# 13 watt for 5 gallons?



## j-man the skater-man (Apr 4, 2005)

im considering gettin a DIY kit for a 5 gallon tank. its a 13 watt compact floresent kit. i have read that after about 2.5 watts per gallon u need other stuff to keep the tank stable... and since i only have 5 gallons would this be a big consern in my case?
the 5 gallon is for dwarf puffers.


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## cheseboy (Aug 5, 2005)

You don't *need* other stuff to keep the tank stable just because of the light. Unless you have extremely strong lights so much that it would overheat your tank then that would be a problem. Since you posted in the plants section I am guessing you want to keep plants. The plants decide the level of care and what you need to put in (ferts, special substrate etc) not the lights. So your tank is fine. What exactly did you read you need to put in also? Or link plz?


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## Fishboy93 (Jun 11, 2005)

With that high of light you would probably want to dose a fert to help your plants compete algae. I use Seachem's Flourish Excel for my 2.5 nano planted.


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## RockabillyChick (Nov 18, 2005)

the theory is that if you have a ton of light, you will get a lot of algae UNLESS you add CO2 injection so the plants can outcompete the algae for nutrients.

i think 13 watts is fine for a 5g with nothing else. i have 2.75 wpg on my 20g long and its doing great. the plants are growing like weeds and i only have small amounts of algae that the otos take care of.


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## j-man the skater-man (Apr 4, 2005)

thanks, i had read in other places that after about 2.5 watts you would need co2 and such so that the tank wouldnt turn into a perfect home for algae. but i think i should be ok

jason


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