Need some help

[KeSs]

I have a 30 gallon tall tank. It's 24" wide and i currently have a 18" marine glo light. The tank is also 24" tall. Is this good enough lighting for java moss & ambulia? Also, what other plants could I have?

 

[rich311k]

How many watts is the bulb? What color is it?

 

[rkilling1]

I have a 30 gallon tall tank. It's 24" wide and i currently have a 18" marine glo light. The tank is also 24" tall. Is this good enough lighting for java moss & ambulia? Also, what other plants could I have?

That is a actinic bulb. You will not be able to grow much with that type of bulb. .5WPG is really not enough to grow much (with a plant spectrum bulb). Java ferns and moss will grow, but very slowly.

 

[KeSs]

How many watts is the bulb? What color is it?

15 watts. It is blueish.



Would a power glo be any better? Or would I get similar results?

 

[rkilling1]

Any bulb that is not an actinic bulb would be better. You can purchase aquarium bulbs from home depot and lowes for a lot less money then those Hagen bulbs.

With that light, you are limited to very low light plants. Here is a list of plants that will do fine in low light (1 WPG), but may not do fine with your lighting. So take this list with a grain of salt.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=2

 

[rich311k]

It is not enough light light for growing much of anything.

If you want just lowlight plants the double tube fixture that allglass makes would do the trick. You could all so go with a PC fixture. It depends on how high a lighted tank you want and how much money you have to spend.

 

[JDogg]

you realy need to get about 30 watts or so of light on that tank to do much...

if that 18 inch bulb is a t8 it is 15 watts.. 2 of those in the 6500 to 10000 K range...

i think power glow are 6500 K so two of those would be good....

 

[JDogg]

you realy need to get about 30 watts or so of light on that tank to do much...

if that 18 inch bulb is a t8 it is 15 watts.. 2 of those in the 6500 to 10000 K range...

i think power glow are 6500 K so two of those would be good....

you might want to look into a fixture that would allow for 2 24" bulbs..those are 18 watts each

 

[rkilling1]

FWIW, my first planted tank had the same lighting as yours, a 28 gal tank with a 15 watt bulb. I grew Java ferns, Java moss, Lace Java ferns, and Anacharis quite well. They didn't grow fast, but they did grow.

 

[KeSs]

Even though you guys have said that my plants wouldnt grow (and I also was skeptical), I have sat here a watched my Ambulia's grow a half inch today (not joking). The ambulias were crooked when I got them on saturday and now they are gorwing up towards the light. I swapped out my marine glo light and put in a sun glo bulb. I am interested to see how the plant develops and if it works. The java fern seems to be turning a more vibrant green. I sure hope that the plants work out in this set-up so that I can save some money