Need a little guidance! Newbie

Why not just ditch the hood and buy yourself a good quality light and filter? Personally, that's the route i would take.

If you want the hood though, you're probably just going to have to buy a new one.
Cheapest one i could find: $100.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...-ED84-DE11-B712-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA

Edit: Forgot to mention, WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

That is a fantastic Idea, It did include a separate whisper filter that I think could handle 29g. I may have to invest the money in a quality light. I want to go low light without CO2 on this one. I think I read that 2 Watts per gallon is good for low light w/o CO2. Any recommendations on lights?

I don't have experience with coralife fixtures myself, but what about something like this? That'll give you 2WPG.

I hear these are pretty decent too, but it's 24" (extendable legs up to 30").

You're probably going to end up spending about $100 either way (unless you can find a good deal on craigslist or ebay), but i think you'll be happier with a separate filter/light instead of the hood.

You could always get a fixture that'll give you around 1WPG, which would be a lot cheaper. You could still grow a lot of different types of plants, and you probably wouldn't have as many problems with algae. Actually, you'd probably get around 1.5WPG with some of the other fixtures. 2WPG is kind of pushing it without co2 (but it depends on how high your light is from the substrate and your reflectors, bla bla bla).

I think this one might be my guy. It puts me at 1.65 Watts per gallon. I figure I can just run a shorter light cycle until I get some good growth and shouldn't have too much of a problem with algae.
One more quick question, I want to go with 2 Angel fish and a group of tetras. Would they be alright with this light?

Thanks for all the help!

http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-36in-2x39W-T5-HO-Light-Fixture-p/52121.htm

Planted Yooper said:

I think this one might be my guy. It puts me at 1.65 Watts per gallon. I figure I can just run a shorter light cycle until I get some good growth and shouldn't have too much of a problem with algae.
One more quick question, I want to go with 2 Angel fish and a group of tetras. Would they be alright with this light?

Thanks for all the help!

http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-36in-2x39W-T5-HO-Light-Fixture-p/52121.htm

Click to expand...

Good choice. I've heard good things about those lights, but i have never seen them in person/had one myself. Good luck with it!

Fish don't care what light you have. Some are more sensitive to extremely bright lights, but that's when you get in the 4-5WPG range probably. So short answer, yeah-- they'll be fine. Incase you didn't know, make sure the bulbs are in the 6700k-10000k range (6700k being optimal, imo).

Edit: Looks like the fixture comes with 1 actinic and 1 12000k bulb. You should probably buy 2 different bulbs here, or see if they can swap them out for you for no charge.

You could head over to the DIY section of the forum, Im sure they have plenty of ways to modify that hood to give you what you need. Whats missing from the hood?

Bubl type?

Ok so I messaged Aqua traders about a possible free bulb swap, while I 'm waiting I was wondering if anyone could explain why 12000K bulbs are sold. I was always under the impression that plants prefer 6500K (daylight) or a mix of 6500 and 3500. Is 12000K simply to light the tank more vividly and not meant for plant growth? Also wondering if anyone prefers actinic vs 6500K? and why?

OK did some quick googling and I answered my own questions. Actinic = pretty but not great for plant growth. 12000K = daylight but not the greatest spectrum for plant growth. 6700K Good for plant growth. Anybody agree or disagree?

You may be able to get away with a 12000K bulb. A 6700K is nice, 10000K is fine as well. You are correct about the actinic lighting.

Overall, the colour temperature is not so important for the plants, it is more for aesthetic purposes.