Lighting?

[Atlantis]

I have a very basic question about aquarium lighting.

I am currently using the fluorescent lighting fixture that came with my fish tank. It is just a standard fluorescent bulb fixture. The problem is the bulb is only 15 watts and I am moving to a planted aquarium. It is a 20 gallon tank, dimensions L24"XH17"XD12".

Should I just go to a higher wattage bulb for a replacement or change the fixture to a power compact fluorescent lighting system?

 

[loganj]

The problem is that you have an 18" fixture and 15 watts is all you're going to get from it. You can get a 24" NO (normal output) bulb that will deliver 20 watts but that isn't much of an improvement. The next step is a 55/65 watt PC...this will be the size you'll want for this tank as they are about 22" long. Are you going to dose C02 in this tank? You may find that you have to when you increase the lighting. What kind of filtration are you using? Anything that causes surface turbulence will cause your C02 levels to drop. Canister filters are best suited for this type tank. Or possibly one of the internal power filters although I don't like them much due to their small capacity.

 

[Atlantis]

Thanks loganj, I was getting a little confused with the lighting types. I am going to start off without CO2, but if the plants don't seem to be growing I will go out and buy a CO2 unit. I have an under gravel filter and an over the side of the tank box filter (is there a special name for that?).

 

[loganj]

I think you'll find that you need to get rid of the UGF if you're going to keep plants. The filter you're talking about is called a HOB (hang on back) power filter. I would suggest getting a book on planted tanks before you spend any more money. I have one that is a good starter book. It's the "Aquarium Plants Manual" by Ines Scheurmann. It's published by Barrons.
Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
1-800-645-3476

 

[Atlantis]

Does the UGF create too much of a current for the roots of the plants?

 

[justDIY]

I think the problem with UGF's are not that they create too much current, but they do not provide a good rooting medium for the plants to grow into

there is a lot of "info" (more like debate) on using a low-flow reverse ugf (water is pumped into gravel) to provide warm water for the roots and provide an increased supply of oxygenated water to the bacteria that grow in the gravel - try visiting google and searching for rfugf or rugf and planted tanks

 

[loganj]

Two reasons not to use a UGF with plants. 1) The flow of water down through the gravel causes the substrate to get impacted with mulm. This causes the roots to rot. 2) The surface turbulence generated by the uplift tubes or powerheads dissipates C02 out of the water depriving the plants. A low flow (very low flow) reverse setup as suggested by glmclell might work. You would need to use a pretty small PH and I think you'd need filters on the PH intakes to prevent mulm from building up under the filter plate. If I were doing it, I think I'd get rid of the UGF and try to run the HOB at a low enough flow to not disturb the water surface any more than necessary.

 

[Guest]

Have to agree with Logan here, ditch the UGF. Way more trouble than it's worht to set it up reverse-flow, which still may not work well.

As I get deeper into the planted tanks, I find, in my exp. the most important things are really good lighting, 3+ watts per gallon, Nutrient supplementation, and co2 supplementation.

Should I just go to a higher wattage bulb for a replacement or change the fixture to a power compact fluorescent lighting system?

I would highly reccomend upgrading to PC lighting! If you want a good planted tank this will get you off to a flying start. Start there, and check the threads around here on DIY co2, or the Hagen co2 unit. very affordable, and work quite well on smaller tanks, perfect for a 20. In regards to your HOB filter, all it really needs to do is create some current, so it doesnt have to be a large filter. The Plants do much of the biofiltration in a medium/heavily planted tank. Also, on many of the hob filters, you can modify the lip where the water returns to the tank, to minimalize co2 loss.

 

[Atlantis]

I did some hard thinking about what I want to do and decided that I am going to leave my 20g alone and turn it into an African Cichlid tank and go out and buy a 10g tank and turn it into a planted tank doing all of the stuff recommended here. Thanks everyone.

 

[loganj]

Looks like another victim of MTS (multiple tank syndrome). Seems to be contagious here.

 

[Atlantis]

Yes, I agree. Ever since I started reading this forum, I have started envisioning big things, and getting more involved with my fish tank.