Reply With Quotethe 2nd plant on the background is called Lagenandra thwaitesi and oh 1 bubble about 2-3 seconds not 1 bubble per minute, correction there.
hi guys,
is there an eballast which can illume 2x 18w? i have a boyu 1 ft tank with starter ballast, a 18w pl light. thought of replacing it with an eballast 18w x2. currently i have HC in the tank with another plant(which i will post the name later). the HC dun seemed to do well. DIY CO2 with almost 1 bubble per minute thru diffuser(yeah it works!). the HC are extending upwards instead which seems like lack of light. the pl 18w is a norm type, can't tell the spectrum (not stated, 6500k or less or more?, cost ard $6).
i have not found out how much this is going to cost to change to eballast and 2 18w. either i go to NA and ask if they can fit into the tank hood or maybe ask in this forum if anyone can do this (by the way, 1 switch turns on both the 18w light and 2 fans currently). another questions is an 18w enough to grow HC?
thanks in advance guys.
the 2nd plant on the background is called Lagenandra thwaitesi and oh 1 bubble about 2-3 seconds not 1 bubble per minute, correction there.
here is a pic of it. can anyone tell if an 18w PL light enough to keep HC or do i need higher than that? thanks.
Hi bro, guess for a 1-feet tank (assuming it's a 1-feet cube kind of tank), & you intend to set up 2 X 18W (which means you are getting 36W in total...) should be more than enough to keep your HC & other plants... [If based on a 1-feet cube capacity, that works out to be 4.8 Watt/ US gallon... which far exceeds the 'rule of thumb' of 2 Watts per gallon thing...]
With such high lights, you may need to monitor the water's temperature as the lighting will heat up the water, so you may need a fan or even extra fans to cool the water.. (that comes with evaporation of the water, so topping up is needed...)
You may also need to take care of the worst problems all dreads.... ALGAE growth as high light intensity encourages fast algae growth... Hope it helps...
PS: Experts, please point out if what I'd typed is wrong as I'm still learning in this hobby...
Originally Posted by lukeskwr
here is a pic of it. can anyone tell if an 18w PL light enough to keep HC or do i need higher than that? thanks.
For the eballast to light up 2 x 18W, u can check 'Elbiru' brand eballast. Your tank cover able to squeeze in another 18W PL?
hi guys, thanks for the info.
Hi bro, guess for a 1-feet tank (assuming it's a 1-feet cube kind of tank), & you intend to set up 2 X 18W (which means you are getting 36W in total...) should be more than enough to keep your HC & other plants... [If based on a 1-feet cube capacity, that works out to be 4.8 Watt/ US gallon... which far exceeds the 'rule of thumb' of 2 Watts per gallon thing...]
With such high lights, you may need to monitor the water's temperature as the lighting will heat up the water, so you may need a fan or even extra fans to cool the water.. (that comes with evaporation of the water, so topping up is needed...)
You may also need to take care of the worst problems all dreads.... ALGAE growth as high light intensity encourages fast algae growth... Hope it helps...
PS: Experts, please point out if what I'd typed is wrong as I'm still learning in this hobby...
thanks beetlejuice, noted on the heat and water loss. maybe i invest on more fan or better still a chiller. for algae at UV filter? sounds too much for a 1 footer?
there are some mini chiller for 1 footers. can someone help me list the brand and model that can be used for the tank i have? thanks.
yeah rafimo, seems like can fit. i'll snap a pic with covers open. maybe with the pic there can be more suggestion than what i have in mind.
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