# how much WPG should i have?



## glenn (26 Jan 2009)

ATM i have 60 watts for 40 gallons-so 1.5WPG and i wanted to know if this is enough to grow plants like:-
limnophila
bacopa caroliniana
echinodorus barthii
vesicularia
sagitaria subulata
and heteranthera zosterifolia
thanks in advance


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## samc (26 Jan 2009)

IMO i would say you could do with another wpg at 2.5 most plants do well


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## GreenNeedle (26 Jan 2009)

however you do have enough light to grow those plants well already.

AC


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## glenn (27 Jan 2009)

i dont see how i can get any more watts as i can only install 2 lights (i think) in a juwel rio 180 or can you fit 2 higit lite t8 units?
and if i cant then the highest watt lights i can find are 45watt lights which would give me 2WPG...does any one know where i can find lights with higher a higher watts?


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## Themuleous (27 Jan 2009)

There are nearly always ways of adding more light to a tank 

Can you post a pic of the inside of your hood?  I'm sure we can fit a third tube in there.

Sam

EDIT - that said 2WPG should be plenty.  You could use T5's which given out lots more light than T8's.


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## glenn (27 Jan 2009)

> EDIT - that said 2WPG should be plenty. You could use T5's which given out lots more light than T8's.


wouldent that mean i would have to buy the t5 lighting unit...  
sorry i dont have a pic...its just a juwel rio 180. and the t8 light unit is about 2-3" acros but the light go out more about an inch each way on the underside.


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## Themuleous (28 Jan 2009)

Yeh it would, what about trying these?

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... cts_id=206

They are the same wattage but you get comparatively more light produced 

The brushing set is only 2quid.

Sam


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## glenn (28 Jan 2009)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Yeh it would, what about trying these?
> 
> http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... cts_id=206
> 
> ...


so these lights will fit my t8 unit and have a higher light output?
and what is the brishing set?


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## GreenNeedle (28 Jan 2009)

The advertising blurb is a little misleading.

They are T6 but the same wattage as the T8 tubes you have (30W) however they will have more intensity and less restrike than the T8.

What it should say on the advert is not 'more output power (watts)' because they are both the same.  It should say 'up to 40% more usable output' meaning more of the 30W will be getting into the right places (the tank)

AC


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## Dave Spencer (29 Jan 2009)

glenn said:
			
		

> ATM i have 60 watts for 40 gallons-so 1.5WPG and i wanted to know if this is enough to grow plants.....



Yep!

Dave.


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## ceg4048 (29 Jan 2009)

I'm with Dave on this one. The question I'd be asking would be: "Do I have enough CO2?"

Cheers,


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## glenn (29 Jan 2009)

well i bought a FE of dan a couple of days ago...and i havent got the tank going yet but i think i will have enought co2 if i set it to 2 bubbles a second? going in to a rhinox 5000 next to my inlet pipe of my (soon to get) fluval 405...which should have a 7.2 times turnover (which i think is enough?)


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## ceg4048 (1 Feb 2009)

Well, the plants will tell you if your bubble rate or if your flow/distribution is enough. It's impossible for anyone else to tell what is sufficient simply from a bubble rate. Everyones bubbles are a different size so we cannot use this as a reliable or as an objective parameter.

In any case, what Dave and I are saying is that any wpg upgrades should be ignored and first you need to get a grasp of the technique of CO2 injection. By far, the overwhelming majority of problems with plants are directly attributable to poor application of CO2. After you understand the effects, importance and application of CO2 you can then move forward with lighting upgrades. The two are directly related. More light means that you need better CO2 so it's a more effective strategy to perfect your CO2 and flow before attempting anything else.

Cheers,


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