is a 15watt light enough for a 2ft tank??

[lilbenchy9192]

as above really ive got a 1.5ft 15w t8 bulb lighting kit in my 2 ft tank. is this enough bearing in mind i have only really plants?? such as cabomba (however u spell it) and Amazon sword?

thanks u

 

[BBradbury]

Your Lighting Question

Good morning lil...

If you've got a tank between 10 and 25 gallons of volume and keep low light plants, your lighting will be fine.

Dose a little fertilizer once or twice a week and your plants will do nicely.

B

 

[Retired_AF]

Good morning lil...

If you've got a tank between 10 and 25 gallons of volume and keep low light plants, your lighting will be fine.

Dose a little fertilizer once or twice a week and your plants will do nicely.

B

... The amount of lighting needed will depend on the light requirements of your plants. For a low light plant this would probably be ok, but for somthing needing medium or high light it would not. Research your plants needs and compare to your equipment. Here are a couple of links with some pretty good info.

Live aquarium plants, watergardens, and discount aquarium supplies.

Aquarium Plants (This one has different plants separated by category)




Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[lilbenchy9192]

i know that cabomba is a high light plant so i think im gonna need to upgrade it realy it seams to go rather brown constantly.

 

[Retired_AF]

i know that cabomba is a high light plant so i think im gonna need to upgrade it realy it seams to go rather brown constantly.

I'm afraid so... the cabomba is a medium-to-high light plant and the swords are medium light plants. Unfortunately lighting can be expensive, but you can postpone the expense by looking into alternatives like buying fluorescent lights at a local home supply store like Lowes or Home Depot. Your WalMart may also have some available.

What you are looking for is something in the 2-3 watts per gallon range for the medium light plants. You can get bulbs at the home supply store that will encourage plant growth for a lot less than your lfs will sell them.

Good luck!

 

[o.jonathan.o]

i know that cabomba is a high light plant so i think im gonna need to upgrade it realy it seams to go rather brown constantly.

Well it all depends. What are your tank dimensions

 

[o.jonathan.o]

I only have 1watt per gallon with high light plants and co2 and they are perfect

 

[lilbenchy9192]

its a 2ft long tank by 1.5ft tall and 1ft wide

ive currently got 15watt aquarium t8 light

and t4 kitchen unit light under the hood.

the tank is quite heavily planted though, and im trying to avoid co2

this is the tank

that pic was acutaly taken just after i cut it all back cus it was to tall and the front plant was dying so ive cut it back in an attempt to make it grow again

 

[o.jonathan.o]

The front right plant in pic isn't aquatic and the lighting looks good to me here is my full.tank shot

 

[mfdrookie516]

watts per gallon is irrelevant. you have some non aquatic plants in there that should be removed. I highly doubt that lighting will sustain much more than java moss/fern, anubias, and anacharis long term.

 

[lilbenchy9192]

how do you know its not aquatic??? i bought it from an aquatic centre along with my other plants

 

[mfdrookie516]

that 'white ribbon' plant is not aquatic. They are often sold as aquatic, but they'll rot and foul your tank if you leave them in a tank submerged. They'll only grow/live emersed.

 

[Retired_AF]

The front right plant in pic isn't aquatic and the lighting looks good to me here is my full.tank shot

about the plants. I bought the same plants after the gal at the lfs told me they were for aquariums. Those plants definately arent supposed to be immersed. I experienced exactly what mfd said above. The best thing you can do for them is put them in a pot and set them on the windowsill. Quickly.

I will disagree with the comment that watts are irrelevant. You can see for yourself what is happening with your plants. Search the threads and you will find the consensus.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Who said watts are irrelavent? I said watts per gallon is irrelavent, and it is. 2wpg of T5HO is not the same as 2wpg of MH is not the same as 2wpg of CFL is not the same as 2wpg of PC is not the same as 2wpg of T8 is not the same as 2wpg of LED. Now... how is WPG relevant? I can assure you, it's not.

 

[ilostnemo]

gotta agree with mf on this one. it is irrelavent.

 

[lilbenchy9192]

Who said watts are irrelavent? I said watts per gallon is irrelavent, and it is. 2wpg of T5HO is not the same as 2wpg of MH is not the same as 2wpg of CFL is not the same as 2wpg of PC is not the same as 2wpg of T8 is not the same as 2wpg of LED. Now... how is WPG relevant? I can assure you, it's not.

woooooow nice little rant there its ok let it all out

thanks for the advice though the plant is now out. (tank looks naked)

 

[ilostnemo]

He's just speaking the truth. Id prefer 2watts led over pretty much every other light

 

[lilbenchy9192]

He's just speaking the truth. Id prefer 2watts led over pretty much every other light

is led much use in an aquarium, sorry i dont mean to sound funny im new to this all and i generaly dont know, but i read some were that led doesnt give off the same stuff as florescent lights,

aparently theres a diffrence between florecent tubes and grolex lighting for example

 

[ilostnemo]

Some led systems just suck lol others will grow high light demanding plants/coral. They are costly to buy though

 

[lilbenchy9192]

so the running costs are probably miss wayed by the cost of the light initialy