how low is low?

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Elle2

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
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I have been looking at low-light plants on various sites but have not been able to determine what the amount of light required for low light plants actually is.

I will eventually replace my light so that it is as high as I can go before adding CO2, but in the meantime I am wondering if there is anything that I can have with my very low light (15w)? I do have two java ferns that have been hanging on for the last few weeks as I cycle... but now one has one leaf rotting away and brown spots on the others.

My pH has been very low (6)- perhaps this explains this?

Thanks
(my tank is 20 G)
 
You don't really 'need' CO2 until 2-2.5wpg, however even at 1wpg, a little CO2 or Flourish Excel will be beneficial for the plants, they just aren't critical.

If it were 15w of PC lighting, you could do low light plants nicely, but a 15w NO tube just doesnt have the same intensity. If you get a glass Versa-top for the tank and then a double NO fixture (relatively cheap) you'd have 1.5wpg of NO lighting, and should be able to keep very healthy crypts, java fern, anubias, and probably anacharis and hornwort. Even some medium light plants might grow slowly in there, with a little CO2 to help them out.

a pH of 6.0 is very low, and could indeed cause problems. what is your Gh and Kh at? is this a fishless cycle? ammonia levels? nitrite? nitrate?
 
This is very helpful- so I can use either PC or NO in my light as low as its the correct wattage? If I can avoid buying a new light for a while and just change the bulb instead that would be great.

Its a fishless cycle and my Ammonia is finally at zero but my nitrite is still at 5 (I have about 5 nitrate and hoping it increases very soon). I'm not really sure what is going on with my water... we have VERY soft water where I live. I don't have a kh and Gh test but I looked the data up on the city website and they were pretty low. What is strange is that when I did my first pH test about 4 days after setting up it was at 7 and I didn't bother testing it again for a while so I don't know when it dropped. But I have been able to get it back up to 7 in the past 2 days by adding baking soda.
 
PC and NO are 2 different bulbs. You will have to get a new fixture. What malkore was saying is you can buy a NO fixture with 2 bulbs in it for pretty cheap, and it should do fine. You may also need to get glass tops for that fixture if it doesn't fit in the hood. It will be wider.
 
Oh ok. In that case I will buy a light with a slightly higher wattage. I was told that with 20G I can go as high as 40 W without having to add CO2?
 
Elle2 said:
I was told that with 20G I can go as high as 40 W without having to add CO2?
Click to expand...

Well, that is technically correct. Those lights would give you 2 WPG. 2 to 2.5 watts is the "gray area." If you are not getting algae at this light level then you don't "need" CO2 but it could still be beneficial.

There has been a lot of discussion about the levels of light given off with NO vs. PC fluorescent lights. PC bulbs give off more lumens than NO bulbs. A calculation of 2 WPG NO light may not require CO2. 2 WPG PC light is putting off more lumens. You may need to go with CO2 with these bulbs. Everyone's light setup and tank setup, plants, etc. is different. You'll have to observe plant growth vs. algae in your tank to determine if you need CO2.
 
So would going with 20-30 W avoid this potential problem? I'd like to avoid having to add CO2.
 
Here is a pic of my 29g fw planted:
planted1od.jpg


It has two light strips...(you can only see one).One right behind the other.
I bought the versa top all glass top to accommodate the extra strip.

Each houses one 18w NO bulb.So I'm at 1.24 wpg.
All the plants are real and need clipping from time to time,except for the red lugwiga in the front corners which is growing,but very slowly....over all doing quite well.
No C02 added either,just fertilizer tablets.

I believe this set up is similar (if not exactly) to what malkore has suggested as an option..just offering proof it can work really well.

Hope that helps.
 
That's excellent! When I was young (way way way back when...) my aquarium had live plants and looked quite a bit like this but I am now finding that it was quite accidental because I didn't fertilize or add CO2, and other than remembering that I had two smallish bulbs that screwed into either side of the fixture, I have no idea what kind of lighting I had. I am trying to replicate this. Do you have a rough idea how much $$ I am looking at to replace mine for something like yours?
 
I payed about 20 bucks for the all glass top at the LPS.It two pieces of glass hinged in the middle....one side has a handle (can be seen in front of the first strip) to lift the front glass for feeding/cleaning ect.Great purchase.The tops are vendor specific (so I've read here) so you'll have to match maufacturers with you tank.

I had the extra bulb and strip so I'm sure of the cost there...It really has worked out well.In all honesty the picture does not do the tank justice.It looks much better in person.

I'll try to find some links and edit them in as time allows.

Light strip..although I'm not sure what length:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=23847;category_id=1853;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

One vendor for versa top (just google versa top for the list):
http://www.enasco.com/science/BrowseMinorIndex.do?majorIndexText=Versa+Top&quickIndex=109

It looks like 30-40 bucks maybe...depending on shipping if you go the delivery route.

HTH
 
Wow... now that I am doing the research (thanks for all the links) I think I am more confused than I was before. I didn't realise that there were so many choices. Now I am wondering if there is a significant difference in the appearance of the various types of lights? Does the light they provide look pretty much the same? Do you have preferences?
 
Just remember for planted tanks, it's good to stay between 5000k and 12000k bulbs. The bulbs on the 5000k end, like the 6700k, is more yellow, and the bulbs on the 10000k and 12000k end, are more blue and white. As for which ones are better, both are good, and it's more of a personal preference as to how you want the tank lit up. My preference is more towards yellow, my 26G is 6700k 65W CF (Recently removed the 50/50 bulb to spur the growth in my java moss). But in my bigger tank, I have a combo of both. :)
 
The lights towards the lower end of the recommended range will make your plants look really good while the ones on the upper end will really make you fish look good. This is why a lot of people chose to mix bulbs.
 
Lonewolfblue said:
You could go with a single fixture with a 65W CF 50/50 bulb. That will get you close to 2w/g without going over.
Click to expand...

This option sounds good. What is a 50/50 bulb? Are they widely available at the LFS?
 
The lfs here doesn't carry any 65W bulbs. The 50/50 bulb is half regular bulb and half actinic. You can order them online. But check with the lfs. If they don't carry them, they might be able to order for you as well.
 
Not that I know of. Some say it can help ward off some algaes, but I really don't know if that's true or not. Hasn't affected anything in my tank, all stays the same with the actinics on or off.
 
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