[wonderflow]

Hello everyone. I recently picked up a fluval spec v and plan to start a planted shrimp tank. I plan on using Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum as my substrate. The plants I am going to grow are dwarf baby tears, staurogyne repens, and maybe some anabius. I have been search all over the Web and maybe I am asking the wrong questions but will a finnex stingray be enough for my low tech setup or should I just go with a finnex 24 7 light? Any help would be deeply appreciated.

 

[klibs]

dwarf baby tears (HC) and s repens are not going to do well in a low tech setup

 

[wonderflow]

dwarf baby tears (HC) and s repens are not going to do well in a low tech setup

What requirements do these plants need to grow?

 

[klibs]

search the forum for answers like that - these questions have been asked hundreds of times

HC really needs CO2 and above low levels of light to thrive

 

[wonderflow]

Will a finnex stingray offer enough light for such a small tank or should I just go full finnex 24/7. I have searched everywhere and I have read answers that go either one way or another, people post pictures with low tech tanks and they have full hc carpets. I'm really trying to find the answer before I dive in

 

[SwampGremlin]

What requirements do these plants need to grow?

Lots of light and lots of co2 and lots of ferts. Wich alot of rare shrimp do not like but Cherry shrimp are pretty hardy i have alot in my high tech set up.if i were to give any advice here i would say star lt out with a small amount of plants and let you new tank cycle for 3 months, and do 70% water change twice a week for the first 2 months then once a week after that. Patients is key to not wasting lives and money. Let you tank run like that and once youve gone through you algae stages and cycle then Add some live stock weather you go high tech or low tech.and when i say cherry shrimp are hardy I mean they are hardy when added to a somewhat stable tank not a brand new one.

 

[wonderflow]

Thanks for the advice guys. Do you guys think the finnex stingray will have any capabilities to grow plants?

 

[touch of sky]

What is the height of your tank?

 

[wonderflow]

What is the height of your tank?

The dimensions of my tank is 20.5" x 7.5" x 11.6" high with 2" of substarte. So light will be 9" from substrate

 

[touch of sky]

I would say that the Finnex Stingray would work well for low to medium light plants, for sure, and because it is a shallow tank, it may do well with some plants with higher light demands. Without CO2 the 24/7 may produce a lot of algae.

I have not used either light, however, I have a 10 gallon shrimp tank with a Marineland Double Bright LED light on it. It supposedly has the same par as the light you are looking at at 12" depth. That is about how far my light is from the substrate. The water is 10" deep or so, and the light is about 1 1/2" from the water. No glass canopy or anything like that.

I have had this tank set up for 5 years. Very little maintenance other than water changes, filter cleaning and a rare bit of fertilizing when the plants look like they could use it.

I have Anubias barteri 'Nana', Hygrophila polysperma, Cryptocorne Wendtii 'Brown', Cryptocorne Wendtii 'Bronze', Bacopa monnieri, Heteranthera zosterifolia, Ludwigia repens, Ceratophyllum demersum, Vesicularia dubyana, Rotala rotundifolia. I have been successful with these plants in this tank for the past 5 years.

I hope this helps a bit and please feel free to ask questions.

 

[wonderflow]

@touch of sky Thank you for the advice. Do you have pics of your shrimp tank or any other setups. Would definitely like to see how they look.

 

[touch of sky]

Yes, I do. I will post a picture of a low tech tank that I set up about six months before the shrimp tank. The lighting on this was four 14 watt T5NO fluorescent tubes. I treated this tank much the same as the LED lit shrimp tank. Regular water changes, very light fertilizing, Excel every second day, root tabs under the Echinodorus. I do have pictures of the shrimp tank, but I am not sure if they are on this computer. I will have to look and if not, I will post them tomorrow.

This is an unusually shaped tank that I bought to fit in an awkward spot. There is a big heating vent on the wall at floor level, so this tank had a small base, but held 20 gallons. Unfortunately, it sprung a very slow leak about half way up six months ago. I now have it filled about half way, and have five newly purchased shrimp in it.

This was it about five months after it had been set up.


Planted Tank Gallery - Low Tech Trophy Tank

I will find the photos of the 10 gallon tank with the LED light tomorrow. They must be on my other computer.

BTW, I don't use Excel regularly in the shrimp tank.

 

[wonderflow]

@touch of sky Your 20g tank looks great. I like the entire setup including the shape of the tank, which looks awesome.

 

[touch of sky]

Thanks, I like that tank, too, but unfortunately I had to break it down about 6 months ago. I moved the plants to my other tanks.

Here is the little 10 gallon shrimp tank, picture taken today:
Planted Tank Gallery - 10 gallon low tech LED shrimp tank
AquaClear HOB filter
Marineland Double Bright LED 18-24" fixture
Eco-Complete Substrate
Colony of cherry shrimp
20% water changes about once per month
Very little fertilizing, only when plants look like they need it (usually after a water change)
Tank has been running since early 2012

Here is the photo of the shrimp tank inserted in the post. Finally figured out how to do that!