# lighting for a 30 gallon



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

this may be the wrong place for this but it says equipment so hear i go......

i have a lightly planted tank and the plants seem ok but look like they are laking something i am not using fertilized or anything special but i only have cobomba, apono bulbs (and some corys and tetras) and i was also planning on adding shrimp so i was wondering if a light bulb was made specifically for the purpose of inverts and plants and if so 

what type is it?
is it expensive?
is it worth my time?
will it screw up the miracle that the plants have servived this long?

thanks in advance for the help and i am sorry about any spelling errors

jason


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

There are bulbs which will help the plants out. DO NOT go by what the manufacture says. Coralife, for one, has "plant bulbs". And they charge an arm and a leg for them. Look for a bulb that is high in umens compared to the same size bulb from other manufacturers. A kelvin rating (which really isn't as important) of 6500-9325K is optimal for appearance. Any lower and the tank looks yellow, any higher and the tank looks white. If you want PC (power compact) there are many to choose from. Big Al's has a great selection. Do not buy 50/50 bulbs or actinic ones. A 30 gallon tank is 36 inches correct? A 36 inch 96watt PC fixture and bulb would be perfect.


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