Jungle Vallisneria.

[Nights85]

So I made a decent sized order on plants finally before I never had many
Anyways I have 8 jungle val seem in good health and such but the roots
they aren't all that long so a smaller fish seems to be able to bump into
the tall leaves and next thing you know all 8 vals are floating...

My question here is can I let them float for a couple days to grow a more
extensive root system or will that harm them? I figure the bigger roots would
of course root them into the gravel better... If not whats the easiest way to
keep them down?

Also I am looking at better bulbs... there are options for 6700k, 10000k, 14000k, All Blue, All White and 1 Blue 1 White from what I know I think
the choice is 6700k but what about the Blue bulbs do they do the same as the white in terms of growth? Or is the blue bulb mostly aesthetic?

 

[Burto]

My experience with valisneria is that it is fine floating for several days and will continue to grow while floating.
How deep is your substrate? I've found that even valisneria that's been uprooted and had all its roots chewed off by my rainbow cichlid will stay planted if I replant it deep enough, and being planted deeply doesn't seem to bother it.

For lights, I'd go with all 6700K or 1 6700K 1 10,000K. I think blue is intended for reef use and probably won't be much good for growing plants.

 

['vspec']

True actinic is in the 600's nm range, so its aesthetics.

Im assuming these bulbs your refering are able to create the growth or daylight wavelengths and still pump out a blue look via the tube coatings. Im definaetly talking out of tune, as im not exactly up with the entire scope of T5 tube tech.

 

[Nights85]

Alright sounds good I wonder is there a definite benefit to having a 10,000k with or
the 6700k nothing really to bother with?

Also I havn't planted the val's too deeply due to the crowns supposedly rotting
so I plant them as deep as I can without putting rock around the crown but
being as the roots are rather short ( Came that way from where I ordered )
I think they just don't have enough hold but I didn't want to kill them under
the assumption they could survive floating til the roots grew a bit more.

 

[Burto]

The general consensus seems to be that 6500/6700K is the best for plant growth, but anything from 5000-10,000K seems to work well, user Jcardona had a very slick 55 gallon planted tank lit by 10,000K T5s.
In my personal experience 10,000K lights give off a whiter light that seems to enhance colours and make greens greener, whereas 6500K seems slightly yellow.
When/if I upgrade to T5 lights on a tank I'll probably get a fixture that comes with 10,000K tubes and stick with them.

 

[Nights85]

Yeah I ended up with T8 2x40 on my 75 gallon here I don't think its enough they are
6500k lights so I am looking into some lights that will look as good as they will
grow the plants hopefully before the plants have too much of a problem...

My next question is would I be fine with 108 watts of the T5HO or should I actually
get the 4x54 ( The more watts per gallon ) kind of a hard decision I can get either
for next to the same price.. the Fishneedit 2x light for 90 or an odyssea 4x for 110 or something the odyssea seems like a winner for the fact its got built in timers Lunar
L.E.D and even a shield to protect from the splashes and of course 4 bulbs..

 

[Burto]

From the discussions that have gone on here recently, I would say 2x54 watt T5HOs will be plenty. Depending on the type of plants you want to grow and what you want to achieve, you may even be better off adding more T8s if they'll fit. I think 4x54 watt T5HOs would be overkill, and you wouldn't need or want to turn all 4 on.

Have a read here if you haven't already: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73446&page=3

 

[Nights85]

Well I have a Sword, 8 JVals, 2 Hornwort, Tiger Lotus, Anacharis and a random piece of bamboo.. lol I am not so worried about algae I have never been able to grow it always wanted some for my Pleco.



Quite a bit floating for now so they can root.. sorry about the image quality
its just a webcam but I have plans for nice lush jungle.. ;D

 

[Nights85]

Alright well the light I ordered comes with 2x 12,000k and 2x blue actinic didn't have
the option to choose like I must have confused some other site for I guess being as
it shouldn't be too far off from 10,000 would the 12,000's support a decent growth
atleast til I get a 6700k/10,000k?

 

[punk-in-drublic]

4x54 t5ho is going to be A LOT of light for this tank you might end up with an algae farm. I would definitely check out the par chart on page 1 that Jcardona posted of the thread that burto linked. It is very helpful and will assist you in determining the amount of light that you really need.

Also dont throw away the box to your light you might want to send it back for something smaller later on if the vendor you bought it from allows returns.