First Try At A Planted Tank
- Thread starter CanadianBacon
- Start date
jbnebres;2551918; said:
thanks, its a 55g only running 94 watts (1.7wpg) will a DIY co2 make a diffrence? i thought u need co2 when u had more light? I dont know im still a plant noob lol. i kinda wanted to keep it as low tech as possible. still trying to decide on stocking... i want a large school of something im open to sugestions
A CO2 will make your plants grow incredibly fast and look as green as ever. You should look into getting one.
CanadianBacon;2551932; said:
There are certain plants that can grow at low lighting. I starting off with low lighting and no Co2. I recommend getting a better light, if not then at least a Co2 system. I'm not a big fan of the DIY co2 thing but it is less expensive. But you wouldn't be disappointed of the over all out come of you tank if you had the right lighting and Co2 system.
i wont be able to upgrade the lighting anytime soon i just bought the 4 foot fixture and lights for 50.00. i was trying to save as much money as possible doing this tank so far so good. iv read that u can make your own co2 using a 2l pop bottle? how is this done? i have the bottle, air line, powerhead or HOB filter, yeast, sugar and baking powder or soda. is that all i need?
Your almost at 2wpg...most common aquarium plants will grow fine in that. If your stem plants start to get "leggy" then it may be to little for them. For your first go at it...Id leave it alone and stick with low-light low-tech. Dose Excel, it works best in low light tanks it kind of takes the place of CO2 injection and also has stuff in it that helps inhibit algae growth...another perk for a low light tank. Your lighting is about what mine is and my C.lutea have sprouted out around 25 new leaves this week...and these are so called slow growers. The key in this kind of setup is having a good substrate and lighting thats in the right spectrum...root fertilization and some light column fertilization will help to. My dosing schedule is M,W,F dose a cap of Excel...and on W I also dose a half cap of Flourish Comprehensive and a cap of Flourish Potassium. If your not using a plant specific substrate I recommend you get a box of laterite and mix into your gravel...it will help the plants out by providing iron at the roots while not affecting any algae growth.
Id personally look into some barbs...they like to pick at algae around the tank if any occurs and they are fun to watch. I personally like Rosies and Tigers myself.
Id personally look into some barbs...they like to pick at algae around the tank if any occurs and they are fun to watch. I personally like Rosies and Tigers myself.
good luck : )
i also started a lil 3gal nano planted wit supposedly 14w of light , but its a 220v plugged into US's 110v so ive no idea if that affected my light xD and so far my microswords r not doing so well xD>... so i dunno.... good luck wit urs ^^
i also started a lil 3gal nano planted wit supposedly 14w of light , but its a 220v plugged into US's 110v so ive no idea if that affected my light xD and so far my microswords r not doing so well xD>... so i dunno.... good luck wit urs ^^