Cheap/Effective Lighting for 10 gal Planted?? (So confused...)

[janky]

I've been reading up a lot lately on planted tanks and the light requirements but I have to be honest I'm pretty lost.
Sorry if any of these are dumb questions.

I want to set up a fairly heavily planted 10 g with some carpeting (moss? Baby tears?), a couple "tall" plants on the sides (swords?), and some bushier plants (crypts?) throughout the middle. Open to suggestions here..

I've seen a lot of great tanks on here, but I still don't get what I need for lights.
I have a standard hood with an aqueon T8 bulb in it now, I'm fairly confident it's not a plant spectrum bulb (red/blues) of any sort.

I think T5 HO would be way too expensive/overkill for a 10 g.

The sticky recommends "PC" bulbs, but I'm not sure what those are... I'm guessing I'd need a new ballast/hood for those?

I've seen some people using bulbs from Lowe's/Home depot and some using fancy LED's that auto switch from plant spectrum to moonlight on timers.

I'm just so lost here... what to do??!?

If I can piece together stuff from craigslist/amazon/home depot that'd be great because I'm pretty cheap and don't want to spend a fortune on lighting!

What would you guys recommend?

 

[jetajockey]

CFL's are the way to go if you are looking for cheap and effective. Get some bulbs in the daylight/full spectrum range.

 

[janky]

CFL's are the way to go if you are looking for cheap and effective. Get some bulbs in the daylight/full spectrum range.

And those will fit the ballast I already have right? I just need something that will give me 2-3 watt per gallon? so a 20+ watt CFL in the daylight range will be enough for most plants?

If that's all I need then I'm very excited because those bulbs are like $6 at home depot

 

[jetajockey]

If you have a screw-in fixture yes. Forget about WPG.

It doesn't even need to be a 20w cfl, most people use the 10-15w range bulbs. They are the same kind that people put in their household fixtures, just make sure to get the right type of light, you don't want soft white or anything like that, daylight/fullspectrum/6500k are all things to look for.

 

[janky]

If you have a screw-in fixture yes. Forget about WPG.

It doesn't even need to be a 20w cfl, most people use the 10-15w range bulbs. They are the same kind that people put in their household fixtures, just make sure to get the right type of light, you don't want soft white or anything like that, daylight/fullspectrum/6500k are all things to look for.

I have this bulb as a spare laying around:

FreshMarine.com - AQUA-GLO Fluorescent Bulbs - Hagen AQUA-GLO Fluorescent Bulbs - Buy Aqua Glo Bulbs Now and Save!

Aqua-Glo T5 8-watt 18000K


Would that be good enough? 8 watt seems pretty weak, but if I could use that bulb in conjunction with DIY CO2 and Flourish liquid fert would I still be able to grow a good range of plants in a 10 g?

 

[blert]

Can't use the screw in type with that T8 fixture. Try getting a new T8 bulb, full spectrum, at about 6700k. I'll tell ya what, I have a single T8 bulb (32watt, full spectrum, 8000k) on my 75 gallon tank and even the Dwarf Sag is growing and sending off shoots. I am quite surprised at this as everything is growing fast and it is well below what most people would consider low lighting.

 

[aqua_chem]

People routinely underestimate T8s, but also overestimate the light requirement of healthy plants.

You seem to want to get quite a bit of light in your tank. This unfortunately means 1) you're going to need CO2 and 2) it's almost never budget friendly. There is a myriad of plants that will do fine in a 10g under just a T8 if their other needs are fully met.

 

[Eleven13]

I have the same tank as you, and I replaced the stock bulb with an 'ultra sun' 15 watt 6500k bulb from Petco. I'm having a lot of success with low light plants, but I haven't found any reasonable way to increase my wpg beyond that either yet.

 

[jetajockey]

People routinely underestimate T8s, but also overestimate the light requirement of healthy plants.

You seem to want to get quite a bit of light in your tank. This unfortunately means 1) you're going to need CO2 and 2) it's almost never budget friendly. There is a myriad of plants that will do fine in a 10g under just a T8 if their other needs are fully met.

Too true on both points. Most of my tanks, 40b, 20h, etc are all run on dual t8 shop lights.

 

[Maxkolbe]

I have a ten gallon planted and got a clip on light and forty watt bulb from menards for 10 bucks, seems to be working great and it was really cheap!

 

[janky]

Did some browsing at LFS and home depot today. Home depot was ZERO help, and the LFS was very pricey (as expected). Ebay did not look too promising on the budget either.

I did talk to a couple people on craigslist that were selling coralife T5 HO 24" fixtures with bulbs for like $30-40..
I could always get one of those and suspend it over the tank.
I think that + CO2 would open my options to a ton of plants (or really healthy "easy" plants )

Right?


For the CO2 i've just been doing the 2 liter bottle w/ yeast and sugar setup (this was on my 55 gal). The only problem I have with the whole CO2 thing is that I can't just plop a big 'ol gas tank any place I feel like. The missus would crap bricks
That, and I haven't the slightest clue how to set one up properly.

If I have good light and DIY CO2 will I be ok with some entry level to mid-range plants?

 

[aqua_chem]

A diy co2 bottle (or two) will make a significantly bigger impact on a 10g than on a 55g. A paintball co2 setup can be had for $50-60, but in a 10g diy co2 will suffice.

At the risk of sounding prying, what kind of light level do you want and whats the price range your looking at.

 

[janky]

A diy co2 bottle (or two) will make a significantly bigger impact on a 10g than on a 55g. A paintball co2 setup can be had for $50-60, but in a 10g diy co2 will suffice.

At the risk of sounding prying, what kind of light level do you want and whats the price range your looking at.

Medium to high (because it would open me up to a lot of plant options)
tbh, I'm ok with medium. Nothing I really want in there requires super high light (not that I know of)

i'm leaning towards dwarf hairgrass for a carpet, moss around driftwood, and maybe something tall and bushy to go up the back around the sides of the wood.


My budget is pretty minimal. I'm a full time student, so when I spend cash on fish stuff it's never more than like 40-50 bucks. I'm a craigslist scavenger haha