Coleallensmom
Planted Tank Enthusiast
Went this weekend and bought a dual T5 light fixture to replace my single T8 fixture, so I'm ready to start planting my 37 gal.
I'm about a 40min drive from That Pet Place and had never been there before, so went to take a look at the selection there this morning. It was recommended by a few on the forums that I get a 24W T5 fixture and that I should try to get a 10,000K bulb. I was looking at getting the Nova Extreme 30" 24W fixture which comes with one 10,000K daylight T5 lamp and one pink plant growth lamp, but two of the guys who work in the lighting department insisted that they have a lot of costumer returns/issues with the Nova Extremes and that I should get the dual 24W fixture from AquaticLife instead. I pointed out the fact that the AL fixture doesn't come with the 10K bulb but rather comes with one plant lamp and one 6,000K Lamp, but both insisted that it would be plenty of light for my tank. (tank demensions= 30"x12.5"x22.5") The Aquatic life had dual on/off switches and hardware to connect multiple fixtures together should I wish to add more light in the future, so I ended up purchasing that fixture instead of the Nova. Hopefully I made the right decision! I have to say overall, I was very pleased with the store..HUGE slection and good prices. I bought a 500ml bottle of Seachems Flourish for $8.99..the same bottle sells for $15.99 at my LFS (Petsmart)!
Anyway, I'm working on setting the light up this afternoon and want to jump right in with some plants. Right now I have just two little javaferns and three swords. I was thinking of ordering a plant package from sweetaquatics.com.. Any suggestions?
I'm about a 40min drive from That Pet Place and had never been there before, so went to take a look at the selection there this morning. It was recommended by a few on the forums that I get a 24W T5 fixture and that I should try to get a 10,000K bulb. I was looking at getting the Nova Extreme 30" 24W fixture which comes with one 10,000K daylight T5 lamp and one pink plant growth lamp, but two of the guys who work in the lighting department insisted that they have a lot of costumer returns/issues with the Nova Extremes and that I should get the dual 24W fixture from AquaticLife instead. I pointed out the fact that the AL fixture doesn't come with the 10K bulb but rather comes with one plant lamp and one 6,000K Lamp, but both insisted that it would be plenty of light for my tank. (tank demensions= 30"x12.5"x22.5") The Aquatic life had dual on/off switches and hardware to connect multiple fixtures together should I wish to add more light in the future, so I ended up purchasing that fixture instead of the Nova. Hopefully I made the right decision! I have to say overall, I was very pleased with the store..HUGE slection and good prices. I bought a 500ml bottle of Seachems Flourish for $8.99..the same bottle sells for $15.99 at my LFS (Petsmart)!
Anyway, I'm working on setting the light up this afternoon and want to jump right in with some plants. Right now I have just two little javaferns and three swords. I was thinking of ordering a plant package from sweetaquatics.com.. Any suggestions?