# New 20 Gallon Long



## donovan (Jun 24, 2014)

I just picked up my new 20 gallon long last night at Petco. $1 per gallon sale! Plan on a dirt tank capped with sand and lots of plants. Not sure what to use for lights. Can I go with a hood or what? Total confused, please help. I currently have a 5 gallon, planted with sand base. Using a Aqueon 50/50 Mini Compact Fluorescent Bulb 10,000K. I have an anubia, java fern and a lot of wisteria. Please comment on what you use on your 20 gallon longs.


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

Yay for new tank  When it comes to lights, there are lots of different options, it depends on what kind of plants you want to grow, low tech/high tech, budget, if you are going to use c02, etc.

The lights I have experience with for low tech is a Current USA Led, clip-on lights with coral life daylight spectrum bulbs. For high tech, I use an Exotic E-Series; before that I used Finnex Ray II. I am happy with all of these for the plants I am growing.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I have black diamond blasting abrasive (often called black diamond "sand") from tractor supply co $8 for 50 lbs, 20-40grit or -60grit for sand sized. cheap nice dark substrate love it. I use 6500k (best kelvin for plant growth but can be 6200 and 6700 range work getting daylight or full spectrum should get what you need) bulbs, we watt in clamp on work lamps (3 of them for the 20g long) very cheap. they raised up 24-36" above the tank depending on what I grow. I use to have a large variety of anubias in the tank until I was sold some that carried a horrid disease that can spread to other anubias called rhizomr rott. Lost the collection and kept stems for a bit but wasn't too happy to got needle leaf java ferns, crypt parva and windiiti, as well as dwarf Lily plant. I also had several riparium and house plants above the water (roots submerged). I recently moved these plants and fish to a 55g so not sure what I am going to try next.
I've not used a hood on this tank but my husband has made hoods for the other tank out of Lexan polycarbonate which you can get at homedepot for pretty cheap (cheaper than getting custom cut glass).


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## donovan (Jun 24, 2014)

I was thinking about a flat plastic or glass top with clamp lights or maybe a light bar attached to the wall. The bulbs that go in regular tank hoods are they for growing plants? I like the hoods to keep everyone inside, but I want my plants to thrieve. I am really confused about the different types of bulb available. I did see that some of the bulbs are really expensive, is this the type you would use in the regular type hoods?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

The bulbs usually sold with the generic ugly black plastic tank hoods are not good for plant growth just to make it so you can see the fish and decor in the tank. If you want cheap bulbs look for non plant or aquarium specific bulbs (they always slap on extra $ if its specifically advertized for that purpose). i got my 13 watt cfl 500k bulbs from Home depot (4 pack) for $8 in April. I also saw cfl 6500k bulbs at Giant in single packs for about $4 each. If you buy "plant grow clfs" they usually start at $8 for 1 bulb and go up from there.
Most lights sold will have something like the nutritional information bar on them, stating watts, kelvin, lumes, and estimated life. Look for 6500k or at least 6200-6700k range bulbs. A plastic or glass lid with lights above works well. If you place lamps right onto the lid though in that shallow of a tank you will be close to "high light" and have hair algae issues. Having them raised a little is good. Lower wattage cfl the better 9 and 13 watt are most common, if you get 23 watt you definitely need to keep the lights raised up. Having wall mounted shelving you can clamp lights onto or get some cheap chain at home depot to hang from the ceiling over the tank to put lights on (great for making lights adjustable).


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

donovan said:


> I was thinking about a flat plastic or glass top with clamp lights or maybe a light bar attached to the wall. The bulbs that go in regular tank hoods are they for growing plants? I like the hoods to keep everyone inside, but I want my plants to thrieve. I am really confused about the different types of bulb available. I did see that some of the bulbs are really expensive, is this the type you would use in the regular type hoods?


There are different brands, such as Aqueon and Coralife, who make bulbs which should work. I used coral max daylight spectrum bulbs in a 2.5gal with hood and it worked well. I'm not sure of where the cheapest place to purchase these is, but Googling could get you in the right direction, or call an lfs in your area.

Be sure to let them know you need daylight spectrum of at least 6500 kelvin, that's what was recommended to me, and my plants are happy


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I am intrigued by these lights as they can be mounted under the canopy. Am getting one for my 10 gallon and one for my 20 gallon.

AquaVibrant

I have a Coralife Freshwater Fluorescent fixture on the 20 and it grows my plants very well. But with the cost of replacing tubes every six months o so I decided to go with LED.


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I am intrigued by these lights as they can be mounted under the canopy. Am getting one for my 10 gallon and one for my 20 gallon.
> 
> AquaVibrant
> 
> I have a Coralife Freshwater Fluorescent fixture on the 20 and it grows my plants very well. But with the cost of replacing tubes every six months o so I decided to go with LED.



+1..forgot these can go under the canopy! They an also be purchased on Amazon


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## donovan (Jun 24, 2014)

I think I will go with the glass or plastic lid and the shelf with the clip lights. I ordered an AquaClear 50 for the filter and Aquaeon Submersible Heater. Hope the filter is not too much for this size. I already have one Aquaeon Heater that I am using with no problems. Husband is building me a stand and once I have it set up I will be looking for plants! I originally wanted to do a sorority tank, but I think I have myself talked out of it. Can anyone tell me what's best. 8 hours on, 8 hours off or 4 hours on, 4 hours off for lighting?


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

I think lighting depends on the tank. I have been doing 5 on, 4 off, 5 on, 10 off for the last few weeks and having good results


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

Check out the PlantedTank.com forums for lots of good info. Put your lights on a timer and run between 10 and 12 hours. Not really all that different from yard plants. When selecting plants, watch for things like low light vs high light, water parameters and CO2 requirements. If you enjoy a high tech tank meaning high light, lots of fertilizing and CO2, then go for it. Low tech is easy plant with minimal fertilizing and low lighting. And time to enjoy your fish.


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## donovan (Jun 24, 2014)

Has anyone ever tried this? Homemade CO2 on EHOW.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

The sugar and yeast method? A lot of people use the DIY co2 method, but its not as consistent a co2 as with the gas canisters, and can be very messy. You usually have to change it every day or every other day if I recall right. But if you don't mind the work and mess its definitely cheaper than all the fancy equipment and co2 refill costs. Be thorough about checking for leaks in home made systems, many will start the system up then add soapy water to joints/connection points and look for air bubbles to show a leak.


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