Future Planted Tank

[Idealconcepts]

Hello Everbodies,
I currently have a 130gal fw tank and running 2 Rena Filstar xp3 to filter the tank. I received the tank from my aunt and uncle, I added the 2 canister filters. I will be purchasing new lights for the tank because the ones they had are broken. I currently have 2 catfish, 2 medium size oscars, 3 small tin foil barbs, 2 small Jack D., 2 small Convicts, and 2 small green terrors, I plan on adding a algae eater in a week or so, and eventually a rainbow arrowana in about 2-3 months. I will be purchasing a new canopy top for the tank as a second barrier for the arrowana, to go along the glass currently covering the top of the tank. I was thinking of having a panted tank, after I have purchased all the residents of the fishtank and wanted to know what the general range of watts I will need to have a planted tank. I am asking because they have fairly cheap tube lights that sit on top of the galss at Petsmart for $49 each, they are rated 30 watts each for hight 36inch lights, so I will need to buy 2. That only totals 60watts, which is fine for just the fish, but not if I wanted to have a planted tank. The tank is about 22 inches from the top to the gravel. What is the range of watts I would need for a lightly planted tank, a moderately planted tank, and a heavily planted tank. I wanted to get an idea of how much wattage I would need before I decide on going with a planted tank in the future. Also will the I have problems with the type of fish I have and having live plants in the tank? Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

 

[Fruitbat]

Idealconcepts....

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but....

Yes...you'll have problems keeping a planted tank with the fish that you currently have. Tin Foil Barbs are notorious plant eaters. Your Jack Dempseys, Convicts, Green Terrors and Oscars will all likely re-arrange any careful planting that you do faster than you can re-plant what they tear up. Almost all of the substrate-spawning South American Cichlids (like the ones you have) will dig up your gravel whenever they get the 'urge'.

As for lighting....I have a tendency to keep my planted tank 'low tech' which means I'm not currently using any additional CO2 and a minimum of fertilizer. I've got a light level of approximately 2 watts per gallon. You're correct in assuming that 60 watts of light won't be enough for a 130 gallon tank if you want a lot of plants.

 

[djlen3]

It's true Ideal......practically all the fish you mention are incompatible, in one way or another with a planted tank.
There really is no point in your going out and spending money on more lighting for plants, as they don't stand a chance with your current fish population.
We're not trying to discourage you.....just trying to save you a lot of frustration and maybe some money as well.

Len

 

[madasafish]

130 Gallons would need at least 390W of light!! That's rather $$$...!!!

 

[Guest]

Depending on the dimensions of the tank it should require less than 390 watts. The WPG rule breaks down on larger tanks.

 

[Idealconcepts]

Thank you everyone for the information and advice, I really appreciate it. I believe I will just go with a non planted tank for the 130gal and purchase the lighting from Petsmart in order to save on cost. I might look into my 18gal tank as a planted tank, I'm haven't decided on what I want to do with this tank yet so its a possibility. Thanks again everybody for the comments.

 

[Allivymar]

Hey Rex? Why would the WPG break down in terms of less wpg in larger tanks? Is it the height? I'm not understanding.

 

[Guest]

The wpg rule doesn't work on small or large tanks. Take the standard 55 gallon tank. At 4 wpg you can grow just about anything you want. Then take a standard 120 gallon which is the same length and close to the same height but twice as wide. It doesn't take 440 watts to grow the same plants as it does in a 55. You can actually get by with around 3 wpg or so to grow the same plants. Also if you had two tanks that were the same number of gallons but one was twice as tall as the other it would take more light to grow ground covers for instance. This is where the WPG rule breaks down. And on large tanks it takes less light to grow the same plants as it does in small tanks. It's a matter of energy into the tank. Once you reach a certain point you are fine.

 

[Allivymar]

I kinda thought height was the main reason, but I'm still fuzzy on the energy levels being more in the larger tank, so less light needed. Do you mean more nutrients?

 

[Guest]

Not nutrients. Take my example of the 55 gallon and 120 gallon tank. The 55 gallon tank is 48x13x21 the 120 gallon tank is 48x24x25. There is a 4" difference in height but the 120 gallon tank is almost twice as wide. But the 120 gallon tank doesn't require twice the lighting as the 55 gallon tank to grow the same plants. In fact with the same 220 watts you would have over the 55 to grow high light plants you could grow many of the same plants in the 120 gallon tank. You might need to step up to 330 watts to grow very demanding plants but that would still only put you at 2.75 watts per gallon.

Let's look at the other end. I think we can all agree that in a 55 gallon tank it takes around 220 watts to grow many of the demanding plants. Take a 5.5 gallon tank. That 1/10 the water volume of a 55 gallon tank. But you can't grow the demanding plants with 22 watts of light. There is a minimum amount of light energy you need to grow these plants. It's not based on water volume even though that's what the wpg rule of thumb is based on. And for the most part that rule of thumb works well for tanks in the 20-~90 gallon range. But on small tanks and large tanks it breaks down. It also breaks down on tanks like a 20 long which is 30x12x12. That tank is very shallow but very wide and long compared to the height. The problem in lighting that tank is getting an even spread of light across the tank. Then look at the 30 breeder, 40 breeder and 50 gallon tanks which are 36x18x13, 36x18x17 and 36x18x19. Again the 30B is very long and wide for it's depth and requires some good reflectors and careful mounting to get adequate light spread. The 40B with 4" more height will allow the same lights to give more coverage. The 50 which is 6" deeper than the 30B will really allow the light to spread out and give better coverage. Taking the wpg rule the 30 would require 120 watts the 40 would require 160 watts and the 50 would require 200 watts to get to the magic 4 wpg. But due to the shallow depth of the 30 if you manage to get good coverage you can get by with 3 wpg. The same can really be said for the 40. But the 50 due to the height will require more light to grow the same plants. Now take it one more step. A 65 gallon tank that is 36x18x25, this tank due to the height is going to really require some good lighting. But will it require twice what the 30 gallon tank requires? I doubt it.