Some planting questions

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skillzdatkillz

skillzdatkillz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 25, 2006
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Ok so once my peacock bass move out of my 26gal (36longx10deepx16high) and into the 135 i am gonna plant the 26 and put some angels and cardinals in it. The light fixture on it now pretty much sucks so i was thinking about one of these two:

the 36" model (156w)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3945&N=2004+113424

The FW 36" model (96w)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9871&N=2004+113345

Are there any other ones I should be considering?

I was planning on running a DIY 2L co2 reactor. Do I run it constantly? I was planning on getting some greg watson ferts. I dont really want to be limited by what plants I can have. Any suggestions on plants? I was gonna do a small dw centerpiece with semi dense planting.

Did I miss anything?
 
With your tank being 16 inches high. I would prob go with the 96wt coralife. (the first link was to a sponge filter, BTW). I have the 260wt version on my 24in tall tank, and I'm able to grow glosso, so I think the fixture you picked should be just fine.

I don't see a reason not to run the DIY CO2 constantly. I don't even run an airstone in my tank (not even at night). Greg Watson ferts will be your cheapest/best bet, in the long run. Just make sure you order an assortment (CSM+B, K2SO4, KH2PO4, and KNO3 at the least). I didn't order Phos with my initial order since I always had high P in the tank. Then when P started decreasing, I didn't have much options to turn to.

If you really don't want to be limited for what plants you can have, then you'll prob want to go pressurized. Constant CO2 levels make a world of difference, rather than fluctuating DIY production.

Are you planning on doing a theme? Or just whatever plants you like?
I don't really have a theme yet, just trying to weed out some easy-growers, and go from there.

I'll be trimming my tank soon, if you are interested in some easy starter plants, let me know.

Here are some pics of my tank.
 
skillzdatkillz;571635; said:
lol...my bad on the first link...heres the right one

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12772&N=2004+113175

Hmm...i wansnt planning on a theme but idk. What is a good option for pressurized Co2?

What are some good plants to start with? I really like your tank, with the wood and some of the reddish plants.

side question...what is a bubble counter?
Click to expand...

I would do the 156W myself, that will allow vibrant colors on red plants. Good option for pressurized CO2 is the milwaukee reg/solenoid/bubble counter combo. Definitely start with some simple plants that way you know nothing is out of whack, then jump to the better plants. LFS generally will give you some credit for plants, but sometimes they don't. I'd start with some sunset hygro, bacopa, java fern, java moss (or christmas moss if you want brighter green that sticks to everything easy), amazon swords, melon swords, and anubias. Those are all really easy to grow, and are pretty good looking package. They are actually what I started with. Here are some of my recent plants purchased These plants are doing amazing, and grow FAST. Last thing, a bubble counter basically is a small container with an input, and output, the input comes from the co2 reg/solenoid, and into a clear chamber filled with water. The out put takes the co2 to the tank itself, or diffusor. This is a way to visually see how much co2 is coming out.
 
evercl92;571622;571622 said:
With your tank being 16 inches high. I would prob go with the 96wt coralife. (the first link was to a sponge filter, BTW). I have the 260wt version on my 24in tall tank, and I'm able to grow glosso, so I think the fixture you picked should be just fine.

I don't see a reason not to run the DIY CO2 constantly. I don't even run an airstone in my tank (not even at night). Greg Watson ferts will be your cheapest/best bet, in the long run. Just make sure you order an assortment (CSM+B, K2SO4, KH2PO4, and KNO3 at the least). I didn't order Phos with my initial order since I always had high P in the tank. Then when P started decreasing, I didn't have much options to turn to.

If you really don't want to be limited for what plants you can have, then you'll prob want to go pressurized. Constant CO2 levels make a world of difference, rather than fluctuating DIY production.

Are you planning on doing a theme? Or just whatever plants you like?
I don't really have a theme yet, just trying to weed out some easy-growers, and go from there.

I'll be trimming my tank soon, if you are interested in some easy starter plants, let me know.

Here are some pics of my tank.
Click to expand...
Evercl, that tank looks TOO healthy. :D Do you have much problem with shading out other plants???
 
The light you listed would be the 30" right?? Which is 130w, which would put you at 5 wpg. That is a good place to have your lighting. Although 6-7 I found had the best growth for red plants.
 
A bottle, and diffusor of some kind. I have a pvc reactor built into my eheims return line. I have also used a powerhead with the co2 injected in so it is blown across the tank, there are glass diffusors, and membrane diffusors (which didn't work IME) and airstones. Many options, but the Rhinox diffusors are getting rave reviews from some other plant nuts. I rent my bottle for $6 a month from the local welding company.
 
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