# Help me with my low tech tank



## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Im setting up a 29 gallon low tech tank (no CO2). 

As of right now I'll be running a Top Fin 30 HOB filter. 

The light will be the standard hood which recommends a 20W max bulb. The Bulb in the fixture is a Power-Glo 24" 20W bulb. 

Substrate is pretty small pea gravel (smaller than what is sold at home improvement stores) this where I'm open to some suggestions about possibly mixing something plant friendly to it (I was thinking maybe Eco-Complete)

My water is in the soft to very soft range (using dip strips). And my pH slightly acidic around 6.8. I don't want anything that will change my water conditions.

What I'm wanting is a short lawn of some sort towards the front with medium size plants in the middle and mixed in and taller plants at the rear. 

Please help me with some plant recommendations that will work with this setup and help me with that substrate question I mentioned. Thanks


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

You are actually below low-light with that light. In the lighting section hoppy has a post about the "par value" and one T-8 or T-12 is simply not going to cut it.

You can check your local petco for possible clearance Coralife fixtures at 30".

Another option might be something from lowe's/home depot if they have anything in that lenght.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yep, I run 2 of those on my low tech and it barely grows at all


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

That thread of hoppy's is way over my head and way more detailed than I want to get. I have a light fixture from my kitchen I replaced when we moved in I wonder if I could use it...It's not really intended to be a plug in fixture, although I could make it so. Watts per gallon is easier for me to comprehend, so what watts per gallon should I be shooting for? The tank is a 29 tall. Right now I guess I'd have about .68 watts per gallon.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

You could get by with 2 of the 24" 20w bulbs. I do.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

If I fix my lighting so that I have low to medium light what plant recommendations would you have for me to achieve the look I want with the setup I have? And Should I mix Eco-Complete with my pea-gravel or not?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

kamikazi said:


> What plant recommendations would you have for me? And Should I mix Eco-Complete with my pea-gravel or not?


Yes I would use Eco-Complete. It would probably use 2 bags. If not Eco-Complete, you could get laterite, topped with Scott's top soil, and topped with pool filter sand.

Plants would have to be mostly low light. I think wisteria and sags would grow okay. 

Crad do you have a link to the 29 gallon with the 2 T8 bulbs? 

I have a 29 gallon tank, 30in long, and use 3 T8 bulbs. I wish I had started with Solarmax T5NO dual light system. It would have been cheaper in the long run.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I think you'll be hard pressed to get a carpet going under your current light setup. Your light is so low that plants will grow extremely slowly. Dwarf sag and chain swords would be some of your best bets for foreground and midground plants at this light level.

If you can get a dual bulb T8 or T5NO fixture things will fill in much more quickly. I personally run a 2 bulb Coralife T5NO over my own 29gal low tech tank and am very happy with it.









I've got assorted Crypts (C. balansae and retrospiralis are the tall ones in the far left corner), needle leaf Java fern, Hygrophila corymbosa 'kompakt', Anubias nana 'petite,' and the carpet is Lilaeopsis mauritiana. Substrate is Flourite black, no CO2 or ferts at all.


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## M1STE2TEA (Aug 22, 2010)

lauraleellbp said:


>


thats fantastic for a low-tech planted tank.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I can't find T5NO anything. I found a Coralife T5HO that started at like 150 dollars. I found some fixtures with 24" 6400K that say that are T5. 

What does T5, T5NO, T5HO, T8 stand for/mean?

Also the cheaper I can do this the better, so if there is a way for me to use fixtures I already have I want to do that. I can't spend more than 40-50 dollars on a new lighting system.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I have a fixture that has 2, 20W 24" Daylight GE bulbs.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

kamikazi said:


> I can't find T5NO anything. I found a Coralife T5HO that started at like 150 dollars. I found some fixtures with 24" 6400K that say that are T5.
> 
> What does T5, T5NO, T5HO, T8 stand for/mean?


T5NO is normal output and T5HO is high output. The smaller the bulb the stronger the output is. T5 or T8 determines the circumference. On the bulb you will see F812W if it is a T8 and puts out 12 watts.

Have you tried Big Als? Pet Blvd has Solarmax light system that is good and cheap too. Then you could go to hydroponics store and get a T5HO single bulb and do what Hyzer did.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Alright so here is my current options for lighting till I manage to get a Duel T5NO fixture. 

Option 1 (Not ideal for plants way too low on light) - use standard single 20W 24"T8 Power Glo in the hood.

Option 2 - use duel T12 fixture with 2 20W 24" GE Daylight bulbs

Option 3 - use hood fixture with a clip on desklamp (or two) with a CFL (not sure what wattage I would need)

Option 4 - figure out a way to use both the hood fixture with the T8 20W Power Glo and the duel T-12 fixture with the 2 20W 24" GE daylight bulbs

Hopefully I can get a duel T5NO, but the wifes birth day and our anniversary are coming up so extra money goes towards those things first :icon_wink
Again this is with a 29 gallon tank without CO2, I did pick up a bag of Caribsea FloraMax (says its mineralized) to mix with my pea gravel.

Which option would you all recommend?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I think you could start off with any of those- most "low light" plants would live, just not grow much. I"d probably stay away from stem plants till you can upgrade, but Anubias, Crypts, Java ferns, mosses should all do OK.


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## keithy (Jun 8, 2010)

kamikazi said:


> I can't find T5NO anything. I found a Coralife T5HO that started at like 150 dollars. I found some fixtures with 24" 6400K that say that are T5.
> 
> What does T5, T5NO, T5HO, T8 stand for/mean?
> 
> Also the cheaper I can do this the better, so if there is a way for me to use fixtures I already have I want to do that. I can't spend more than 40-50 dollars on a new lighting system.


Typically, manufacture does not tell you that the light is T5NO. They simply state T5 on their packaging. But they do let you know in the case of T5HO. but if you compare the HO version and NO version, the wattage is slightly higher for the HO.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Info here show four T-8 bulbs put out about twice as much light as three T-12 bulbs, as measured by a light meter.

I have java fern in a 10 gallon tank with no light in front of a south window. Thus certain it will live with the lights you have.


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## evanluke (Jun 7, 2009)

Fantastic tank Laura Lee!

Is the substrate seeded with soil or anything else?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

No, that's just plain Flourite black. Not even any root tabs in that tank.


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## evanluke (Jun 7, 2009)

Wow...i'm speechless. I checked out your journal on TFH, quite a demonstration of patience and planning.

Remarkable!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks! My secret is- stick with low lighting and easy plants. This tank gets maintained at most once a month.


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

The problem is you guys are looking at watts instead of lumens :icon_conf

watts don't grow anything, they just show you how much electricity the bulb uses, lumens are the actual light thats being produced by the bulb that the plants will use to grow.

You can get by with high output T-8 bulbs/ballast. I have one 20w 24" 1470 lumen Life-Glo bulb for my 29 gallon tank and it puts out roughly *twice* the lumens of the *original 20w bulb* that came with the hood for the tank. I have anubia's, swords, wisteria, and java fern in the tank and they grow fine, especially the wisteria. 

Obviously more bulbs (and i'm working on getting it here myself) or a t5 fixture will grow them much faster. But you can get by with 1, preferably 2 of the highoutput T-8's bulbs. 

_Always try and find the lumen output of whatever bulbs/fixtures you're buying. roud: _

You can screw yourself if you just look at the watts because you can end up with half the lumens you could've had had you checked which bulbs you were buying. Many of them offer the same wattage but the lumen output varies drastically :angryfire 

Thats my 2 cents


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

HolyAngel said:


> The problem is you guys are looking at watts instead of lumens :icon_conf


Lumen is a rating weighted entirely towards human perception, so I have read. Tom Barr says it is Par that what the plants need. Par meter is expensive though.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah lumens aren't that much more helpful, either.

My advice is primarily based on knowledge of the fixtures most commonly available in the market right now.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Seems cheaper to just observe pictures of others' and pick what looks good to your eye.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

yep, I'll just look for excellent tanks like lauralee's and ask them what they use for lighting


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

kamikazi said:


> yep, I'll just look for excellent tanks like lauralee's and ask them what they use for lighting


Oh, that reminds me I forgot to show you Jacobs 20G using a SolarMax light. It has a better reflector than the Coralife.


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