# 20 gallon lighting



## Cboss (Aug 23, 2010)

Is it a 20 high or long? If long then the stock light should be sufficient unless you'll eventually want plants that require higher light than the ones you listed. If it's a 20g tall, then I would recommend dual T8/T5NO as I like to have multiple options for bulb color temperature, but a single T5HO would work as well.


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

Cboss said:


> Is it a 20 high or long? If long then the stock light should be sufficient unless you'll eventually want plants that require higher light than the ones you listed. If it's a 20g tall, then I would recommend dual T8/T5NO as I like to have multiple options for bulb color temperature, but a single T5HO would work as well.


it's a long, the top of the tank is approx. 24 inches.
the stock light is now almost 1.5 years old, and the bottom leaves of all my plants seem to want to die off. i hear a lot about colour, and kelvin and other things like that, can you send me a link or explain those items for me? I really need a new light (mine is way past the 6-8 months recommended) so what colour/manufacture/type would you recommend. ill post a photo of my tank tomorrow to show you how planted it is.


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

Here is a picture of my tank.

still not sure what type of lighting i'm going to get.
thinking of staying with a T8, but not sure what colour/type I should get, any help?


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## wastewater (Apr 5, 2010)

987456321 said:


> it's a long, the top of the tank is approx. 24 inches.


I think most 20 gallon longs are 30" long x 12" high. Most 20 gallon high tanks are 24" long x 16" high. The height/depth of your tank will also come into play (be a factor) in regards to light intensity. Dual t8's, dual t5No's, or a single t5Ho are all good choices for fixtures. Most of the daylight colored bulbs (6400-6700K) should be fine for growing plants.


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

24"X16"X12"
24 across (length), 16 top to bottom (height), 12 to the back (depth)
i meant to say long as in not tall, sorry

Also, what about LED lights, i heard they are good for plants.
any specific fixtures that are good?
any specific lights?
what lumens would i need for medium light?
links are appreciated


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

If you really want to change it up or be different, you can go with 2x 13W CFL bulbs, 6700k. That's what I use on my 20L (same tank as you). The bulbs are cheap, they come in packs of two for like $10 at Lowe's or HD. Each of the 8.5" domes are also around $10. I get a lot of good growth with this, and almost no algae to worry about. The only thing you would have to worry about is mounting the clamp lights.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

I meant 20H, not 20L


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

After calling all of my local LFS's i have decided i should get a double/dual T5 HO light with 5000K-6500K bulbs.

now i just need help deciding what fixtures and bulbs to get.
cheaper is better, but without sacrificing too much quality 
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/Zoo-Med-Aquasun-T5--HO-Light-Hood-24-2-x-24-Watt_p_4474.html
would that be a good light fixture for me?


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## gbose (Nov 21, 2010)

*Yes, but*

987,

it looks like a steal and more than enough for your tank.

My only concern -- which I share with you -- is it may be too much lighting, and you may wind up needing CO2...

Could one of our more experience aquarists weigh in?

GB


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

It comes to $63 with shipping.
i do have a dual bottle CO2 yeast sugar mix making about 1 bubbles every 1-3 seconds, but i have no way of knowing if it is actually working (changing the concentration of CO2 in my tank)
I am also thinking about building an LED light, if it won't cost too much, so i won't have to buy lights for the next 10-ish years  (or sooner, if i upgrade)
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/167623-20-gallon-cheap-led.html
that is my other thread.

im really confused at what i should do. But i need to do it soon (the stock light lighting my tank is older than a year.)

thanks for your help guys and gals, great forum you got going on here.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

Depending on the reflectors, i would say a dual T5HO would be quite a bit too much light. Might want to go with just a single with a good reflector, or two T5NO, or like the poster above did with two CFLs. More elegant looking fixtures can be had with CFLs as well, there are a million different type of pendant lights out there.


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

samamorgan said:


> Depending on the reflectors, i would say a dual T5HO would be quite a bit too much light. Might want to go with just a single with a good reflector, or two T5NO, or like the poster above did with two CFLs. More elegant looking fixtures can be had with CFLs as well, there are a million different type of pendant lights out there.


Any particular fixture you would recommend? And what is a pendant light lol, I'm new and still getting used to these new words 
Thanks


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## Al Slick (Jan 22, 2012)

You really just need one of the following:

A double bulb t8 fixture like the single bulb you have now...
Some 24 inch compact flourescant fixture would be fine.
a single t5ho fixture would be fine as well.

look for colors like 6500k and just make sure it's a 24" fixture. 

I think you're smart to not get lights that are too bright! 

Even a double bulb fixture would be a nice increase for you and would make your plants grow a little better down low.


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

I actually just purchased a single T5HO fixture with light for $45 (plus $10 shipping)
Hoppy recommended it to me.

thanks for all you help, now i just need to make a cheap moonlight to have my dream lighting set-up (medium- high light, with moonlights for night)
anyone have a good tutorial for that, or a list of things they bought (what LEDs, resistors, if you bought a "wall wart"...) to help me on my way?

thanks again.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

I just use my LED main lights as moonlighting, dim then down to the lowest possible setting, looks very natural. If you're going to go with moonlighting one thing i can recommend is staying away from blue. I don't get why all the manufacturers out there use blue for moonlights, moonlight isnt blue, it's a cool white color. The blue just looks so fake to me, not something i want when i spent many days on my aquarium trying to get it looking natural.

Oh and a pendant light is any fixture that suspends from the ceiling by a wire, chain, or metal bar and has a bulb at the end. Usually with a decorative shade. Google "pendant light" and a ton of stuff will come up. I think even those big lights you would see over a pool table at a bar would be considered a pendant light, albeit a huge one.


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## 987456321 (Feb 28, 2012)

samamorgan said:


> I just use my LED main lights as moonlighting, dim then down to the lowest possible setting, looks very natural. If you're going to go with moonlighting one thing i can recommend is staying away from blue. I don't get why all the manufacturers out there use blue for moonlights, moonlight isnt blue, it's a cool white color. The blue just looks so fake to me, not something i want when i spent many days on my aquarium trying to get it looking natural.
> 
> Oh and a pendant light is any fixture that suspends from the ceiling by a wire, chain, or metal bar and has a bulb at the end. Usually with a decorative shade. Google "pendant light" and a ton of stuff will come up. I think even those big lights you would see over a pool table at a bar would be considered a pendant light, albeit a huge one.


lots of information there, thanks.
i was going to get blue, maybe ill switch to a cool white lol, good thing i didn't buy them earlier...thinking about it now, i probably have some white LEDs hanging about....
now i just need to figure out how to make them light up lol


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## Al Slick (Jan 22, 2012)

A couple of white leds wired into a dc power supply with the proper specs would look great...

Okay so here's a weird thing.. I have a current USA Orbit fixture that originally had a couple of compact flourescents in it and some white moonlighting.. The white looked absolutely gorgeous, defintely better than blue!

What was so weird was this; I took it all apart one time and retrofitted a 175watt mogul based metal halide bulb and realized that the leds were wired directly to the 120V AC power from the lamp cord...

I have never found anything online that could handle that kind of voltage!! Nor have I found any literature so I really don't understand what was goin on there.


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