25G Aqueon starter w/ T5 on sale at Petsmart.

[germanyt]

25 Gallon Fish Tank » Aqueon 25 Gallon Premium Aquarium Kit | PetSmart

I'm can't see a scenario in which I pass this up. It's 24" long which exactly fits on the endtable I currently use for my 10 gallon. I'm becoming a planted addict and would love to move my grass and other plants into a tank I could also put cooler fish in.


Gotta talk to the wife first. She's gonna blow a gasket.

[germanyt]

Wife just gave the OK.

[DavidAl]

The PAR rating on those Coralife lights won't be enough to maintain carpet-type plants, nor would it be enough for moderate light plants.

David

[germanyt]

Originally Posted by DavidAl

The PAR rating on those Coralife lights won't be enough to maintain carpet-type plants, nor would it be enough for moderate light plants.

David

Where are you getting the info on this particular light fixture? Forgive me if I doubt that info. I currently have a T8 with a 6500K non HO bulb and my plants grow like weeds. I have to assume that a T5 with 3 times the power and twice as many bulbs would function better.

[germanyt]

So I had to go deep into the internet and back again (you don't wanna know what's in the deep web) to find some more info on this light. Neither Aqueon's nor Coralife's websites offer this information. The light that comes with this tank is a T5 dual but not an HO. It is however a 28 watt and the bulb I have in my T5 is a 15 watt. So I'd be going from a single 15 watt T8 6500K bulb to a 28 watt T5 6700K and a 28 watt T5 colormax (which I can replace with a 6700 if need be). So if I'm not mistaken I'm basically quadrupling my output and giving myself more room for plants and bigger cooler fish. Correct? Help me out here folks. I don't want to run out and buy this tank when my wife gets home if it's not what I'm expecting.

Freshwater Aqualight T5 Dual Fluorescent Light - 48 in.

[DavidAl]

Hi Germany,

Sorry for the late response. Your 25g is about 20" high. Couple that with only 28-watts of light, total, and what you're getting is a little over 1-watt per gallon. The lighting in that system is only 14-watts x2, which is 28-watts, not 48-watts as I assume you are thinking. Carpet plants and plants that require moderate to high lighting will not do well. I used to have a 30" 36-watt Coralife fixture and it was okay with plants that normally do well in low light conditions, but that was it, unfortunately.

Did you already purchase the tank?

David

[germanyt]

Originally Posted by DavidAl

Hi Germany,

Sorry for the late response. Your 25g is about 20" high. Couple that with only 28-watts of light, total, and what you're getting is a little over 1-watt per gallon. The lighting in that system is only 14-watts x2, which is 28-watts, not 48-watts as I assume you are thinking. Carpet plants and plants that require moderate to high lighting will not do well. I used to have a 30" 36-watt Coralife fixture and it was okay with plants that normally do well in low light conditions, but that was it, unfortunately.

Did you already purchase the tank?

David

No I held off because the sale price is only like a 14 dollar savings over regular. I thought it'd be worth finding a better tank/light than jumping to save just a few dollars.

[azmodan]

Planted tanks! So addicting. One thing I'd highly recommend is avoiding all of those cheap kits -- none will come with the sort of lights you'll want as you learn more about light requirements for particular plants. It's worth it to just buy the tank separately and then spend a little extra dough on a T5HO or LED system once you've researched them out a bit.

[germanyt]

Originally Posted by azmodan

Planted tanks! So addicting. One thing I'd highly recommend is avoiding all of those cheap kits -- none will come with the sort of lights you'll want as you learn more about light requirements for particular plants. It's worth it to just buy the tank separately and then spend a little extra dough on a T5HO or LED system once you've researched them out a bit.

I think that's the route I'll go. I'm gonna think about the tank I want first. Do they make 30 longs? I want something that stands about 15 or 16 inches tall and is 3-4 feet long. Once I find the tank I intend to use I'll buy an HOT5 with probably 4 bulbs to fit it. I also want a tank with no black trim. I may have to go with a custom acrylic to get what I want. I want to do a java moss tree and grass carpet like the aquascape champ, Pinheiro Manso.

Aquascape of the Month: September 2008 "Pinheiro Manso" | AquaScaping World Forum


He doesn't list what tank he uses but I assume it's in the 25-30 gallon range.

[azmodan]

There's a 30 long (36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 16 3/4) and also a 40 gal breeder. Another really unique and popular tank with planted tanks worth checking out is Mr. Aqua's rimless 12 gallon long. It has pretty cool dimensions: 35.4 x 8.3 x 9.4.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Mr._Aqua_...AZ1123-vi.html

Short tanks have a harder time with treescapes is the only thing.

[germanyt]

Originally Posted by azmodan

There's a 30 long (36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 16 3/4) and also a 40 gal breeder. Another really unique and popular tank with planted tanks worth checking out is Mr. Aqua's rimless 12 gallon long. It has pretty cool dimensions: 35.4 x 8.3 x 9.4.

Mr. Aqua Rectangle Frameless Glass Aquarium Tank

Short tanks have a harder time with treescapes is the only thing.

This might be perfect in 33.6.

[Old Scales]

The 40 breeder makes an awesome footprint for planted tank. THe 18" depth gives lots of room for aqua scaping and the 16" height makes it a little cheaper to get med/high lighting. Plus the surface area actually lets you have almost as many fish as a 55g. OS.

[germanyt]

Originally Posted by Old Scales

The 40 breeder makes an awesome footprint for planted tank. THe 18" depth gives lots of room for aqua scaping and the 16" height makes it a little cheaper to get med/high lighting. Plus the surface area actually lets you have almost as many fish as a 55g. OS.

Do you have a link to the 40?

[Old Scales]

Go to Petsmart.com or Petco.com and look them up in their aquariums. The 40B is a pretty standard size. A dual T5HO or one of the higher Finnex LED's would be a great light on one of these. I noticed you're in Le' Rouge. Spent some great times down in New Iberia. Got some good friends that live there. Miss those mudbugs! OS.