How long do most leave their lights on? I've heard some saying 6 hrs is enough, while others go more for 10. I've been leaving them, on average about 7 to 8 hrs per day, but have gone up to 10 hrs. I have a total of 148 watts of florescent lighting for my 55g tank. (40 watt florescent tube that came with the aquarium, as well as 108 watt T5 HO by AquaticLife).
Also How many of you monitor the Fe levels? I bought a test kit for this yesterday and checked the results. The toxic Fe level was 0, which did not surprise me. The non-toxic (good) Fe was only 0.1. This had surprised me a bit, as I'd used a fair bit of plant food. The tank in question was only set up last week (with media from my other established tank to help seed). When setting it up that first day, Monday, (before anything live was put in), I'd added the recommended amount, which is double the double the subsequent dosings. The next day I added several plants, and a few small fish. I had given another (normal) dose of plant food on Friday. On Sunday, I changed about 40% of the water, due to an ammonia spike of close to 0.25. (The ammo levels have remained at 0 since the water change). Immediately after the water change, I added about 1/2 the recommended level of plant food to help compensate for the loss due to the WC. So Monday when I checked the Fe levels, I expected to see reasonable amount so Fe. To my surprise, this was only 0.1. According to the guide that came with the test kit, they suggest adding more plant food if the level is below 0.25; so I added more plant food yesterday as well. I plan to test the levels today as well. (For now at least, I am using only the liquid CO2, Seachem Focus Excel, the recommended amount daily).
Thanks
Also How many of you monitor the Fe levels? I bought a test kit for this yesterday and checked the results. The toxic Fe level was 0, which did not surprise me. The non-toxic (good) Fe was only 0.1. This had surprised me a bit, as I'd used a fair bit of plant food. The tank in question was only set up last week (with media from my other established tank to help seed). When setting it up that first day, Monday, (before anything live was put in), I'd added the recommended amount, which is double the double the subsequent dosings. The next day I added several plants, and a few small fish. I had given another (normal) dose of plant food on Friday. On Sunday, I changed about 40% of the water, due to an ammonia spike of close to 0.25. (The ammo levels have remained at 0 since the water change). Immediately after the water change, I added about 1/2 the recommended level of plant food to help compensate for the loss due to the WC. So Monday when I checked the Fe levels, I expected to see reasonable amount so Fe. To my surprise, this was only 0.1. According to the guide that came with the test kit, they suggest adding more plant food if the level is below 0.25; so I added more plant food yesterday as well. I plan to test the levels today as well. (For now at least, I am using only the liquid CO2, Seachem Focus Excel, the recommended amount daily).
Thanks
