# Please Clear Up My Confusion With Lighting



## ianeberle (Aug 11, 2012)

I have a 36 gallon planted tank for fish and a 10 gallon planted tank for shrimp. I already have a firm grasp of DIY CO2 systems, but it's lighting that's a bit confusing. Some manufacturers clearly exaggerate when they call 15W lamps "high output" and I have a hard time accepting forum threads from 2005 because so much technology has changed in 7 years.

I currently have a 30W 36 inch daylight fluorescent T8 on my 36 gallon tank. It lights up very well and my plants are really green. I do not have CO2 injection on this tank yet, but I'm in the process of gathering the materials for a DIY build with sugar, yeast, etc. The actual bulb I have is called Eclipse Natural Daylight F30T8 made by Marineland.

In my 10 gallon setup, I have an 18 inch 15W full spectrum lamp made by Aqueon. This light gives off more of a bland tone of light compared to my 30W natural daylight on my 36 gallon. I want to grow a baby dwarf tear carpet (I do have proper substrate for this), various mosses, and other shrimp friendly plants. In my opinion, the 15W light just doesn't seem like it gives off enough light. Furthermore, it doesn't even look good when compared to my other tank.

I have attached photos of both aquaria for you to view and see what you think.

Anyway, I have looked into T5 high output lighting and asked a lot about it on this forum. From what I can see, many experienced users say that 1) T5 is useless unless you get a quality fixture, lamp, and reflectors and 2) The average T5 HO selling in the 20 inch model has an output of 50w or so, which is too much for a 10 gallon. T5 lights are also very expensive and if I can avoid having to buy one that would be great.

From my research, LED lights are very new to the aquarium hobby. They are efficient on electricity, but it's a tad harder to choose a fixture as there are so many options. Some LED systems say for "general use" and are around $50 and some specifically say for plant use and cost $300. Due to this confusion, I have always shied away from going with LED. I think the shimmer effect that they create is nice to look at, but the technology is just too new for me to trust with both my plants and fish.

What many experienced Aquarium Advice users have been saying to use for small tanks is a household compact fluorescent bulb from Lowes or Walmart. You would want to specifically buy the daylight ones in a wattage that would work in your incandescent fixture so you don't start a fire or burn anything out. My girlfriend is running a 10 gallon starter kit with mollies and her algae is really bad. This morning, I ordered a 4 pack of daylight CFLs to replace the incandescent lights she has now. I have linked to the Amazon item below, but they are 14w, 5000K daylight CFLs.

Ecosmart 14 Watt Daylight 4 - Pack (60 Watt Equivalent) - Amazon.com

After reading on this forum and some others, I found a lot of people said to treat the wattage on CFLs the same as wattage on T5 lamps. So two these two 14w lights would add up to be equivalent to a 28w T5? I know the watts per gallon rule is pretty obsolete, but I just want something to compare it to.

According to Amazon, my four pack of these bulbs will arrive on Saturday and I will install them on my girlfriend's tank to see if I even like the color as I am very picky. I like natural light not an ugly yellow color or blue as some lights produce. I also like it to be very bright, but not too bright that it hurts my eyes, plants, or fish.

Do you reccomend buying a hood that supports these CFLs and using the remaining two in my 10 gallon tank? My girlfriend's 10 gallon will only use two of the bulbs and I'll have two left over which will nag my curiosity unless I get a recommendation... I would be replacing the 15W T8 strip light that I mentioned earlier with two of these 14w CFLs. Is this overkill? Not enough light? Perfect for growing plants? Or should I upgrade to the 27w CFL bulbs?

Also, it would be great if you can clarify the main difference between T8, T5, and CFL for growing plants like baby tears as a carpet. Any information is appreciated 

P.S. I'm also planning on adding DIY CO2 as mentioned before and I'm wondering if it will be necessary after putting these lights in my girlfriend's 10 gallon.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I didn't read all of your thread, but HO is called such because the output wattage of the power supply. It drives the light brighter and the bulb has to be a HO bulb to take advantage of it. So when you talk about bulbs you cannot mix T5 and T5HO together. They are very separate and distinct.

CFLs are good to use. I would go a little high is you're using the WPG rule with them. Most people mount them horizontal and that will take down their effectiveness. The most efficient way is pendant style. I would use all 4 of them on the 10g.

Good luck with the dwarf baby tears (HC). HC can be difficult without enough lighting and steady flow of CO2. DIY systems usually do not provide a steady flow unless you're changing the mixture out more often than most people do. It can be grown without CO2, but this would require better light, ferts, and a premium substrate.


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## ianeberle (Aug 11, 2012)

If my HC dies, would dwarf hair grass be easier?


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