Lighting for a Planted 29 gal high

I have one flora glo 20 W- 24 (61 cm)- 25 mm Diameter- T8 bulb for my
29gal high planted aquarium. Is this enough lighting? My fixture can
hold two bulbs, should I add another?

"JLG" wrote in message
...
I have one flora glo 20 W- 24 (61 cm)- 25 mm Diameter- T8 bulb for my
29gal high planted aquarium. Is this enough lighting? My fixture can
hold two bulbs, should I add another?

I think you should run 2 bulbs if you have the fixture for it.

On Thu, 8 Apr 2010 11:03:58 -0700 (PDT), JLG wrote:

I have one flora glo 20 W- 24 (61 cm)- 25 mm Diameter- T8 bulb for my
29gal high planted aquarium. Is this enough lighting? My fixture can
hold two bulbs, should I add another?

It depends on how your plants are growing. If they are growing well you
probably have enough lighting for them. Some plants only need low
lighting while others need a higher level. T8 tubes don't give out as
much light as T5 ones and some plants would require 4 T5 tubes to do
well especially if it's a deep tank.

The tubes light output falls as they age so you should replace them
annually so you could get another T8 tube and try it and if you get a
lot of algae growth use it to replace the old tube when it's a year
old. If you need to get another ballast unit I'd see if I could get a
T5 one that would fit. The Arcadia electronic units are very good and
they do J5 tubes that are really T5 ones but match the length of some
T8 tubes.

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail rpont (at) gmail (dot) com

"JLG" wrote in message
...
I have one flora glo 20 W- 24 (61 cm)- 25 mm Diameter- T8 bulb for my
29gal high planted aquarium. Is this enough lighting? My fixture can
hold two bulbs, should I add another?

What kind of plants are you growing? Are they growing well? Do you have
algae problems? 20W of light in a 29 gal aquarium is a *very small* amount
of light, especially in a "high" aquarium where the light has to penetrate
through more water to get to the plants. In my experience, even low light
plants like java fern and most crypts tend to do better in the 1-2 watts per
gallon range. Right now you're running at a little less than .7 watts per
gallon. Keep that in mind when purchasing new plants, but don't fix what
isn't broken. If your current plants are doing well without algae problems,
and you don't have any desire to grow plants with high light requirements,
then you should be fine with things the way they are.

On Apr 14, 10:25*am, "Smedulb" wrote:
"JLG" wrote in message

...

I have one flora glo 20 W- 24 (61 cm)- 25 mm Diameter- T8 bulb for my
29gal high planted aquarium. *Is this enough lighting? My fixture can
hold two bulbs, should I add another?

What kind of plants are you growing? *Are they growing well? *Do you have
algae problems? *20W of light in a 29 gal aquarium is a *very small* amount
of light, especially in a "high" aquarium where the light has to penetrate
through more water to get to the plants. *In my experience, even low light
plants like java fern and most crypts tend to do better in the 1-2 watts per
gallon range. *Right now you're running at a little less than .7 watts per
gallon. *Keep that in mind when purchasing new plants, but don't fix what
isn't broken. *If your current plants are doing well without algae problems,
and you don't have any desire to grow plants with high light requirements,
then you should be fine with things the way they are.

I just finished treating my tank for ich using rid ich. I made a
rookie mistake of adding a new fish into a new tank (2 weeks old)
from an unreputable place with no quarantine and my clown pleco showed
signs of ick. All my plants survived. I currently have:
1) two small patches of micro sword
2) one water sprite
3) one amazon sword
4) and one bananna plant
All the plants survived the ich treatment. the only plant that is
browning a drop is the water sprite (ironically also the tallest
plant).

I have a place to add a second bulb in my hood. Based on what I have
in the tank now should I add a second T8 Flora glo?

Thanks again for all the advice. I am a complete beginner and am
trying my very best to get this right, but you cant always trust the
people in the store as these days they are high school kids who never
even had a fish tank.

It depends on your plants. If they are growing well, you may be they have enough lighting. Some plants need only low light, while others require a higher level. T8 lamps do not give as much light as T5, some plants will need 4 T5 tubes to do well, especially if it is a deep tank.

Decrease the power of fluorescent tubes as they age, you should be replaced annually so you can get another tube T8 and try it if you get a lot of algae used to replace the old pipe is one year. If you need to get another unit of the ballast, I will see if I could get that would be suitable for T5.