# New to Planted Tanks



## Rayne (Jul 12, 2010)

I'm thinking of trying my hand at some real plants in my tank for the first time. I have a 38G (36x12x18) tank with a kit hood/light. The light is a single 24" T12 piece of junk. My substrate is PFS. From what I've read up on so far I believe that I'm not even in the "low light" category with this single T12. For now, I'm ok with that. Eventually I may upgrade my light, but for now I don't want the hassle and added expense of replacing the hood.

I want to do a low tech, low maintenance tank and was thinking of maybe some Java moss anchored on some driftwood, some Crypts in the back, and maybe some Anubias closer to the front of the tank. Would this work out? Any advice for a first timer?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You can grow the moss and the Anubias for sure, but I'm not sure about the crypts. The way to do it is to have the moss and the Anubias tied to wood so that they are higher in the water column, closer to the light. With it being 18" deep, you might have trouble with the crypts at such low light levels, but it wouldn't hurt to try. One advantage at that light level is that you'll unlikely run into algae problems as the growth will be slow.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh, and you can always get this light.  http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-equipment-classifieds-27/fs-t5-ho-30-inch-light-6427/


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## Rayne (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks 2hwheelsx2.

Can you recommend a tallish plant that might grow to to 12" that would work for me?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You can try and Amazon sword. They require fairly low light.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

pretty much a single bulb t12 wont do anything even for most low light plants, even if your tank was only 2 feet long it would still be a very low light tank. You'll likely need 3 bulbs of t12 (36") sitting right above the water to be decently in the low light range.

Your only option until you get a proper hood would be a DiY approach. If you have lots of desk lamps sitting around, or clip ons, try using 21 Watt CFLs x3 w/ daylight bulbs.

If you have an electrician friend, see if they have any fixtures or ballasts w/ end pieces laying around.

The third option is rather cheap. a sunlight supply sun blaze t5ho strip light ($30), you may be able to fit it in your current hood with minor modifications. The 24" fixture should bring you to the border of low light and medium light, which in my opinion is the easiest to manage. You could also get a reflector ($12 more) and figure out how to mount the strip light + reflector to your tank if it doesn't fit in the hood. Not sure how the mounting hardware works out.

Edit since replies as i was typing this:
The java moss will grow in anything to be honest, as mentioned abubias will need to be anchored higher for it to grow nicely, 3 inches above the substrate or so should bring them in the low light range.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would actually put the Anubias right up near the top so that they would look like leaves on a tree.  It worked reasonably well in my old 10 gallon setup with a t8.


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## keitarosan (Apr 21, 2010)

correct, anubias and java will grow on almost any lighting. even without light for a week. 

no kidding! i was selling a bunch of anubias some months ago and no one wants it. i forgot about it for a week in a sealed bucket in the garage without lights. after a week, while doing WC. i discovered it growing new leaves.

on the other hand, 3 weeks ago i did a re-scape and was too tired to continue. left the tank half-full with an inch of anubias sticking out of the water. next morning, that inch dried out and died. but..... i left it in the tank to see if it will survive. viola!! it's growing back new leaves now. a very hardy plant indeed.


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## Rayne (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks guys

Neven, the idea of the Sun Blaze 2' strip light intrigues me. It's fairly cheap and might be doable if I make my own canopy with some wood I have in my shop. Since I want to go low tech, what height would I need to mount that strip above the tank? I think staying in the low light category might be best for me, so should I skip the reflector? How much does that affect the PAR?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Well in all honesty, the single strip brings you to medium light for a 36" tank at a 36" fixture. Reflectors greatly improve the par, so skipping out on it and doing something yourself to stop the light from blinding everyone near it will likely get you what you want. The center of the tank could still end up being close to medium light, which opens up the possibility of medium low light foreground plants, but the sides of the tank will definately remain low light with the diffusion that'll happen due to the tank length. I still recommend painting your inside of the hood glossy white if you make a wooden canopy though. As long as you stay away from stems, even medium light tanks are low maintnence.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would get the reflector. 24 watts isn't a whole lot of light. Watts are still watts (unless you're talking LED's). So if you're going to do a single 24" (the Sunblaze doesn't come in 36" or that would work perfect) the reflector would help. Once you get the basic amount of light you need, then you can shorten up the photoperiod a bit if you need to, so dose a little Excel once in a while.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

watts are power usage, not lighting output though. Sure they are not LEDs but they are still T5HO though, and their output is significantly greater than that of a t8, about 60% more light than that of a t8. pardon the out of forum link, but this is where i've been gettin the par data HERE It shows the significant difference amongst the flourescents. You'll notice the lack of wattage being said since its based off of linear lamps.

he doesn't need the reflector true, and i'd also recommend he buy it for when the itch of planted tanks turns into a burn, as it'll bump him comfortably into a medium category. But a canopy thats white will likely keep him in the range he wishes to be in now, when he chooses to up the lighting a bit, simply mount the reflector in the canopy aswell, the canopy being white will help lesson the dark zones on the upper sides


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The efficiency is the bulb size. A t8 has way more restrike than a T5. A NO T5 Coralife can actually grow great plants. The failing was the reflectors. That's why I suggested getting a 24w with a good refector rather than 2x24 with no reflector. I'm growing jungle Val in plain gravel in a 22" tall tank with just over 1 watt a gallon NO T5. And that's only 4 hours. The other 6 hours are at about 3/4 wpg.

The fact that it makes 60% more light is not because it's HO, but because of the t5. I don't agree on the white canopy, and the old school canopies had reflectors with T8's and I could barely grow moss in it. For $10 buy the reflector and adjust the photoperiod, and maybe dose some Excel.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

The reason i pointed out a t5ho vs a t5NO was the HO strip was cheaper and easier to find. The gains of HO vs NO are minimal, but the gains of t5 vs t8 are indeed great. You learn a lot about various types types of lighting during apprentice ship schooling for electrical, i think i was the only one in the class who enjoyed the unit, lol.

What i dont get is what you are disagreeing with painting the inside of the canopy he plans to make white? You quote a t8 fixture with reflectors as reference to your disagreement, but its apple and oranges, t5s vs t8s. Many fixtures i've come across in the field use a glossy white inside the casing for its reflective qualities. The pricier ones use reflectors aswell since they are much more efficient.

Still having the glossy white in the canopy will help reflect the light that bounces back up from the water back down, not efficiently, but it still reflects it none the less. it sucks when you have too much focused light near the tank surface, as the light diffuses down the water column, you see the cone of light, it'll lesson that a bit, as it'll be quite apparent.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I disagree because the reflector is $11. You see the cone if you have the light too close to the surface, which you won't if you DIY a light. 

Why save the $11?

Many canopies come with white reflectors which are inefficient. You're just wasting light and compensating with more watts. Same as spiral bulbs. People DIY with spiral bulbs with white reflectors. That question was brought up at Tom Barr's talk also. He stated that spirals produce about 40% of the light output per watt that a T5 does. So can you do it? Sure you can. But you have to waste watts. So why not save watts and get a proper t5 with a proper reflector when the difference is peanuts?

It's not like I'm telling him to buy a $250 Tek.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

hey now  i agreed that he should buy it anyways at that cheap, in case he does want to go to medium light in the future


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Then we're agreed 100%. Probably just semantics.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

yea i have an issue with semantics, drives the wife nuts


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