Ive got a Rekord 70 too but could never grow plants becase the bulbs in them are like only 15W. How did you increase your lighting to have those beautiful plants?
Hi mate,
You are the second person to ask me this, i have just had a pm regarding my lighting as well. Check out the first page of this journal and you will see a picture of the first modification, where i added a second 15W tube. Dead dead simple, literally a new starter, new reflector and a few screws!! Can you see how there is then a gap between the original tube and my newly fitted one. Well i just added a third tube there!!! and fit it to that strip of plastic that runs across the feeding hole.
Its very very easy to do, you don`t even need a drill the plastic is so soft that it NEATLY burrows out with a sharp pointed knife, and that isn`t a bodge job!! So that gives you 3 x 15W tubes = 45W at 18g ish tank which works out about 2.5wpg. I couldn`t ask for better growth!! I actually stepped up to a 18W tube in the centre but found the hood got too hot and could see no real benefit!
If you go to the DIY section, someone has put up a complete, hardcore hood modification, stripping the original hood and refitting it.
I found my modification much easier to do, it took me literally 20 minutes! The only downside i can see is that the majority of light is coming from the front of the hood, since the rear is taken up by jewels built in controler box. With your modification you get lots of accelerated plant growth but with stem plants, especially i noticed cabomba, it really reaches forward in the tank toward the front where the light is. Trust me, its only a minor downfall, but a downfall all the same if your striving for a pefect tank!
Good Luck
Shame to see it go Craynerd, but with your new equipment i can see why you'd want to have a fresh start. When can we look forward to a new tank diary?
Well i have a few things to do in this tank. I want to have a go at an idea i have to accelerate the growth of glosso to form a carpet and i also need to start to propergate some of the plants i am going to use in my next scape. Therefore i expect the tank to become a bit jungle like (even more so than it is!!) in the next few weeks and so thats why i have posted the pics!!
Tbh, i also have a lot to think abour re the hardscape. I am still not happy with the wood, and infact with the inspirational pictures from the aquascaping union i feel compelled to move to a different sort of idea.
I guess you`ll have to wait and see what i come up with, lol, probably turn out crap !! But i realise the need for a strong plan, and thats what i will certainly have before i make any sort of intitial steps!!
Regards
Chris