# Advice on 10g



## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

18,000K is way too high. 5,000K is more appropriate. I think a cheap Finnex clip on light may work for this tank. I'm sure others have better suggestions. Even a simple 13w spiral CFL in a dome shop light would work well.


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## vern76 (Jan 25, 2016)

Ok, I have the bulb that came with the hood, which is also a 15W T8 but only 5000K, so I can put that back in. I thought I needed higher light for some of the plants so I upgraded the bulb. Lighting confuses the heck out of me! So do you think that is my only issue? Should I start dosing with Flourish also, or wait until cycle is complete as I had planned?


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

I think you're going to need significantly more light than a 15 W but I'd be interested if a stringray LED or comparable worked. I wonder if floating plants would survive the goldfish, but I guess that's not what you want. I think that if you want a chance at a flourishing planted tank, the goldfish have to go - then you can start dealing with issues in a tank that small (I have one too) and start reading and gaining knowledge.

Insist on 6500K, although It's not always available.


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

I have a satellite planted plus, i have it dimmed a bit. No co2 or ferts. Plants is xmas moss, cabomba, wisteria and lots of floaters (frogbit dwl rrf) I picked this light over the stingray because i could dim it.


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## skyjacker07 (Dec 30, 2015)

The finnex 24/7 20" fits 10 gallon, I have one just installed today, so settings are still being messed with.


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## vern76 (Jan 25, 2016)

Django I have no goldfish. I only have one betta, and he is not in the tank yet since it's still cycling. 

I have been back & forth with lights & heaters, and I have read A LOT. The problem is that everyone has different opinions. Not doing a clip-on LED, since I bought the hood. The problem with LED's is that they don't always tell you how much light it's putting out. I had decided to upgrade the bulb to Aqua-glo since someone told me it's the Kelvins that matter, not the watts. I figured the more, the better. This 10g is my practice tank before I set up the 55g I got for Christmas...


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## dpod (Sep 16, 2014)

vern76 said:


> I had decided to upgrade the bulb to Aqua-glo since someone told me it's the Kelvins that matter, not the watts.


Whomever told you that was right, but they didn't give you the full story. Neither the light's power consumption (watts) nor temperature (kelvins) alone really tells you how effective the light will be at growing plants. The wattage tells you how much energy the light uses, and since this is roughly proportional to the amount of light the bulb creates you get the old 3W/gallon shorthand. Using the common analogy on the site, more light is like pushing the gas pedal harder on your car. It encourages your plants to grow faster, but it can also lead to algae blooms.

The Kelvin rating tells you where the dominant wavelength of light falls, so higher numbers indicate light that's more blue (shorter wavelength, higher frequency) and lower values correspond to light that's more red. Your bulb has an incredibly high temp and will look really blue. It's probably outputting most of its light at wavelengths of light that aren't helpful for photosynthesis and won't display your plants properly. That's why mid-range bulb temps are best: they look good and help things grow well. Finnex stingray lights are great because they're cheap and have both white LEDs (full spectrum, makes your tank pretty) as well as red and blue LEDs that help with photosynthesis. 

Look up PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) as a measurement for how much usable light is produced. There's some great charts on the site that tell you how powerful different LED lights are at various heights and angles. Other measurements, including watts, kelvins, and lumens, won't tell you the whole story on their own.


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## vern76 (Jan 25, 2016)

Thanks so much, dpod! That helps a lot. Looked up the Stingrays on Amazon & it looks like I'll be able to use it with my hood (it's a standard hood w/light that I bought as a stand-alone). Is that correct?


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## dpod (Sep 16, 2014)

Yeah, they should be fine. You could also buy a better fluorescent tube if you want to use the hood you already bought.


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## Leeatl (Aug 8, 2015)

I have a 10 gal quarantine/fry/ and plant grow out tank that I built a canopy for . I put in 2 18 inch t8 fixtures . I use 1 Aqueon plant bulb and 1 regular 6500k bulb . I dose liquid ferts and Excel for carbon . Plants grow great and no algae . I agree that you need to go lower on k value . One thing I can add is that all the info you can find is a good baseline starting point , but each tank is different and it just takes time and patience to find what works for any individual tank . I will say that even though I have been keeping fish for over 30 years and have 3 tanks going now , I am in no way an expert and am always learning .


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## vern76 (Jan 25, 2016)

I have to stick with 15W though, right? Since that is what my fixture came with? It doesn't say anything about watts anywhere on the fixture or in the instructions, but I'm assuming since it came with 15W that that's the max? I found a 15W 6500K, and also looked at an 18W 12000K. Also just thinking about sticking with the low light plants as another option...


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## Blacktetra (Mar 19, 2015)

No one else seems to be addressing water quality concerns, so I will.
It's possible that some of the melting your plants have experienced is due to your water quality.
I assume you're using tap water? If so it would be good to know what the hardness is.
I once used well water that was so hard it killed the plants I put in there.
Do you have particularly hard water? And do you know if your ph is relatively normal?
Lighting is very important, but you also need good water.
You're getting good lighting advice, and it already looks like you have a good substrate and fertilizers, so I'm not concerned about those unless you overdosed.
That would be possible if your root tabs weren't buried very deeply. It doesnt' look like you have over an inch of material in the bottom of that tank. Is that the case? It may be a bit too thin to keep the root tabs from leaching into your water, which likely isn't a huge issue but can encourage algae later.


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## vern76 (Jan 25, 2016)

Yes, I use conditioned (Prime) tap water. I believe that my water is hard-ish. The pH of my tanks is always 8.0 (I've had a couple of 3g betta tanks). 

I've got a whole bag of Eco-complete (23 lbs?) in there, and I've got it on a slant- one side looks to be about 2 1/2 in deep, slanting down to about 1 1/2 in deep on the other side. I pushed the root tabs I guess about an inch down, I think, per the instructions.


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## Blacktetra (Mar 19, 2015)

Sounds to me like water quality isn't the problem then. Eco complete is what your using to cycle, so my only guess on why a hardy plant like a crypt would melt is that your light wasn't helping or possibly that your ammonia or nitrite got so very high they were toxic. Finish the cycle and adjust lighting as people have said, and if you have the cash order a few more crypts and try them out. Some melt on them at first is normal but they should grow new leaves adjusted for your parameters. If they die again then you have a real mystery.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

I would add a small powerhead filter, it can literally be the smallest one you can find.
Bad circulation is the cause of many problems.
I think you actually have the basis for a very nice tank there.

I would start with a background of some kind. that makes a lot of difference.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

If they grow a lot and produce daughter plants, you know that the lights are sufficient and the ferts are enough. A lot of tropical aquatic plants like it a little warm, I'll guess 76-78 degrees F. I'm doing 1/4 IE and MGOCPM potting mix. I'm satisfied with the progress. The lights are pretty bright, though, although I have them suspended above the tank in Brooder reflectors - 2x 10W CFLs.

I'm sorry you're having a problem. A lot of this is experience and adjusting one thing at a time.


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## vern76 (Jan 25, 2016)

Thanks everybody. I just ordered a Life-glo bulb 6700K, and will stick with low-medium light plants. My nitrites dropped to zero today, so I'm so excited! I just had to tell someone who would care


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