Lighting: 96w or 192w for a 30 gallon tank?

[keeperofthefish]

A friend recently gave me his old 29 gallon (36x12.5x15 inches) and I am going to set it up as a Southeast Asian biotope with gouramis and barbs. I have checked out some biotope suggestions and will probably plant some of the following:

Camboba sp.
Hydrocotyle sp.
Crypts
Myriophyllum

I'll also be looking for some nice bushy species for the mid-ground and would appreciate any suggestions in that department...

The look, obviously, is for a kind of unkept, densely forested aquarium that will spread out nicely along the panoramic tank. I'd love to do proper CO2 injection, but will probably have to settle for DIY.

My question, though, is about lighting. Would a 36" 96w light be enough for this tank or should I double that and go with the 192w? Obviously a 96w works out to just over 3 watts per gallon, which should be okay--but with 15" of depth, I'm not sure that will suffice. The reason I'm asking about 96w vs. 192w is because I'm thinking about going with the Coralife pc setup, as this will save money in not having to acquiring a canopy, etc. I have also toyed with the idea of buying or building a canopy and installing a AHSupply DIY kit, which would give me a lot more room for specification of wattage. This is meant to be a low budget tank--I'm (in theory) saving up for a 90 gallon downriver Amazon biotope that will be my real centerpiece. But that hasn't stopped me from getting carried away with this one... But do keep in mind that budget is key here, if at all possible (yeah, right:lol:)

And as long as I'm asking the experts, what do people think about ecocomplete? Flourite is just such a pain to rinse!

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[Cristy Keister]

IMHO, the 96w will be plenty of light for your 30g. You might consider over-driving NO (normal output) shop lights, since you're watching your budget. See Aaron and Kris's article on the gwapa site (http://www.gwapa.org/articles/ODNO/). Aaron seems to get very good results this way. If you can build your own canopy to your liking, that's a good way to go. You get more flexibility that way, not to mention bragging rights!

As for Eco-Complete, I do like it better than Flourite for the look and the ease of use (no rinsing req'd). However, you'll need to supplement with root tabs around your greedy root feeding plants (ie crypts and swords). Stem plants esp those you listed will be fine without substrate supplements.

[SCMurphy]

My 30's all have single 96 watt bulbs over them. It's plenty of light.

[keeperofthefish]

You guys ALWAYS have all the answers! Thanks all around.