Waterlettuce (and other plants) Tank

Fishfriend1

Fishfriend1

Fishlover Extraordinaire
Dec 11, 2009
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Southeastern PA
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Mr. Palmer
Anyone know how mich whattage is needed for water lettuce? I have a decent amoun in my tiny pond out back, but I need to bring it inside during the winter. So I've decided to set up a tank solely for plants and some smaller,self-caring fish. The question I have is this:

Should I get only 1 36in 78w T5 light or should I get two? The lettuce does great outside in the real sun, but in my tanks under a single T5 48in 108w light they whither and die over time... I've managed to grow some smaller ones in two half-filled 5.5gal tanks with a 10gal tank light on them, but they aren't very large in those tanks. Whenever I try to grow water lettuce indoors it keels over, so I want to get this right.

As a side note, I am also going to see what I can do with some other floating/loose plants that don't need a substrate to grow in.

The tank in question will be a half-filled 40 breeder with a single small HOB canister and a decen number of guppies. Maybe my pair of Golden Dream Killi as well. Def snails an some shrimp. It will be, however, focused on the plants.

Thanks for reading, plz give suggestion if you have them :)

~Travis
 
I bet you could grow it with two compact fluorescent bulbs over a 10 gallon tank. The trick is to keep the humidity up (otherwise it dries out and gets yellow) by keeping the tank nearly sealed and allowing quite a bit of space between the lights and the water. It likes cool water, so keep that in mind...no heater needed.
 
I think the 78 watts would be more than enough but I'd prefer a couple normal output bulbs over the one HO bulb. That way you could spread them out a bit so the plants would get a wider swath of light, The leaves at the surface would ideally be a few inches below the bulbs so they would get plenty of light. Also, I agree some sort of hood would help keep the humidity up. My water hyacinth grown indoors likes very low or no water movement. Not sure about water lettuce but I think they are similar.
 
What do you mean by 'normal output' bulbs? Like, generic fluorescent lights or incandescent or some other light? And do you mean T8 or just the sort you get with the tank?
 
Fishfriend1 said:
What do you mean by 'normal output' bulbs? Like, generic fluorescent lights or incandescent or some other light? And do you mean T8 or just the sort you get with the tank?[/QUOTE

I was referring to normal output t5 bulbs. A 36 inch N.O. bulb puts out 21 watts compared to 39 watts (I think) for an HO bulb, so you would need more than a couple but could spread them out above the surface.
That said, the HO t5s on your bottom link look like a good deal and they should be high enough to give the plants ample room . I didnt see your top link.
Click to expand...
 
The top link was just generic lights, similar to the ones that you get a new tank with. Thanks for clarifying on the normal output thing :)
 
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