# Lighting and Filter Suggestion on 29G



## philly7 (Apr 15, 2011)

Hi,

I've got Marineland Deluxe Aquarium Kit 29 Gallon and will use Beaslbob build to grow plants. Could you please advise if I have to change or upgrade lighting on this tank? If yes, please suggest which one to go with (any brand suggestion)? 

Same issue with the filter? Change/Upgrade?

Thank you!


----------



## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Is it the LED kit I suggested to you? If so, then the light that's on there should be more than sufficient for beginner plants.

*edit* And the filter that comes with that kit is top-notch; don't replace it. The light and the filter are 75% of buying that kit, it would be foolish to get rid of them.


----------



## philly7 (Apr 15, 2011)

Scuff said:


> Is it the LED kit I suggested to you? If so, then the light that's on there should be more than sufficient for beginner plants.
> 
> *edit* And the filter that comes with that kit is top-notch; don't replace it. The light and the filter are 75% of buying that kit, it would be foolish to get rid of them.


It's a Deluxe Kit, I am waiting for shipment. As soon as I get it I'll let you know if there is a LED or just fluorescent. Thank you for your suggestion. 

P.S. I saw on forum that many people are suggesting to change LED light that is why I've asked to make sure that in case if it's LED it would be enough for plants.


----------



## rtbob (Jul 18, 2010)

If I remember correctly a beaselbob build does not require a filter at all.


----------



## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

LED light is clean, crisp, and typically the correct spectrum for growing basic plants. As for growing plants in a hardcore setup...the jury is still out.


----------



## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

philly7 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've got Marineland Deluxe Aquarium Kit 29 Gallon and will use Beaslbob build to grow plants. Could you please advise if I have to change or upgrade lighting on this tank? If yes, please suggest which one to go with (any brand suggestion)?


if it is LED I have no expertise or experience. I use 1-2 w/g of 6500k flourescent lighting.


> Same issue with the filter? Change/Upgrade?
> 
> Thank you!


I use no mechanical filtration. so I guess you just turn it off.

my .02


----------



## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Scuff,think it would grow my plants?Or would I still need a second fixture?I have four on there now,lol.


----------



## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

I've been meaning to contact Marineland and ask them exactly how suitable for plants their lights are, or at least what sort of intensity they're at. I know the simple stuff like water fern/moss, wisteria and water sprite all grow great under them, but you could grow that stuff under your bed, so it's not saying a whole lot. I do know that in growing situations with terrestrial plants (vegetables and the like), LED loses out to HIDs and T5's, so I can't think that it's any different with freshwater plants. LEDs shine in reef applications, but I'm not sure if people are applying them to planted aquariums with any real success.


----------



## philly7 (Apr 15, 2011)

Scuff said:


> I've been meaning to contact Marineland and ask them exactly how suitable for plants their lights are, or at least what sort of intensity they're at. I know the simple stuff like water fern/moss, wisteria and water sprite all grow great under them, but you could grow that stuff under your bed, so it's not saying a whole lot. I do know that in growing situations with terrestrial plants (vegetables and the like), LED loses out to HIDs and T5's, so I can't think that it's any different with freshwater plants. LEDs shine in reef applications, but I'm not sure if people are applying them to planted aquariums with any real success.


Thank you much for advice!


----------



## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

If you're looking at LEDs, then you're looking in the right place.. They can grow corals like no other and not need any other light sources. As for plants, people use the same types of other lights on them as they do on corals. So using a little reversal, you can make the easy assumption that since LEDs can grow coral, they can grow plants. You'll have to make sure that the LEDs are the high output variety, i.e. 1, 3, 5 watts with 1 and 3 watt versions being widely used. You can start off with 1/3 the amount of LED wattage as you would need with flourescent lights. Using the LED strips may work better because if you dont have enough lighting, just add another strip in there. I'll be getting some new LED lighting for my 55 gallon planted tank once i get some money for it. I have it on my 20 gallon reef right now and everything is growing (sps, lps, and softies in a mixed lightly populated tank), not a single coral is having any issues (outside of a brief water issue with the xenia). That's with less than 50 watts of LED lighting. Compare that with the 150-200 watts that i'd need with MH or FL lights. Proof enough? The only difference (outside of more of the LED lighting is output at the photosynthetic response wavelenths of plants and corals) between the reef and planted aquarium needs is the Kelvin rating of the light source. Reefs need at least 10,000K where-as planted seem to work better around 6500. This can be solved by getting LED lights which are white instead of the blue actinic.


----------



## aquaticsnerd (Jan 29, 2011)

From another post

Original source

*How Bright is that LED Bulb?*
How bright is it? That’s a simple question that deserves a simple answer.
How do we compare the brightness of Compact Fluorescent Light (“CFL”) bulbs to incandescent lights? We say that a 13 watt CFL with the brightness of a 60 watt incandescent bulb is a “60 watt-equivalent, 13 watt CFL.” The CFL bulb uses only 13 watts of power (what you pay for,) but it generates the light of a 60 watt incandescent bulb. Therefore, the CFL uses only 13/60 = 22% of the power of the incandescent to generate the same brightness.
For white LED’s we use the same system, and rate our bulbs by “watt-equivalent,” with incandescent light as the reference just like before. So, a 7-watt LED that generates the brightness of a 70-watt incandescent bulb is a “70 watt-equivalent, 7 watt LED.” The LED uses only 10% of the power of the incandescent to generate the same brightness. That 90% energy savings is typical for LED’s, versus incandescents. (Incandescents are inefficient light sources: they generate over 90% heat and less than 10% light.)
That may be all you wanted to know about “how bright it is.” Just compare watt-equivalents to get an idea how that LED will compare with an incandescent in brightness.

So assuming what I posted from that document is correct
1W LED = 10W incandescent

This chart also confirms the above
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
So the Marineland Double Bright systems come in the below configurations:

# 18 - 24” - (6) 1W 6000K White & (3) .06W Blue LEDs 450 Lumens
# 24 - 36” - (8) 1W 6000K White & (4) .06W Blue LEDs 600 Lumens
# 36 – 48” - (16) 1W 6000K White & (8) .06W Blue LEDs 1200 Lumens

I've been using LED lights on my 50G since Dec. 2010 and have seen no issues (Marineland Double Bright 36-48"). I've since added some supplemental LED lighting for the recent plants I added as they have higher light requirements. I've also bought another 29G (no pictures yet) that I've added three LED strips to and the plants seem to be doing fine.


----------



## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Thanks AN, that's good to know. I still wasn't sure what the color temp. was on the Marineland LEDs, and now I know.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Good looking tanks.


----------

