Compact Flourec for a 20L

[trebor]

Im going to be setting up an aquascape with lots of plants and some freshwater fish. The focus of the tank will be the plants first and fish second. I need to get lighting for the tank. Im setting up a 20L and need advice on how much lighting to use. Corallife puts out a series of lights for freshwater I am looking into. I can get a 24" 1x65W Coralife FRESHWATER Aqualight, 1x 6,700K or a 24" 2x65W Coralife FRESHWATER Aqualight, 2x 6,700K lights. Is the dual light too much for a 20L? Is the singel light bright enough?

Any info would be appriciated!!

 

[skiltrip]

i just got a 24" 2x65 Freshwater Aqualight from Coralife (6700k) for my 37gallon tank, and i must say , they are pretty damn nice.

your tank is 20L? not 20G? i'd say the 1x65 would be sufficient for you. but let the experts lead you.

- kip

 

[trebor]

Yes a 20Long is a 20gal Its just longer and not as high as a reg 20gal.

 

[AquaNut]

65 watts and 20 gallons means you have just over 3 watts per gallon. That is plenty for tropical plants. Because your tank isn't very deep, the lights don't need to penetrate down as far, either. If you go realllllllly nuts with your lighting, you're going to have to go equally nuts with co2 and fertilizers to keep up.

 

[skiltrip]

I was reading 20L as 20 liters. i gotcha. yeah, so 65watts is plenty.

All-Glass makes a 55watt compact flourescent lightstrip too that's a little cheaper (i think).
they also make a dual bulb lightstrip that has two 20watt bulbs, (40 total obviously) which should also be enough for you.

-kip

 

[revengeishere]

65 watts and 20 gallons means you have just over 3 watts per gallon. That is plenty for tropical plants. Because your tank isn't very deep, the lights don't need to penetrate down as far, either. If you go realllllllly nuts with your lighting, you're going to have to go equally nuts with co2 and fertilizers to keep up.

well, smaller tanks do need higher light levels, so 3 wpg on his aquyarium is still considered moderate. I have a 75 gallon, and about 2.3 wpg, and with added diy co2(just yesterday), my anacharis is starting toi go nuts!(you can observe which direction it is facing as it changes over the day!)

 

[trebor]

great thanks! it will be a little more friendlier on my wallet too

 

[aquamanis]

Hi Trebor, I think you need to think about whether or not you want to use CO2 or not and then configure your lighting around that. If you plan as you said on having a "dutch tank" you will probably be considering the CO2 anyway. No serious dutch aquarium would be without it. If thats the case the 65watts 2 globe would work well with CO2 supplement. If you don,t want the extra expense of CO2 and all the extra work involved I would go for the dual globe setup around 40 watts (like the one Skiltrip mentioned). The best part of a dual globe setup is it lets you put two differrent light spectrums in together. A growtube mainly dominate in red and blue spectrums is great for plant growth but it isn,t ideal for viewing fish, it tends to distort their colours. By having a white tube with the grow tube your tank will be more viewer friendly and you,ll still have decent plant growth.