2 sets of 4-foot work lights from home depot suspended over the tank. Check the sticky in the lighting forum for PAR values.
No Idea What To Do.
Hello everybody im new to all of this planted tank thing so please bear with me and my noobish questions. Well I just got a 55 gallon tank off of craigslist for 130 with stand,tank,light,fluval 305 filter and heater. I wanted to take a dive into planted tanks because of their beautiful and natural look. I want to make this tank high planted but on a budget such I guess is kind a hard to do. I have regular gravel and thinking of buying 2 bags of eco complete or flourite to put on the bottom layer of my gravel. I also am very confused on the lighting. I am liking this Nova extreme light fixture which has 2 bulbs 1. 10k light and another 6,700 k light its t5ho and is a good price. But the problem I think is its going to be too much light and im probably going to have to use C02 with this. So which other fixture that's bellow 100$ and is going to be right for low light plant and no co2? Also and advice will be greatly appreciated.
~Thx!
~Thx!
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Welcome to TPT!
Personally, I'd go with a Coralife T5NO fixture: http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Li...le-Linear-Strip-Light_7424001_82.html?tc=fish
Personally, I'd go with a Coralife T5NO fixture: http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Li...le-Linear-Strip-Light_7424001_82.html?tc=fish
You can get the Eco on line from PETCO $15.99 for 20lbs bag and you get free shipping on orders of $60.00 or more. For my 55g I bought 5 bags of Eco Complete Black.
+1Welcome to TPT!
Personally, I'd go with a Coralife T5NO fixture: http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Li...le-Linear-Strip-Light_7424001_82.html?tc=fish
But order it here: http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/ESU58023.html
Its cheaper. Thats what I have over my 55 gallon. With no CO2 do not get T5HO, its asking for trouble for noobs. lol
Thanks everybody for the advice!! I was actually looking at that light Laura. If I were to get that light, would I need co2 or not? Also about the substrate, I already have 2 inches of regular gravel but want to add 2 more bags of a plant substrate would mixing the two be a problem? The gravel I have looks like the flourite kind so im thinking it would blend in nicely.
No, the Coralife T5NO will leave you low tech, and you won't need CO2 like you probably would going T5HO. I use those same fixtures over my own 29 and 46gal low techs.
And mixing Flourite in with your gravel shouldn't be a problem at all. Just make sure to rinse the Flourite REALLY well first, and don't go more than 2-3" total with your substrate.
And mixing Flourite in with your gravel shouldn't be a problem at all. Just make sure to rinse the Flourite REALLY well first, and don't go more than 2-3" total with your substrate.
A quick question before I consider which substrate. Instead of having to put in eco complete or flourite can I put root tabs or will the substrate be better for the long term?
I would. RootMedic has very good root tabs.A quick question before I consider which substrate. Instead of having to put in eco complete or flourite can I put root tabs or will the substrate be better for the long term?
barbarossa- You would what? use the root tabs instead or the substrate?
I have Eco in all my tanks and use root tabs also.barbarossa- You would what? use the root tabs instead or the substrate?
What type of ferts really depends on the type of plants you have. If you have moss and ferns you can sometimes get by with no ferts.
But here's the thing. I don't know what plants im getting yet. I just getting started, mom is going to buy the coralife aqualight T5NO in 2 weeks so were progressing slowly. I was looking into ADA aquasoil but its kinda expensive and people say it wears out in nutrients quick and it takes long to cycle. But on the other hand some people say it awsome. Is it really worth it? Or should I just but eco complete?
I prefer a conversion of the El Natural Method. Laterite spread thinly on bottom, Reptile coconut bark, Scott's top soil, topped with pool filter sand (PFS). Then dose water with Brightwell aquatics Iron and multi. Just dose 4ml weekly of each since have laterite. Hoping dosing water column will help the nutrients in the substrate to last. Also dose with Excel daily.
Some do mineralised substrate using dirt.
Some do mineralised substrate using dirt.
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