# Too much light?



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

IMO it's right on the boarder. It will probably end up depending on how heavily you plant and what species you choose whether or not you'll need CO2. If you do, DIY would probably work just fine, though, and many people still consider using DIY CO2 to be "low tech."


----------



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Yes, it's too much. You're putting yourself dangerously close to having to battle algae constantly.


----------



## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

its over 3 watts per gallon...


----------



## carlos05 (Aug 8, 2006)

I had 65w on my 20 gallon and as long as you have CO2 running and ferts, it works out pretty good


----------



## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

^ But of course, that would no longer be "low tech," which was specifically the OP's question.

So the answer, OP, is yes, it's too much light to be low tech.


----------



## wayneside (Jun 17, 2008)

I got a coralife fixture that has low wattage on my 20gal and it has worked well for my plants...


----------



## Gilligan (Oct 1, 2007)

Thank you everybody for your responses. Maybe I'll go ahead and go for that Coralife T-5 dual light that I've seen recommended here and there on this forum for low tech aquariums. I currently have my 65w PC light over my 29 gallon aquarium, and am moving to a dorm, so would like to switch to just running my 20 gallon aquarium. The standard light I have on my 20 gallon tall at the moment is probably not sufficient. I'm planning on creating a planted aquarium as suggested by Diana Walstad.


----------



## DaveS (Mar 2, 2008)

If it comes down to a choice of using the light you have or going out and buying a new light, why not just use the one in question? Sure, it's high light but that isn't always a bad thing. You will need CO2 for sure, and with that kind of light I would always have two bottle going, with the mixtures being changed out in intervals of 10 days or so. If you bounce your CO2 levels with that kind of light you are begging for BBA. What is the wattage of the T5 fixture you are looking at (just out of curiosity)? I agree that it probably isn't "low tech" anymore, but I would argue at least half the tanks posted in this sub forum are stretching the true meaning of low tech anyhow. 

Dave


----------



## Gilligan (Oct 1, 2007)

*Maybe a mid-tech tank?*

I guess that it's not the end of the world if I go mid-tech. I'd prefer not to buy a new light fixture, so I'm thinking that I'll go with the 30" PC strip I have now over my 20 gallon tall even though I'll have 3" of the light sticking off the end of the aquarium on both sides. I may just wait until I get in the dorm and get settled down a bit before I decide on how exactly I'm going to set up this aquarium so I'll know how much time and money I'll have to play with it. 

I was wanting to go low-tech for less maintenence, but I may just go with med-tech again like I have now with my 29 gallon aquarium. Flourite substrate with 65w PC light and two DIY CO2 bottles. I would like to have a heavy plant load with a moderate fish load. What attracted me the most toward low-tech was the low maintenence. Having to only change the water every 6 months or so as stated in Diana Walstad's book was a very attractive idea for me, especially because I will be staying in a dorm. EI and changing 50% of the water every week might be quite the trick in a dorm. 

The light fixture that I was looking at was the Coralife Dual T-5 strip light with 14w each bulb. One bulb is Colormax Full Spectrum and the other 6700k.


----------



## erthlng (Feb 8, 2008)

I'm running 3wpg on a natural "low tech" tank, but the light is cut back a great deal by using floaters. They love the intense light on the surface and do wonderful things in return like keeping the algae in check by sucking up excess nutrients and giving a place for the cherry shrimp and the guppy fry to hide and they look great. You can also ad skylights on the surface to keep the floaters at bay and let more light in.



















These shots are from the base of the tank looking up towards the top. The skylights are made of bubble wrap cut to the size of a DVD. I've been using them for about a month now and they have been working great. they are well hidden by the floaters when you are looking into the tank from a normal viewing angle. 

The higher lighting with the floaters gives me more latitude for a higher bio-load and I can make adjustments as needed.

I would stick with the higher wpg and just ad floaters to your tank.










Phil


----------



## DaveS (Mar 2, 2008)

Phil,

That is a darned nice looking tank.

Dave


----------



## BradH (May 15, 2008)

I like the bubble wrap idea. Nice.


----------



## erthlng (Feb 8, 2008)

DaveS,

Thanks. It's been a really enjoyable journey. Figuring out how to do the lighting in a big "El Natural" like this has taken quite a bit of experimentation. I can't emphasize enough how much the floaters have helped. I started out using just Duckweed, then went to Salvinia now I'm using mostly Red Root floaters with just a touch of Duckweed and Salvinia.
----

BradH,

Thanks.
It's cheap, does not really cost anything, and it works nicely.


----------



## Gilligan (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks Phil for the input. Very cool idea! I will definitely consider skylights and lots of floating plants in this perspective aquarium. Maybe I'll do this and follow Diana Walstad's natural planted aquarium advice. You're tank is very inspiring by the way.


----------



## erthlng (Feb 8, 2008)

Gilligan,

Thanks...

Ms Walstad's book is a must read for anyone doing a natural tank . My tank would not be here if it was not for that book :thumbsup:

Phil


----------



## Ikan (Jul 31, 2008)

Hi guys i'm new here. I'm using natural sunlight. No extra cost. All you need to watch out for is the aquarium fish load and feed live food. I keep algae at bay with cherry shrimp, amano shrimp, oto and sae. Its been nearly 2 months after i tear it down and the plant is growing fast. I've been using natural sunlight for nearly 7 months now. I had lost count of the cherry shrimp during that period. Visit my profile:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/yourtanks.php?do=viewuser&id=17663


----------



## PooN (Jul 17, 2008)

light atached


----------

