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I have a 29G tank which currently only has two Anubias Nana's for plants as i only have an 18 watt bulb ATM. The tank is stocked with:

1 Powder Blue Gourami
2 Bolivian Rams
5 Red Phantom Tetras
2 Ottos

(I'm hopefully going to pick up 2 more Red Phantoms and another Otto soon)

I want to get into making my tank look nice and heavily planted, and i was wondering... Is 65Watts going to be better for a 29G or should I get a Twin Strip Light with 130 Watts? (2x65)

Here is the Coralift Freshwater 30" 1x65Watt Fixture:
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/ctl3664/cp17952/si1319998/cl0/coralifefreshwateraqualightdeluxesingle30strip

Here is the Coralife Freshwater 30" 2x65 Fixture:
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/ctl3664/cp17952/si1316020/cl0/coralife30aqualight2x65wattpowercompactstraightpin

The 2x65 is $70 (CAD) more, but I am not worried about prices, here. I want your opinions on which would be the better route:

65W over 29G = 2.24WPG
130W over 29G = 4.48WPG (obviously)

I was also thinking on having the lights go on timed schedules. Example:

First light comes on at 8AM (65 Watts)
Second light comes on at 12PM (130 Watts)
First light then goes off at 4PM (This leaves 4 hours of morning 65 Watts, and 4 hours of Afternoon 130 WATTS)
Finally, the second light will go off at 8PM (Leaving 4 hours of 65 Watts Evening time)
This gives a total of 12 hours spread throughout the day.

I'm interested on your opinions and thank you beforehand.

Well obviously the higher lighting will be beneficial for the plants, however with that high level of lighting I think you'll need some CO2 to back it up otherwise the plants won't be able to keep up with their photosynthesis to match the level of light and the algea will start to take over.

FLEXJr,

In general, I am with bonny on the high light need CO2 or some other form of consistent carbon addition to the tank (like Flourish Excel every day), plus of course the daily use of plant fertilizers.

There is a technical difficulty which you face as well, the depth of the double fixture. The unit would probably be a little over the devider between front glass flap and middle glass, causing a line of shade in the tank.

I think the most important question for you here would be "what kinds of plants do I want to be in the tank?". Just because you want to fully plant it does not mean that you would need high light, there are quite a few plants that do well in 65W.

And the next question to ask yourself is "Am I willing to maintain the tank weekly (with 50% water changes) and to add fertilizers every day?" As this is what you would most likely have to do with 130W over the tank.

How about you go and look for my log of my 29G in the Planted Forum? I happen to have the 65W unit

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club