# low light?



## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

exactly how many watts per gallon is "low light"? i'm thinking about setting up my 16 with low and medium light plants. i was looking on plantgeek.net but they don't specify how many watts per gallon it is. thanks

andrew


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

i'm thinking about some corkscrew val, amazon sword OR java fern, prolly the fern, anacharis, and some small crypts. sound good for medium to low light plants? 

I've been told that i don't really need a specific substrate. small gravel will work. should i mik it with a plant substrate? or just fert. it once a week or so? CO2, needed or not? if not, should i do it when i get the chance anyways? just to help?

for fish, i was thinking either a school of cardinal, rummy nose, or lemon tetras. maybe emperors if i can find them. along with some, 5 or 6, ottos.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

Its pretty variable what people consider low light. I consider anything under about 1.5 watt per gallon to be low light. Some people would say anything under 2 is low. From about 1.5 or 2wpg up to 3wpg is medium and then anything over about 3-3.5wpg is high light. It definitely varies depending on who you ask though. 



> i'm thinking about some corkscrew val, amazon sword OR java fern, prolly the fern, anacharis, and some small crypts. sound good for medium to low light plants?


The fern, Anacharis and Crypts would definitely work in low light. Some Vals will work in low light. I've personally tried Corkscrews in about 1.5wpg and they failed to thrive.



> I've been told that i don't really need a specific substrate. small gravel will work. should i mik it with a plant substrate? or just fert. it once a week or so?


For lower light, you don't need a plant specific substrate, but if you go with a good variety of Crypts and maybe a sword plant, they are heavy root feeders. If you wanted you could mix Flourite with some gravel for extra nutrients. If you decided to go with more medium light plants like most stem plants, you might be better off going with a full plant substrate like Eco Complete.

What are the dimensions of the tank? 



> CO2, needed or not? if not, should i do it when i get the chance anyways? just to help?


In low light, CO2 is not necessary. Even in medium light, if you have a fair amount of fast growing plants to outcompete the algae, you won't have to have CO2. You could pick up some Flourish Excel and dose that every other day or so. Its a carbon source and I think it would work just as well as having DIY CO2.



> for fish, i was thinking either a school of cardinal, rummy nose, or lemon tetras. maybe emperors if i can find them. along with some, 5 or 6, ottos


A large school of Cardinals, Rummies, or Lemons would work and look really nice along with some otos and maybe a pair of Apistos or other dwarf Cichlids. I'd skip the Emperors since they get fairly large for tetras and can sometimes be a little aggressive (well, the males....).


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

dimensions...not sure. i'll try to measure them sometime today. i think it has roughly the same footprint of a 15 or 20 tall but i'm not sure...it's a bowfront if that makes a difference. 

as for fish...would blue rams be considered a dwarf cichlid? i really like them and they are easy to find. i don't want to order any apistos cause they're so expensive...lol

next time i go to the lfs, i'll look and see what kinds of stuff they have as far a ferts. and eco complete and stuff.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

fishbguy said:


> dimensions...not sure. i'll try to measure them sometime today. i think it has roughly the same footprint of a 15 or 20 tall but i'm not sure...it's a bowfront if that makes a difference.


K....I just wondered how long it was so I'd know what lighting options you had.



fishbguy said:


> as for fish...would blue rams be considered a dwarf cichlid? i really like them and they are easy to find. i don't want to order any apistos cause they're so expensive...lol


Yes, Blue Rams are indeed dwarf cichlids. A pair of them would fit nicely, after the tank has been setup and planted for a few months. I understand about the Apistos.  I just thought I'd throw that suggestion out there... 



fishbguy said:


> next time i go to the lfs, i'll look and see what kinds of stuff they have as far a ferts. and eco complete and stuff.


Excellent....let us know what you find.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

i might go later today to the lfs..not positive tho.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

not going today. tomarrow. in the meantime, I'll go measure the tank. btw...the hood's light, fits on my 10 gallon tank. so it's as long as a regular 10 gallon.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

Excellent...so its 20 inches. So are you planning on using the standard hood or getting something else?


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## Clerk (Nov 22, 2006)

I believe the standard length hoods hold 15 W bulbs


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

i am planning on keeping the hood. it is next to impossible to get another hood for a 16 bowfront here. i was hopeing to get another bulb for it. as of now, it has less than one watt per gallon (number of watts divided by he number of gallons right?). it came with a 15 watt bulb. the light fixture fits on my 10 gallon. right now i have my 10 watt on my 10 cause when i had the 15 on it, i had waaaaay too much algae. what do you think the max. number of watts i could have?

edit: nevermind...i'll just look at that silver sticker thing. those always tell max. number of watts that are safe for that fixture...lol


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

Is it a long tube fluorescent bulb or one that you screw bulbs into? Its possible to get more watts with a screw in hood but not the tubes.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

tube

my 5.5 has a screw in gulb. it's 15 watts but is hardley considered a light. perfect for a tank with cave tetras IMO. perfect amount of light. but not in a 5.5 unfortunantly.


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