Tank Update and New Light!

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fish 4 life

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2011
261
0
16
Cali
Just thought i would give you guys an update on my planted tank.. About 2 weeks old and i am already seeing growth! Finally got my new light dual T5 6500k 24w. Will i be okay planting plants that require high light now? Or is this a mid range light?

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Side view the amazon swords are growing fast! I have not fertilized the tank or used root tabs and they are already growing. The anubias has new leaves and the roots and starting to grow into my drift wood. Starting to see a little bit of algae or brown stuff growing on my anubias is that okay? I get the most algae growth on my sand bed and a decent amount of the sides of the tank. A once-a-week clean keeps the algae down for the most part. When should i start to add ferts? Do Amazon Swords need root tabs or are they okay without?


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Super cool looking plus its really thin and light!

Going to be getting some new plants this weekend any recommendations?

Thanks for Viewing/Reading!!! All feed back is appreciated!

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Nice tank, and yes amazon swords require root tabs because they are one of the heaviest root feeder plants. What size is the tank? What kind of light fixture are you using?

As for high light plants, that depends on the PAR from the lighting.

As for using ferts, you can start them now.

Do you have any kind of co2? Diy co2, liquid form like excel, or a co2 injection system?


What I recommend is going with bottom layer pf planted substrate like flourite, eco-complete, etc.... Then cap it off with a thin top layer of sand. This will actually help you in the long run, because having a high cec planted substrate as your bottom layer is better for rooted plants. CEC stands for Cation Exchange Capacity, it's able to draw in the nutrients and release them to the plants over a period of time.



Here's a list of what I went with for my old 75 gallon planted tank.

Lighting - 48" Coralife Freshwater Power Compact (4x65w)(2x6700k bulbs, 2x 10000k bulbs), and a 48" T5HO (4x54w).

Substrate - 3" Mineralized topsoil mixed with flourite planted substrate and hello kitty: all natural kitty litter, capped with 1" play sand.

CO2 - Injection


And here's what my tank looked like

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Swords don't need root tabs. I have been growing them for years in my tanks without and tabs and I have had more culls then I can remember. I started with one plant and ended up with 30 plants. They would all get huge then I would have some plants get eaten and start again. No ferts at all.

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The only think that might benefit your tank as it is right now is some form of Co2 or Excel just the help keep everything a little more balanced...


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Yeah, Flourish Excel is a carbon based supplement that can be used with or without a co2 injection system. Excel works, but in my opinion a do-it-yourself (DIY) co2 system would be more beneficial to plants, this is because some plants respond to Excel and some plants don't; But all plants respond actual co2, so a DIY co2 system is the route I'd go....

It's cheap, and simple to set up - just Google "DIY co2 system" and pick and choose. DIY co2 systems cost around $2-$5 and use a 2 liter bottle, airline tubing, a cheap air diffuser, sugar, and bakers yeast.
 
xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx said:
Nice tank, and yes amazon swords require root tabs because they are one of the heaviest root feeder plants. What size is the tank? What kind of light fixture are you using?

As for high light plants, that depends on the PAR from the lighting.

As for using ferts, you can start them now.

Do you have any kind of co2? Diy co2, liquid form like excel, or a co2 injection system?


What I recommend is going with bottom layer pf planted substrate like flourite, eco-complete, etc.... Then cap it off with a thin top layer of sand. This will actually help you in the long run, because having a high cec planted substrate as your bottom layer is better for rooted plants. CEC stands for Cation Exchange Capacity, it's able to draw in the nutrients and release them to the plants over a period of time.



Here's a list of what I went with for my old 75 gallon planted tank.

Lighting - 48" Coralife Freshwater Power Compact (4x65w)(2x6700k bulbs, 2x 10000k bulbs), and a 48" T5HO (4x54w).

Substrate - 3" Mineralized topsoil mixed with flourite planted substrate and hello kitty: all natural kitty litter, capped with 1" play sand.

CO2 - Injection


And here's what my tank looked like

H]
Click to expand...

Changing my substrate is not an option.. I don't want to rip the whole tank apart just for new substrate... I will be getting a liquid form of c02 and I am going to start fertilizing this weekend.




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xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx said:
Yeah, Flourish Excel is a carbon based supplement that can be used with or without a co2 injection system. Excel works, but in my opinion a do-it-yourself (DIY) co2 system would be more beneficial to plants, this is because some plants respond to Excel and some plants don't; But all plants respond actual co2, so a DIY co2 system is the route I'd go....

It's cheap, and simple to set up - just Google "DIY co2 system" and pick and choose. DIY co2 systems cost around $2-$5 and use a 2 liter bottle, airline tubing, a cheap air diffuser, sugar, and bakers yeast.
Click to expand...

Okay cool I will look up a diy guide to make one ! Thanks! Any plants you recommend getting?


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