QUESTION FOR smithrc
- Thread starter NDIrish7
- Start date
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
hi...
I got your PM but i'm in bed at the moment (with laptop in the dark)
I'll sort out a reply tomorrow afternoon when i can see a keyboard
I might get the chance first thing but i've got some stuff to do.... so it'll probubly be pm.
Russell.
I got your PM but i'm in bed at the moment (with laptop in the dark)
I'll sort out a reply tomorrow afternoon when i can see a keyboard
I might get the chance first thing but i've got some stuff to do.... so it'll probubly be pm.
Russell.
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
hello...
finally managed to wash the oil and grease off my hands enought to go near the compter!
We decided we wanted to have a planted tank and it has been harder to get right that we were expecting... we have killed more plants that i though possible in the process of finding the right ones for us.
we started out with the usual suspects, vallisneria, cambomba, etc... now most people report easy growth of these plant... the first lot died... we got some fertilizer tabs for the roots... the second lot died... we checked the lighting levels and periods for the plants - they were fine, we added pure latterate (clay stuff)to the gravel and added CO2... they still die only slower now.
we have now managed to find a stable base with plants growing rather than turnig yellow and falling apart.
we have a co2 system (yeast and sugar mix) with bubble counter, and although the surfare disturbance is low - the PH has not changed so there is not enough CO2 getting into the water at the moment. hopefully this will change in due course.
(co2 system is one of these)
we add fertilizer every 2 weeks by adding the tanks dossage into the new water at a water change. however, at the moment we are not adding any due to a bit of an algae problem. we are also using a phosphate absoebing thing to try and beat the algae.
our substrate is part sand part gravel and the plants are fine in there now. none become uprooted by mr plec now
our lighting is 2 40w tubes - they are on from 8:00am to 1:00pm then from 6:00pm till 11:00pm... total of 10 hours with a break in the middle (to try and disrupt the algae.
we have added a few more types of plants to see how we get on - but take it from me - avoid red plants to begin with they need a lot of light and our fish love to eat them 
)
Amazon swords grow VERY well in our tank, anubis nana is holding its own and we have been able to split that a number of times.
there a few more types that are doing well but i cant remember their names.
finally managed to wash the oil and grease off my hands enought to go near the compter!
We decided we wanted to have a planted tank and it has been harder to get right that we were expecting... we have killed more plants that i though possible in the process of finding the right ones for us.
we started out with the usual suspects, vallisneria, cambomba, etc... now most people report easy growth of these plant... the first lot died... we got some fertilizer tabs for the roots... the second lot died... we checked the lighting levels and periods for the plants - they were fine, we added pure latterate (clay stuff)to the gravel and added CO2... they still die only slower now.
we have now managed to find a stable base with plants growing rather than turnig yellow and falling apart.
we have a co2 system (yeast and sugar mix) with bubble counter, and although the surfare disturbance is low - the PH has not changed so there is not enough CO2 getting into the water at the moment. hopefully this will change in due course.
(co2 system is one of these)
we add fertilizer every 2 weeks by adding the tanks dossage into the new water at a water change. however, at the moment we are not adding any due to a bit of an algae problem. we are also using a phosphate absoebing thing to try and beat the algae.
our substrate is part sand part gravel and the plants are fine in there now. none become uprooted by mr plec now
our lighting is 2 40w tubes - they are on from 8:00am to 1:00pm then from 6:00pm till 11:00pm... total of 10 hours with a break in the middle (to try and disrupt the algae.
we have added a few more types of plants to see how we get on - but take it from me - avoid red plants to begin with
they need a lot of light and our fish love to eat them )Amazon swords grow VERY well in our tank, anubis nana is holding its own and we have been able to split that a number of times.
there a few more types that are doing well but i cant remember their names.
konrad05
Fish Addict
IMHO, I would say that the majority of your plants die because of low light conditions, sounds like you barely have 2 watts per gallon. NDIrish7, if you want a successful planted tank, first take lighting into consideration, then fertilization and CO2. Do a search on the forum on how to set up a planted aquarium if you need more information.
sinistral
Fish Addict
I have to chime in briefly: 2 x 40 watts is 80 watts total. For a 50 gallon tank that's 1.6 watts per gallon. This in general is sufficient for low light plants. Most plants will do better with 2-3 watts per gallon.
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
ive got reflector on them - would make the output suitable...
hold on - i'll just check they are 40w's... yep 2 40w's.... shame its a factory made hood or i would add another.
that'll be the problem then
hold on - i'll just check they are 40w's... yep 2 40w's.... shame its a factory made hood or i would add another.
that'll be the problem then
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
right - youve got me wondering now... if my light levels are low - why do i have an algae problem?
If i had more light intensity - would it actually help get rid of the algae?
just thinking that if the plants are growing better they will beat the algae to the nutrients etc... just a thought...
would one more 40W tube be ok... i think i can fit another in there some how
If i had more light intensity - would it actually help get rid of the algae?
just thinking that if the plants are growing better they will beat the algae to the nutrients etc... just a thought...
would one more 40W tube be ok... i think i can fit another in there some how
sinistral
Fish Addict
Hi smithrc!
In my limited experience with a planted tank algae can grow on almost anything, including rather low light conditions. Unfortunately if you don't have enough light, medium-light requiring plants won't grow no matter how much CO2 or fertilizer you're providing them...in this instance you may just be providing CO2 and fertilizer to your algae!
3 x 40 would be 120 watts / 50 = 2.4 watts per gallon which would be awesome!
I have read and heard when you've got the lighting-CO2-fertilizer balance just right your plant growth will out-compete algae and limit its growth. HTH~~~
In my limited experience with a planted tank algae can grow on almost anything, including rather low light conditions. Unfortunately if you don't have enough light, medium-light requiring plants won't grow no matter how much CO2 or fertilizer you're providing them...in this instance you may just be providing CO2 and fertilizer to your algae!
3 x 40 would be 120 watts / 50 = 2.4 watts per gallon which would be awesome!
I have read and heard when you've got the lighting-CO2-fertilizer balance just right your plant growth will out-compete algae and limit its growth. HTH~~~
spottedbovine
Fish Fanatic
I don't know what bulbs you are using, but you could always try philips aquarelle, the guy at my lfs has them on his planted tanks, they are quite powerful.......he also only as 80watts on his 55gal but his plant growth is astounding beware though they are quite expensive..........cost aout R200 here i SA so they are 3 times as expensive as they tube I buy
beware though they are quite expensive..........cost aout R200 here i SA so they are 3 times as expensive as they tube I buy
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
I'm going to pop to tthe lfs tomorrow and have a play....
I've got another 40W bulb so i will get a 40W ballast and add it to the existing light circuit... just need to get a water 'proof' connection on each end as the factory lid is all sealed so there is no condensation tray.
should only cost me £20...
Glad you've kicked me into motion.... i'd mentioned it to the other half before but didnt really do anything after adding the reflectors (do they realy double the light into the tank?
I guess the 40Watts are emmitted evenly over the bulbs surface so 20W into the tank and 20W upwards into the hood...
anyway - I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow...
I've got another 40W bulb so i will get a 40W ballast and add it to the existing light circuit... just need to get a water 'proof' connection on each end as the factory lid is all sealed so there is no condensation tray.
should only cost me £20...
Glad you've kicked me into motion.... i'd mentioned it to the other half before but didnt really do anything after adding the reflectors (do they realy double the light into the tank?
I guess the 40Watts are emmitted evenly over the bulbs surface so 20W into the tank and 20W upwards into the hood...
anyway - I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow...
sinistral
Fish Addict
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
right then....
take one standard hood...
and these parts...
with an extra trip to the lfs to swap the 20w ballast for the 40w i ment to buy (oops)
mix with these tools...
and yet get a 40W upgrade for less than £20.
Simple to do too...
The tank is a Fluval Duo 1200 and comes with a plastic moulded hood that I didnt want to replace as we dont really like the bulky wooden tops, and I didnt want to cut it about.
Having had a look at the hood in more detail, there is plenty of room for more tubes in there... So that is what i decided to do. I already had a spare 40W 42" bulb so with the room in there, all i needed was a 40W balast and a few other bits I already had.
Once I'd got the ballast, I lined up the bulb to see where I was going to stick the cable tie anchors. having cleaned the areas with isopropyl alcohol (this evaporates compleatly - leaving no residue) I stuck 2 ancours at each end and cable tied one bulb holder in place. inserted the bulb and secured the other end ( loose enough to wiggle it out when I need to change the bulb). I then secured the cables and wired it into the same plug as the original lights.
So now I've got 120Watts under my hood
(2.4Watts per US gallon or a whopping 2.8watts per UK gallon B)
I can see a big difference - not sure if these piccys show it that well though...
Before - 80W
Bigger piccy
After - 120W
Bigger piccy
take one standard hood...
and these parts...
with an extra trip to the lfs to swap the 20w ballast for the 40w i ment to buy (oops)
mix with these tools...
and yet get a 40W upgrade for less than £20.
Simple to do too...
The tank is a Fluval Duo 1200 and comes with a plastic moulded hood that I didnt want to replace as we dont really like the bulky wooden tops, and I didnt want to cut it about.
Having had a look at the hood in more detail, there is plenty of room for more tubes in there... So that is what i decided to do. I already had a spare 40W 42" bulb so with the room in there, all i needed was a 40W balast and a few other bits I already had.
Once I'd got the ballast, I lined up the bulb to see where I was going to stick the cable tie anchors. having cleaned the areas with isopropyl alcohol (this evaporates compleatly - leaving no residue) I stuck 2 ancours at each end and cable tied one bulb holder in place. inserted the bulb and secured the other end ( loose enough to wiggle it out when I need to change the bulb). I then secured the cables and wired it into the same plug as the original lights.
So now I've got 120Watts under my hood
(2.4Watts per US gallon or a whopping 2.8watts per UK gallon B)
I can see a big difference - not sure if these piccys show it that well though...
Before - 80W
Bigger piccy
After - 120W
Bigger piccy
spottedbovine
Fish Fanatic
wow, really cool.....................like the tank aswell..........really zen
schizo_fish
Fish Crazy
could you post a pic of the underside of the hood so i can see what you have done? cheers
smithrc
My names Russell.... ....and I'm a
no problem...
I stuck some cable tie mounts onto the hood so I could cable tie the wires out of the water and to hold the tube in place (I cleaned the areas with the alcahol first) I've got about 8 to hold the tube up so if one lets go the others wont let it fall.
then cable tied the tube and wire in place.
I've now got reflectors on them too (proper ones - no more tin foil!)
I stuck some cable tie mounts onto the hood so I could cable tie the wires out of the water and to hold the tube in place (I cleaned the areas with the alcahol first) I've got about 8 to hold the tube up so if one lets go the others wont let it fall.
then cable tied the tube and wire in place.
I've now got reflectors on them too (proper ones - no more tin foil!)
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
295
-
220 -
216
-
185 -
172 -
168 -
147 -
134 -
133 -
124 -
119 -
109 -
104 -
95 -
94