Best Substrate And Lighting To Use In A Heavily Planted Discuss Tank?

[curran]

i'm just about to set up my discuss tank and would like to do it the best i can this time round.

i have had planted tropical fish tanks for about 10 years now but i've never been completely happy with the plant growth so i would like to get it right this time.

so my questions are:

what is the best substrate to use?

and what is the best lighting?

also is it necessary to use CO2?

any links to places where the items can be bought online would be very helpful.

the tank is 112L and will be fairly heavily planted.

thanks

curran

 

[aaronnorth]

what is the best substrate to use?

this also comes with the question 'how much are you willing to spend?'

ADA aquasoil is the best, then i would reccomend Eco complete. these 2 are used on their own.

if you are wanting cheaper, then go for tetraplant and cap it with sand or gravel. http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/tetrap...58kg-1055-p.asp

and what is the best lighting?

this depends on wether you want low light, or high light, stay with 20-30w for low, and 40-80 for high. This is based on T8's. If you go for T5, then i will be more leanient meaning you willneed less wattage than i stated above.

also is it necessary to use CO2?

only necassary of you have high light, otherwise no, but it would still help in low light aqquariums.

 

[curran]

thanks aaron.

what determines whether i need low light or high light? the type of plants i have? or how heavily planted the aquarium is?

also what type of light is best for discuss fish as i dont want them to be distressed? i would like a light that will enhance their colour and keep them happy so that they will show thier colours fully.

i currently have 2 auqa-glo 20W bulbs that came with the tank.

thank you for the advice on the substrate. i'll have a look into the three you have mentioned.

 

[aaronnorth]

what determines whether i need low light or high light? the type of plants i have? or how heavily planted the aquarium is?

it is the species of plants, plant mass doesnt matter (unless they are blocking light from other plants). It is worked out in WPG (watts per gallon)

total watts/ total US gallons = WPG

0-1wpg - very low
1-1.9wpg - medium
2-3wpg - high
3wpg+ - very high

when you get to 2wpg, that is when you need CO2, preferably pressurized as unstable or low CO2 causes algae. also take into account what i said above with T5 etc.

also what type of light is best for discuss fish as i dont want them to be distressed? i would like a light that will enhance their colour and keep them happy so that they will show thier colours fully.

how is the aqua glo at showing off their colours? if it is ok now then leave it, plants aren't fussy about lighting, as long as there is enough! here is a good place for cheap bulbs: http/www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tub...uorescent-Tubes

at the minute, you are on 1.3wpg (40w/ 30us gal = 1.3wpg) because it is a tank bigger than 10g, then you will be more than likely on 1.5wpg, i always like to start off from this point, it is to low so that you can only grow a few species, but at the same time t isnt to high so you dont have to go into CO2, & heavy fertilisatuion etc.

it is up to you, if you are wanting higher light plants, then stick another 2ow on there.

 

[curran]

a few more questions...

whats the difference between T5 and T8 (that website doesnt seem to have the correct size in T5. my bulbs are 24" / 58.98cm)

should i be aiming for 1.5wpg as a good starting point?

at the moment i'm thinking about having a short grass over most of the tank and a longer grass towards the back maybe with a few other plants here and there.

is there any good websites to buy plants?

can anyone recommend any grasses that will stay short and spread across the floor fairly quickly?

at the moment the tank is empty, so far i have only bought the bog wood which is currently soaking. so i dont know what the current bulbs are like. i was thinking a light with a slightly blue tint would show their colours well as the fish are mostly blue and red. i really dont know though so if someone could confirm this, that would be great.

having looked at the substrate options, i have decided to use eco complete. i think i will get away with 2 bags as i have quite a large piece of bog wood in the middle. so at £20 a bag, it will cost £40 which isnt bad if it does what it says on the tin.

thank you for your help so far!

 

[aaronnorth]

whats the difference between T5 and T8 (that website doesnt seem to have the correct size in T5. my bulbs are 24" / 58.98cm)

it is the diameter

T5 - 5/8th of an inch
T8 - 1"

should i be aiming for 1.5wpg as a good starting point?

yes, you are already at that with your existing tubes now.

is there any good websites to buy plants?

Plants Alive - ideal for fast growing plants as they are cheap
Aqua Essentials - Tropica plants, top quality, beter for slower growing plants as you get larger bunches, but they are more costly. worth the money though.
The Green Machine - again, they also stock tropica plants.

can anyone recommend any grasses that will stay short and spread across the floor fairly quickly?

the more light you have, the quicker plants grow (CO2 & nutrients also play a role)

foreground - eleocharis acularis, or eleocharis parvula
background - eleocharis vivipara

the moment the tank is empty, so far i have only bought the bog wood which is currently soaking. so i dont know what the current bulbs are like. i was thinking a light with a slightly blue tint would show their colours well as the fish are mostly blue and red. i really dont know though so if someone could confirm this, that would be great.

yes, maybe you could replace one of the tubes for a lower kelvin rating of around 6700k, this will show off the green colours of the plants too.