Enough light?

[Friendlyfishies]

I already have 2 male guppies in this tank, I want to add live plants..probably just anubias...it doesnt give the wattage but its a very small light...just wondering if the abubias would do alright, thoughts?

http://www.petco.com/product/114910/...t=OnSiteSearch

[ChoclateBetta]

I dont think those lights are thr right range for plants Anuibus I would say 1 watt per gallon.

[starrlamia]

i would assume they are not the right kelvin for plants nor strong enough.
A cheap light for a small tank like that is a desk lamp with daylight Curly bulbs.

[ChoclateBetta]

I would reccomend a 5 watt light.

[kfryman]

No watts per gallon, that only works if we use the same bulbs, same bulb types, same reflectors, same height. It is not useful. The only real way is to measure the amount with a par meter, which is expensive.

I can tell you that light is not even powerful enough for anubias to actually grow. I would get a desk light if you want plants and get a CFL 6500k bulb

[ChoclateBetta]

Also two guppies in that is way too many and my planted aquariums book uses watts per gallon it is by Peter Hiscock.

[kfryman]

I am sorry, but watts per gallon does not work, it is outdated. It was meant with T12 lights. When was this book published and what is the title?

On my other forum, specifically for planted tanks, we have several people that are specialists in fields. We have someone that is referred to the lighting god, he know everything about lights, and does research. He has proven experiments done that show watts per gallon doesn't work. A 15 watt T8 over a standard 10 gallon tank would most likely be low light, how ever, a 15 watt T5HO over a standard 10 gallon will be medium high light. Also, there are many books where authors will say bettas can live in a cup, vase, or small bowls because they come from "puddles." We however know this is incorrect, you can not usually use one reference on a subject. I like to always look at multiple sites/books and see if the other source agrees or does not list it.

If you really want to see the article PM me and I will link it to you.

[ChoclateBetta]

I have never in all my days reading Betta books no one says Bettas live in puddles.

[kfryman]

Trust me there are books and websites, authors aren't always specialists, they just write a book.

[ChoclateBetta]

The guy has twenty years experience.