Lighting changes

[Codefox]

Alright, I'm gonna do my first planted tank so I have a few questions I'm sure have been asked a million times before

First I'll just ask about lighting. Is 2 WPG enough? How do you decide when you need more? I currently have a 55 gal with a pair of AGA hoods on it. Could I simply remove the light fixtures and put a 48" in it's place?

It has glass inserts where the two fixtures sit now, so would it be better to get 2 24" fixtures instead to fit over those areas? And at 2 WPG am I going to need to worry about CO2? Thanks!

 

[greenmaji]

2wpg is fine for low to medium light requirement plants.. and a 48" fixture is cheaper then 2-24" fixtures.. but a glass hood would be better then the inserts that I think your talking about, is it a plastic hood?

 

[Codefox]

http://www.all-glass.com/products/hoods/index.html is the hood. I believe the window on it is glass. The rest of the hood is plastic, yes.

As to how much light the plants require...I have no idea how I'll know that. :|

 

[greenmaji]

1-1.5wpg is a good starting point for low light..

 

[Codefox]

Well, the supplied hoods are 19W each so do I add them up for 38 W total? I'm just gonna assume that' not enough for a 55 gal regardless

The plants I want are all Amazon river plants...would you know if those are generally low/med/high light?

 

[Jchillin]

38 watts isn't enough for low light...you need at least 55 watts, though a bit more won't hurt.

The amazon river plant varieties are limited, so I would suggest adding plants from other regions as well.

Check here under the low light plant menu for some ideas.

 

[Codefox]

Yeah, I've come to accept the fact I'll have to 'cheat' on the plants most likely.

Since it's low light and I won't need CO2, am I correct in assuming that it's a good thing to have surface agitation to bring in CO2 from the atmosphere? (ie - My biowheel)

 

[malkore]

If you're not injecting CO2, you'll basically always have the 3-4ppm of atmospheric CO2 in the tank as long as their is some surface agitation. Low light means the plants just won't need as much CO2.
So the biowheel is fine.

 

[greenmaji]

you can use plants that grow everywere and still technicly be correct.. like Java fern..

 

[Codefox]

Yeah, after thinking it over...given my inexperience with plants, I think it'll be best to not try and do somethign really complicated right. I'll sacrifice some 'realism' for a tank that looks presentable

 

[Hoovercat]

The AGA light strips fit the 55x2 retrofit kit from ahsupply.com perfectly.

 

[Codefox]

Since I have 2 hoods, wouldn't that give me 4 wpg? While I could go with a high light tank that way, would that be advisable for someone who has no idea what to do with plants?

 

[Codefox]

Oh, nevermind that...I see now. It's two reflectors. Cool, thanks!

 

[Hoovercat]

If you go that route and need any advice on the conversion let me know.

 

[Codefox]

I think that's how I'm going to do it...seems the most cost effective way and I can keep my current hoods