NEWBY Im a little confused and neew help with my fowlr

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wilson said:
the only reason i put thats ite was becuz it was canadian. also if i start with sya 10 lbs LR and then move up slowly throughout the cycle woyuld that b ok or do u suggest getting it all at once.
Given this is a 20 gal tank (?) you could just opt for the 10 lbs of LR. Personally I would go with 15 but that is your choice. In any event, I would add it at one time. If ordering from an online source, it's gonna cost you double the shipping fee just to add a few more pounds. I would suggest waiting a bit longer until you can afford it all in one shot.

wilson said:
hey i also just learned that my light is about 12 watts or a bit more or sumthin is that alright for a fowlr
NO or PC? Either will not help much with enhancing coralline growth but if it's a PC light it might be barely enough to sustain it. I would suggest looking into a 65 w PC light (Coralife Aqualite) to help maintain the coralline and that will also allow for the possible addition of a few basic mushroom (discosoma sp) corals.

Cheers
Steve
 
i dont want to get n e coral. i am alos trying to keep this as low cost as possible. will those lights work for just a fowlr or no. it is a fluorescent tube, dunno wat kind. cani just update the actual tube or would i have to redo the entire canopy and everything.
 
A 12 w NO tube will not sustain the coralline in a 20 gal tank. There just isn't enough intensity. If the rock is primarily for filtration it does not need the light to do that. You may even get lucky enough to get some low light green, orange or velvety red coralline which might do okay under the NO but I would see if you can find an actinic type tube even if it's not a true 03. It will still help.

Cheers
Steve
 
umm will that just fit into my existing canopy

can i upgrade a tube later, and just not have any growth or do i need it? just wanting to get any and all suggestions i can lol
 
wilson said:
umm will that just fit into my existing canopy
Depends on the length but it could be retofited to fit the light. You will need to ensure this is done by one of your parents (not you :wink:) but the electrical will also need to be rewired to incorporate a new ballast to run the PC lighting. The one you have now will not run a PC light. One option that I neglected to mention was if your 12w is a mogul type (screw type bulb) you can also get a PC mugul like this >>mini compact<<. It still won't promote the coralline growth but it will help sustain it and the existing ballast should be fine.

can i upgrade a tube later, and just not have any growth or do i need it? just wanting to get any and all suggestions i can lol
As I said above it can be upgraded later. The filtration effects of the rock are not light dependant so if the coralline is not a concern, it is not required. If/when you upgrade later, the coralline can easily be re-seeded later on.

Cheers
Steve
 
You should be able to use the light I linked to above then. I have one on my 5 gal nano and they are quite nice. As I said though this will not promote the coralline growth but it just might (slim) help sustain it.

Cheers
Steve
 
The ones you linked to have pin end on the lights and will not work with your current lighting unless they are the same. Is your lighting the same as the light bulbs in floor lamps or like a fluorescent tube?

Cheers
Steve
 
If they are the 2 pin flourescent bulbs you cannot use a T5 in a T8 ballast (AFAIK)so you will need to change things around to make it work. As I said though, that is something you will need one of your parents to do. Safety First!!

With regular NO bulbs on a 20 gal tank though, the coralline will most likely suffer. What I would suggest is going to the LFS and try to find some base rock. Some LFS's will have rock that has been without light for sometime and little if any life on it. Generally you can sometimes pick this up at a decent price and still benefit from the fauna living within the rock. That kind of rock will give you all the filtration of the other rock you hear about without the need to worry about lighting... :wink:

Cheers
Steve
 
so will this rock have n e colour on it. also if i were to get that marine type replacement bulb, would that helpwith coralline growth. i want a colourful tank but i dont want corals i just want the rock to be nice lol.
 
so will this rock have n e colour on it

Most likely it will have very little color to it. base rock i white or gray, the colors are typically encrusting sponges and coraline algae.

also if i were to get that marine type replacement bulb

Provided it were of high enough output. In a 20g tank you should be able to grow coraline with 2 X 20W bulbs.
 
if i had say 50 bucks for lighting to upgrade my canopy could i get lighting like this

http://hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=112&PROD_ID=01116840010101

No those are 15W incandesceant bulbs, they won't work for growing your LR.


That will fit in your canopy and it is a floresceant bulb, from what I gather you have an incandesceant fixture.
Same goes for the other link, those are simply bulbs, you would need a floresceant fixture to run them. I would recommend you look for a 24" twin light hood.
 
The problem is not just spectrum. it's intensity. If you want to maintain coralline growth you will need a minimum of about 40w just for it to survive and possibley spread. You either need a >>retrofit<< or a new hood.

Cheers
Steve
 
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