Wow, 3 replies in one night, i love this place!
Figure out these questions first (in no particle order): Do I want low, medium, or high light? Do I want co2 injections? What kind of plants do I want? What kind of lighting do my plants need? Do I want to dose fertilizer? What kind of fauna do I want?
I guess my original post missed quite some info, i wrote it in a bit of a rush since i was heading to bed.
Im going for high tech, with CO2, Liquid Fertilizer and some sort of plant substrate. As for the plants, i have no general idea what i want. I have some plants now, but i would also like to be able to switch out plants, without having to worry about my light being enough. I would really like an awesome carpet, but the plant im trying to get to carpet right now, isnt really doing much.
The aquarium is rimless, so im gonna put a glass cover on the top, i dont know if this will hinder the light in some way.
My old tank (approx 15 gallon) is going to be transformed into a low tech tank, so i will have one high tech, and one low tech.
PAR is in its easiest definition is the light plants can use for growth. Generally speaking it has little to do w/ "kelvin" (just a definition off color temp) and lumens (which is just a visual quantity to the human eye).. Look each up for more of a clinical definition..
higher the K the "bluer white" th light looks.. Higher the lumens the brighter it looks to you re: of color..
Re: lights you want to balance a few things out 1)what it looks like to you 2)what the plants need and 3)how much work you want to put into the tank..
high light = faster growth=more nutrients needed inc. CO2 and a balance must be achieved to give plants an advantage over algae.
One unfortunate thing in your case is (and please correct any assumptions) your tank is non-standard US size and 2)your in Europe (at least if you meant Denmark ) which limits many from having any knowledge of what is easily available to you, though I assume shipments from China are not too difficult to get..
Then do you have a type of light preference LED, T5 , compact fluorescent.
Do you want to be able to do things like dimming/timers..ect.
so to even begin try to reframe your questions w/ more specifics:
I could say.. get this:
Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 30-Inch: Pet Supplies Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 30-Inch: Pet Supplies
and be done w/ it.. but that wouldn't be fair...
so maybe if you describe a light you think you could use it may be easier..
Makes somewhat sense, but how will i figure the PAR value if its not given? Is there some formula for calculating it in relation to the depth of the aquarium etc?
I thought the lumens was the light output of the light, so higher lumens pr watt means more effective light.
As i wrote above, i would like a high tech aquarium, so im thinking high light will be fitting, also then i can switch plants out later without worrying about my light. Yes, i do live in Denmark, and the light options seem very limited here. Probably the most used would be T5 T8 Fluorescent tubes.
As with the Finnex, i see those everywhere i look, if they can be shipped to Denmark, then that would be a great contestant!
Personally- I always recommend that new planted tankers start off with low tech setups. People can always add lighting and buy additional equipment down the road after they master the basics in a slightly easier setup.
Have had a low-tech for arround half a year now, i am now at the time where i wanna expand my spectrum. Im trying to get as much info, before i make my decision, dont wanna end up with something ill become unhappy about.
- Nielsen