Hello all,
Just joined. Looks like a nice forum. I did a planted tank a few years ago and it ended sadly in algae bloom which I could not get a handle on. I'm determined to do it right this time... so I seek some advice.
I want to get this right from the start so I need some help from you veterans. My setup is a 30 gallon tank w/ a 110 watt compact flourescent light and pressurized CO2 injection system. I'll be using soilmaster as the substrate and have only a few fish.
1) Lighting: The light hood came with 9300K bulbs. I want to avoid algae, so what K should I get? I read in the above pinned topic that algae like the high K bulbs, so it's best to avoid them. I'll have 3.6 WPG with this setup and another twin tube strip light too I could add to bump it over 5 WPG if I need to, but to start I won't have that I don't think. And recommendations where to get these bulbs online?
2) Fertilizer: Without many fish, are ferts more important? With so much light, is it required to use fertilizer to avoid algae growth?
3) Filtering: I saw biological filtering mentioned as something important to avoiding algae in the pinned topic. I was planning on only using a powerhead with a sponge attached to it's inlet as a filter since I won't have many fish. This is what my local fish store does in their planted tanks and it seems to work. Will this be good enough for biological filtering or should I look into something else?
4) Heat: does temperature affect algae growth? Ideal temp for a planted freshwater tank?
After I figure out the above questions, I plan on planting a lot of fast growing plants initially and after a week turning on the CO2 system. Please let me know what you guys think about all this, thanks!
Just joined. Looks like a nice forum. I did a planted tank a few years ago and it ended sadly in algae bloom which I could not get a handle on. I'm determined to do it right this time... so I seek some advice.
I want to get this right from the start so I need some help from you veterans. My setup is a 30 gallon tank w/ a 110 watt compact flourescent light and pressurized CO2 injection system. I'll be using soilmaster as the substrate and have only a few fish.
1) Lighting: The light hood came with 9300K bulbs. I want to avoid algae, so what K should I get? I read in the above pinned topic that algae like the high K bulbs, so it's best to avoid them. I'll have 3.6 WPG with this setup and another twin tube strip light too I could add to bump it over 5 WPG if I need to, but to start I won't have that I don't think. And recommendations where to get these bulbs online?
2) Fertilizer: Without many fish, are ferts more important? With so much light, is it required to use fertilizer to avoid algae growth?
3) Filtering: I saw biological filtering mentioned as something important to avoiding algae in the pinned topic. I was planning on only using a powerhead with a sponge attached to it's inlet as a filter since I won't have many fish. This is what my local fish store does in their planted tanks and it seems to work. Will this be good enough for biological filtering or should I look into something else?
4) Heat: does temperature affect algae growth? Ideal temp for a planted freshwater tank?
After I figure out the above questions, I plan on planting a lot of fast growing plants initially and after a week turning on the CO2 system. Please let me know what you guys think about all this, thanks!
/www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2062
