Lighting A Picotope

[BostonMike]

Hi everyone, I've never kept a freshwater planted tank. Right now I have a nano reef tank, and I wanted to use a JBJ 3 gallon picotope as a planted betta tank.

The JBJ comes with a 9 watt daylight/actnic. I was going to replace that with one from Catalina, they have a 1x13 watt and 2x13 watt. Is 2x13 watt going to cook my tank? How much do I need? Are there other options? Current USA doesnt seem to make 12 inchers any more.
I was thinking of the following:

microsword
Wisteria
dwarf hair grass
Hemianthus callitrichoides
and maybe 1 other background type plant. Plus a betta and a few shrimp/snails.

Planning on tablet dosing CO2 at first, then stopping once plants start getting established and adding livestock (maintaining CO2 levels in such a small tank seems like it would be hard, rather go low-tech).

Does this sound reasonable?

Thank you kindly,

-Mike

 

[RadaR]

Stick with the 9W if you dont want to add CO2 at a later date.
Everything else is fine except the HC may struggle when you stop CO2. Btw, don't bother with CO2 tablets. Liquid carbon products are so much better. Have a look for Seachem Excel. Dose 1ml per 20litres, job done.

 

[BostonMike]

Hopefully I can replace the stock bulb with a Helios 9 watt daylight or grow light.

What's a good 'carpet' type plant like HC that doesnt require that much light/CO2? I really like the look of covered substrate.

 

[RadaR]

Hopefully I can replace the stock bulb with a Helios 9 watt daylight or grow light.

What's a good 'carpet' type plant like HC that doesnt require that much light/CO2? I really like the look of covered substrate.

Marsilea Crenata
Light isnt the problem here. 9W is fine for HC in a 2gallon, but it will need CO2 (whether thats gaseous injected or liquid carbon), and good nutrient dosing.

 

[lljdma06]

Mosses are another option, but HC should be fine with liquid CO2. Wtth small tanks, you can also opt to inject CO2 gas with DIY and get pretty stable results and then you can measure your CO2 levels, which I always like.

llj

 

[BostonMike]

How about Echinodorus tenellus?

So far my parts list:

Hardware:
jbj picotope
mini heater (15w)
thermometer
replacement bulb for daylight spectrum
plant friendly substrate
driftwood/rocks
mono filament or thread.
root tabs
excel flourish

Plants:
Echinodorus tenellus or java moss
microsword
Wisteria
dwarf hair grass

Livestock:
1 male betta
x freshwater shrimp?
snails?