Will This Work For A Set Up?

[ANIM4L]

I have a 40 watt strip light, plus 2 75 watt bulbs faced downward into the tank (so 190 watts) in a 60 gallon (like 3.15 wpg) and i have 4 co2 systems *(i belive by nutrafin, it has the ladder and is for up to 20 gallons) so i bought 4 so i could have extra. will plants do good in this set up? Also i have sand... and what else would you need to know??? I want my plant to trhive, and i dont think my tnak is the coolest yet because i cant find any small front tank plants, but i improvised, can anyone help?

my plants so far (and any other suggestions will be appreciated, are java fern (lots o fit), umbrella sword./plant, and amzon swords, and some other plant, forgot name, sorry) i want more though!!! i havelots of driftwood tho

 

[@ombomb]

plus 2 75 watt bulbs faced downward into the tank

You mean like table lamps?

I'd have a read through this stickied thread by gf which is a very good place start.

 

[ANIM4L]

they are coil lamps, using 25 watts but producing 75 wats, wil that help or no? hey are in reptile parts of an lfs

 

[ANIM4L]

some of my plants seem just fine in the past, but some, ike the swords and umbrella, seem to have leaves dying off, but not the whole plant. I give them liquid food every 3-4 days and i have tablets that are in the sand for them. I dont know what else to do! I need small front plants because my tank has none and it could really use some, i might get something next week online. Any suggestions on what i can do to make my tank an dplants better?

 

[@ombomb]

they are coil lamps, using 25 watts but producing 75 wats, wil that help or no? hey are in reptile parts of an lfs

As far as I know, they are little / no help as they are the wrong spectrum for plant growth.

 

[ANIM4L]

i thought about the coils and i think that may be that is why some of my plants were dying off, so i got rid of the coils. I went and got a dual lamp 48" strip light and am putting that on the tank, as well as my single tube 48" bulb. I will be putting out 120 watts, so 2 wpg, plus some because of the ballasts and stuff, so about 2.3-2.4 wats per gallon, if i am lucky more tho

The lights i am using are:

2 CoralLife Spectramax 48" bulb - 40 watts each:
I am using this because it produces the best amount of beneficial light out of all 12 types of bulbs my store sells, lots of red and blue in the wavelengths.

1 CoralLife Actinin 03 48" bulb - 40 watts
I am using this because it has MASSIVE amounts of 420nm in the wavelengths which is VERY good for cloraphyll-a, so i got one. Yes i know it produces more algea, but i have that under control (regulating lighting time, and pleco and snails)

So that is what i have in my tank, plus 4 nutrafin co2 ladders. Is this enough for my plants ot survive?

I also found aplant that i am unsure of the name atm, but it looks great when together, makes a safe hiding spot for fish when bunched, so i found the plants i want i guess

 

[George Farmer]

Sounds good. Good light and CO2 are the basis for a successful planted tank.

Be aware with that much light and CO2 though you will need to plant heavily with fast growing stem plants from the outset - this helps establish a balance to beat algae. Try to cover at least 50% of your substrate with fast growers i.e. Hygros, Ludwigia, Rotala, Ambulia, Anacharis etc. You can replace these with your final choices of plants once the tank has established after a couple of months.

Will you be DIYing your Nutrafin mixtures? Much cheaper and more effective.

Interesting choice on the Actinic tube - normally I would advise against these but if you acheive high enough plant growth then algae won't be an issue. I have read that these are actually a good option in the "correct" (high growth) environment.

Have you thought about fertilisation yet? You will definitely need to. Your probably high growth and consequent high nutrient uptake rates will see you needing to dose macro and micronnutrients regularly. I strongly recommend you read up on Tom Barr's Estimative Index.

These links will help -
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=103262
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=101550

 

[jimbooo]

Sounds good. Good light and CO2 are the basis for a successful planted tank.

Be aware with that much light and CO2 though you will need to plant heavily with fast growing stem plants from the outset - this helps establish a balance to beat algae. Try to cover at least 50% of your substrate with fast growers i.e. Hygros, Ludwigia, Rotala, Ambulia, Anacharis etc. You can replace these with your final choices of plants once the tank has established after a couple of months.

Will you be DIYing your Nutrafin mixtures? Much cheaper and more effective.

Interesting choice on the Actinic tube - normally I would advise against these but if you acheive high enough plant growth then algae won't be an issue. I have read that these are actually a good option in the "correct" (high growth) environment.

Have you thought about fertilisation yet? You will definitely need to. Your probably high growth and consequent high nutrient uptake rates will see you needing to dose macro and micronnutrients regularly. I strongly recommend you read up on Tom Barr's Estimative Index.

These links will help -
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=103262
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=101550

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sorry to hijack the thread but george, we seem to be going full circle here (ref lighting!!). i give up......

 

[ANIM4L]

thanks a lot for the help! Ok the fertilizers i have are:

Sechchem Flourish Tablets Flourish Tabs

Seachem Flourish Liquid Fertilizer Liquid Fertilizer

Nutrafin Plant Grow with Iron (cant find site)

I put the tablets in the sand, they last for 6-8 months minimum, the seachem liquid i use usually on monday or sunday, and the nutrafin (for the iron) i use on like wednesday or thursday. That is my fertilizers. The lighting i chose just becuase of the spectrum graphs, i wanted what was healthiest for my plants, and amazingly the plant growth bulb, had very little growth on the spectrum graph.

I am not using the DIY method for co2, but i am reilling he containers today, so if anyone knows how much of whatever i need, ill do it

Thanks a lot! Hope this helps explain my set up

 

[George Farmer]

sorry to hijack the thread but george, we seem to be going full circle here (ref lighting!!). i give up......

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I know mate. Lighting isn't the simplest of subjects unfortunately. In fact the more I learn in this hobby, the more I realise that nothing is simple!

My understanding is that if lighting and nutrients are in abundance then spectrum, colour temp. etc. are less important. The sheer quantity of light allows the plants to grow effectively enough to fight off algae. I assume the plants adapt to the less than perfect wavelengths - assisted by the high levels of CO2 and other nutrients.

However in a lower light setup with less nutrients then spectrum etc. becomes very important as the growth rate of the plants do not fend off algae as effectively. Therefore too much blue content will likely encourage algae.

I would never recommend using actinic tubes (or any high blue content tube) in a setup with generally less than 3 WPG, 30ppm CO2 and ideal NPK and micro fertilisation.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[ANIM4L]

well i have one mroe tube i can use, it is a corallife 10k tube, should i switch out my actinic blue tube for that one then? Whatever you think i shoud do i will do gf225. Also about the co2, what shoul i put into each canister then? Since you know my set up, can you give me a good idea of how much of whatever? I know i need to change it out, so i can wait a day if you need to, but i was just wondering. If the DIY co2 is better, then i might as well go for it

 

[George Farmer]

The 10000K maybe the safer option to start with - I know in the US the planted guys use them to good effect. You can always change once the system has balanced to see any possibe differences - it would be interesting to see.

As for CO2 recipes - 3 x units in a 60G is ideal. The advantage of 3 units over 1 or 2 is that you can acheive a greater CO2 stability. This is simply acheived by changing each unit alternately - never simultaneously. Changing them all at once will result in CO2 level peaks and troughs.

If your water isn't too soft (i.e. over GH 6, KH 4) then you won't need to use the "Stabiliser" sachets. These are bi-carbonate of soda - cheap to buy from your grocery store. If your water is softer then use 1 level teaspoon in each unit.

The "Activator" sachets are dried yeast - also available from your grocery store. Ensure it is in date and kept cool and dark. To acheive 30ppm CO2 then I reckon about 1/2 teaspoon of yeast in each. Change each mixture every 10 days but staggered as described.

 

[ANIM4L]

ok so just use the yeast, 1/2 teaspoon in all four. what else to add? When i change them, change one in 9 days, and one each day after? Should i use four systems or 3 systems. I know there si a way to measure the amount of co2 in the system, but i cant find anything like that ANYWHERE!!!

So change the actinic to the 10k and redo my measuring on the co2. Just please tell me exactly what to do and add and whatnot please, thanks abunch!

also, to control the algea, i have my lights on a timer, they turn on at 8am and turn off at 1 pm, then turn back on at 2 pm and turn off at 6 pm, and back on from 7-11. This is what i read abot how to control algea and make your plants happy so it goes:

5 hours on
1 hour off
4 hours on
1 hour off
4 hours on
9 hours off

 

[George Farmer]

ok so just use the yeast, 1/2 teaspoon in all four. what else to add? When i change them, change one in 9 days, and one each day after? Should i use four systems or 3 systems. I know there si a way to measure the amount of co2 in the system, but i cant find anything like that ANYWHERE!!!

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Just add sugar and tepid water as per instructions with your yeast. I would give a 2 or 3 day gap between changing mixtures.

You won't need 4 units - if you are willing to spend on 4 then personally I would have bought a pressurized CO2 system - much less maintenance and better CO2 control and stablilty.

Never heard of that photoperiod - I use 5 on 2 off 5 on. Plants only need 10 hours generally.

Test KH and pH to get CO2 levels. See the CO2 table in my link.

 

[ANIM4L]

i thought in your pinned topic it said the more light is ok for plants, just grows algea, but if i put two breaks in there for the plants will that be ok?

I got the co2 really really cheap so its ok, should i take off one of the systems then?

Also gf225, what about water current, is that good or bad for plants and co2? I have a penguin biowheel 330 and i have a magnum 350 cannister.

So for co2, add the sugar to what it says, and add pure yeast, 1/2 teaspoon per container, and fill with sink water?

one last thing, because it totally slipped my mind, what is KH lol

sorry one last thing, should i knock down my photoperiod for my lights? do u suggest i use the 5 on 2 off 5 on?

also. again, sorry, if i am controlling my algea this way, and i have one snail in the tank, should i even need a pleco? my rubberlipped pleco died and i have a clown pleco that doesnt really eat algea, but do i need one or no?