fish_r_great
Especially African Cichlids
Is it possible? Also which is a better tank for plants a 20L or 20H I would get a 55 watt compact flourescnt for either.
To much light?
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Teelie
Fish Aficionado
Yes too much is possible for many reasons. Off the top of my head, algae growth, burnt leaves, overdose of lighting messes with the plants metabolism.
Under most circumstances, you won't have too much lighting. The only case I can think of is the reefers. My friend has a 150W over his 10G...that's even too much for the SPS' B) .
I would get the 20L and raise the light a little bit higher than normal for better coverage of the tank. If you got the AHsupply 55w kit. You can even grow glosso
. With that much light, you should definitely inject CO2.
I would get the 20L and raise the light a little bit higher than normal for better coverage of the tank. If you got the AHsupply 55w kit. You can even grow glosso
. With that much light, you should definitely inject CO2.Bol
Fish Addict
Too much light is possible, but I think what you're getting at is something like this...
In order to have a successful planted tank you need to achieve a balance between light, useable carbon (usually in the form of CO2), and nutrients. At lower light levels, the plants will grow slowly enough that there is sufficient CO2 available from the atmosphere, and if you use tap water, there are usually sufficient nutrients available with no or little added materials. The system basically takes care of itself (barring regular water changes, to reintroduce nutrients).
As you increase the light, and therefore the energy available to the plants, you speed up the plants' metabolisms. As you keep increasing the energy, you speed things up further, and can find that you have to add more and more CO2 and an increasing amount (and perhaps variety) of fertilizers. The more complex your maintenance routine gets, the easier it is to throw the system out of balance, and if you keep increasing the light levels you'll probably find a point where the maintenance routine is too complicated and/or too inconvenient to keep things in balance while staying practical.
At that point, you'd probably say that any additional light would be "too much light".
About the 20H or 20L, ...
In my opinion, the answer is probably a 20 high. Just an opinion, and I base this on these things (and assuming you're going to run one 55W CF tube over the tank):
* A 55W CF bulb, if I remember correctly, is roughly 21" long. The 20H tank is 24" long, while the 20L tank is 30" long. The lighting for the 20H will be more even, side to side. That is, a 20L would have "darker" areas on the ends. Not necessarily a bad thing, if you plan for it, and have plants on the ends that require slightly less light.
* With 55W over 20 gallons, you'll probably find that eventually you'll want to inject CO2 for the plants' health (even with the high tank). If you do that, you'd probably want to minimize the disturbance on the water's surface, and a 20H has less surface area than a 20L. This factor may be insignificant, depending on your CO2 injection system (particularly the reactor).
* The extra 4" of height that a 20H gives opens up some room to have taller plants (particulary stem plants), and gives extra height for layering (tall plants in back, shorter plants in front of it).
In order to have a successful planted tank you need to achieve a balance between light, useable carbon (usually in the form of CO2), and nutrients. At lower light levels, the plants will grow slowly enough that there is sufficient CO2 available from the atmosphere, and if you use tap water, there are usually sufficient nutrients available with no or little added materials. The system basically takes care of itself (barring regular water changes, to reintroduce nutrients).
As you increase the light, and therefore the energy available to the plants, you speed up the plants' metabolisms. As you keep increasing the energy, you speed things up further, and can find that you have to add more and more CO2 and an increasing amount (and perhaps variety) of fertilizers. The more complex your maintenance routine gets, the easier it is to throw the system out of balance, and if you keep increasing the light levels you'll probably find a point where the maintenance routine is too complicated and/or too inconvenient to keep things in balance while staying practical.
At that point, you'd probably say that any additional light would be "too much light".
About the 20H or 20L, ...
In my opinion, the answer is probably a 20 high. Just an opinion, and I base this on these things (and assuming you're going to run one 55W CF tube over the tank):
* A 55W CF bulb, if I remember correctly, is roughly 21" long. The 20H tank is 24" long, while the 20L tank is 30" long. The lighting for the 20H will be more even, side to side. That is, a 20L would have "darker" areas on the ends. Not necessarily a bad thing, if you plan for it, and have plants on the ends that require slightly less light.
* With 55W over 20 gallons, you'll probably find that eventually you'll want to inject CO2 for the plants' health (even with the high tank). If you do that, you'd probably want to minimize the disturbance on the water's surface, and a 20H has less surface area than a 20L. This factor may be insignificant, depending on your CO2 injection system (particularly the reactor).
* The extra 4" of height that a 20H gives opens up some room to have taller plants (particulary stem plants), and gives extra height for layering (tall plants in back, shorter plants in front of it).
Make sure the compact fluorescent has a full spectrum rating, (5500K - 6500K), most CF lamps are only about 2700K which is too low for good plant growth.
fish_r_great
Especially African Cichlids
It would be the same as the on I have on my other tank and it was said to be a great light for plants from BOL
DN530
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I have a 55 watt power compact light on my 29 gallon and it works ok. I also have a co2 diffuser in the tank. It works out great.
Bol
Fish Addict
That would be the GE 9325K bulb, in the All-Glass fixture?
I love those bulbs (in the NO form, at least), and in my experience, they make the tank look much better than any of the 'specialty' bulbs I've tried -- and the plants seem to do better, too.
I just ordered a case of 'em (NO bulbs, that is ... not compacts).
I love those bulbs (in the NO form, at least), and in my experience, they make the tank look much better than any of the 'specialty' bulbs I've tried -- and the plants seem to do better, too.
I just ordered a case of 'em (NO bulbs, that is ... not compacts
).fish_r_great
Especially African Cichlids
Whats NO mean? Does it stand for something?
Bol
Fish Addict
Oh, sorry.
NO = Normal Output.
That is, regular fluorescent tubes -- as opposed to Compact Fluorescent or Power Compact or VHO (Very High Output) bulbs.
NO = Normal Output.
That is, regular fluorescent tubes -- as opposed to Compact Fluorescent or Power Compact or VHO (Very High Output) bulbs.
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