small-fish

I am having a difficult time finding a set up of lighting for my 20g tank, i want to get it planted. every lighting fixture i look at doesn't give me enough light. any help is appreciated.

jar05g

You could always just get a power compact with a 50/50 bulb. That's what I had when I had a SW tank and corals. Now I have freshwater, but the same light and I could have plants if I wanted (which I plan on getting when my tank is cycled).

mathas

Do you have a 20g high (24" long) or a 20g long (30" long)? Also, what type of plants are you looking to get?

"Enough light" isn't very specific, but if you can answer the above questions, I might be able to find something that would fit your needs.

small-fish

its a 20g high, i am looking at dwarf hair grass and some myrio. hope that helps better. i really appreciate any help.

mathas

It's tricky to get the lighting right on a tank that size. Most 24" fixtures are either too low wattage for the plants you're looking at, or so high you'll need pressurized CO2 (like this 65W Coralife fixture or a 55W DIY kit from AHSupply). I'm thinking anything under 40W wouldn't give you enough light for those plants, but anything much over 50W is going to require CO2.

Were you looking to use CO2, or were you planning to use a liquid carbon solution like Excel? I'm at 2.3WPG, and am right on the cusp of needing injected CO2 instead of Excel... the Excel is working OK, but eventually I'm going to have to step it up to pressurized CO2.

small-fish

thanks for that, i would go with the 65w and pick up a co2 kit, although i am not familiar with excel i would just spend the cash and go with co2. about the 65w light though would i have to remove and/or change my hood to use it?

mathas

Don't buy a CO2 kit until you get a second opinion I certainly don't know everything, but my opinion is that anything over 2.5WPG will need pressurized CO2 instead of Excel.

As far as the hood, you'll probably need to replace it. You have one of the hoods where the lid and the light fixture are one piece? If so, yes. A glass top such as this works fine.

small-fish

yup my hood is connected to the light, that top is pretty cheap too. thanks for all of your help i am pretty new to aquariums. my parents kept them as a kid all i would do is overfeed them