So I have a question about lighting and my new 30g thats yet to be setup.

Right now I have a 30g that I bought a dual T5HO lighting system for. I planted it as well and it got a nasty algae bloom that I'm still recovering from. I took one of the bulbs out and it's slowly subsiding. SO now I have 1 24watt T5HO bulb in for the 30.

But here's my question. Would the algae have appeared if there were NO plants in the tank?

I only ask b/c I'd like to take the new 30g I got and turn it into this:

http://www.ptkservers.com/fishtank8.gif

I really like the blue tinted lighting. And one of the posters said it was a combo while/acintic(sp?). I was curious, if it's two bulbs why he doesn't have any algae in his tank? Is it possible to set my tank up like that one and use two bulbs and not get the algae if I dont get plants?

Would it matter if I bought a hood that has two bulbs but wasnt T5HO?

Any advice on making my 30g look like that? :-)

Thanks!

White & Acintic was controlled separately in one led lighting fixture

Still two bulbs on at a time though, right?

timer is required. Then you can leave the light alone after you set up the time. 2 power cords to connect timer separately.

It may be LED lighting, it may not be. It could just as easily been done with a T5HO fixture with one white and one blue actinic. Not a big fan of the look myself....looks like a reef tank.

You may have gotten all the algae due to your lighting period. Algae will grow with ot without plants.

It depends how much you want to invest for your tank.

Hello b...

Sorry, couldn't access the photo you referenced. If your goal is to grow the popular plants currently on the market, 1 to 2 watts of light per gallon of tank volume is plenty. A T5 HO is a lot of light just by itself, but the intensity it produces will only cover a small area of your tank.

You can have a nicely planted tank with a single, T8, but you'd be limited to Java fern, Anubias, any of the mosses, Cryptocoryne, taller varieties of Amazon sword, Penny and Hornwort, Water sprite and Banana plants floated.

Still more than enough plants to fill up a 30 G. Attached are pics of two 30 Gs I use to experiment with different substrates and potting soils. Most plants will grow in low light, they just grow more slowly than in brighter light.

B

Attached Images

	Picture 002.jpg (429.0 KB, 4 views)
	Picture 007.jpg (432.3 KB, 4 views)

__________________
Low Tech Water Building Keeper

I really just like that kind of lighting. And if its a white and a blue...I just wonder if I'll grow algae with the two bulbs. Im not sure how he's getting away with it. I had 2 x 24w T5HO lights in my 30 gallon and it got rocked with algae. I unscrewed one of them and it's finally going away. Can I get a lower wattage than the T5 and get away with it? No plants

SO what do you mean by invest? Money? In what way?

THanks!