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Lighting
Since first subscribing to this list, I have learned many things. It
is obvious that I am benefiting from the experience of many people.
I now have a 20 gallon "long" that is doing wonderfully after only 2
months. Anubias nana is sending up a new leaf about once every two
weeks, Cabomba and Bacopa must be trimmed back every week, many
sun-tropical Hygrophilas are growing with nice pink leaves, and my
two pygmy chain swords have literally carpeted the front of the tank!
Thanks alot everyone!
Due to my (hopefully not too premature) success, I am beginning to
think abot transforming a 65 gallon tank into a plant tank (anybody
want some really nice looking Cichlids?). However, this tank is
relatively deep (30"). It essentially has the same length and width dimensions of a
standard 55 gallon, but is just taller to contain the extra 10
gallons. Can I use the same amount of lighting as one would use on a
55 gallon tank? I have read that the water column depths encountered
in aquariums are not deep enough to appreciably limit the amount of
the light reaching the substrate. I known I should shoot for about 1-2
watts/gallon which would mean about 140 watts total. Would 4 40W
fluorescent bulbs be the correct type of illumination to choose or
should I go with MH?
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Also I would like to
custom build the hood which will house the lights. Does anyone have
any DIY plans I might follow? Thanks again!
Robb D. VanPutte
Dept. of Biology
Texas A&M University