Jkeating8
Aquarium Advice Addict
You could always go cheap with a clip shoplight from lowes, a 6500k CFL, and a Zoo Med stand. A 23 watt CFL would definitely give you highlight.
8g dirt tank questions
- Thread starter Pezzep
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
It means 12" distance from fixture to substrate. Since those numbers were taken from a 24" long fixture, expect lower PAR from a 12" long light. Considering the height of your substrate, distance is around 8" so you can pretty much grow anything with this light.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
Yeah I had something similar to that previously but it wasn't as many watts when the tank was first set up just for growing low light stuff had a clip on lamp attached to a calendar hanging above the tank lol. Looking for something more slick and with LEDs. Definitely going to look into the planted+ more when it's out, hopefully the price is lower then the build my LEDs and shipping don't bite me in the arse.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
So got the cap on and sand in...not sure if I'm liking the sand might just put dirt and cap it and plant the entire thing. Thoughts?
Billbug68
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not sure if you did or didn't, but be careful of how deep you make the dirt layer in the back. If its too deep the substrate can eventually go anaerobic and possibly rot the roots of your plants. I'm not completely up to par on my knowledge of the subject, but it may be worth doing some research in to the matter. It'd be a shame to have to rip it all apart. Just thought I'd point that out. Good luck, the scape looks great so far! 
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
Not sure if you did or didn't, but be careful of how deep you make the dirt layer in the back. If its too deep the substrate can eventually go anaerobic and possibly rot the roots of your plants. I'm not completely up to par on my knowledge of the subject, but it may be worth doing some research in to the matter. It'd be a shame to have to rip it all apart. Just thought I'd point that out. Good luck, the scape looks great so far!
There is about 3 inches of dirt at the back. If it does turn out to be a little to high, would trumpet snails help in a dirted tank or would they just make a mess of things?
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
Yeah, I was going to do the 2 and 2 but just wanted it a bit higher back there. Good to know the MTS won't be an issue, do you recommend them in a dirted/planted tank or you just happen to have them from buying plants?
I move them into my tanks. I use a strong hydrogen peroxide solution to soak new plants in so I don't get any unwanted hitch hikers.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
I think ill end up adding some, couldn't hurt anything and they will make as a nice snack for my dwarf puffers if they get out of hand.
Plant list so far, still a work in progress but liking it so far:
Golden nesaea
Rotala mini butterfly
Bocapa australis
Alternanthera reineckii mini
Dwarf baby tears
Anubias nana petite
And some sort of moss for the drift wood, not sure if I wanna rip up a moss ball and wait for it to grow and see what it looks like or just use something else.
Plant list so far, still a work in progress but liking it so far:
Golden nesaea
Rotala mini butterfly
Bocapa australis
Alternanthera reineckii mini
Dwarf baby tears
Anubias nana petite
And some sort of moss for the drift wood, not sure if I wanna rip up a moss ball and wait for it to grow and see what it looks like or just use something else.
KleinVis
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I;m liking the tread, definitely answering a lot of question. So I would say that the majority suggest LED's? Is LED's better than florescent, just a bit more expensive? But I guess that in the long run, LED's are better, since it's recommended to change your florescent bulb after a year? I know some people use a combination of the two. What would be best in an larger tank like an 72g with moderate lighting needed?
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
I really have no input on the lighting seeing how I haven't tried t5 or LED yet, I just personally wanted to go to LEDs over T5s from the start so I don't have to buy bulbs every year.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
How come you wouldn't recommend bee shrimp in a dirted tank? I've never kept them before so just curious. Are they relatively hard to keep?
Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feel the same way about LEDs. I like how modern, slim, and efficient they are. The only thing is that we're seeing is that they are still evolving and new advancements or better ways of doing things are being implemented in the next model. For example, the idea that plant LEDs can benefit from multiple wavelengths/bandwidths (i.e. 460nm to 640nm) and not just all white is becoming more apparent. It reminds me of reef LED lights which are more advanced and more expensive... but they incorporate seperate diodes that emit blue, red, violets, along with the whites. Specific combinations for planted tanks are being dialed in. The BML fixtures are a good example of this. Then you see Finnex announcing their "planted+" with red diodes. It's a continuing evolution.
We'll also start to see prices come down... But with that said, today's LED options for planted tanks are much much better than they were not too long ago.
We'll also start to see prices come down... But with that said, today's LED options for planted tanks are much much better than they were not too long ago.
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Jkeating8
Aquarium Advice Addict
Bee shrimp are relatively hard to keep and require precise water conditions. Most people who keep sensitive shrimp use an active substrate such as Aquasoil Amazonia and/or use RO/DI water to achieve the best water conditions. I'm not sure how dirt would affect the water parameters especially when uprooting plants. Im not sure, though. I would just be cautious. If you're going to keep nice shrimp, I would setup a specific tank for them.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
Yeah I'm still undecided on whether I want to do the betta or just shrimp or something else. Which type of shrimp would you consider the easiest to care for that is a non neocardiana species? I've heard tigers are quite easy to care for, but then again I could be wrong.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
Do you think in the near future they will really start to outshine the other fixtures with how customizable they will/can be? I sure do hope they go down in price soon aha, this hobby takes quite the chunk out of your bank account, but it's so addicting you just can't stop and the art you can make in an aquarium is just amazing. Can't wait to have my own place someday with just beautiful show tanks in every room.
Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah I think so... they are the future. My Current Satellite LED+ fixtures are customizable with the RGB LEDs. I'm having so much fun with them. The drawback is they're a little under powered and do better on shallower tanks. T5HO has a leg-up on LEDs for the full spectrum it provides. But seeing the way these newer LEDs are evolving, full spectrum will more common placed in LEDs. Aside from dialing in on the optimal spectrum, I think we're going to start seeing more plant LEDs that can penetrate deeper tanks with high PAR. I already see Current-USA and Finnex talking about them in the TPT forum.
Jkeating8
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah, and mixing shrimp and bettas is always iffy. I've tried. Tigers, I guess. There are some really cool neos out there, too. Some like the Carbon Rilli, Blue Diamond, and Orange Rilli are really neat.
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Pezzep
Aquarium Advice Freak
Yeah i found a dealer online about 3-4 hours from me, they have some nice looking neos, but the less common ones are so expensive. They sell blue diamonds for like $20 a piece and carbon rillis around $13, are these normal prices for these types of shrimp?
