Aquarium Lighting and Dirting for Newbs

Hey guys, i'm a total newbie to the dirted tank world. I've got a 12x6x6 1.5g and some miracle-gro organic choice garden mix (totally fudged that one, it's supposed to be potting soil). Would the soil be alright?

If all goes well with the substrate, i wish to move onto lighting. With such a small tank, and such a small experience (with planted/dirted tanks anyway), i really don't want to mess up my first dirted tank. Could someone please give me a quick rundown on bulbs?

...What are T5's T8's T12's etc,

...I have the options of dwarf Sagittaria, Java Fern, Dwarf Anubias, Ricca Fluitanis, i am planning to add some RCS in the future when the parameters are stable.

So i went down to my local Home Depot today and saw some 9 inch "Philips soft white 6 watt T5 3500k" strip bulb. Not sure what kind of bulb, however, i do remember that it contained mercury.

I don't know the crummiest bit of lighting for plants. Anyone willing to help out a total rookie such as myself?

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Permalink Reply by LED on August 1, 2012 at 3:24am

try this link to another post for lighting

http://fishtanktv.com/forum/topics/hundred-gallon-lighting?commentI...

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Permalink Reply by LED on August 1, 2012 at 3:25am

for dirt try this

http://fishtanktv.com/forum/topics/dirt-convert?commentId=6423219%3...

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on August 1, 2012 at 11:32pm

You'll need at least 400 lumens and a bulb(s) with a color temperature of between 5000K and 7000K. I wouldn't go over 1500 lumens but you can if you want. As long as you fulfill these parameters it doesn't matter what king of lamps you buy. Use an old desk lamp if you wanna save some $.

Sunlight is the best light for plants but with a tank so small I'm afraid it could overheat the tank. This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but small tanks are much more difficult to keep than larger ones. They are unstable on so many levels and generally make horrible homes for fish. I've been in the aquarium hobby for many years and I wouldn't trust myself with a tank that small. I'm not saying its impossible to keep a small tank - its definitely not - but try something bigger if you can. The bigger the tank, the easier it will be.

A T5 bulb is a florescent bulb that is 5/8 of an inch wide. A T8 is 8/8 of an inch wide or one inch. A T12 is 12/8 of an inch wide or an inch and a half, etc.