acualy the first 2 pics of plants i just bought the other day. The one with red leaves has been in there for 1 month it is doing fine. Adding CO2 would not hurt anything would it? It would only help. i think that more lighting would be better i know that and looking in to it. i just dont want the plants to die.
New to planted tank
- Thread starter crazyman229
- Start date
i looked in to new lights and new t5 3 foot are $38 each so i am looking at 2 so a total of $83 after tax
crazyman229;1789095; said:
No, they won't die. You'll just be wasting CO2.
crazyman229;1791489; said:
Are you going to add these to the lights you have, or replace the ones you have with these? Because just two 3 ft t5's won't be enough by themselves.
no i will add to what i have so i will have the 3 power glo lights and the 2 t5 light that should be good then
Ditch your power glo bulbs, as they are not very good for plant growth. Switch to the Life Glo 2 bulbs as they are the proper spectrum. If you want to up your lighting go with a single 48" and a single 24" HO T5 6500K-6700K bulb setup. Before adding any more light though, scoop that duckweed out as fast as you can. It will kill off plants as it blocks more and more light.
is there any cheap lighting set that i can get at or make from home depo all that i see is like $200 for lights and fixtures.
I have seen them but have never been able to find them to buy but there are lights that might do the trick. The fixtures hold 6-8 T5 or T8 bulbs and are 3-4 feet long. Basically a common shop light but they had many more bulbs. I will let you know if I ever find a source for them.
Another options to reduce initial cost is to go to www.ahsupply.com and buy DIY kits. This would allow you to get what you can and then keep upgrading as you have money to. May not save you money over all but can get small amounts of light when you can.
As for DIY CO2, in my experience, there is only one time when it will not help. That is when you can not keep your levels steady. Fluctuating levels from DIY CO2 actually caused the absolute worst algae problem I have ever had and killed half my plants. If you can keep your levels steady then I do not believe CO2 is ever a bad thing as long as it is below 50ppm. Some say 30 and with DIY it is unlikely you will get higher anyway.
Another options to reduce initial cost is to go to www.ahsupply.com and buy DIY kits. This would allow you to get what you can and then keep upgrading as you have money to. May not save you money over all but can get small amounts of light when you can.
As for DIY CO2, in my experience, there is only one time when it will not help. That is when you can not keep your levels steady. Fluctuating levels from DIY CO2 actually caused the absolute worst algae problem I have ever had and killed half my plants. If you can keep your levels steady then I do not believe CO2 is ever a bad thing as long as it is below 50ppm. Some say 30 and with DIY it is unlikely you will get higher anyway.
