Lighting A 10 Gallon Planted Tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Sab_Fan;3423326; said:
how much would you care to spend? if it were me, I might get two of these (or just one for a low-light tank):

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11382
Click to expand...

Thanks, that looks pretty good and is in my price range. I just want a better light for my ten till i plant my 55. Right now i got 2 15watt hoods above the tank, but that takes up to much room. I see how it says must be used on a cover and not above only water. Does this mean i need a different cover to hold the light?
 
i would just get a incandescent hood with cfl bulbs
cfl-bulb.jpg
 
I agree you can get the hood for incandescent fixtures and put in two cf bulbs and have a nice range of low light plants.
 
yeah, if it is just temporary, I'd go with the simple options noted above, or just keep what you've got . . . my suggestions were only if it was a long-term tank
 
Get a desk lamp type fixture that can use a regular CF bulb, get a 26W bulb and you're done.
 
Thanks everyone. I see some people saying just keep what you have. Would what i have be good for low light plants? The lights are just 2 regular hoods with 15 watt flourescent bulbs, the kind that comes with 10 gallon tank kits. I also have a DIY Co2 going.
 
808;3425488; said:
Thanks everyone. I see some people saying just keep what you have. Would what i have be good for low light plants? The lights are just 2 regular hoods with 15 watt flourescent bulbs, the kind that comes with 10 gallon tank kits. I also have a DIY Co2 going.
Click to expand...
well your setup depend on what type of plants you want to keep, your 30 watts is probably fine for most plants. i dont believe in complicating the advice by refering to lumens(actual amount light the bulb puts out, more accurate)

some people say the type of bulb doesnt matter, but if you go to far out of the spectrum plants dont grow as well. if your plants are growing well the spectrum is close enough.

if you get more serious about plants you could upgrade to t5 or power compact. also if your diy co2 puts out a good amount, you could go up to 4 watts per gallon.

low light is usually 1-2 wpg(watts per gallon)
med 2-3
high 3-4
very high above 4


also most low light plants grow fine in high lighting just faster
 
For the plants I have some java fern, and am planning on getting some kind of moss, and ground cover plants. Not sure what ill get exactly, whatevers low light and my LFS carries since websites dont ship anything live where i live. The plants i have right now are actually growing alright, but i wanted to speed their growth up a bit, thats why im asking about the lights.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom