want to use it only for my reef tank.
Here's a shot of the tank sitting on a box... exciting!
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Finally got my hands on a stand for the tank!
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I decided to exchange the Perfecto/Marineland light & hood combo for a glass top and separate lighting fixture (ironically it cost me MORE to do it this way). I did so after reading here that the light/hood combo restricted the amount of light that got to the front of the tank. Also, having the glass hinged top will allow me to upgrade my lighting in the future should I ever decide to do so.
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That hood style lighting is only rated for 15-17W of power and the light quality is not very good for plant growth. Here is a cheap solution for your lighting that has worked great for planted tanks.
Find a local appliance store that sells clip on desk lamp that is rated for 60W. They are usually only about $5-9. Make sure you get one the works for you setup. Mine is next to something I can clip on. They have variations, but this is what I'm talking about:
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Next get a 6700K 20W CF bulb (this is rated at 75W for normal bulb but won't overheat). You can get these at Target and some other places for less than $5. 6700K is the brightness or luminance of the light. The higher the number the whiter and better quality the light output is. To grow healthy plants you'll need at least 6000K of luminance.
You'll end up with something like my tank. This is my 10G tank with a cheap clip on 60W lamp stand and a 20W 6700K CF bulb (I got both at Target):
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*Check out my 10g setup for more pictures*
This should be plenty of light for a 10G. You can see how bright it gets, and the plants love it. The best part is that it will only cost you around $12-15 total and will output much better quality light then that hooded lamp you have.
If you have any more questions let me know. I've done several cheap DIY aquarium methods that work just as good or better than their full priced counterparts.
Find a local appliance store that sells clip on desk lamp that is rated for 60W. They are usually only about $5-9. Make sure you get one the works for you setup. Mine is next to something I can clip on. They have variations, but this is what I'm talking about:
Next get a 6700K 20W CF bulb (this is rated at 75W for normal bulb but won't overheat). You can get these at Target and some other places for less than $5. 6700K is the brightness or luminance of the light. The higher the number the whiter and better quality the light output is. To grow healthy plants you'll need at least 6000K of luminance.
You'll end up with something like my tank. This is my 10G tank with a cheap clip on 60W lamp stand and a 20W 6700K CF bulb (I got both at Target):
*Check out my 10g setup for more pictures*
This should be plenty of light for a 10G. You can see how bright it gets, and the plants love it. The best part is that it will only cost you around $12-15 total and will output much better quality light then that hooded lamp you have.
If you have any more questions let me know. I've done several cheap DIY aquarium methods that work just as good or better than their full priced counterparts.
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