Need Help

[CandyCoated100]

Right ok, I need help with my light.. atm my light is 20w and im trying to grow plants so its gonna need to be alot stronger but i really dont know where to start.. ok the light i have right now is SUN-GLO and its 23.6"/60cm ive tried looking but i cant find anything im just so confused with all this and to make matters worse i need to order the plants today so if i cant find a light im totally screwed oh and im not rich so it can't be too expensive lol

 

[OldMan47]

If you want to grow plants on a budget, your best bet is to buy only low light plants. The cheaper plants are the ones that the growers can grow with very little trouble, which means it is the ones that are easiest to care for after you have them. Almost any plant marked as easy care, with a price that says they mean it, will also be a low light plant. The trouble with lighting, especially on a smaller tank, is that you spend quite a bit to get fixtures that produce a lot of light. I have started to get more serious about plants lately but it is not a cheap way to move forward in the hobby. A really good plant light can cost as much as a bare tank or a good canister filter by the time you get the fixture and the specialty bulbs to go with it.

 

[CandyCoated100]

Yeah i know but ive had a low light set up for ages now and tbh its getting really boring ive seen an over head light thing which looks really good my tanks only 20 gal and its not all that deep do u think 40w is enough for low 2 medium plants?

 

[OldMan47]

40 watts of T-8 or T-5 should give you enough light to get in trouble on that tank. Are you ready to go to an NPT or start dosing ferts and running CO2? Once you get to about 2 WPG, you can no longer just let the plants take care of themselves. I go the NPT route when I want to use higher light levels because I find the CO2 and ferts is a pain to work with. I have only one "high tech" tank and just don't enjoy it like my others.