mangoed
New Member
Hi,
I've recently bought a [Hagen] Fluval Vicenza 180 aquarium which I hoped would be suitable for someone new to the pastime/vocation of fishkeeping (that is, me).
As seemed prudent, I've been reading as much as I can about the various requirements and responsibilities of keeping tropical fish, both on these excellent forums and elsewhere.
I want to create a planted aquarium and have purchased 27.2kg (60lbs) of Eco-Complete to use as substrate, a 25W RENA COR heating cord, and a D-D Complete CO2 Set (actually this set came, not as described, but with a small submersible pump which I presume is used for dispersing the CO2 in the aquarium).
In short, I thought I was set to go but I am very concerned about the matter of lighting. By any measure I can find on the Internet, the aquarium seems to be supplied with lighting equipment which provides only a very low level of light! The aquarium canopy is fixed and specific to the particular model - the supplied bulbs are two 24W 55cm/22" Power-Glo fluorescents (T-5, High Output, 18000K, 900 lumens, 122 lux) with corresponding ballast and reflectors. All of this is built-in and apparently difficult to alter (apart from replacing the bulbs with others of identical form factor, obviously).
This is a 180l (47.6 US gallons) with a usable capacity of around 151l (39.9 US gallons) which will be further reduced by the quantity of substrate. It has external dimensions of 92x30-41x55cm (36.2x11.8-16.1x21.7") - the front is bowed, hence the two figures. This would give a rectangular surface area of approximately 3772cm2 (4 square feet) - actually this is the upper figure, assuming a rectangle instead of a curve.
Calculating the watts per gallon (WPG) gives 1.2 which, I believe, is low (very low?). Other measurements I've read about (concerning the lumens, lux and/or surface area) give even more frightening results. The bulbs are described as being "ideal for planted aquariums" but they seem to be having a laugh (or, at minimum, indulging in some kind of sales spin). I'm concerned about the plants that I'm going to be able to grow successfully in these conditions - I was going to order a collection from somewhere like Aquarium Gardening which won't be much good if I receive a bunch of unsuitable species.
As an aside, I can see why Hagen supply these particular bulbs because their other tubes would be too long (an 85cm/33.5" 39W or a 115cm/45.3" 54W). However, I wish the canopy could accommodate four of these bulbs!
I would really appreciate any advice (if you've got this far). Thanks.
-dan
I've recently bought a [Hagen] Fluval Vicenza 180 aquarium which I hoped would be suitable for someone new to the pastime/vocation of fishkeeping (that is, me).
As seemed prudent, I've been reading as much as I can about the various requirements and responsibilities of keeping tropical fish, both on these excellent forums and elsewhere.
I want to create a planted aquarium and have purchased 27.2kg (60lbs) of Eco-Complete to use as substrate, a 25W RENA COR heating cord, and a D-D Complete CO2 Set (actually this set came, not as described, but with a small submersible pump which I presume is used for dispersing the CO2 in the aquarium).
In short, I thought I was set to go but I am very concerned about the matter of lighting. By any measure I can find on the Internet, the aquarium seems to be supplied with lighting equipment which provides only a very low level of light! The aquarium canopy is fixed and specific to the particular model - the supplied bulbs are two 24W 55cm/22" Power-Glo fluorescents (T-5, High Output, 18000K, 900 lumens, 122 lux) with corresponding ballast and reflectors. All of this is built-in and apparently difficult to alter (apart from replacing the bulbs with others of identical form factor, obviously).
This is a 180l (47.6 US gallons) with a usable capacity of around 151l (39.9 US gallons) which will be further reduced by the quantity of substrate. It has external dimensions of 92x30-41x55cm (36.2x11.8-16.1x21.7") - the front is bowed, hence the two figures. This would give a rectangular surface area of approximately 3772cm2 (4 square feet) - actually this is the upper figure, assuming a rectangle instead of a curve.
Calculating the watts per gallon (WPG) gives 1.2 which, I believe, is low (very low?). Other measurements I've read about (concerning the lumens, lux and/or surface area) give even more frightening results. The bulbs are described as being "ideal for planted aquariums" but they seem to be having a laugh (or, at minimum, indulging in some kind of sales spin). I'm concerned about the plants that I'm going to be able to grow successfully in these conditions - I was going to order a collection from somewhere like Aquarium Gardening which won't be much good if I receive a bunch of unsuitable species.
As an aside, I can see why Hagen supply these particular bulbs because their other tubes would be too long (an 85cm/33.5" 39W or a 115cm/45.3" 54W). However, I wish the canopy could accommodate four of these bulbs!
I would really appreciate any advice (if you've got this far). Thanks.
-dan
/www.fishforums.net/Plants-and-Planted-Tanks-f10.html
Oh and Hi!
