Equipment for Nanos

[helgymatt]

What the best substrate for nanos. I'm considering all of the ADA lineup and don't know what one to use. The tank will be a ADA 30-C, which is a 12" cube. Would I need 9L or would 3L be enough.

Also, are the ETH inline heats good for nanos?

I plan to use a Eheim 2213 or my XP2 (cranked down of course)

I also plan to use either a regular diffusor or inline diffusor if I find some extra money

The light is what I'm not sure about. I don't like the current ones, they are big and ugly. I want something gray which I can hang. Any help here? I think there were some on ebay people were buying.
Plan to use these rocks and do an iwagumi look.... http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ge...ing-rocks.html

Thanks for any suggestions!

[prototyp3]

Regarding lights, I think you could consider a Coralife mini 2x9w from Big Als for $25. That'd leave enough cash to rig up whatever method you want to use to hang the fixture, as well as some paint for the fixture casing. And if you're a light freak, they have the 12" Coralife 2x18w fixture.

[helgymatt]

Originally Posted by prototyp3

Regarding lights, I think you could consider a Coralife mini 2x9w from Big Als for $25. That'd leave enough cash to rig up whatever method you want to use to hang the fixture, as well as some paint for the fixture casing. And if you're a light freak, they have the 12" Coralife 2x18w fixture.

Thanks....So 18 watt or 36 watt? Would 18 watt grow most thing in a 30-C?

[NeonShrimp]

ld be fine but if you are a "light freak" as prototyp3 mentioned you might want to go with the 36 W where you can remove a bulb if you want to go lower light.

[jeepn4x4]

I agree with neonshrimp. If you have the extra cash buy the 36 watt unit and remove a bulb if needed. Unless you know for sure that you will never need the extra wattage.

[brohawk]

The 18W mini will grow HC just fine. It's a bit low light, but grows things at just the right pace for me in my 2.5 gal, w/o me having to worry too much about getting my CO2 levels just right.

Also, a 3 liter bag of aquasoil will be more than enough for the cube.

[bsmith]

I would just get the 9l so you can have extra for whatever project you want to do down the road.

As on my Mini-M I usr the 2213 as the diffusor/reactor. I am running a little less then 1bps and am getting great results.

As far as the light I am using a 23w spiral pc over my M and again it works great. I would get the 32w coralife and remove a bulb if you find it necessary, ot DIY yourself some sort of timed switch to have a noon burst!

[helgymatt]

Originally Posted by bsmith782

I would just get the 9l so you can have extra for whatever project you want to do down the road.

As on my Mini-M I usr the 2213 as the diffusor/reactor. I am running a little less then 1bps and am getting great results.

As far as the light I am using a 23w spiral pc over my M and again it works great. I would get the 32w coralife and remove a bulb if you find it necessary, ot DIY yourself some sort of timed switch to have a noon burst!

Thanks again!
Just get the regular aquasoil?
Also, you just inject CO2 right into the filter inlet? I guess I didn't think of that. It should work fine, right? Just won't have any mist from a diffusor...

Are there any good off brand 12" fixures?

[Craigthor]

Matt,

I got 9L of Amazonia and it was more than enough only used about 3L or so and also bought 3L of the Amazonia Powder for a cap and used not quite 1/3-1/2 the bag for my mini m. I run an eheim 2213 with the 200 watt hydor ETH inline heater off of it. I also run an inline diffuser which seems to work great. PM if you have any question about my equipment or check out my thread here in the nano section has everything there.

Craig

[helgymatt]

Anyone used a fluval 303? I can maybe get one used for $45? Is it worth it or just get a new eheim?

[Craigthor]

check out ebay I saw an eheim 2213 for around $75 shipped. I think it was 65 something and $10 shipping

[dmcentire]

Keep in mind, the Coralife 36W 12" light does NOT come in a fresh water version. The only option they sell is a 10K + 50/50 actinic setup.

However, there is good news!

I have two of these lights myself, and all you need to do is locate 6500K straight pin bulbs to pop in there. I have done just that.

http://www.lightbulbemporium.com/eik...dt18_65_rs.asp

Those are about $8 each and I have purchased several lamps from these people, including this bulb for my Coralife 12" units.

On another quick note, I am experimenting with a super cool LED option. I found a 10W LED that's imported from Hong Kong that is SUPER bright. Don't let the 10W rating fool you. It's 650 lumens bright and runs at 7000K for plants. Some early LCD projectors were 500-700 lumens, just to give you an idea how bright this thing is. It must be mounted to a CPU heatsink and fan for cooling, but it works great and is extremely bright. It's brighter than the 18W CF lamp I have, and much much smaller. I'll post photos and information once I've set it up.

Dennis