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RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"TSJ of course" wrote in message ... By the way, unlike like lamps specialy made for aquariums, ordinary house lamps would not light up the whole aquarium the same way. ==================== OK, the sites just sell bulbs. There's no explanation of what's best for FW tanks or tanks with algae problems. Now the problem with my buying bulbs to help with the algae would be a hard sell to my husband since the Flourish Excel fiasco. I was assured over and over that algae turns white and falls off when FE is used. Although I found that almost impossible to believe, like a fool I bought the stuff. I bought a lot of it, and it's totally useless. Then the same man from the plant group tried to get me to purchase some other expensive crap from his friend who sells fertilizers. I can spend well over $100 on bulbs and still have the algae problem. So you can see why I hesitate to start buying expensive bulbs when the FE did nothing. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 21, 6:02*pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
"TSJ of course" wrote in ... *By the way, unlike like lamps specialy made for aquariums, ordinary house lamps would not light up the whole aquarium the same way. ==================== OK, the sites just sell bulbs. There's no explanation of what's best for FW tanks or tanks with algae problems. *Now the problem with my buying bulbs to help with the algae would be a hard sell to my husband since the Flourish Excel fiasco. *I was assured over and over that algae turns white and falls off when FE is used. Although I found that almost impossible to believe, like a fool I bought the stuff. * I bought a lot of it, and it's totally useless. *Then the same man from the plant group tried to get me to purchase some other expensive crap from his friend who sells fertilizers. *I can spend well over $100 on bulbs and still have the algae problem. *So you can see why I hesitate to start buying expensive bulbs when the FE did nothing.. -- RM.... Zone 6. *Middle TN USA ~~~~ *}((((* *~~~ * }{{{{(๖ YOu should be able to get bulbs for approx 12-15 bucks each.............and since your gonna have to start somewhere go with the Coralife Nutri Grow Plant Lamps. NO guarantee though as I am not a plant kind of person, so you may have to try another type of bulb if that did not work. A few more things is really needed to help with the picking of the bulbs though. DSo these lights thata you have set on top of the aquarium frame or are they suspended over the tanks, and how high are the bulbs from the water surface and tank substrate? 2, 40watt bulbs ought to be plenty of light for a 55 gal tank..............I prefer the compact florescent fixtures myself, over NO types of florescent tubes, but they will cost more initially and for bulb replacements every 12 months or so........but they pack a lot more watts into the same areas than NO types of florescents do. Those places that sell bulbs all have discriptions of the bulbs and what to use them for........Coralifes "aqualight" is super when it comes to aquarium lighting, but it will set you back better than a C note for a 55 gal tank...............Please explain how you have the lights installed over the tanks.............and are you using a polished metallic reflector or a plain white reflector. YOU can call Hello lights or any of these other places and talk to associates. Hello lights is especially knowledgeable..........AH Supply makes a great compact florescent light assembly that can be retrofit into the typical strip lights commonly found on a lot of aquariums......(standard basic strip light as supplied by factory which nornmally has tube florescent light bulb in it) YOU can pack lots more wattage in that same area with a retro kit from AH supply...........probably be easy to put 2 x 96 or 2 x 65 watt CF lights in the typical strip light / hood with minimal renovating a typical hood.........and then you could easily grow virtually anything. I just put two 55 watt PC lights over a 29 gal tank in original strip light (1 x 18 watt bulb standard) and its super bright............and I have no doubt its bright enough to allow me to plant more Helvola water lilys in that tank as well....and have them bloom all year round....... |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Tynk" wrote in message ... YOu should be able to get bulbs for approx 12-15 bucks each............. * I would need 8 of them so that's kind of out of the question unless I know for sure they'd get rid of the algae. and since your gonna have to start somewhere go with the Coralife Nutri Grow Plant Lamps. NO guarantee though as I am not a plant kind of person, so you may have to try another type of bulb if that did not work. A few more things is really needed to help with the picking of the bulbs though. DSo these lights thata you have set on top of the aquarium frame or are they suspended over the tanks, and how high are the bulbs from the water surface and tank substrate? * They're shop lights that sit right on the tank's rim about 2" from the water's surface. 2, 40watt bulbs ought to be plenty of light for a 55 gal tank............. * Not if you want to grow plants. All I got were spindly sickly plants and diatoms with only 2, 40w bulbs. ..I prefer the compact florescent fixtures myself, over NO types of florescent tubes, but they will cost more initially and for bulb replacements every 12 months or so........but they pack a lot more watts into the same areas than NO types of florescents do. Those places that sell bulbs all have discriptions of the bulbs and what to use them for........Coralifes "aqualight" is super when it comes to aquarium lighting, but it will set you back better than a C note for a 55 gal tank...............Please explain how you have the lights installed over the tanks.............and are you using a polished metallic reflector or a plain white reflector. * They're just the cheap white shop reflectors sold in all the Hope Depot type stores for under $15. They sit side by side on the tank's rim. YOU can call Hello lights or any of these other places and talk to associates. Hello lights is especially knowledgeable..........AH Supply makes a great compact florescent light assembly that can be retrofit into the typical strip lights commonly found on a lot of aquariums......(standard basic strip light as supplied by factory which nornmally has tube florescent light bulb in it) * These tanks didn't come with Aquarium strip lights. I've always just had shop lights on them. YOU can pack lots more wattage in that same area with a retro kit from AH supply...........probably be easy to put 2 x 96 or 2 x 65 watt CF lights in the typical strip light / hood with minimal renovating a typical hood........ * I don't have those regular tank strips for the 55s, they're just the 10s. I use 2 40w CFs on the 10s and plants thrive. ..and then you could easily grow virtually anything. I just put two 55 watt PC lights over a 29 gal tank in original strip light (1 x 18 watt bulb standard) and its super bright............and I have no doubt its bright enough to allow me to plant more Helvola water lilys in that tank as well....and have them bloom all year round....... * These are just common shop lights that I put cool white and warm white bulbs in. Before I spend "big bucks" on bulbs that may make no more difference than the Flourish Excel made, I'll let the plants die and use water lettuce and hornwart. Together they'll just shade and starve the algae out but that is very dissapointing. Having live plants in my tanks is all part of the "fishy" scene. I did add another rubberlip pleco to that tank today. Massive water changes and serious gravel vacuuming has made no difference either. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 24, 7:55*pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
"Tynk" wrote in message ... YOu should be able to get bulbs for approx 12-15 bucks each............. * I would need 8 of them so that's kind of out of the question unless I know for sure they'd get rid of the algae. and since your gonna have to start somewhere go with the Coralife Nutri Grow Plant Lamps. NO guarantee though as I am not a plant kind of person, so you may have to try another type of bulb if that did not work. *A few more things is really needed to help with the picking of the bulbs though. DSo these lights *thata you have set on top of the aquarium frame *or are they suspended over the tanks, and how high are the bulbs from the water surface and tank substrate? * They're shop lights that sit right on the tank's rim about 2" from the water's surface. 2, 40watt bulbs ought to be plenty of light for a 55 gal tank............. * *Not if you want to grow plants. All I got were spindly sickly plants and diatoms with only 2, 40w bulbs. .I prefer the compact florescent fixtures myself, over NO types of florescent tubes, but they will cost more initially and for bulb replacements every 12 months or so........but they pack a lot more watts into the same areas than NO types of florescents do. Those places that sell bulbs all have discriptions of the bulbs and what to use them for........Coralifes "aqualight" is super when it comes to aquarium lighting, but it will set *you back better than a C note for a 55 gal tank...............Please explain how you have the lights installed over the tanks.............and are you using a polished metallic reflector or a plain white reflector. * *They're just the cheap white shop reflectors sold in all the Hope Depot type stores for under $15. They sit side by side on the tank's rim. YOU can call Hello lights or any of these other places and talk to associates. Hello lights is especially knowledgeable..........AH Supply makes a great compact florescent light assembly that can be retrofit into the typical strip lights commonly found on a lot of aquariums......(standard basic strip light as supplied by factory which nornmally has tube florescent light bulb in it) * These tanks didn't come with Aquarium strip lights. I've always just had shop lights on them. YOU can pack lots more wattage in that same area with a retro kit from AH supply...........probably be easy to put 2 x 96 or 2 x 65 watt CF lights in the typical strip light / hood with minimal renovating a typical hood........ * I don't have those regular tank strips for the 55s, they're just the 10s.. I use 2 40w CFs on the 10s and plants thrive. .and then you could easily grow virtually anything. I just put two 55 watt PC lights over a 29 gal tank in original strip light (1 x 18 watt *bulb standard) *and its *super bright............and I have no doubt its bright enough to allow me to plant more Helvola water lilys in that tank as well....and have them bloom all year round....... * These are just common shop lights that I put cool white and warm white bulbs in. *Before I spend "big bucks" on bulbs that may make no more difference than the Flourish Excel made, I'll let the plants die and use water lettuce and hornwart. Together they'll just shade and starve the algae out but that is very dissapointing. *Having live plants in my tanks is all part of the "fishy" scene. I did add another rubberlip pleco to that tank today. *Massive water changes and serious gravel vacuuming has made no difference either. -- RM.... Zone 6. *Middle TN USA ~~~~ *}((((* *~~~ * }{{{{(๖ OK, now were getting somewhere. Regular old shop lights with a with reflector. That is most likely the main problem. First off, the reflectors on those lights are made to reflect light from a height so yuo get decent light dispersion. The light reflected is made to disperse out and cover a wide area (cone of dispersion) and that they are that close to a tank and only have a short distance to travel until the light hits the substrate and is reflected out or back,. odds are the majority of your light is being reflected "OUTSIDE" the tank itself, and not as much inside the tank as you really think is there. White reflectors is sufficient in most cases for a shop light however it does little to nothing for good results in a fish tank, but its still better than black. I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no more than 2x40Wattaers of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER" reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater palnts you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank..............People underestimate the reflectors on a fish tank and next to the proper lamp itself they are very important. If yu have the right light bulb, and can not get it to disperse properly you may as well use any old lamp as your not getting the full benefit out of them. I am sure you or your better half can nail and cut a few boards.Why not get some 1 x 6 pine and fashion up a quick and dirty wooden hood for a fish tank (do one tank to start) nothuing needs to b e fancey, and just look at how some hoods are made in places like Petco er ah make that Deathco. A simple wooden frame box, with a few slats of 1 x 2 spaced apart on top to allow heat and ventilation to escape, and also provides a place to mount lights under. If yu want some pics I can post URL of a few sites that has simple yet effective aquarium hoods that are easy enough to make. Then pay Big Als or another online vendor a call, and purchase proper reflectors and attach them to the metal white reflectors all ready on yuor shop lights......or retro fit ballast and sockets etc from shop lights into the wooden hood..and install proper bulbs......................done..............a quick stain is all thats needed to finish it off..............and maybe a top coat of clear sealer like polyurethane or varnish............I can just about guarantee, your black algae problems will be over and you can grow virtually any freshwater plant around then in these aquariums. The lights would be a much different inmprovement that will be benefical and work. Flourish Excel may work but its not going to take the palce of having a proper lighting setup. The lights you have now are fine and dandy for a fish only tank or with a few low light requirement plants, but still leave a lot to b e desired overall as the color specturm and kelvin is totally wrong. Your plants as well as your fish will all look and grow better, well the plants will anyhow, because fish for thr most part are not reliant on linghts like a plant is, but I bet the colors in the fish will be much more vibrant. I believe lighting is about the most important item that can be done to a fish tank that is going to have live plants or corals in p lace and the person with the tank is totally committed to having nice plants and corals growing, than almost any other thing that can be done to a tank. Heck even the cheapest filters around will do a decent job of what they are designed for, but a light is not that way.............a cheap light setup will not do a thing for a fish tank other than provide illumination for the tanks owner to see whats inside..................Once proper lights are in place it may take a few weeks to a month or two to get lighting schedule worked out, but odds are in that time frame your plants are gonna start to kick ass and things will look better every day.............Like I said propper bulbs and reflectors in a home brew hood is not even in the same league as adding supplements to a tank.......... |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"AquariumFatasies" wrote in message ... On Dec 24, 7:55 pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote: I did add another rubberlip pleco to that tank today. Massive water changes and serious gravel vacuuming has made no difference either. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK, now were getting somewhere. Regular old shop lights with a with reflector. That is most likely the main problem. First off, the reflectors on those lights are made to reflect light from a height so yuo get decent light dispersion. * No. They have the shade thing on the sides to direct the light downward. They come that way. The tanks are very bright. The light reflected is made to disperse out and cover a wide area (cone of dispersion) and that they are that close to a tank and only have a short distance to travel until the light hits the substrate and is reflected out or back,. odds are the majority of your light is being reflected "OUTSIDE" the tank itself, * The light is reflected down due to the side things on the reflectors. and not as much inside the tank as you really think is there. White reflectors is sufficient in most cases for a shop light however it does little to nothing for good results in a fish tank, but its still better than black. I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no more than 2x40Wattaers of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER" reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater palnts you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank. * These provide enough LIGHT to grow plants successfully - until the algae starts growing on them. Once the algae attacks them, either the red (I call black) or green algae, their growth stops. I was told that Flourish Excel would kill off the algae by an old timer on these groups. That wasn't true. It seems to stimulate the algae. ..............People underestimate the reflectors on a fish tank and next to the proper lamp itself they are very important. If yu have the right light bulb, and can not get it to disperse properly you may as well use any old lamp as your not getting the full benefit out of them. * Which is the right bulb in preventing red and green algae? And are they guaranteed to work? If one doesn't work do I have to keep buying and throwing out one bulb after another? I honestly never heard of a bulb that allowed aquarium plants to thrive but not algae. I am sure you or your better half can nail and cut a few boards.Why not get some 1 x 6 pine and fashion up a quick and dirty wooden hood for a fish tank (do one tank to start) nothuing needs to b e fancey, and just look at how some hoods are made in places like Petco er ah make that Deathco. A simple wooden frame box, with a few slats of 1 x 2 spaced apart on top to allow heat and ventilation to escape, and also provides a place to mount lights under. If yu want some pics I can post URL of a few sites that has simple yet effective aquarium hoods that are easy enough to make. Then pay Big Als or another online vendor a call, and purchase proper reflectors and attach them to the metal white reflectors all ready on yuor shop lights......or retro fit ballast and sockets etc from shop lights into the wooden hood..and install proper bulbs. * I'm not at all handy with tools and making things out of wood. And how will that get rid of the algae? Also, I really don't want to have to lift a heavy wood hood every time I feed the fish or want to remove algae from the front glass. I never heard of any reflectors or bulbs that caused plants to thrive but not algae. I can't afford to try one bulb after the other..... ......................done..............a quick stain is all thats needed to finish it off..............and maybe a top coat of clear sealer like polyurethane or varnish............I can just about guarantee, your black algae problems will be over and you can grow virtually any freshwater plant around then in these aquariums. * Why would the algae problems be over? The Flourish Excel was supposed to do that and it does nothing. It doesn't even help the plants grow. It's a rip-off like so many products these days. I don't follow your logic here with the wood reflector. The units come with shade type reflectors that direct the light downwards. The lights would be a much different inmprovement that will be benefical and work. Flourish Excel may work but its not going to take the palce of having a proper lighting setup. * What bulbs are the proper bulbs that allow plant but not algae growth? I found no such bulbs online. Which are you using? The lights you have now are fine and dandy for a fish only tank or with a few low light requirement plants, but still leave a lot to b e desired overall as the color specturm and kelvin is totally wrong. * Then what is the correct spectrum and Kelvin to allow plant but not algae growth and do they guarantee them or will I go broke replacing bulbs? Your plants as well as your fish will all look and grow better, well the plants will anyhow, because fish for thr most part are not reliant on linghts like a plant is, but I bet the colors in the fish will be much more vibrant. I believe lighting is about the most important item that can be done to a fish tank that is going to have live plants or corals in p lace and the person with the tank is totally committed to having nice plants and corals growing, than almost any other thing that can be done to a tank. Heck even the cheapest filters around will do a decent job of what they are designed for, but a light is not that way.............a cheap light setup will not do a thing for a fish tank other than provide illumination for the tanks owner to see whats inside.................. Once proper lights are in place * Which are the proper lights and do they guarantee no algae? The Flourish Excel was supposed to take care of algae. it may take a few weeks to a month or two to get lighting schedule worked out, but odds are in that time frame your plants are gonna start to kick ass and things will look better every day........... * Yep! That's what they said on the plant NG (RAFP) about the Flourish Excel. ...Like I said propper bulbs and reflectors in a home brew hood is not even in the same league as adding supplements to a tank.......... Eveyone tells me something different. The FE was supposed to do magic along with water changes and gravel vacuuming. They swore that was the answer. A homemade hood is out of the question. I don't know anyone who could make it for me and I don't want to have to lift down a heavy wood hood every time I want to feed my fish. I see no connection between a homemade hood and alge. So which bulbs are guaranteed to get rid of the algae and did you have the same conditions I have? If they're not guaranteed to work I wont keep throwing money away on bulb after bulb. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:40:31 -0800, AquariumFatasies wrote:
I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no more than 2x40Watters of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER" reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater plants you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank. I'm not so sure about that. They may be sufficient at first, but light output seems to drop off fairly quickly. I've had good luck with the proverbial 2 watts per gallon in tanks of normal depth. Even then I'd use the Tropica website and stay away from any plants they describe as needing high light. As far as a homemade reflector, I used aluminum flashing in a couple of homemade hoods. Certainly no work of art, but seems to work. Just make sure the flashing you buy is polished on at least one side. |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:28:59 -0600, Reel McKoi wrote:
* Which is the right bulb in preventing red and green algae? And are they guaranteed to work? If one doesn't work do I have to keep buying and throwing out one bulb after another? I honestly never heard of a bulb that allowed aquarium plants to thrive but not algae. There is no easy solution to algae. If it's the flat type that grows on the glass, I just scrape it off the front and leave it on the sides and back. If it's the hairy type that grows on the plants and the gravel, the only solution I've found is manual removal. As soon as you see algae on a leaf, cut off that leaf. I've sometimes removed as much as half of a plant at one time. They always grow back :-). |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 25, 12:22*pm, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:40:31 -0800, AquariumFatasies wrote: *I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no more than 2x40Watters of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER" reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater plants you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank. I'm not so sure about that. *They may be sufficient at first, but light output seems to drop off fairly quickly. *I've had good luck with the proverbial 2 watts per gallon in tanks of normal depth. Even then I'd use the Tropica website and stay away from any plants they describe as needing high light. As far as a homemade reflector, I used aluminum flashing in a couple of homemade hoods. *Certainly no work of art, but seems to work. *Just make sure the flashing you buy is polished on at least one side. Biggest problem on making ones own reflectors is if they are not bent exactly right for the diameter of the bulb used, the distance of bulb from bottom of reflector, and from the sides of said reflector, and from the substrate and the width of tank where you want yur light to be at, all it does is create a false sense of ample lights but it does little but look like it works better.......sxure it will be better than nothiong, but what happens is called "restrike" which is whenm light output hits the reflector and it reflected back at the bul again, and then back at the reflector...and this happens over and over with that light being lost bouncing back and forth. It adds heat energy to a florescent tube which also shortens the lifespan and kills phosphors off faster, and does little if anyhting to use the light the bulb gives off to its fullest advantage. There is alot more involved in making a reflector. There is a online program that gives the proper bend angles and dimensions for use with various sized and types of tubes like T8 or T5 or T12's etc etc and even compact florescents. You'll find that most if not all reflectors will have more than a simple U shaped bend in them and none will have a typical rounded radius bend. They all a have faceted angles to reflect light from bulb to reflector to water or from reflector to another spot on the reflector and then into the water, but not back on the bulb itself to any real amount. Even those reflectors you get in the strip lights are a real joke........Wanna waste some money.buy some T-5 lights and use reflectors you make or that were suitable for tyopical T8. 12 or 16 bulbs...............Its been proven that your better off without any reflectors if you do not use the proper reflectors with those bulbs (T-5 are approx 1/2 or 5/8" diam and are the latest in aquarium lighting and cost big bucks as do proper reflectors for them) But using improper reflectors with those T5's results in extremely poor output of lighting plus extreme heat build up and veryshort life of T5 bulbs. A lot of foks tried to cut corners on reflectors and got bit! If you think a good factory made reflector is expensive check out the price for a good T5 reflector.........pricey! A scotch brite pad and 0000 steel wool will polish up tyupical aluminum flashing and its better than white reflectors any day............. Getting riod of algae is a process of experimenting as everyuones tanks are different, as is available natural light sources that infiltrate in the room, as is room lighting and evenminutes lights are on or off, as well as a heap of other variables. All anyone can do is suggest a somewhat in the ball park range to start at and then go one way or another from there. It may involve buying different light bulbs again, experimenting with plants used, time of lighting etc etc..........but it can be done.........................Reef tanks are doomed if algae builds up in most cases, yet folks with a bit of perserverance do conquer the problems and win..My reef tanks as well as the majority of my FW are all pretty well free of rampany bkliooms of any kind of algae except for what I want growiong in there, and it did take considerable time to get them that way..........and yes ,I did buy a lot of bulbs over the years and still continue to do so almost every year when I plonk a few bills down to replace ALL my florescent tubes but its still worth it overall to not be eat up with alage and to have a nice tank with minimal maintenance to enjoy it. Even paintinmg the back of the tank with say black paint to eliminmate light from coming in is good. Its better than those backgrounds they sell which stil allows light to some degree and always look so tacky. Regular latex paint does a great job of blocking light from theback of the tank and in 99% of the cases it gives great contrast to planats, substrate and fish in a tank than any stick on background could do. Itys easy to remove with a razor blade scraper to.........and it matters not what you use in regards to flat or gloss as it all looks like gloss through the glass..plus the added benefit of hiding cords and filters etc etc. |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ... On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:28:59 -0600, Reel McKoi wrote: * Which is the right bulb in preventing red and green algae? And are they guaranteed to work? If one doesn't work do I have to keep buying and throwing out one bulb after another? I honestly never heard of a bulb that allowed aquarium plants to thrive but not algae. There is no easy solution to algae. If it's the flat type that grows on the glass, I just scrape it off the front and leave it on the sides and back. If it's the hairy type that grows on the plants and the gravel, the only solution I've found is manual removal. As soon as you see algae on a leaf, cut off that leaf. I've sometimes removed as much as half of a plant at one time. They always grow back :-). =============================== It's the velvety red (black) algae that covers and smothers the plants. It doesn't grow on one leaf or a few leaves but covers everything including the glass and gravel. I scrape it off the glass but can't get it off plants. They'd be leafless. Then there's the short soft green algae. But there's not too much of the green stuff. It hit like gangbusters when I changed the old cool and warm bulbs a few weeks back. They were over a year old. It could have been a coincidence though. I had something like this happen about 2 years ago and it disappeared, on it's own, as quickly as it appeared. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(รถ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 25, 5:26*pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ... On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:28:59 -0600, Reel McKoi wrote: * Which is the right bulb in preventing red and green algae? *And are they guaranteed to work? *If one doesn't work do I have to keep buying and throwing out one bulb after another? *I honestly never heard of a bulb that allowed aquarium plants to thrive but not algae. There is no easy solution to algae. *If it's the flat type that grows on the glass, I just scrape it off the front and leave it on the sides and back. *If it's the hairy type that grows on the plants and the gravel, the only solution I've found is manual removal. *As soon as you see algae on a leaf, cut off that leaf. *I've sometimes removed as much as half of a plant at one time. *They always grow back :-). =============================== It's the velvety red (black) algae that covers and smothers the plants. *It doesn't grow on one leaf or a few leaves but covers everything including the glass and gravel. *I scrape it off the glass but can't get it off plants.. They'd be leafless. *Then there's the short soft green algae. *But there's not too much of the green stuff. *It hit like gangbusters when I changed the old cool and warm bulbs a few weeks back. They were over a year old. *It could have been a coincidence though. *I had something like this happen about 2 years ago and it disappeared, on it's own, as quickly as it appeared. -- RM.... Zone 6. *Middle TN USA ~~~~ *}((((* *~~~ * }{{{{(๖ The so called devils algae or black algae normally only covers plant leaves or filter media..........it is usually a very dark green or black in color algae. HP method I described in other pst wil kill this stuff but the key is keeping it gone and thats gonna take good water parameters, proper lights and sufficieint current flow. If its a cyano type algae often called red slime or black slime then an anti-biotic dose will knock this stuff out as its just like ther blue green algae that is often seen with a new tank when it gets cloudy looking. Maracin (sp?) will work as will Red Slime Remover, which is normally sold for sal****er tanks but works well in freshwater tanks too.............but the process of using an antibiotic to knock it out will also affect yur bio filtration as well so pull your media and place in another tank until your treatment is over with........ Hair algae can be good up to a point anyhow, but control how much and what you feed and that usually handles HA pretty well.........along with proper lightin g scheduels etc. You may not be able to Eliminate" algae, but its certainly possible to keep it under control and managed so its not a problem, even if a bit of it is there. Not much overall that can be done for the light algae that will grow on the glass except routine clenaing of glass with a MAG float etc, as just room lights can kick that stuff into growing........ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"AquariumFatasies" wrote in message ... The so called devils algae or black algae normally only covers plant leaves or filter media..........it is usually a very dark green or black in color algae. HP method I described in other pst wil kill this stuff but the key is keeping it gone and thats gonna take good water parameters, proper lights and sufficieint current flow. * This is another issue. I have to add more current. I thought of that also. All I have are the Aquaclears at one end of these 55g tanks. I need to replace the air-pump and stones. I also have powerheads but they always get clogged with plant debris in these tanks so I removed them. They're not made to go on tubes so I can't hook sponges on them. If its a cyano type algae often called red slime or black slime then an anti-biotic dose will knock this stuff out as its just like ther blue green algae that is often seen with a new tank when it gets cloudy looking. Maracin (sp?) will work as will Red Slime Remover, which is normally sold for sal****er tanks but works well in freshwater tanks too.............but the process of using an antibiotic to knock it out will also affect yur bio filtration as well so pull your media and place in another tank until your treatment is over with........ * No, it's not cyano. I haven't had that problem in years. Hair algae can be good up to a point anyhow, but control how much and what you feed and that usually handles HA pretty well.........along with proper lightin g scheduels etc. You may not be able to Eliminate" algae, but its certainly possible to keep it under control and managed so its not a problem, even if a bit of it is there. Not much overall that can be done for the light algae that will grow on the glass except routine clenaing of glass with a MAG float etc, as just room lights can kick that stuff into growing........ * That green algae doen't kill the plants like this black-red stuff does. This stuff is also very ugly making the tank look filthy. I'm going to pick up the HP in town this week. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
Reel McKoi said the following on 12/25/2007 11:17 PM:
"AquariumFatasies" wrote in message ... The so called devils algae or black algae normally only covers plant leaves or filter media..........it is usually a very dark green or black in color algae. HP method I described in other pst wil kill this stuff but the key is keeping it gone and thats gonna take good water parameters, proper lights and sufficieint current flow. * This is another issue. I have to add more current. I thought of that also. All I have are the Aquaclears at one end of these 55g tanks. I need to replace the air-pump and stones. I also have powerheads but they always get clogged with plant debris in these tanks so I removed them. They're not made to go on tubes so I can't hook sponges on them. One thing you can do for filters is what I did in my tank. I had 2 power heads that didn't have the pieces on the bottom for the "tube" (for an undergravel filter) on them. I found two rocks that had holes in them (you can find them at the Pet Stores), made the holes large enough for the filters I wanted to use, put the filter in the rock, then used zip ties to fasten the powerhead to the rock. Then I put four small rocks under the corners to "raise" it off the gravel. To date, I have not had any problems with them. Having the large rock up off the bottom allows the water flow from the bottom instead of creating a "dead zone" around the base of the rock. Then I put the rocks where I couldn't see them (behind plants). The biggest problem I had was fooling with them to get the situated to get the flow pattern that I wanted. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Brevity snips The biggest problem I had was fooling with them to get the situated to get the flow pattern that I wanted. ======================= Mine will stay in place. The problem is the intake slots clog quickly with plant debris. Or bits of plant debris get pulled through the intake slots and clog up the impeller. :( -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 26, 6:59*pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Brevity snips The biggest problem I had was fooling with them to get the situated to get the flow pattern that I wanted. ======================= Mine will stay in place. *The problem is the intake slots clog quickly with plant debris. Or bits of plant debris get pulled through the intake slots and clog up the impeller. *:( -- RM.... Zone 6. *Middle TN USA ~~~~ *}((((* *~~~ * }{{{{(๖ Get some Maxi or Mini Jet powerheads............I have them in my freshwater tanks along with onion plants, and cabomba etc which is bad about always getting in powerheads or filters, and ity has yet to clog em up. Maxi Jets are perhaps the best powerheads out there and are the most efficieint. I like Aqua Clear hob filters, but their power heads leave a lot to be desired whencompared to Maxi Jets...........Hydor is also a great power head and pretty well clog free. All come with a nice big intake strainer also, and the Maxi Jets come with an air venturi as well..........One thing Maxi Jets and Mini Jets are noted for and that is they are very efficieint and do not add as much latent heat to the water as Aqua clears and RIO and some other powerheads do...............You can get a foam sleeve for them also that fits over the intake strainer for use if there are baby fish etc in the tank. They also make a powerhead well not exactly a powerhead but a current generator, which is like a propeller in a cage about the size of a typical powerhead, and it uses the flow from ther propeller to create currents, and its supposed to be clog free due to its design.........IIRC Hydor makes one as does Maxi Jet who is made by Aquarium Phamaceuticals IIRC or it may be Seachem..... |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
Reel McKoi said the following on 12/26/2007 7:59 PM:
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Brevity snips The biggest problem I had was fooling with them to get the situated to get the flow pattern that I wanted. ======================= Mine will stay in place. It wasn't so much getting them to stay still that I had the problem with. With it "locked" into the rock, I couldn't lean it to get a more upward flow that I wanted and the directional attachment didn't quite give me the direction I wanted. The problem is the intake slots clog quickly with plant debris. When I do water changes, I simply pick the rock up, pull the filter out the bottom, rinse it off in a bucket, and put it back. So far, I get very little debris on it and what I do get easily rinses off. Or bits of plant debris get pulled through the intake slots and clog up the impeller. :( That is why I put the filter in the rock. I couldn't attach it to the power head because of the way they were made. So, I used the rock to hold the filter and power-head so that the power-head can only pull water through the filter. The filter keeps the power-head from becoming clogged. The two "rocks" that I have (they aren't actually true rocks) look like someone pulled a post out of the ground that was concreted in. Then took the concrete and cut it into 4 inch sections so that they have square holes in the middle. I cut filters to fit into that hole and then have it pull through the filter. In the end, about all the rocks do is give me a stable place to hold the filter and power head where they are stable with one another. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind comp.lang.javascript FAQ - http://jibbering.com/faq/index.html Javascript Best Practices - http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com/bestpractices/ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"AquariumFatasies" wrote in message ... Get some Maxi or Mini Jet powerheads............I have them in my freshwater tanks along with onion plants, and cabomba etc which is bad about always getting in powerheads or filters, and ity has yet to clog em up. Maxi Jets are perhaps the best powerheads out there and are the most efficieint. I like Aqua Clear hob filters, but their power heads leave a lot to be desired whencompared to Maxi Jets...........Hydor is also a great power head and pretty well clog free. All come with a nice big intake strainer also, and the Maxi Jets come with an air venturi as well..........One thing Maxi Jets and Mini Jets are noted for and that is they are very efficieint and do not add as much latent heat to the water as Aqua clears and RIO and some other powerheads do...............You can get a foam sleeve for them also that fits over the intake strainer for use if there are baby fish etc in the tank. They also make a powerhead well not exactly a powerhead but a current generator, which is like a propeller in a cage about the size of a typical powerhead, and it uses the flow from ther propeller to create currents, and its supposed to be clog free due to its design.........IIRC Hydor makes one as does Maxi Jet who is made by Aquarium Phamaceuticals IIRC or it may be Seachem..... ====================================== MaxiJet... that sounds familiar. I may have a few stored in the outbuilding now that I think of it. I have to check out there.... -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Reel McKoi said the following on 12/26/2007 7:59 PM: The problem is the intake slots clog quickly with plant debris. When I do water changes, I simply pick the rock up, pull the filter out the bottom, rinse it off in a bucket, and put it back. So far, I get very little debris on it and what I do get easily rinses off. OK, mine are made so there is no filter on the bottom but Roy reminded me about some I have stored. As I recall they have an intake strainer I can pull a sponge over to prevent clogging. My other powerheads not made the same. Or bits of plant debris get pulled through the intake slots and clog up the impeller. :( That is why I put the filter in the rock. What filter? These powerheads have no filter?!?!?! They have slots where the water is sucked in and a outflow tube. I couldn't attach it to the power head because of the way they were made. So, I used the rock to hold the filter and power-head so that the power-head can only pull water through the filter. The filter keeps the power-head from becoming clogged. Are you talking about a sponge filter on it's intake screen? Not all of these powerhead-like water pumps come with screens you can pull a sponge over. The two "rocks" that I have (they aren't actually true rocks) look like someone pulled a post out of the ground that was concreted in. Then took the concrete and cut it into 4 inch sections so that they have square holes in the middle. I cut filters to fit into that hole and then have it pull through the filter. In the end, about all the rocks do is give me a stable place to hold the filter and power head where they are stable with one another. You have the type of powerhead that comes with a strainer then. I'm hoping I have one or two out in storage. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
Reel McKoi said the following on 12/27/2007 5:44 PM:
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Reel McKoi said the following on 12/26/2007 7:59 PM: The problem is the intake slots clog quickly with plant debris. When I do water changes, I simply pick the rock up, pull the filter out the bottom, rinse it off in a bucket, and put it back. So far, I get very little debris on it and what I do get easily rinses off. OK, mine are made so there is no filter on the bottom but Roy reminded me about some I have stored. As I recall they have an intake strainer I can pull a sponge over to prevent clogging. My other powerheads not made the same. One of mine is not made with an intake strainer. The other one I removed the intake strainer from it. Or bits of plant debris get pulled through the intake slots and clog up the impeller. :( That is why I put the filter in the rock. What filter? These powerheads have no filter?!?!?! They have slots where the water is sucked in and a outflow tube. You have to make your own filter or use a different power head. The power heads that I have in my plant tank, one doesn't have an intake strainer (it isn't made to have one) and the other has an intake strainer that I removed. I removed the strainer from it because the strainer was too tall for where I wanted to use it. Now, you have to figure out how to attach a filter to it. The solution I came up with was to take a rock that I had (I saw some similar in Petco). It has holes in the rock. I put a filter inside that hole. Then, you sit the power head on top of the filter, so that the intake for the power head is inside the filter. Any water that goes into the power head has to go through that filter. Then, you have to figure out how to secure the power head to the filter. What I used are the ties that you can buy in Walmart. Cable ties. They sell them in the Automotive section. They also sell them at Lowes and Home Depot. They come in packs anywhere from a few to hundreds. The purpose of the rock was to give it a stable base so that the filter wouldn't get crushed onto the pumps. Put the pump on the filter, then Cable Tie it all together. It is that simple. You are going to have to be innovative or change power heads. I couldn't attach it to the power head because of the way they were made. So, I used the rock to hold the filter and power-head so that the power-head can only pull water through the filter. The filter keeps the power-head from becoming clogged. Are you talking about a sponge filter on it's intake screen? Not all of these powerhead-like water pumps come with screens you can pull a sponge over. I can't even find that type of filter here. I hunted one and had to come up with a solution of my own. None of it would have happened if my wife hadn't decided that since she could feed dog food to the fish at the dock that mine would eat it too and dumped a hand full of dog food into the tank. I was stubborn enough to want to figure out how to clear it up without having to change all the water. The two "rocks" that I have (they aren't actually true rocks) look like someone pulled a post out of the ground that was concreted in. Then took the concrete and cut it into 4 inch sections so that they have square holes in the middle. I cut filters to fit into that hole and then have it pull through the filter. In the end, about all the rocks do is give me a stable place to hold the filter and power head where they are stable with one another. You have the type of powerhead that comes with a strainer then. I'm hoping I have one or two out in storage. No. One is, one isn't. The one that is I removed it from the power head. Right now, my digital camera battery is in the charger being recharged. I have to do some work on the tank and will try to take some pictures and post them online so you can see how I made it. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote:
: : "TSJ of course" wrote in message : ... : By the way, unlike like lamps : specialy made for aquariums, ordinary house lamps would not light up : the whole aquarium the same way. There is considerable hype on aquaurium bulbs. The T8 (8/8ths of an inch wide) fluorescent lamps do pretty good job. At some big bog hardware stores, you can get a 6500K spectrum bulb at $5.00 per 4 foot tube. It grows plants really well for the money. Pick up one of the new-style shop lights with an electronic ballast and a half-decent gull-wing reflector for about $40.00. This low budget system will do a pretty good job at raising plants. You might do better by using one 6500K tube and one plant grow tube (Vitalight, GrowLux, ...) But this is still really cheap. You could get better results with fancy $30.00 aquarium tubes, but they won't be twice as good than the cheap $5.00 6500K and $15.00 plant tubes. : OK, the sites just sell bulbs. There's no explanation of what's best for FW : tanks or tanks with algae problems. Now the problem with my buying bulbs to : help with the algae would be a hard sell to my husband since the Flourish : Excel fiasco. I have a better luck with algae by using a 6500K bulb instead of 4100K "cool white" or the not-very-good 3500K "warm white" tubes. : I was assured over and over that algae turns white and falls : off when FE is used. Although I found that almost impossible to believe, : like a fool I bought the stuff. I bought a lot of it, and it's totally : useless. Then the same man from the plant group tried to get me to purchase : some other expensive crap from his friend who sells fertilizers. : spend well over $100 on bulbs and still have the algae problem. So you can : see why I hesitate to start buying expensive bulbs when the FE did nothing. I have had really good luck with Seachem Flourish Excel. It helps keep my tank that tends to have a moderate algae problems to barely noticable algae here and there. Please note that it does kill certain kinds of plants (Vallisneria, Elodia (Anacharis), and Saggiteria. The product is way too expensive unless you buy it in bulk by the gallon jug. However, this product is not a cure-all. It's optimal for planted tank that grows plants pretty well that also has pesky algae. It won't transform an unsuccessful planted tank where the plants usually die into an Amano-style masterpiece. |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote:
: : "AquariumFatasies" wrote in message : ... : On Dec 24, 7:55 pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote: : I did add another rubberlip pleco to that tank today. Massive water : changes : and serious gravel vacuuming has made no difference either. : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ : OK, now were getting somewhere. Regular old shop lights with a with : reflector. That is most likely the main problem. First off, the : reflectors on those lights are made to reflect light from a height so : yuo get decent light dispersion. The typical shop light reflector isn't that good, but it's not really much worse than the polished box reflector found in the vast majority of commercial aquarium fixtures. Ideally, something of a parabolic reflector for each tube works best at sending light straight down into the tank where one gets maximum penetration in deeper tanks. A commercial (and very expensive) fixture that does an excellent job at this is the T5 HO TekLight. The typical polished rectangular box doesn't send light down into the tank, but tends to bounce it around until it hits one of the fluorescent tubes. (The exercise of comparing a pseudo-parabolic reflector against a rectangular box via a geometry diagram is left to the reader.) Manufacturers compensate for the bad reflector by adding more tubes to the unit. These fixtures do work OK and the extra tubes aren't really much of an issue unless you have more than a few tanks which makes one much more interested in conserving electricity to reduce a very high electricity bill. I grow plants with highly efficient Tek Lights, and less effective polished box reflector fixtures. Both do OK. Medium light tanks are more forgiving, so those tanks get my old less efficient reflector light fixtures. As for algae and light, it gets tricker the more light you add to the aquarium. So for beginners, I recommend starting out with medium light level plants with a medium light level fixture. A cheap shop light with a simple reflector will do the job for this. It's not as effective as one with a parabolic reflector, but for medium light, it will be good enough. Bulbs are _not_ the primary cause algae, it's the water conditions. Adding more light just speeds up the growth of everything (desirable plants and algae). Poor water conditions under medium light will require you to monthly scrape off ugly algae. Poor water conditions under very high light will require you to daily scrape off ugly algae. My philosophy is that for the first year, it's better to take the cheap route and get some successes with easy-to-grow medium light plants than to take the expensive high risk route where it takes some real skill and experience to keep algae at bay. : * No. They have the shade thing on the sides to direct the light downward. : They come that way. The tanks are very bright. : : The light reflected is made to : disperse out and cover a wide area (cone of dispersion) and that they : are that close to a tank and only have a short distance to travel : until the light hits the substrate and is reflected out or back,. odds : are the majority of your light is being reflected "OUTSIDE" the tank : itself, : : * The light is reflected down due to the side things on the reflectors. : : and not as much inside the tank as you really think is there. : White reflectors is sufficient in most cases for a shop light however : it does little to nothing for good results in a fish tank, but its : still better than black. I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no : more than 2x40Wattaers of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER" : reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater palnts : you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank. : : * These provide enough LIGHT to grow plants successfully - until the algae : starts growing on them. Once the algae attacks them, either the red (I call : black) or green algae, their growth stops. I was told that Flourish Excel : would kill off the algae by an old timer on these groups. That wasn't true. : It seems to stimulate the algae. : : .............People : underestimate the reflectors on a fish tank and next to the proper : lamp itself they are very important. If yu have the right light bulb, : and can not get it to disperse properly you may as well use any old : lamp as your not getting the full benefit out of them. : : * Which is the right bulb in preventing red and green algae? And are they : guaranteed to work? If one doesn't work do I have to keep buying and : throwing out one bulb after another? I honestly never heard of a bulb that : allowed aquarium plants to thrive but not algae. : : I am sure you or your better half can nail and cut a few boards.Why : not get some 1 x 6 pine and fashion up a quick and dirty wooden hood : for a fish tank (do one tank to start) nothuing needs to b e fancey, : and just look at how some hoods are made in places like Petco er ah : make that Deathco. A simple wooden frame box, with a few slats of 1 x : 2 spaced apart on top to allow heat and ventilation to escape, and : also provides a place to mount lights under. If yu want some pics I : can post URL of a few sites that has simple yet effective aquarium : hoods that are easy enough to make. Then pay Big Als or another online : vendor a call, and purchase proper reflectors and attach them to the : metal white reflectors all ready on yuor shop lights......or retro fit : ballast and sockets etc from shop lights into the wooden hood..and : install proper bulbs. : : * I'm not at all handy with tools and making things out of wood. And how : will that get rid of the algae? Also, I really don't want to have to lift a : heavy wood hood every time I feed the fish or want to remove algae from the : front glass. I never heard of any reflectors or bulbs that caused plants to : thrive but not algae. I can't afford to try one bulb after the other..... : : .....................done..............a quick : stain is all thats needed to finish it off..............and maybe a : top coat of clear sealer like polyurethane or varnish............I can : just about guarantee, your black algae problems will be over and you : can grow virtually any freshwater plant around then in these : aquariums. : : * Why would the algae problems be over? The Flourish Excel was supposed to : do that and it does nothing. It doesn't even help the plants grow. It's a : rip-off like so many products these days. I don't follow your logic here : with the wood reflector. The units come with shade type reflectors that : direct the light downwards. : : The lights would be a much different inmprovement that : will be benefical and work. Flourish Excel may work but its not going : to take the palce of having a proper lighting setup. : : * What bulbs are the proper bulbs that allow plant but not algae growth? I : found no such bulbs online. Which are you using? : : The lights you : have now are fine and dandy for a fish only tank or with a few low : light requirement plants, but still leave a lot to b e desired overall : as the color specturm and kelvin is totally wrong. : : * Then what is the correct spectrum and Kelvin to allow plant but not algae : growth and do they guarantee them or will I go broke replacing bulbs? : : Your plants as well : as your fish will all look and grow better, well the plants will : anyhow, because fish for thr most part are not reliant on linghts like : a plant is, but I bet the colors in the fish will be much more : vibrant. I believe lighting is about the most important item that can : be done to a fish tank that is going to have live plants or corals in : p lace and the person with the tank is totally committed to having : nice plants and corals growing, than almost any other thing that can : be done to a tank. Heck even the cheapest filters around will do a : decent job of what they are designed for, but a light is not that : way.............a cheap light setup will not do a thing for a fish : tank other than provide illumination for the tanks owner to see whats : inside.................. : : Once proper lights are in place : : * Which are the proper lights and do they guarantee no algae? The Flourish : Excel was supposed to take care of algae. : : it may take a : few weeks to a month or two to get lighting schedule worked out, but : odds are in that time frame your plants are gonna start to kick ass : and things will look better every day........... : : * Yep! That's what they said on the plant NG (RAFP) about the Flourish : Excel. : : ..Like I said propper : bulbs and reflectors in a home brew hood is not even in the same : league as adding supplements to a tank.......... : : Eveyone tells me something different. The FE was supposed to do magic along : with water changes and gravel vacuuming. They swore that was the answer. A : homemade hood is out of the question. I don't know anyone who could make it : for me and I don't want to have to lift down a heavy wood hood every time I : want to feed my fish. I see no connection between a homemade hood and alge. : : So which bulbs are guaranteed to get rid of the algae and did you have the : same conditions I have? If they're not guaranteed to work I wont keep : throwing money away on bulb after bulb. |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Now, you have to figure out how to attach a filter to it. The solution I came up with was to take a rock that I had (I saw some similar in Petco). It has holes in the rock. I put a filter inside that hole. What are you using for a filter? A sponge on the end of the intake? Then, you sit the power head on top of the filter, so that the intake for the power head is inside the filter. Any water that goes into the power head has to go through that filter. Then, you have to figure out how to secure the power head to the filter. What I used are the ties that you can buy in Walmart. Cable ties. They sell them in the Automotive section. They also sell them at Lowes and Home Depot. They come in packs anywhere from a few to hundreds. What kind of sponge are you using for a filter? You can just cut a hole in the sponge and stick the intake in it. The purpose of the rock was to give it a stable base so that the filter wouldn't get crushed onto the pumps. Put the pump on the filter, then Cable Tie it all together. It is that simple. You are going to have to be innovative or change power heads. So every week or so you have to clean the sponge filter and replace the ties? Are you talking about a sponge filter on it's intake screen? Not all of these powerhead-like water pumps come with screens you can pull a sponge over. I can't even find that type of filter here. I hunted one and had to come up with a solution of my own. None of it would have happened if my wife hadn't decided that since she could feed dog food to the fish at the dock that mine would eat it too and dumped a hand full of dog food into the tank. I was stubborn enough to want to figure out how to clear it up without having to change all the water. If you can't find these "filters" I probably wont either. Is it a sponge? I have no idea what you're talking about. Right now, my digital camera battery is in the charger being recharged. I have to do some work on the tank and will try to take some pictures and post them online so you can see how I made it. Yes, I would love to see what they look like. :-) -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"g_i_n_k_o" wrote in message ... In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote: : OK, now were getting somewhere. Regular old shop lights with a with : reflector. That is most likely the main problem. First off, the : reflectors on those lights are made to reflect light from a height so : yuo get decent light dispersion. The typical shop light reflector isn't that good, but it's not really much worse than the polished box reflector found in the vast majority of commercial aquarium fixtures. Ideally, something of a parabolic reflector for each tube works best at sending light straight down into the tank where one gets maximum penetration in deeper tanks. A commercial (and very expensive) fixture that does an excellent job at this is the T5 HO TekLight. The typical polished rectangular box doesn't send light down into the tank, but tends to bounce it around until it hits one of the fluorescent tubes. (The exercise of comparing a pseudo-parabolic reflector against a rectangular box via a geometry diagram is left to the reader.) Manufacturers compensate for the bad reflector by adding more tubes to the unit. These fixtures do work OK and the extra tubes aren't really much of an issue unless you have more than a few tanks which makes one much more interested in conserving electricity to reduce a very high electricity bill. I grow plants with highly efficient Tek Lights, and less effective polished box reflector fixtures. Both do OK. Medium light tanks are more forgiving, so those tanks get my old less efficient reflector light fixtures. As for algae and light, it gets tricker the more light you add to the aquarium. So for beginners, I recommend starting out with medium light level plants with a medium light level fixture. A cheap shop light with a simple reflector will do the job for this. It's not as effective as one with a parabolic reflector, but for medium light, it will be good enough. Bulbs are _not_ the primary cause algae, it's the water conditions. Adding more light just speeds up the growth of everything (desirable plants and algae). Poor water conditions under medium light will require you to monthly scrape off ugly algae. Poor water conditions under very high light will require you to daily scrape off ugly algae. My philosophy is that for the first year, it's better to take the cheap route and get some successes with easy-to-grow medium light plants than to take the expensive high risk route where it takes some real skill and experience to keep algae at bay. =============================================== I'm starting to think it's the nitrates and phosphates that come right from my tap! And the rain water I'm using is catching dust and providing more algae nutrients........ a losing battle unless I go for some expensive pads to remove these nutrients. -- RM.... Frugal ponding since 1995. rec.ponder since late 1996. Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"ginko" wrote in message ... In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote: : : "TSJ of course" wrote in message : ... : By the way, unlike like lamps : specialy made for aquariums, ordinary house lamps would not light up : the whole aquarium the same way. There is considerable hype on aquaurium bulbs. The T8 (8/8ths of an inch wide) fluorescent lamps do pretty good job. At some big bog hardware stores, you can get a 6500K spectrum bulb at $5.00 per 4 foot tube. Where I live the 6500K's are $10 and that's at Wal*Mart. It grows plants really well for the money. Pick up one of the new-style shop lights with an electronic ballast and a half-decent gull-wing reflector for about $40.00. This low budget system will do a pretty good job at raising plants. You might do better by using one 6500K tube and one plant grow tube (Vitalight, GrowLux, ...) But this is still really cheap. OK, we're talking two tanks = 4 reflectors and 8 bulbs. Ouch! You could get better results with fancy $30.00 aquarium tubes, but they won't be twice as good than the cheap $5.00 6500K and $15.00 plant tubes. I've had no luck with plant tubes. The tanks looked dark and the plants stretched. I have a better luck with algae by using a 6500K bulb instead of 4100K "cool white" or the not-very-good 3500K "warm white" tubes. I think I'll pick up a few 6500Ks......... : I was assured over and over that algae turns white and falls : off when FE is used. Although I found that almost impossible to believe, : like a fool I bought the stuff. I bought a lot of it, and it's totally : useless. Then the same man from the plant group tried to get me to purchase : some other expensive crap from his friend who sells fertilizers. : spend well over $100 on bulbs and still have the algae problem. So you can : see why I hesitate to start buying expensive bulbs when the FE did nothing. I have had really good luck with Seachem Flourish Excel. It helps keep my tank that tends to have a moderate algae problems to barely noticable algae here and there. Please note that it does kill certain kinds of plants (Vallisneria, Elodia (Anacharis), and Saggiteria. The product is way too expensive unless you buy it in bulk by the gallon jug. It is indeed expensive and we saw zero difference in either plant growth or algae. However, this product is not a cure-all. It's optimal for planted tank that grows plants pretty well that also has pesky algae. It won't transform an unsuccessful planted tank where the plants usually die into an Amano-style masterpiece. Actually my plants do very well under the cool and warm bulbs, unless there's a serious algae bloom as I have now. -- RM.... Frugal ponding since 1995. rec.ponder since late 1996. Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote:
: : I'm starting to think it's the nitrates and phosphates that come right from : my tap! And the rain water I'm using is catching dust and providing more : algae nutrients........ a losing battle unless I go for some expensive pads : to remove these nutrients. As a rule to conserve money, I try to avoid all things that have expensive replacement pads, cartridges and other such items. I don't believe in most of them as to actually working as advertised. :) One exception is a good Reverse Osmosis unit. It needs replacement cartridges about once a year. The RO water is pretty pure and I add back the desired hardness with baking soda and something called GH Booster that I get really cheap from aquariumfertilizer.com. The waste water comes after the carbon block filter, so I use this for hard water tanks (i.e. goldfish and most live bearers). So the money I would have spent on de-chlor chemicals instead goes into replacement RO system filter cartridges. Another exception is a CO2 tank with regulator. This really helps and once you have the system, it only costs around $20.00 for a refill that lasts more than 6 months. I wouldn't even try growing plants in a high light setup without adding CO2. Then you need to follow a fertilizer dosing schedule. I use something called the "Estimative Index". Do a google search on "Tom Barr" "Estimative Index" to get the details. I get raw chemicals for nutrients at aquariumfertilizer.com and follow the plan with the 50 percent weekly water change. There are other plans out there, but EI works well for me. Most of my hight light tank problems went away when I started doing the above three things. There are other ways to do this, but it works for me and is relatively inexpensive (long-term) compared to other ways. For medium light tanks with fish, you don' need to do much of this. I have good success by using hard or RO softened water and just adding trace elements once a week or so. The fish poop provides enough macro nutrients for a medium light tank. It's much simpler, so that's why I suggest people start out with something easier before doing the high light, high maintenance tank. Hope this is helpful. There are many ways to do this. I think this is one of the easiest and least expensive ways. |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote:
: : Where I live the 6500K's are $10 and that's at Wal*Mart. I try to stay away from WalMart since they don't always treat their workforce very well. There is a place called Menards in the upper midwest. They sell 32 watt T8 Phillips Octron tubes for dirt cheap. : I've had no luck with plant tubes. The tanks looked dark and the plants : stretched. I never use just plant tubes. I mix a plant bulb with a bulb that provides light for a human eye. : I have had really good luck with Seachem Flourish Excel. It helps keep : my tank that tends to have a moderate algae problems to barely noticable : algae here and there. Please note that it does kill certain kinds of : plants (Vallisneria, Elodia (Anacharis), and Saggiteria. The product : is way too expensive unless you buy it in bulk by the gallon jug. : : It is indeed expensive and we saw zero difference in either plant growth or : algae. This stuff completely cleared up a big mess in a very high light tank. It also helps in some containers and tanks that don't have CO2 added to them. But, this was used with an Estimative Index fertilizer schedule. I haven't tried it with other growing methods. : Actually my plants do very well under the cool and warm bulbs, unless : there's a serious algae bloom as I have now. That mix will work. It's been used for decades by people growing indoor plants. However, many warm white bulbs don't have all that great of a spectrum. You want red and blues for plants. In some 4100K tubes, the red spikes were the same that were in the 3500K tube (The 3500K tube was pretty much a 4100K tube, minus the blues...) So, sometimes two good 4100K tubes will do better than a 4100K and a not-so-good 3500K. From a personal aesthics point of view, a 6500K tube looks better to my eye and is better at balancing up an ugly growLux tube. Of course, others will prefer the look of another tube! |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"g_i_n_k_o" wrote in message ... In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote: : : I'm starting to think it's the nitrates and phosphates that come right from : my tap! And the rain water I'm using is catching dust and providing more : algae nutrients........ a losing battle unless I go for some expensive pads : to remove these nutrients. As a rule to conserve money, I try to avoid all things that have expensive replacement pads, cartridges and other such items. I don't believe in most of them as to actually working as advertised. :) Actually I agree. There are loads of gimmick items out there that are useless. One exception is a good Reverse Osmosis unit. It needs replacement cartridges about once a year. The RO water is pretty pure and I add back the desired hardness with baking soda and something called GH Booster that I get really cheap from aquariumfertilizer.com. The waste water comes after the carbon block filter, so I use this for hard water tanks (i.e. goldfish and most live bearers). So the money I would have spent on de-chlor chemicals instead goes into replacement RO system filter cartridges. I've been buying my dechlor (have ponds and tanks) by the 10lb bucket as crystals. Another exception is a CO2 tank with regulator. This really helps and once you have the system, it only costs around $20.00 for a refill that lasts more than 6 months. I wouldn't even try growing plants in a high light setup without adding CO2. Where does the water in nature get the CO2 from? Then you need to follow a fertilizer dosing schedule. I use something called the "Estimative Index". Do a google search on "Tom Barr" "Estimative Index" to get the details. I get raw chemicals for nutrients at aquariumfertilizer.com and follow the plan with the 50 percent weekly water change. There are other plans out there, but EI works well for me. I'll Google that. I can't afford the Tom Barr stuff or CO2 injectors. These things are not cheap. The shipping on Barr's fertilizers cost as much as the products he sells. Most of my hight light tank problems went away when I started doing the above three things. There are other ways to do this, but it works for me and is relatively inexpensive (long-term) compared to other ways. How much are you spending yearly for the fertilizers, the RO unit, the electricity to run it etc? For medium light tanks with fish, you don' need to do much of this. I have good success by using hard or RO softened water and just adding trace elements once a week or so. The fish poop provides enough macro nutrients for a medium light tank. It's much simpler, so that's why I suggest people start out with something easier before doing the high light, high maintenance tank. I'm sure not into high-light, high-maintenance tanks. ;-) Hope this is helpful. There are many ways to do this. I think this is one of the easiest and least expensive ways. Give me a ballpark frigure on what you spent for the RO unit, CO2 injector etc. And are you in the USA? -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"g_i_n_k_o" wrote in message ... In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote: : : Where I live the 6500K's are $10 and that's at Wal*Mart. I try to stay away from WalMart since they don't always treat their workforce very well. They treat them like crap but they have the best prices around. When you're retired that matters. :-) There is a place called Menards in the upper midwest. They sell 32 watt T8 Phillips Octron tubes for dirt cheap. They wont fit in the 4' reflectors on 55g tanks. I Googled the name and came up with loads of hits. I didn't find tubes. None of these stores are in my state. : I've had no luck with plant tubes. The tanks looked dark and the plants : stretched. I never use just plant tubes. I mix a plant bulb with a bulb that provides light for a human eye. : I have had really good luck with Seachem Flourish Excel. It helps keep : my tank that tends to have a moderate algae problems to barely noticable : algae here and there. Please note that it does kill certain kinds of : plants (Vallisneria, Elodia (Anacharis), and Saggiteria. The product : is way too expensive unless you buy it in bulk by the gallon jug. : : It is indeed expensive and we saw zero difference in either plant growth or : algae. This stuff completely cleared up a big mess in a very high light tank. It also helps in some containers and tanks that don't have CO2 added to them. But, this was used with an Estimative Index fertilizer schedule. I haven't tried it with other growing methods. He knew I didn't have a high-light tank and couldn't afford the high cost of Barr's products and shipping. I should have been told the truth right from the start. I think it was a come-on to sell Barr's products. : Actually my plants do very well under the cool and warm bulbs, unless : there's a serious algae bloom as I have now. That mix will work. It's been used for decades by people growing indoor plants. However, many warm white bulbs don't have all that great of a spectrum. You want red and blues for plants. In some 4100K tubes, the red spikes were the same that were in the 3500K tube (The 3500K tube was pretty much a 4100K tube, minus the blues...) So, sometimes two good 4100K tubes will do better than a 4100K and a not-so-good 3500K. From a personal aesthics point of view, a 6500K tube looks better to my eye and is better at balancing up an ugly growLux tube. Of course, others will prefer the look of another tube! -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote:
: : Where does the water in nature get the CO2 from? : High tech, high light planted aquariums are not at all natural, they only appear to be so :-) In nature, a relatively small amount of CO2 dissolves into water. If you super-saturate the water with CO2, plants that can barely survive at best under water become showcase specimens. This is because CO2 is a primary limiting factor in underwater plants. Even in medium light, supplementing with CO2 doubles the growth of plants. This tends to help the plants more than the algae, so it gives more return for your effort than other costly things to try. You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info to you. : How much are you spending yearly for the fertilizers, the RO unit, the : electricity to run it etc? Dry fertilizers are cheap, shipping is not. Order several years worth with a few people and your annual cost will probably drop to less than $20 a year. RO and CO2 units cost several hundred dollars up front, but annual maintenance after that is pretty low. All my costs get dwarfed by the electricity bill. Lights with efficient reflectors lets you run the fixture for fewer hours and use less tubes. Still I have more than a dozen fixtures, only a few have optimal reflectors: 4 tube * 54 watt T5 HO tek Light, 8 hours/day 4 tube * 24 watt T5 HO tek Light, 8 hours/day 2 tube * 32 watt T8, 12 hours/day 2 tube * 32 watt T8 overdriven, 12 hours/day 2 tube * 28 watt T5 strip light * 4 strips, 12 hours/day 2 tube * 14 watt T5 strip light * 4 strips, 12 hours/day 1 tube * 32 watt T8 modified strip light with good reflector 1 120 watt PC hydroponic fixture over large cube tank 8 hours/day 1 96 watt PC "quad tube", 12 hours/day, to be replaced. Add up the kilowatt hours and plug into your local rate :-) |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
Reel McKoi said the following on 12/28/2007 12:12 PM:
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Now, you have to figure out how to attach a filter to it. The solution I came up with was to take a rock that I had (I saw some similar in Petco). It has holes in the rock. I put a filter inside that hole. What are you using for a filter? A sponge on the end of the intake? Sorry for the delay in replying. I have been chasing plant tank equipment the last two days. The filter I use is actually a filter that is made for a wet/dry filter in a sal****er tank. It is about as "coarse" as most sponge filters you see for power heads. Then, you sit the power head on top of the filter, so that the intake for the power head is inside the filter. Any water that goes into the power head has to go through that filter. Then, you have to figure out how to secure the power head to the filter. What I used are the ties that you can buy in Walmart. Cable ties. They sell them in the Automotive section. They also sell them at Lowes and Home Depot. They come in packs anywhere from a few to hundreds. What kind of sponge are you using for a filter? You can just cut a hole in the sponge and stick the intake in it. I didn't have a way to mount it in the tank unless I attached it to something. I simply decided to put my rock to multiple uses. And, the filter I have actually floats my power head if it is not attached to anything. The purpose of the rock was to give it a stable base so that the filter wouldn't get crushed onto the pumps. Put the pump on the filter, then Cable Tie it all together. It is that simple. You are going to have to be innovative or change power heads. So every week or so you have to clean the sponge filter and replace the ties? No. The way they are attached it allows access to the bottom. And, most of the time, simply turning the pump off allows the plant matter to simply fall off the bottom to be vacuumed out. Are you talking about a sponge filter on it's intake screen? Not all of these powerhead-like water pumps come with screens you can pull a sponge over. I can't even find that type of filter here. I hunted one and had to come up with a solution of my own. None of it would have happened if my wife hadn't decided that since she could feed dog food to the fish at the dock that mine would eat it too and dumped a hand full of dog food into the tank. I was stubborn enough to want to figure out how to clear it up without having to change all the water. If you can't find these "filters" I probably wont either. Is it a sponge? I have no idea what you're talking about. There is a picture of it on the page I linked to at the end of this post. Right now, my digital camera battery is in the charger being recharged. I have to do some work on the tank and will try to take some pictures and post them online so you can see how I made it. Yes, I would love to see what they look like. :-) URL: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't lock the filter into the rock. For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit, wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind comp.lang.javascript FAQ - http://jibbering.com/faq/index.html Javascript Best Practices - http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com/bestpractices/ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 31, 7:40*pm, Randy Webb wrote:
Reel McKoi said the following on 12/28/2007 12:12 PM: "Randy Webb" wrote in message ... Now, you have to figure out how to attach a filter to it. The solution I came up with was to take a rock that I had (I saw some similar in Petco). It has holes in the rock. I put a filter inside that hole. What are you using for a filter? *A sponge on the end of the intake? Sorry for the delay in replying. I have been chasing plant tank equipment the last two days. The filter I use is actually a filter that is made for a wet/dry filter in a sal****er tank. It is about as "coarse" as most sponge filters you see for power heads. Then, you sit the power head on top of the filter, so that the intake for the power head is inside the filter. Any water that goes into the power head has to go through that filter. Then, you have to figure out how to secure the power head to the filter. What I used are the ties that you can buy in Walmart. Cable ties. They sell them in the Automotive section. They also sell them at Lowes and Home Depot. They come in packs anywhere from a few to hundreds. What kind of sponge are you using for a filter? You can just cut a hole in the sponge and stick the intake in it. I didn't have a way to mount it in the tank unless I attached it to something. I simply decided to put my rock to multiple uses. And, the filter I have actually floats my power head if it is not attached to anything. The purpose of the rock was to give it a stable base so that the filter wouldn't get crushed onto the pumps. Put the pump on the filter, then Cable Tie it all together. It is that simple. You are going to have to be innovative or change power heads. So every week or so you have to clean the sponge filter and replace the ties? No. The way they are attached it allows access to the bottom. And, most of the time, simply turning the pump off allows the plant matter to simply fall off the bottom to be vacuumed out. Are you talking about a sponge filter on it's intake screen? *Not all of these powerhead-like water pumps come with screens you can pull a sponge over. I can't even find that type of filter here. I hunted one and had to come up with a solution of my own. None of it would have happened if my wife hadn't decided that since she could feed dog food to the fish at the dock that mine would eat it too and dumped a hand full of dog food into the tank. I was stubborn enough to want to figure out how to clear it up without having to change all the water. If you can't find these "filters" I probably wont either. Is it a sponge? *I have no idea what you're talking about. There is a picture of it on the page I linked to at the end of this post. Right now, my digital camera battery is in the charger being recharged. I have to do some work on the tank and will try to take some pictures and post them online so you can see how I made it. Yes, I would love to see what they look like. *:-) URL:http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't lock the filter into the rock. For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit, wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind comp.lang.javascript FAQ -http://jibbering.com/faq/index.html Javascript Best Practices -http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com/bestpractices/ I am not knocking youir filter, but to be h onest I sure wuld not want all that in the tank. IMHO its just as easy to stick a strainer piece into the powerheads inlet tube and if needed then slip on a foam / sponge filter sleeve that tyupically comes with a Pondmaster or Danner Mag 3 or 5 sized piump or use the foam sponge filters that are made for the Maxi Jet like of pumps.............The "rock" appears to be a portion of concrete that was evidenlty poured around a 4 x 4 post or so and it appears to be almost as big around as the bottom of that bucket............just way too much "material" for a little 4 x 4 area of foam to be exposed and do the work. A typical foam filter sleeve has approx the same square inches of fitler surface and needs no "rock" |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
g_in_k_o said the following on 12/31/2007 3:23 PM:
snip You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info to you. URL: http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90039&page=23 About half way down that page is a section where the guy posted pictures and instructions on how to make a DIY CO2 generator. I found that article while researching for a reef tank. I made one two nights ago and it works good. Too good in fact. I double dosed the yeast trying to jump start my plant tank and ran into a problem worse than recharging the yeast. Trying to regulate the CO2. Instead of bending a stiff piece of tubing, I simply used flex tubing and ran it through the bottom of the strainer (after drilling a hole for it). The problem is that it produces so much CO2 that the bubbles actually build up and cause my filter to "dry run" for about a half a second every minute or so. I am going to have to put a T in it and split it up. Impossible to regulate. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
AquariumFatasies said the following on 12/31/2007 8:58 PM:
On Dec 31, 7:40 pm, Randy Webb wrote: snip URL:http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't lock the filter into the rock. For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit, wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on. snip I am not knocking youir filter, but to be h onest I sure wuld not want all that in the tank. OK, so you wouldn't want a rock, a power head and a filter in a tank. Novel idea. JFTR, it is in a 55 gallon tank and it is actually small for that size tank. IMHO its just as easy to stick a strainer piece into the powerheads inlet tube and if needed then slip on a foam / sponge filter sleeve that tyupically comes with a Pondmaster or Danner Mag 3 or 5 sized piump or use the foam sponge filters that are made for the Maxi Jet like of pumps............. Hmmm. Have you read the entire thread? Perhaps you should and you will come to realize why I used what I did. I used it for more reasons than just the filter. An even easier solution would have been to get a strainer for the power head and then put a sponge filter on it. Not near as much satisfaction in it though. The "rock" appears to be a portion of concrete that was evidenlty poured around a 4 x 4 post or so and it appears to be almost as big around as the bottom of that bucket............ Nice to see you agree with my description of it. And yes, it is almost as big around as the five gallon bucket I had it sitting on. just way too much "material" for a little 4 x 4 area of foam to be exposed and do the work. Actually, there is twice that much area of filter exposed (It isn't actually foam, it is a plastic media for wet/dry filters). The exposed area of the filter is also on the bottom of it. And, testing it with a flow meter from the local reef store shows that I do not have restricted flow. The output is the same with and without the filter on the power head. The advantage I have is more area for biological filtration. I wouldn't even begin to guess at the surface area of the filter itself. A typical foam filter sleeve has approx the same square inches of fitler surface and needs no "rock" I can't find filter sleeves where I live. I don't order from the Internet for personal reasons. I prefer to see what I am buying before I buy it so I can make sure it is going to work. The only filter sleeves you can find here are if you buy another power head to go with it. I need another power head about as much as Methuselah needs another does of ugliness. Second problem is that without the rock, the filter I have has enough buoyancy that it will actually float my power head in the tank. I could buy a suction cup setup to mount it to the side of the tank but I chose not to. I actually like the rock. In the end, it is nothing more than a way to show people how they can come up with ideas/solutions of there own. Whether it is by choice or by need. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Jan 1, 10:02*am, Randy Webb wrote:
AquariumFatasies said the following on 12/31/2007 8:58 PM: On Dec 31, 7:40 pm, Randy Webb wrote: snip URL:http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't lock the filter into the rock. For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit, wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on. snip I am not knocking youir filter, but to *be h onest I sure wuld not want all that in the tank. OK, so you wouldn't want a rock, a power head and a filter in a tank. Novel idea. JFTR, it is in a 55 gallon tank and it is actually small for that size tank. IMHO its just as easy to stick a strainer piece into the powerheads inlet tube and if needed then slip on a foam / sponge filter sleeve that tyupically comes with a Pondmaster or Danner Mag 3 or 5 sized piump or use the foam sponge filters that are made for the Maxi Jet like of pumps............. Hmmm. Have you read the entire thread? Perhaps you should and you will come to realize why I used what I did. I used it for more reasons than just the filter. An even easier solution would have been to get a strainer for the power head and then put a sponge filter on it. Not near as much satisfaction in it though. The "rock" appears to be a portion of concrete that was evidenlty poured around a 4 x 4 post or so and it appears to be almost as big around as the bottom of that bucket............ Nice to see you agree with my description of it. And yes, it is almost as big around as the five gallon bucket I had it sitting on. just way too much "material" *for a little 4 x 4 area of foam to be exposed and do the work. Actually, there is twice that much area of filter exposed (It isn't actually foam, it is a plastic media for wet/dry filters). The exposed area of the filter is also on the bottom of it. And, testing it with a flow meter from the local reef store shows that I do not have restricted flow. The output is the same with and without the filter on the power head. The advantage I have is more area for biological filtration. I wouldn't even begin to guess at the surface area of the filter itself. A typical foam filter sleeve has approx the same square inches of fitler surface and needs no "rock" I can't find filter sleeves where I live. I don't order from the Internet for personal reasons. I prefer to see what I am buying before I buy it so I can make sure it is going to work. The only filter sleeves you can find here are if you buy another power head to go with it. I need another power head about as much as Methuselah needs another does of ugliness. Second problem is that without the rock, the filter I have has enough buoyancy that it will actually float my power head in the tank. I could buy a suction cup setup to mount it to the side of the tank but I chose not to. I actually like the rock. In the end, it is nothing more than a way to show people how they can come up with ideas/solutions of there own. Whether it is by choice or by need. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am. I use lots of powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as far away form suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms of holes blown in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when a suction cup lets loose. Been ther done that too many times. I make brackets to hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them at the disired depth and angles.......or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and attach the powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use Weldon SOlvent to glue the pump and mount tothe magnet clenaer and have yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm since I started using it this way in many many years.........I happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is used....... The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes......what I am getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only abojut the size of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless you have that chunk of concrete (rock) on its side like a wheel in which course then it would have the bottom portion also to act as a filter. But once the filter material gets some junk pulled in its not any different in action than the typical foam filters like in the aqua clear HOB filters,. It starts to restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against more suction and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and outflow to occur when filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in to it. |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have theproper bulbs
On Dec 29 2007, 12:27*pm, g_i_n_k_o wrote:
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote: : : I'm starting to think it's the nitrates and phosphates that come right from : my tap! *And the rain water I'm using is catching dust and providing more : algae nutrients........ *a losing battle unless I go for some expensive pads : to remove these nutrients. As a rule to conserve money, I try to avoid all things that have expensive replacement pads, cartridges and other such items. *I don't believe in most of them as to actually working as advertised. *:) One exception is a good Reverse Osmosis unit. *It needs replacement cartridges about once a year. *The RO water is pretty pure and I add back the desired hardness with baking soda and something called GH Booster that I get really cheap from aquariumfertilizer.com. * The waste water comes after the carbon block filter, so I use this for hard water tanks (i.e. goldfish and most live bearers). *So the money I would have spent on de-chlor chemicals instead goes into replacement RO system filter cartridges. Another exception is a CO2 tank with regulator. *This really helps and once you have the system, it only costs around $20.00 for a refill that lasts more than 6 months. *I wouldn't even try growing plants in a high light setup without adding CO2. Then you need to follow a fertilizer dosing schedule. *I use something called the "Estimative Index". *Do a google search on "Tom Barr" "Estimative Index" to get the details. *I get raw chemicals for nutrients at aquariumfertilizer.com and follow the plan with the 50 percent weekly water change. *There are other plans out there, but EI works well for me. Most of my hight light tank problems went away when I started doing the above three things. *There are other ways to do this, but it works for me and is relatively inexpensive (long-term) compared to other ways. For medium light tanks with fish, you don' need to do much of this. *I have good success by using hard or RO softened water and just adding trace elements once a week or so. *The fish poop provides enough macro nutrients for a medium light tank. *It's much simpler, so that's why I suggest people start out with something easier before doing the high light, high maintenance tank. Hope this is helpful. *There are many ways to do this. *I think this is one of the easiest and least expensive ways. In all reality if your using tap water and doing nothing to it but adding dechlor or just letting it age or using rain water odds are your dumping phosphates and nitrates into the tank with each water change. Its the primary reason folks like to use RO or RODI water as it eliminates a loot of potential for this sort of problem. You can get a fairly decent and suitable rodi unit for about a hundred bucks on Ebay or from Filtersdirect.com, and then it will cost perhaps $25-30 a year or two to replace carbon and spun fiber filters and DI resin,.......but you will not need to be concerned with declorinating water any more for a fish tank and your water will be essentially free of elements that create problems in due time. Yes, in Freshwater you will have to re-add certain elements, but a contianer of those compounds will last a long long time and they are not expensive anyhow. RO or RODI water and proper lights makes for a lot less work and a lot more viewing and enjoyment of a fish tank. I have three RODI units in operation as I do use a lot of water each week in all my tanks. I have one in the barn feed room which is essentially a fish room, I have one in the laundry room and one in the hall bath with has been converted to the "centralized" fish keeping room as well................The laundry room RODI is hooke dup mainly for auto top off of my sal****er system and is used to make sal****er for water changes if I run out of natural salt water. The other two are primarily used for the coffee maker (ro water only) or rodi for the freshwater tanks etc. All waste water produced (about 3:1 or so) during use in making rodi water from these units is also used for watering plants indoors or out so its not wasted. LIke I stated previously, I add no additional supplements for plants of any kind, and I can maintain water lillies (miniature Helvola Chromia's ) in bloom for most of a full year........The naturally occuring nutrients also provide sufficient food for my "marginal" type plants that I have growing in my custom water filled hood that also provides a place to mount the lights for the tank itself, and provides a huge flow through bio filter on top of the tank where I can also grow marginal plants l like frog bit, iris, small taro, water celery, Hosta, Chameleon etc etc with just a simple hanging plant light above it all specifically just for the marginal plants and it plays no part in keeping the tanks submerged plants in shape...........Plus that hood has added an additonal 12 gal of water on a 29 gal tank but in the process it eliminated a hang on back fitler , and only added a decent powerhead capable of pumping water up intothe hood itslef (I use a MaxiJet 1200 powerhead for this purpose) so there is relatively little filtration equipment etc inside my hydronic hood tank........................... |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that havethe proper bulbs
AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/1/2008 1:45 PM:
snip For someone who proclaims to have a "real Usenet" account and a "real posting agent", I would think you would know how to snip and interleave responses properly. If nothing else, it makes it a lot easier to follow what you are saying. Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am. After reading it 10 times or so, that is still the indication I get from reading your reply. I use lots of powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as far away form suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms of holes blown in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when a suction cup lets loose. Been ther done that too many times. I use them in my 90 gallon tank but they aren't there as much to hold the power head up as they are too keep them from leaning over. The power heads sit on top of uplift tubes from an UGF and the suction cups are there solely to keep them from wanting to "push" on the tubes. I make brackets to hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them at the disired depth and angles....... Do I dare ask what you make those brackets from? or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and attach the powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use Weldon SOlvent to glue the pump and mount to the magnet clenaer and have yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm since I started using it this way in many many years......... Does Google Groups have a spell checker? I happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is used....... I don't care for the magnets personally. Nothing more than a gimmick so that people don't have to maintain a tank properly. I guess that is one decent use for them as they aren't good for anything else to me. As long as you have power heads that are weak enough that they can't turn the magnets on the glass. And, as long as you are satisfied with the flow you get from having all your pumps on the edges and none in the middle. The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes...... That is precisely what it is (I even said that earlier in this thread). what I am getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only abojut the size of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless you have that chunk of concrete (rock) on its side like a wheel in which course then it would have the bottom portion also to act as a filter. I would look up where I said it but I don't feel like it. The rock is not turned on its side, it is raised up off the bottom of the tank so that water actually flows through the bottom as much as it does the top. As for cleaning it, I simply turn the power head off and vacuum under it. Trivial stuff. But once the filter material gets some junk pulled in its not any different in action than the typical foam filters like in the aqua clear HOB filters,. That is true. But, I can clean mine without ever getting wet. I don't even have to reach in the water. That can't be said for the foam filters. Either way, people can do it however they want. There is not a solid rule on how you do it. Be innovative. Be creative. Otherwise, your tank just looks like something anybody could go in Walmart/Petsmart/Petco and put together. It starts to restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against more suction and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and outflow to occur when filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in to it. I fool with my tank nearly every day right now because I still don't have it set up the way I want. The filter gets cleaned off every day. It is part of the maintenance process. If a filter is left so long that it starts to get clogged then the tank has more problems than a clogged filter. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind |
Topic is now about Randys crude items he makes.....looks like a blindman without arms made this filter of Randys.....C R U D E! is anunderstatement
On Jan 2, 3:20*pm, Randy Webb wrote:
AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/1/2008 1:45 PM: snip For someone who proclaims to have a "real Usenet" account and a "real posting agent", I would think you would know how to snip and interleave responses properly. If nothing else, it makes it a lot easier to follow what you are saying. Well then Rand **** you and the horse you rode in on. Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am. After reading it 10 times or so, that is still the indication I get from reading your reply. Well you have to admit irt doe slook like a freaking kindergarden kid had a home project to do......or maybe one of the "disabled" types at Goodwill! Your welcome to read what you want into it now, since yyou still though I was knocking it, so now you can pretty dam well bet I am knocking that pityfull what-the-**** it ever is. I use lots of powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as far away form suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms of holes blown in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when a suction cup lets loose. Been ther done that too many times. I use them in my 90 gallon tank but they aren't there as much to hold the power head up as they are too keep them from leaning over. The power heads sit on top of uplift tubes from an UGF and the suction cups are there solely to keep them from wanting to "push" on the tubes. Simple things for simple folks.......your filter whatever attests to that! I make brackets to hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them at the disired depth and angles....... Do I dare ask what you make those brackets from? Dam right, its classified. I may have even sent you some material but you just had to start to be a horses er ah make that TYNKs ass and assume ****! Do without, you would onoly make it look like a disabled persons project anyhow.and it would be a waste of good materials.............. or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and attach the powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use Weldon SOlvent to glue the pump and mount to the magnet clenaer and have yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm since I started using it this way in many many years......... Does Google Groups have a spell checker? **** no and eveni f it did, I do not see a need to use it for the likes of assholes like you or the majority that infest these groups... I happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is used....... I don't care for the magnets personally. Nothing more than a gimmick so that people don't have to maintain a tank properly. I guess that is one decent use for them as they aren't good for anything else to me. As long as you have power heads that are weak enough that they can't turn the magnets on the glass. And, as long as you are satisfied with the flow you get from having all your pumps on the edges and none in the middle. Your certainly a ****ed up paranoid idiot Randy.gimmicks my ass,. Your just cheap and stupid and your filter and power head **** proves that point 110% The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes...... That is precisely what it is (I even said that earlier in this thread). So whjy are you trying to say in the prvious posty its some high fancey shamancey material,. why not just simply say its filter media foam.duh, your a real dumbass Randy what I am getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only abojut the size of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless *you have that chunk of concrete (rock) on its side like a wheel in which course then it would have the bottom portion also to act as a filter. * I would look up where I said it but I don't feel like it. The rock is not turned on its side, it is raised up off the bottom of the tank so that water actually flows through the bottom as much as it does the top. As for cleaning it, I simply turn the power head off and vacuum under it. Trivial stuff. Your whole life is trivial Randy, and your lazy to boot. Too lazy to go look up what you may or may not have posted ..Laziness shows in yur powerhead / filter thingy whjat ever you want to call it........but the term Crap or mess fits it perfectly. But once the filter material gets some junk pulled in its not any different in action than the typical foam filters like in the aqua clear HOB filters,. That is true. But, I can clean mine without ever getting wet. I don't even have to reach in the water. That can't be said for the foam filters. Says who, the maker of such a beautiful assinine piece of crap. It belongs on the bottomof a lake or a landfill Randy............it sucks...........but then it probably adds a touch of class to your trailer. Either way, people can do it however they want. There is not a solid rule on how you do it. Be innovative. Be creative. Otherwise, your tank just looks like something anybody could go in Walmart/Petsmart/Petco and put together. Yea, inovative ..hahhahahahahaha and crude too! It starts to restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against more suction and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and outflow to occur when *filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in to it. I fool with my tank nearly every day right now because I still don't have it set up the way I want. The filter gets cleaned off every day. It is part of the maintenance process. If a filter is left so long that it starts to get clogged then the tank has more problems than a clogged filter. |
Topic is now about Randys crude items he makes.....looks likea blind man without arms made this filter of Randys.....C R U D E! is anunderstatement
AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/2/2008 5:07 PM:
On Jan 2, 3:20 pm, Randy Webb wrote: AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/1/2008 1:45 PM: snip For someone who proclaims to have a "real Usenet" account and a "real posting agent", I would think you would know how to snip and interleave responses properly. If nothing else, it makes it a lot easier to follow what you are saying. Well then Rand **** you and the horse you rode in on. A little thin skinned are we? I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and you have shown your true colors. Thankfully, it didn't take long for you to do it either. As for your lame attempt at flaming me, I have been flamed far worse by far better than you so try again son, you failed. -- Randy Chance Favors The Prepared Mind |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ... On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:40:31 -0800, AquariumFatasies wrote: I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no more than 2x40Watters of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER" reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater plants you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank. I'm not so sure about that. They may be sufficient at first, but light output seems to drop off fairly quickly. I've had good luck with the proverbial 2 watts per gallon in tanks of normal depth. Even then I'd use the Tropica website and stay away from any plants they describe as needing high light. As far as a homemade reflector, I used aluminum flashing in a couple of homemade hoods. Certainly no work of art, but seems to work. Just make sure the flashing you buy is polished on at least one side. ============================================ For now I'm leaving the lights as is on my tanks. I've cut back feeding to twice a day and cut back the lighting to 10 hours a day. I stopped adding Flourish Excel and see a small improvement. :-) -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(รถ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"g_in_k_o" wrote in message ... In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote: : : Where does the water in nature get the CO2 from? : High tech, high light planted aquariums are not at all natural, they only appear to be so :-) In nature, a relatively small amount of CO2 dissolves into water. If you super-saturate the water with CO2, plants that can barely survive at best under water become showcase specimens. This is because CO2 is a primary limiting factor in underwater plants. It should then also enter aquarium water and be added by the fish as they breathe. Even in medium light, supplementing with CO2 doubles the growth of plants. This tends to help the plants more than the algae, so it gives more return for your effort than other costly things to try. You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info to you. : How much are you spending yearly for the fertilizers, the RO unit, the : electricity to run it etc? Dry fertilizers are cheap, shipping is not. Order several years worth with a few people and your annual cost will probably drop to less than $20 a year. I have no one to share an order with. No one I know grows aquarium plants although they keep fish. RO and CO2 units cost several hundred dollars up front, but annual maintenance after that is pretty low. All my costs get dwarfed by the electricity bill. Lights with efficient reflectors lets you run the fixture for fewer hours and use less tubes. Still I have more than a dozen fixtures, only a few have optimal reflectors: 4 tube * 54 watt T5 HO tek Light, 8 hours/day 4 tube * 24 watt T5 HO tek Light, 8 hours/day 2 tube * 32 watt T8, 12 hours/day 2 tube * 32 watt T8 overdriven, 12 hours/day 2 tube * 28 watt T5 strip light * 4 strips, 12 hours/day 2 tube * 14 watt T5 strip light * 4 strips, 12 hours/day 1 tube * 32 watt T8 modified strip light with good reflector 1 120 watt PC hydroponic fixture over large cube tank 8 hours/day 1 96 watt PC "quad tube", 12 hours/day, to be replaced. Add up the kilowatt hours and plug into your local rate :-) Electricity where I live isn't very expensive. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs
"Randy Webb" wrote in message ... g_in_k_o said the following on 12/31/2007 3:23 PM: snip You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info to you. URL: http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90039&page=23 About half way down that page is a section where the guy posted pictures and instructions on how to make a DIY CO2 generator. I found that article while researching for a reef tank. I made one two nights ago and it works good. Too good in fact. I double dosed the yeast trying to jump start my plant tank and ran into a problem worse than recharging the yeast. Trying to regulate the CO2. Instead of bending a stiff piece of tubing, I simply used flex tubing and ran it through the bottom of the strainer (after drilling a hole for it). The problem is that it produces so much CO2 that the bubbles actually build up and cause my filter to "dry run" for about a half a second every minute or so. I am going to have to put a T in it and split it up. Impossible to regulate. ============================== Thanks Randy but I really don't have the time to mess with something like that. I can kill all my fish if I make a mistake. -- RM.... Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(๖ |
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