Trouble finding a light, help

[nightster]

Well i decided I wanted to turn my 10g into a planted tank and Im having a hard time finding a 20" light. Im doing a low tech tank, I dont want to have to use co2. Any advice on a light will be much appreciated.

[aquabee]

Well i decided I wanted to turn my 10g into a planted tank and Im having a hard time finding a 20" light. Im doing a low tech tank, I dont want to have to use co2. Any advice on a light will be much appreciated.

A good friend of mine had good luck with a low tech planted 20 long setup with the Marineland single bright LEDs, the 18"-36" adjustables. I love this light for my 20 long but I don't have any plants in there.

[nightster]

Nice, I didn't even think about those. Should I get the single bright or the double bright?

[aquabee]

Nice, I didn't even think about those. Should I get the single bright or the double bright?

Single bright is actually really potent on my 20 long (and I'm someone who loves brighter lights), so it'll be even more so on your 10g. Doubles will probably give you more algae and not make a significant difference for your lower light plants. Here's what it looks like in my tank... pardon the cloudiness, I'd been messin around with the scape when I took this:

[nightster]

Wow that looks good, thanks for the help bee.

[Sea-agg09]

Yes the marineland LED is the only fixture for a nice planted tank in a 10 gallon. If you are going to use CO2, double bright is the way to go. Since you don't want to use CO2, you should only need a single bright fixture.

NOTE: Do not use the "moon light" mode all night. The blue lights will grow algae just like white lights, so using them is like having your light on 24 hours a day. Use them if you want to see things in a night setting, but not as a constant thing...

[nightster]

Thanks to the info. Thats good news, single bright is cheaper:)

[aquabee]

Glad we could help. Enjoy! I really like the shimmer effect, and the moon light is cool to use for a couple hours at a time. Post pics later when you get it all worked out.

[sunkenmetal]

that should be plenty of light.... it looks good on bee's tank i think she need some java moss and some shrimp in that tank...

[aquabee]

that should be plenty of light.... it looks good on bee's tank i think she need some java moss and some shrimp in that tank...

That's in the other tank!! NO plants in this one... they're banned!

[sweetsh4real]

Yes I have been using the moon light and just recently noticed some algae..guess thats the prob

[eklikewhoa]

I would do the double bright and just shorten the photo period. This way you have the option to increase later on

[IvanSanchez]

Wow. Didn't know Marineland LED strips were 6,000k. That's pretty nice. But if you want to be wallet friendly.... Clip-on, bendy neck lamp(10$ at Target) + 6,500k 13W CFL bulb($5 also at Target) Works very well on my high tech 20L. Just throwing the idea.

[eklikewhoa]

There's the ikea clip on LED too for about $10, think that's what tatertot said.

[rmalford]

Chris, I sense that you are thinking about yet another item you would like to still have. LOL