Reddit reviews Fluval Mini Power Compact Lamp - 13W

Thanks a lot! It's a 4 gallon Aqueon Evolve that I keep in my dorm room. I replaced the stock light with this so that I could grow more types of plants. I don't use any CO2 but I do dose liquid ferts once a month.

Hey, i have the 6.6 gallon chi planted so I'll tell you what i can!


The lighting and filter combination on this tank sucks. even with plastic plants and minimal livestock the filter is underpowered for this tank and extremely finicky (water has to be at a certain level constantly, has to be completely level, etc.). The lighting as well is enough to light the tank, but probably not enough to support plant growth. I ditched the combo for a fluval nano though this filter is a bit loud so maybe look into alternatives if you are keeping it in a bedroom or something. For lighting I just use a 13 watt fluorescent desk-lamp. There isn't too much really made for this size tank, though fluval does make this clip on lamp designed for rimless tanks like the chi. though you could look into a desk lamp or there is also clip on work lights that work well with the right bulbs.


since you've been reading the sidebar you probably know about substrate, i use fluval stratum with good results. its a little hard to plant in at first, but the roots on my plants are ridiculous now and I'm pretty satisfied. though I'm just going off my experience, there is tons of other substrates out there.


As far as fertilizers and co2 go, a small tank will save you a bunch of money. you could invest in a co2 setup or do a diy setup, but i just use liquid co2. in a large tank its impractical, but its usually 1ml per 10 gallons. so you're really using 0.5ml per day, so a ~450ml bottle should last you 2.5 years. though measurements that small are impossible so a $12 bottle should last you a couple months, and i avoid adding it everyday so my plants don't grow out of control. fertilizers depend on what plants you choose, i just add liquid plant food once a week and its working pretty well.


the other thing to consider is that this is a nano tank, and you will be limiting yourself with the amount of fish and plants you can choose from. if you just want a Betta 5 gallons should be great, but anything else isn't really suited for this sized tank. I would visit your local fish store and see what plants they have and suggest. this tank is tiny so I'd avoid anything that going to spread out and grow tall or you're going to have a ton of maintenance. Also have you considered maybe just passing on the tank and getting something like a 20 gallon? nano tanks are great, but they are a pain in the ass to work on (every-time you want to do something you have to take water out or the displacement from your hand will flood the tank), if something starts rotting it can throw the entire tank off balance since there isn't that much water in the tank, and as previously mentioned, if you want to add any fish to the tank, you're stuck with either a betta or shrimp really.


if you have any more questions let me know I'll try to answer them as best as i can. here is my tank if you're curious! link

This is an etoliation station waiting to happen. I don't mean that in a mean way, I only know that from experience, my first pedro is like 20" tall and 1.5" in diameter. Chopping him next month.

Look into high intensity aquarium lights. This fluval PCL13w is my 'winter light' and it throws full spectrum light like a mofo. I had originally bought it for a tall 5gal aquarium and it was so intense I fought algae blooms for weeks.


I know that link says it's unavailable, they probably have a newer model.

Aquarium grow lights are generally overpowered pieces of awesome due to the fact that they need to penetrate so much water for their intended purposes.

Okay for sure, but 6 Watt LED light like the one above produces about the same amount of light as your 13 Watt CFL. Also lights such as this one with just white and blue LEDs are also not very optimized for plant growth, so that might even be a slight downgrade.

I‘m tempted to say that a second light of the same type is your best bet is if you want more light. However, you don‘t have the the plants that would need that much light. Javaferns are generally slow growers and your floaters dim the light too. I would rather recommemd to remove your floaters, add a few more plants amd start to fertilize instead of getting a new light.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Mini-Power-Compact-Lamp/dp/B004QSV8XK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377709799&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+compact+light


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Canada|amazon.ca|



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Dunno why my plant went from being bright green, to only new growth being bright green and bottom leaves/stem browning/melting. I suspect is low K. Not sure if the stems will bounce back or if I should cut my losses and replant the tops. Any advice?

• 3 gal Betta tank
  
• Amm: 0
  
• 'trites: 0
  
• 'trates: 15-20 ppm
  
• Dosing: 1.5x dose Excel daily, ProFito for trace 3x a week
  
• Light: 13 watt Fluval compact floro 8 hours a day

Well, I'm no lighting expert by any means, but this is the light I ended up putting on my small tank:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QSV8XK/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_H7hjub0T3NGZW

It says it's recommended for tanks of 4-8 gallons, and the bulb is fluorescent. Everyone on here is always saying how fluorescent trumps LED and such, so that's what I went with. I've only had it a week, so I can't speak for longevity or effectiveness, though.

IF you plan on getting root tabs I'd recommend finding someone on a forum selling osmocote root pellets, they're a lot cheaper and a lot less mess than say flourish root tabs. If you have shrimp and you are dosing nutrients, be it EI or other ferts like the picture you posted be careful with how much iron you dose because it can kill shrimp, same with copper.

I used this light on my 2.5 gallon and it worked pretty well, it should work fine for a 5 gallon as well.

Here is the mobile version of your link

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004QSV8XK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1396561296&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40

Or any fluorescent desk lamp should be fine as long as you have fairly low light plants. :)

Sunlight will lead to algae. I would try to get something like this as having a light over your tank will bring out their best colors.

Also, try your hand at some very hardy plants, like a cryptocoryne or a marino moss ball. Gives tanks a more natural feel.

Thank you for the very detailed response!

So far I have only bought a Fluval 25W heater. I am planning to put this in the pump compartment. I hope it will be sufficient. Otherwise I will upgrade to a 50W compact heater. The ambient temperature in my basement can drop to 60F when we are at work on a cold day. 25W might end up being insufficient.

I am waiting for the Spec V to go on sale here in Canada.

You are right about modding the tank. That is a big part of the experience. I would like to buy the upgraded 3rd party media basket but it runs close to $50. I think I will run it with the stock filter except I will swap out the charcoal media out for ceramic on day 1.

My biggest question right now is about lighting. I have been looking at purchasing two Fluval PCL13s. Do you have any experience with that light by any chance? Or should I get the LED light by Fluval? I am not looking forward to cutting pieces out of the lid to make the light fit. But I don't believe there is any way around that...

Ahhh... that makes sense. You did come off as weirdly competent for a newbie. Threw me off for a bit.

> it freaked me out that i shouldnt be monitoring nitro/ph/ on a weekly basis

You definitely can, if you want to. pH is actually something I spend a lot of time looking at in my planted tanks (it's a good way of keeping track of the CO2... tracking trends over the day is useful; since ideally you'd be going for stability). It's not a bad idea to check the nitrate levels once every so often too (although our version of acceptable is quite a bit higher than in saltwater).

> I am only using distilled water to fill/top off

Remineralized, presumably?

> im hoping the tank will be properly cycled before fish are added.

Have you dosed with any ammonia?

> i am looking into this before i overplant my mini-tank too hard

That one kinda sucks a little bit. You don't really have a whole lot of control with that style (the idea on that is you fill the underwater bell with gas and let it diffuse out. It's entirely passive). I had the 88g version of that kit; which has a regulator and is intended to run continuously. It gives you a little bit more control; but what I found with my setup is the needle valve wasn't precise enough to control the small amounts of gas required for a weeny little tank like that. I wound up gassing my shrimp on a couple occasions.

There are better ones out there; I'm not that familiar with them though. My style tends towards dirt tanks (you put potting soil under a sand cap; the idea being that it works as a plant substrate and releases CO2 slowly as it decays).

> What would you do regarding the lighting situation? I am willing to invest a little into a custom fixture that would expand the possibilities of what i create. sitting across the room and looking at my tank i am very excited about my little underwater forest.

I'm probably not the best person to ask that (I'm basically the planted tank version of the Amish). However, I've seen lots of people use these. There's also a fairly nifty LED, also from fluval.

When I had my spec set up as a high tech tank I went with a fairly hideous CFL setup that was meant for a refugium. Now I've got one of these; which works well for a low tech setup.

If you're looking for ideas on what's possible, check out this thread. It's been active for years; there are some pretty cool setups in there.

Keep in mind that 15W CFL will produce much more light than a 15W incandescent.

My 5gal has a Fluval PCL13 that works like a charm. It's not a full hood, but it looks rather stylish.

I use this amazingly tiny HOB on my 2.5 gallon, works very well (although I did replace the media with better junk) has an adjustable flow rate, takes up very very little space inside the tank, and is quiet.

the lighting really depends on what type of plants you want in there I've successfully grown high light requirement plants in a nano tank with This 13w clip light

Ive seen good reviews of this 10inch finnex planted+ LED clip light as well, but don't have any personal experience with it.