My first planted 180 Gallon tank.

Podzy · Jan 15, 2015

Hey everyone ,

I'm quite new to aquatic plants and have already begun to read into different substrates and CO2 and different lighting, but I would really appreciate
a bit of advice on a few things.

Firstly , lets talk about lighting. I Have a marine land fluorescent strip light. Which bulbs should i be using to stimulate plant growth ?

Here are a list of the plants i plan to add to my aquarium: (disregard the numbers in the table)

Micro Sword
Rotala Indica
Anubias Nana
Corkscrew Vallisneria
or Chiliensis
ChainSword
- Narrow Leaf
Ozelot Sword
Banana Plant or
Balansae Plant
Myrio - GreenMadagascar Lace Bulb
Ludwigia - Broad
Java Fern
Wisteria
Red or Green
Cryptocorne
Amazon Sword
Red Rubin
MoneyWort
Temple , Narrow leaf
Radican, Marble Queen

Substrate will be Eco Complete.

Also , Should I be using Co2 or is it not necessary ?

Regards ,

Jon

HarleyK · Jan 15, 2015

Howdy,

. Check out stickies in our Planted Tanks forum.

. You have a laundry list of plants, that'll look quite busy. But good luck. I'd do without CO2 . Also read my CO2 sticky in said forum.

Look for 6700 K light temperature.

HarleyK

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

Redearsunfish · Jan 15, 2015

I would recommend the Kessel brand of LED lights - their plant lights. Problem is you'll need a number of them and they are pricey.

shipmonkey · Jan 15, 2015

If you have a standard 180, lighting can be very tricky. The extreme depth of the tank(30") can pose an issue getting proper light to the substrate. Just a standard strip fluorescent wont work, even T5HO lights have issues. As the person above me said, Kessel LEDs would be a great option, but they are and arm and a leg and you would need at least four of them for coverage. Metal halides would do a great job on a tank like this, but the are expensive to buy and really expensive to run.

Rachel.Cody · Jan 15, 2015

I agree with the users above. That's a tough depth. And fixtures are going to be expensive. Some of those plants in my experience are kinda tough. I just started planted tanks about 2 months ago. I bought my t5ho from Home Depot for $90. It's a 4' 4 bulb one. Works great for my 75g.

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

Redearsunfish · Jan 15, 2015

Ecotech radionFW LEDs would be good to. But again you'll need a number of them, and they are ultra expensive.

Rachel.Cody · Jan 15, 2015

The only cheaper route I think would be t5ho's

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

Redearsunfish · Jan 15, 2015

Rachel.Cody said:
The only cheaper route I think would be t5ho's

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

True. Which is unfortunate.

soul_assassin · Jan 17, 2015

heard good things about the finnex plant plus

the lion who ate the sun · Jan 19, 2015

Whoah. Just diy your own plant lights. Aquarium plant lights are a rip off. I'm surprised no one mentioned this.

Go to Walmart or home depot and buy their "roost lights" with clamps. Buy cfl bulbs that are appropriate for your tank depth. Profit.

Spending oodles of money on plant lights is senseless. Those companies are knowingly and purposely cutting peoples throats.

The ones you make will cost less than 20$ each, and outperform any aquarium lighting on the market. I've used these for years.


zoomed.com	hikariusa.com		aqaimports.com	Store

Search

Search

My first planted 180 Gallon tank.

Podzy

Jack Dempsey

HarleyK

Canister Man

Redearsunfish

Piranha

shipmonkey

Candiru

Rachel.Cody

Jack Dempsey

Redearsunfish

Piranha

Rachel.Cody

Jack Dempsey

Redearsunfish

Piranha

soul_assassin

Candiru

the lion who ate the sun

Plecostomus