Questions..

[Amaroq]

Alright, so I'm thinking of planting a 20 gallon tank. I was thinking of having a carpet of dwarf hairgrass and maybe some java fern in the back. This probably won't be a high tech planted tank or so I say right now

Now for the questions, the hood only holds one 18" bulb, is it even possible to grow the hairgrass with that fixture? If so whats a good light to buy? For the substrate I was thinking of using sand if thats okay for the hairgrass? If not what would you recommend for a substrate?

I'd prefer for this tank not to require Co2 or Ferts, if that is not possible with the hairgrass is there any other carpet-like plant that might work?

I plan on stocking the tank with 7 Cories, 10 Cardinal Tetras, and 10+ Cherry Shrimp. I don't think they'll harm any of the plants right?

Thanks,
Spencer

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

Eleocharis acicularis is not a carpet but more a lawn. Mine is about 4'' tall. It is a slow grower and certainly appreciates some decent light and low-level ferts. Get a plant bulb (e.g. from www.seraessentials.com) and change annually.It might or might not work, because plant survival and growth depends mostly on the plant's compatibility with your water chemistry. It's always best to try out a few plants and keep the species that flourishes.

Best of luck,
HarleyK

 

[Amaroq]

I was told on another to swap out my 18" for some stronger bulbs. So I mentioned it is possible for me to mod it slightly and take out the 18" 15W bulb in exchange for two 15W-25W CFBs. I haven't gotten a answer yet but do you think it is worth it?

I currently have two 15W bulbs that are rated at 5300K which is the highest I've seen so far for CFBs and I've been searching online, do you think they would be good for lighting? If not what would you recommend? I can go up to 25Ws on each socket so I should have a decent change at finding the good bulb.

Should I be searching for 6700K CFBs or something close to that? What range should I stay in for the 6700K bulbs, like for example any more or less then a 900K difference I should not bother buying the bulb.

Thanks

 

[Sab_Fan]

here's my experience with a 20G planted: I used a dual-tube 24" light with 36W total, using 6700K lights. my substrate was Flourite, and I had basic low-light plants like java fern, anubia and cryptocoryne

basically, everything grew like ganbusters and I eventually junked the 20G and moved up to a 30G; I added another 24" 36W light (now 72W total) and switched to Eco-Complete . . . once again, everything grew like gangbusters

my advice is to upgrade your lighting, and I'm not a fan of sand; it has no nutrient value and it's also difficult for some plants to take root in it . . . there are several substrates made specifically for planted tanks; you might want to check those out and see if there is one that you like

 

[Amaroq]

Yeah I was thinking of doing a all Black Flourite substrate seeing as I have black silicone, soon to be black background, and a black stand. I think it will look nice all black because it will really make the plants and fish "pop".

My only problem with lighting is that I can either do the two CFBs, the single 18" tube, or go without a hood and have a 24" fixture sitting on the rim. The way they made the tank the top trim is built into the hood so if you take off the hood then you take off the top trim. So if I wanted to keep the trim but have multiple tubes I would need to do some major modding which I would prefer not to do as I would like to keep as much value in the tank as possible. I could always just build some type of canopy though if I had to.

At least with how I was planning on doing it if I was to buy two decent plant bulbs at 25Ws each I'll have 50Ws for the tank giving me 2.5 WPG (I know that is not a good way to measure it)

 

[Sab_Fan]

for a basic planted tank setup, it's a good place to start . . . "rule-of-thumb" methods aren't necessarily perfect (by definition, really), but they shouldn't be dismissed just for that reason

 

[Amaroq]

If I was to buy my 10 Corys first then switch out the gravel later on for plant substrate would it harm them at all, other then some stress? Would it be recommended for me to just put them in a 5 gallon bucket, swap out the gravel, put in the plant gravel and once it has settled down a bit put the Corys back in? I'm only asking because at this point in time I'm short on money and can't afford to spend like $66-$94 on plant gravel... Its crazy how much this stuff costs

$46.99 for a 12lb bag of Flora-base, $38.99 for a 20lb bag of Eco-Complete, and $32.99 for a 7kg back of Black Flourite.

 

[Amaroq]

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