The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post

nwr2339 · 01-08-2013, 05:26 AM

I recently setup a 56 Gallon column tank that I plan on heavily planting and heavily stocking with community fish. I honestly don't know squat about plants though so I am really stressing over how long I should leave my lights on and how much light they should get.

- I have 3 24" Truelumen Pro Led 12000k Strips. Rated at 23 Watts....All of them too much? Or not enough? I thought I read once a few years ago that led wattage is not that same as with other lights.

- So lets say I have enough light, how long should I leave them on? So far I have been leaving them on for 8hrs a day. (0nly been up for 4 days) Right now I have a large amazon sword plant, 4 Anubius Nana and several very tall grass looking things that I cant remember the name of. (A friend gave them to me) I will be getting more plants very as well. Still a few weeks from getting fish though.

- What are the rough parameters for CO2? Is it necessary for a heavily planted tank? Keep in mind I plan on having lots of fish in it as well.

- Is fertilization necessary?

I am running a Fluval 305, Aquaclear 70 and Aquatop CF400uv for filtration....even at loss in the rated GPH I'm still turning over 8-10x per hour. Substrate is about 2.5"-4" of CaribSea FloraMax (depths depended on landscaping).

Any and all insight is welcome.

01-08-2013, 05:26 AM	#1
nwr2339 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Mt. Pleasant, MI Posts: 19	Lighting and other Newb Questions. I recently setup a 56 Gallon column tank that I plan on heavily planting and heavily stocking with community fish. I honestly don't know squat about plants though so I am really stressing over how long I should leave my lights on and how much light they should get. - I have 3 24" Truelumen Pro Led 12000k Strips. Rated at 23 Watts....All of them too much? Or not enough? I thought I read once a few years ago that led wattage is not that same as with other lights. - So lets say I have enough light, how long should I leave them on? So far I have been leaving them on for 8hrs a day. (0nly been up for 4 days) Right now I have a large amazon sword plant, 4 Anubius Nana and several very tall grass looking things that I cant remember the name of. (A friend gave them to me) I will be getting more plants very as well. Still a few weeks from getting fish though. - What are the rough parameters for CO2? Is it necessary for a heavily planted tank? Keep in mind I plan on having lots of fish in it as well. - Is fertilization necessary? I am running a Fluval 305, Aquaclear 70 and Aquatop CF400uv for filtration....even at loss in the rated GPH I'm still turning over 8-10x per hour. Substrate is about 2.5"-4" of CaribSea FloraMax (depths depended on landscaping). Any and all insight is welcome.