Re: Advice for planted aquarium setup.

[Victor M. Martinez]

ferlin husky > wrote:
>tank. I have a eclipse hood and this weekend I squeezed into it a 55w pc
>fixture. Is this enough light that CO2 would be needed to ensure healthy,
>growing plants? I would like to grow a nice variety of plants not just a

You really don't need CO2 until you get to having 3+ watts per gallon. I have
a 20 g long tank with an Eclipse3 hood and all the plants are doing great.


--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

[AQUATIC-STORE.COM]

Post this over in the rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants you will get more
responses. Co2 addition is always benefical but is not a requirement
for low to med light tanks 2 wpg is on the lower end of the spectrunm
for a 30 gal

Marcus

http://www.aquatic-store.com/

Co2 tanks on sale
Eheim PRO II 2026 $143
Co2 regulator and bubble counter with needle valve $75

WEBBOARD

http://aquatic.yupapa.com/phpbb/index.php





On Tue, 2 Sep 2003 09:48:15 -0700, "ferlin husky"
> wrote:

>Hey guys! I am wanting to convert my 30gal aquarium into a lush planted
>tank. I have a eclipse hood and this weekend I squeezed into it a 55w pc
>fixture. Is this enough light that CO2 would be needed to ensure healthy,
>growing plants? I would like to grow a nice variety of plants not just a
>couple low-light varieties. I don't want to spend the extra money on CO2 if
>it would not be beneficial. Anyone have any advice?
>

[NetMax]

"ferlin husky" > wrote in message
news:yQ35b.39105$nf3.8524@fed1read07...
> Hey guys! I am wanting to convert my 30gal aquarium into a lush planted
> tank. I have a eclipse hood and this weekend I squeezed into it a 55w
pc
> fixture. Is this enough light that CO2 would be needed to ensure
healthy,
> growing plants? I would like to grow a nice variety of plants not just
a
> couple low-light varieties. I don't want to spend the extra money on
CO2 if
> it would not be beneficial. Anyone have any advice?

Keep in mind that any advice will just be the reporting of personal
experiences which have worked for us, so ymmv:

55/30 is 1.8wpg which is IMO oodles of light for growing plants.

CO2 will not be needed, but a source of nutrients (ie: fish) and minerals
(ie: water) will be. Keep feeding the fish and doing regular water
changes :o)

You will be able to grow a very nice variety of plants. Some will catch
much slower than others, especially when starting new with a sterile
substrate as you are. Use a plant-friendly grade, like small diameter
gravel, flourite or a large diameter sand. The more dependant on root
feeding the plant is, the slower it will catch on, so some patience will
be needed for these. Water column feeders will show the quickest
results. You water's gH and pH will also influence progress. I
personally would not bother with laterite, soils, cat litter,
fertilizers, carbon substitutes, PMDD etc. Start simple (lights,
substrate, fish), don't mess with the plants too much and let the
detritus build up. If there is a problem, a test kit and
cross-referencing symptoms to minerals will point you in the correct
direction.

Adding CO2 will be beneficial, just not essential. If you go with CO2,
something like a Plant-Gro CO2 Natural System
http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=118&
PROD_ID=01076900010101
might fit your application nicely. They are rated for a 20g, but I think
they are under-rated and one would show good effect in a 30g, if you were
to minimize your surface activity.

Adding CO2 will have good effects on lower light levels than what you
will be using. I've seen very nice results down to 1.2 wpg, and I'm sure
I could go lower. hth

NetMax

[ferlin husky]

>You will be able to grow a very nice variety of plants. Some will catch
> much slower than others, especially when starting new with a sterile
> substrate as you are.

Great advice! That is what I wanted to hear. I have two koi that are living
in the tank now. They are getting too big for the tank and would quickly
destroy any plants I would put in there. I was going to take them back and
replace the substrate and plants at the same time. Would it be a better
idea to change the substrate with the fish in there so the "goodie" has some
time to build up before taking them back and planting? I plan on using 100%
flourite. I have read that using flourite really clouds the water when you
first apply it to the tank. Would this hurt my fish?

You guys rock! Thanks for the great info! I will take pictures of its
transformation and post them so you all can see.

Thanks,
ferlin

[NetMax]

"ferlin husky" > wrote in message
news:qyn5b.42046$nf3.39863@fed1read07...
> >You will be able to grow a very nice variety of plants. Some will
catch
> > much slower than others, especially when starting new with a sterile
> > substrate as you are.
>
> Great advice! That is what I wanted to hear. I have two koi that are
living
> in the tank now. They are getting too big for the tank and would
quickly
> destroy any plants I would put in there. I was going to take them
back and
> replace the substrate and plants at the same time. Would it be a
better
> idea to change the substrate with the fish in there so the "goodie" has
some
> time to build up before taking them back and planting? I plan on using
100%
> flourite. I have read that using flourite really clouds the water when
you
> first apply it to the tank. Would this hurt my fish?
>
> You guys rock! Thanks for the great info! I will take pictures of its
> transformation and post them so you all can see.
>
> Thanks,
> ferlin

Koi would definitely generate lots of fertilizer ;o), though I'm not sure
it's really worth your effort. You would pull the Koi, empty the tank,
add the Flourite, refill slowly (use a plate to absorb the water flow),
let the tank water sit for a day (so the heaviest fines settle, and then
run the filter until the water is reasonably clear enough to put the Koi
back in. It's a bit of work, especially to house the Koi somewhere for a
day or 2. Also the filter would only be really effective if it was aged
(sticky media) and it will really clog your media, making it less useful
for biological filtration..

Personally, I'd just pull the Koi and reset the tank with Flourite taking
your time to aquascape just as you would like. It takes me weeks
(months) to collect all the plants to populate a tank, and find just the
right wood & rockwork. At the same time, I'll be collecting fish and
putting them into a bare holding tank. The filters running the holding
tank maintain their nitrifying bacteria and are moved to the planted tank
when ready.

I've only used Flourite once, so my experience is limited. I seem to
remember that subsequent rinses had minimal effect, so I ended up using
it with little rinsing, just cautiously to minimize disturbance. Put the
Flourite into an empty tank, complete your rockscaping, and partially
fill very slowly, until you have enough water to start your foreground
planting. Add a bit more water and do your mid and background planting.
You can google the r.a.f.p. archived posts on how the experts handle
Flourite.

NetMax

[Mike Edwardes]

In article <yQ35b.39105$nf3.8524@fed1read07>,
"ferlin husky" > wrote:

> Hey guys! I am wanting to convert my 30gal aquarium into a lush planted
> tank. I have a eclipse hood and this weekend I squeezed into it a 55w pc
> fixture. Is this enough light that CO2 would be needed to ensure healthy,
> growing plants? I would like to grow a nice variety of plants not just a
> couple low-light varieties. I don't want to spend the extra money on CO2 if
> it would not be beneficial. Anyone have any advice?

You may be interested in my experience:
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/plant/tanks.html

Mike.
--
Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net