Lighting Questions for small tank

[IceH2O]

I have a 6 gallon tank with a T5 15 watt bulb. I know that the wattage over a small tank doesn't break down the same as on a larger tank so I know I don't have 2.5 wpg. How would one figure the wattage? It being a T5 is comparable to a CF so that should up it a bit.

 

[Purrbox]

What's the length and width of the tank? With those dimensions we can plug them into Wizard~Of~Ozz's calculator and it will spit out the lighting levels.

 

[IceH2O]

The tank is a bow front and the measurements are

front 16 inches length
back 14 inches
sides are 7 3/4
height is about 12 inches

 

[Purrbox]

Lighting Levels - I used an average of the front and back measurements. Based on this it looks like your T5 should be providing a solid medium light for your plants.

 

[IceH2O]

Thanks...

I only have a couple of plants in there: African Fern, Mattograsse, and Bocapa Carolina

Am I looking at an algae breakout waiting to happen?

 

[Devilishturtles]

I split this into it's own topic so you can get some more indepth answers.

 

[Purrbox]

With medium light this may or may not be the case. There are a lot of variables and we would need to know more about your tank. A medium light tank can still be fairly low maintenance.

How long has the tank been set up with the current lighting?
How long are the lights on each day?
Do you inject CO2? If so what are your KH and pH?
Do you dose any ferts? If so what, how much, and how often?
What are your NO3 and PO4?
Any other details you think might be helpful.

 

[Tong]

Keep this in mind also, smaller bulbs produce fewer lumens per watt than larger bulbs do. I believe Wizzard~Of~Ozz produced his calculations on larger bulbs so you probably have a little less than medium light. It shouldn't matter too much as long as you aren't trying to grow high light plants with your settings.