# Lighting for 20 gallon long



## ivanstrashenko (Nov 27, 2013)

I have a standard fluorescent bulb for my 20 gallon long, but am considering upgrading to a more plant-friendly lighting setup. Does anybody have suggestions, because so far, my plants are not exactly thriving.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

T5HO - T5 High output. 

-do you dose any fertilizers?
-what type of substrate do you have?
-do you inject or dose source of CO2?


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

I have LEDs on my 20long and the plants are doing well.


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## Bobsidd (Dec 28, 2012)

I have a 24 inch T5HO dual fixture from Charles at Canadian Aquatics. Only $50 and my plants are doing great.


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Depends on your budget but I would look into LEDs. They cost more initially but cheaper in the long run with no bulbs to replace or extra power they don't use and lastly mine run way cooler so the room doesn't get hot and more importantly IMO is the tank temp stays stable I don't have any temp swing due to the lights. Plus the shimmer is nice and more natural


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## Bobsidd (Dec 28, 2012)

Vancitycam said:


> Depends on your budget but I would look into LEDs. They cost more initially but cheaper in the long run with no bulbs to replace or extra power they don't use and lastly mine run way cooler so the room doesn't get hot and more importantly IMO is the tank temp stays stable I don't have any temp swing due to the lights. Plus the shimmer is nice and more natural


This is absolutely true! The LED lights I have on my 10 gallon and 22 long run way lower temperature-wise. Plants grow well with them too. You'll want to try them out though, some LEDs are designed for marine tanks and are really blue. I've tried Marineland, Beamswork and Finnex Fugeray Planted+ and they all have very different light colours. I've not had much success with the Marineland, but the other two are great.


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

The only leds I personally have ever had are the kessil that I have now. I got one amazon sun 6700k for fresh water it's great for the plants and j&l aquatics has one on a nice little planted tank and i got two ocean blue 14,000k I know they are a marine light but they make my all male malawi peacocks and haps colours just pop. They really are a very nice light and imo a better quality unit then I found with other ones I looked at.


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## ivanstrashenko (Nov 27, 2013)

ok, thanks guys, i will definitely look into leds


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

For plants to grow, you need light, carbon, and NPK. How are you doing other than the lighting? A 20 gallon long is a pretty shallow tank and you don't need a lot of light to grow great plants, depending on the type. Factors which have not been discussed above are:

1. What kinds of plants are you trying to grow?
2. How long has the tank been established?
3. What is the substrate and how deep is it?
4. Are you providing carbon in the form of CO2 or Glute?
5. Are you fertilizing the water column?
6. What kind and how many livestock do you have in the tank?
7. What kind of filtration/circulation do you have in the tank?
8. How often and how much water do you change?

A pic of the current status of the tank would also greatly help.

I wanted to pose those questions, because if the reasons that the plants aren't growing is not light related, going to T5HO or high powered LED's is just going to grow you a lot of algae and discourage you instead of giving you a lush planted tank.


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