lighting for plants?

[Paw Broon]

My tank is 33g with 2 20watt t8 bulbs and was wondering how these would be with plants? i want to take the co2 route in the future with the plants so would i have to get stronger bulbs or a new hood unit? do t5 bulbs fit t8 fittings and whats the difference between the 2? i know a lot depends on what plants i get but any rough guide would be appreciated, thanks.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

First off, no, a T5 bulb will not fit a T8 fixture. The difference is diameter, pin size, and intensity.

Next, when you say you want to eventually get into CO2, what kind of injection are you looking at using? Are you planning on using a fermentation process or a pressurized system?

The fixture you have now would work and you would still be able to plant to the point that CO2 would be helpful and get you good growth. What are the dimensions of that tank? Is it a 33 long?

[Paw Broon]

First off, no, a T5 bulb will not fit a T8 fixture. The difference is diameter, pin size, and intensity.

Next, when you say you want to eventually get into CO2, what kind of injection are you looking at using? Are you planning on using a fermentation process or a pressurized system?

The fixture you have now would work and you would still be able to plant to the point that CO2 would be helpful and get you good growth. What are the dimensions of that tank? Is it a 33 long?

Yeah i would probably just use d.i.y co2 to start with, so the bulbs i have already seem ok yeah? the tank is 31 inches long by 13 wide.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

How tall is the tank? Those bulbs would be good to get you started. You may find that fermentation is not going to be much help for you with that size tank. Fermentation doesn't really provide that much CO2, and it doesn't distribute it well in the tank either. You may seriously want to consider looking into a pressurized system if you really want to go high tech with your tank.

[Paw Broon]

How tall is the tank? Those bulbs would be good to get you started. You may find that fermentation is not going to be much help for you with that size tank. Fermentation doesn't really provide that much CO2, and it doesn't distribute it well in the tank either. You may seriously want to consider looking into a pressurized system if you really want to go high tech with your tank.

It's about 17 inches from bulb to floor. Ok i will consider this when deciding what plants i am getting, thanks for your help.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Remember, the use of CO2 and ferts is not 100% based on your lighting level. The biomass of your plants also plays a large part in these 2 things as well. Even a low light tank with a large biomass of plants will do far better with CO2 and a good fert dosing regime.