[Bobby1983]

I have just ventured into the world of Dutch style scalping. I have a 4 bulb t5 HO unit giving me 140 watts over my 32 gallon. I'm aware this is high lighting. I'm dosing EI method with 40-50% water change on the 7th day. I'm also adding bi weekly doses of chelated iron to bring out the Reds. The main question is how much diffused co2 do I want to add to the mix? I'm running on 3 bubbles per second and drop checker is lime green throughout lights off and photo period. Am I over using the co2?

Obviously I meant scaping not scalping 😞

 

[thejoe]

Your right, 4.5 watts per gallon sure is high lighting.

 

[Hoppy]

What are the dimensions of that 32 gallon tank. I can't find any on google. A 33 gallon tank is about 12 inches high, so 4 T5HO bulbs over that would be very high light. Also, you say you have 140 watts of bulbs, which would be 4-35 watt bulbs, what length bulbs would that be?

 

[Bobby1983]

Capacity is just what I know from the second hand sale, the tank is 110x30(d) X 45(h) cm. I've read online that 4+ wpg is considered high light. I'm trying to get a dwarf hair grass carpet going and have a couple high light plants ie p. Stellata, alt. Reckinii. My maths were terrible (apologies) the t5 bulbs are 39 watt. I have 2 10000k and 2 6700k. I run an overlap timing so only all 4 bulbs are on for 2.5 hrs in the middle of the photo period.

Bump: Capacity is just what I know from the second hand sale, the tank is 110x30(d) X 45(h) cm. I've read online that 4+ wpg is considered high light. I'm trying to get a dwarf hair grass carpet going and have a couple high light plants ie p. Stellata, alt. Reckinii. My maths were terrible (apologies) the t5 bulbs are 39 watt. I have 2 10000k and 2 6700k. I run an overlap timing so only all 4 bulbs are on for 2.5 hrs in the middle of the photo period.

 

[Hoppy]

The reason I am asking questions about your light fixture is that a 4 bulb T5HO light can produce as much as 120 PAR on that tank, or as little as half that, all depending on how good the reflectors are and if it has a fully powered ballast. If you are getting 120 PAR with all 4 bulbs on, you need to be pushing the CO2 concentration a lot higher than if you only get 60 PAR. And, with 2 bulbs you could have from 30 PAR to 60 PAR, or from not needing any CO2 to needing a lot of CO2.

What brand and/or model number is the light fixture? Or, do you have a photo of the fixture, looking at the bulbs installed in it? Or a link to a website that describes it?

 

[Bobby1983]

It's an odeyssa quad. Found online. Changed out two bulbs for daylight bulbs. I think I'm going to back it down to 2 bulbs. I don't like the thought of all that algae and constant trimming. I just want my tank to look great and my hair grass to spread and become dense.

 

[Nordic]

You'd have to fertilise that tank with buckets

 

[Hoppy]

The Odyssea light should give you about 60 PAR with 2 bulbs. That is too much light if you don't use CO2. I don't think hairgrass would do very well with much less light though. Low growing plants, with a few exceptions, need much more light than high growing plants, and usually have to have CO2 or they won't do well.

 

[Bobby1983]

Thank you for your advice. Hopefully I can find a good balance through trial and error. Should I be turning off my co2 overnight or can I leave it on to get a head start at lights on? I've been running 1/2 bubbles per second for a day or two now and drop checker has been light green, I assumed when hit with all 4 t5s on it would use up a good portion of the co2 and the colour would darken but it tends to stay a very similar green throughout?

 

[Hoppy]

Are you filling the drop checker with 4 dKH water, made from distilled water and baking soda, plus a couple of drops of pH test reagent, the type that is yellow at about 5.5pH and blue at about 7.5 pH? If you are getting a green drop checker at only .5 bubbles per second on that size tank I suspect you are using tank water in it.