I need help with lighting!

How many watts should I get for a planted 30gallon fresh water aquarium. Any suggestions on what brand to get?

 

Your looking for led lighting. I don’t think wattage matters with led. Lots of different one to buy. I’ve got on the cheap end some vivagrow 24/7 lights that have worked great on 24/7 mode. These lights are cheap. Next I’ve got hygro 957 led lights. Instead of 24/7 you can program these lights as you want. They have an internal timer. Very happy with these lights and again cheap. Next I have finnex HLC and a planted plus. Again great lights but these are a little more expensive. All of these lights will light up your tank nicely and grow plants.

 

Your looking for led lighting. I don’t think wattage matters with led. Lots of different one to buy. I’ve got on the cheap end some vivagrow 24/7 lights that have worked great on 24/7 mode. These lights are cheap. Next I’ve got hygro 957 led lights. Instead of 24/7 you can program these lights as you want. They have an internal timer. Very happy with these lights and again cheap. Next I have finnex HLC and a planted plus. Again great lights but these are a little more expensive. All of these lights will light up your tank nicely and grow plants.

Thank you, I just ordered the Finnex 24/7+HLC from Amazon. Also, I don’t want a C02 set up is there something you can just add in your water for slow release of c02?

 

Many plants will grow without co2. I don’t use it .

 

Thank you, I just ordered the Finnex 24/7+HLC from Amazon. Also, I don’t want a C02 set up is there something you can just add in your water for slow release of c02?

Good choice IMO. I have one on a 29 gal. Good bang for the buck.

The programming instructions can be confusing. I have them written out out in "plain English" if you need them. There is also an excellent review of the HCL including PAR readings at various depths etc.

When I first got it I couldn't figure out the convoluted programming instructions so I just set it on the default setting. That was a mistake. I soon had a lot of algae.

You don't need CO2. It just depends on what plants and what type of tank you are planning. Many plants do not need CO2 added to grow well. You basically want a balance between light, CO2 and nutrients. Too much or too little of any of these can cause problems. Often algae.

 

Yes the HCL are good lights. I’m on the default settings and my tanks are fine. But I really couldn’t figure out how to program it. If you could put up the info it would help a lot of us . The hyggers I had to find a utube video to program them. All info in broken English.

 

The lighting requirements for an aquarium depends primarily on what you intend to put in it. If you are looking to have fish and artificial plant, then something like 0.5 watts per gallon would provide enough illumination for you to see the fish. This might also be sufficient for low light plants. Most live plants, however, would do better with around 1 watt per gallon. If you are trying to grow carpeting plants on the substrate, you need a lot of lighting and might want 2 watts per gallon. Saltwater tanks, especially those with corals, anemones, clams, need even more light.

Like 86 ssinit, I recommend the Hygger 957 lights. They are not overly expensive. They are completely waterproof. They are programmable so you can have them turn on at low intensity in the morning, ramp up to full intensity during the day, and then slowly fade as night approaches. The programming instructions that come with the lights are quite poor, but there are some excellent YouTube videos that will show you how to program the lights.


If you do get the Hygger, you would probably want the 48 watt unit that covers tanks ranging from 30 - 36". That would fit either a standard 29 gallon (30") or a standard 30 gallon (36') tank. If you do have a 36" tank and want even more light, you could order the 60 watt light, but I suspect that might be more than you need. I have one of the 60 watt lights on a 40 gallon breeder tank. Here is the one you might consider.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Programmable-Extendable-Waterproof-30-36inch/dp/B086SV999T/

 

Good choice IMO. I have one on a 29 gal. Good bang for the buck.

The programming instructions can be confusing. I have them written out out in "plain English" if you need them. There is also an excellent review of the HCL including PAR readings at various depths etc.

When I first got it I couldn't figure out the convoluted programming instructions so I just set it on the default setting. That was a mistake. I soon had a lot of algae.

You don't need CO2. It just depends on what plants and what type of tank you are planning. Many plants do not need CO2 added to grow well. You basically want a balance between light, CO2 and nutrients. Too much or too little of any of these can cause problems. Often algae.

Thank you, please send me the instructions you have figured out. Appreciate your help.

The lighting requirements for an aquarium depends primarily on what you intend to put in it. If you are looking to have fish and artificial plant, then something like 0.5 watts per gallon would provide enough illumination for you to see the fish. This might also be sufficient for low light plants. Most live plants, however, would do better with around 1 watt per gallon. If you are trying to grow carpeting plants on the substrate, you need a lot of lighting and might want 2 watts per gallon. Saltwater tanks, especially those with corals, anemones, clams, need even more light.

Like 86 ssinit, I recommend the Hygger 957 lights. They are not overly expensive. They are completely waterproof. They are programmable so you can have them turn on at low intensity in the morning, ramp up to full intensity during the day, and then slowly fade as night approaches. The programming instructions that come with the lights are quite poor, but there are some excellent YouTube videos that will show you how to program the lights.


If you do get the Hygger, you would probably want the 48 watt unit that covers tanks ranging from 30 - 36". That would fit either a standard 29 gallon (30") or a standard 30 gallon (36') tank. If you do have a 36" tank and want even more light, you could order the 60 watt light, but I suspect that might be more than you need. I have one of the 60 watt lights on a 40 gallon breeder tank. Here is the one you might consider.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Programmable-Extendable-Waterproof-30-36inch/dp/B086SV999T/

Thank you for your quick response. I have a 30 gallon changed from plastic greenery to live plants. Plants are stressing from new habitat. I used old filter and decorations but I added soil and new substrate on top of soil, almost cycled today but still doing daily water changes. I bought a new light but was only 23w and plants telling me NOT enough, sending it back and buying a new light.

 

you could get a grow light for your tank. even though it may create heat, you can just placed it up high and it´ll do the job of a $100 light.

 

Here is the link to the Finnex HLC review and programming instructions. The instructions are towards the end of the review.

 

I was personally choosing between the Hyger 957 and the Nicrew ClassicLED Plus V2 for a 29g planted tank. I went with the Nicrew for a few reasons; easier to programm does not get as hot, and a little cheaper. Overall, they are very similar lights and both good budget full spectrums (they both also have the ramp up and ramp down lighting system however the Hygger also comes with the sunrise sunset mode which is cool)
From my understanding, a 30g is baiscally the long version and a 29g is the high version. I don't think depth is too much of a worry for you. Although I would likely go with the brighter one's for both of these lights (30-36 inch one)

Now this all being said. If you're willing to pay the extra money, then I would just get the Fluval Planted 3.0 and call it for the day.

CO2 wise, I was thinking about using the Aquario Neo Co2 kit. It's super basic (literally just a bottle, tubing, and a diffuser and obviously the activation ingredients that come with) and if you order off of Buceplant it's only $21.99. It's rated for 10g-30g tanks but really 10g-20g is most likely the optimal range. This being said, that means that on a 29g or 30g you won't really have to worry about gassing out your fish because there really won't be that much Co2 and leaving the co2 running at night shouldn't be an issue (just have good flow/surface tension). The only thing that you have to mess around with is a drop checker to make sure your co2 levels are good but other then that it would be a really simple and cheap co2 kit without the solenoids and bubble counters. It's just a thought though as I haven't even tried it and it's just a possible plan for me but it's in interesting option.

That also being said, CO2 is not necessary for a lot of plants. Even stems like rotalas and ludwigias. I currently have a carpet of monte carlo in med-high light (it's a 10g clip on light on a 2g cube) with fluval stratum and it works great. Just have a decent light, and good nutrient substrate and you can grow a lot of plants with some persistence. Things like Dwarf Baby tears are probably a no go though.