couch.jeff
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I just set up a 29 Gallon FW tank, with tetras and a betta and eventually some otos, corys, and more tetras. I hate the look of artificial plants and decor (except for my red/black gravel combo) and want a very natural look with real plants, and eventually some real Sumatran Driftwood (once I can find a decently priced US source.) I work at a major chain pet store, and consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about the basics, but lighting has me stumped. I have a few friends and coworkers that insist planting a tank is dumb and is doomed to fail, and I REALLY want to make this work.
The tank came with a regular flourescent hood with a two foot 17W All-Glass Aquarium Rapid-Start bulb, and I'm assuming it's safe to say that's not enough for a decently planted tank. Ideally I'd like to just replace the bulb with a higher wattage and more appropriate spectrum, but have no idea of how to realistically go about getting it set up right.
I'm hoping the massive amount of experienced people here may be able to set me straight on these basics! I tried to look all this up myself, but got lost and gave up after not knowing about the T# and acronyms and pin connection types... etc. I think I have the color temp/wattage info down, but how to get that in a usable bulb is where I fail miserably. I'll stop my lost and confused rambling now, and see if anyone here can accept the challenge of explaining it to me.
EDIT
So upon more searching on my store's website, it seems the only common wattage for the 24 inch length is 20W. Which means I would need three separate lights for a med light tank. I guess that's the most reasonably priced solution, but something simpler would be nice.
The tank came with a regular flourescent hood with a two foot 17W All-Glass Aquarium Rapid-Start bulb, and I'm assuming it's safe to say that's not enough for a decently planted tank. Ideally I'd like to just replace the bulb with a higher wattage and more appropriate spectrum, but have no idea of how to realistically go about getting it set up right.
I'm hoping the massive amount of experienced people here may be able to set me straight on these basics! I tried to look all this up myself, but got lost and gave up after not knowing about the T# and acronyms and pin connection types... etc. I think I have the color temp/wattage info down, but how to get that in a usable bulb is where I fail miserably. I'll stop my lost and confused rambling now, and see if anyone here can accept the challenge of explaining it to me.
EDIT
So upon more searching on my store's website, it seems the only common wattage for the 24 inch length is 20W. Which means I would need three separate lights for a med light tank. I guess that's the most reasonably priced solution, but something simpler would be nice.
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