Going planted...

[spilzer]

Hi everyone,

So I've been lurking for a while now, reading up on all the techniques, suggestions, etc. for starting a planted tank. But it's been a little hard for me to apply all the theoretical knowledge to my specific tank so I figured I'd post here and ask a few pointed questions.

Basically my current situation is that I have a 29 gal FW that I want to convert to planted. It's had a few plants (two swords and an anubis) but it is decidedly not planted.

So far here is what I have been considering:

• I want to switch over to 100% ecocomplete instead of the plain ole' gravel I have now.
• I want to upgrade my lighting so that I'll have 2 WPG (I still have the worthless light that came with the tank, time for that sucker to go!) but I'm not exactly sure how to achieve this. I don't really want to get PC but I'm confused about what I can do with NO fluorescent with my tank size. Do I need to get a twin-tube fixture in order to get enough WPG? It seems like the size bulb I can have (24") will only give about 20 watts which doesn't seem like enough.
• I'm contemplating DIY C02 with the 2L soda bottle method.

The other thing is that I really have NO idea what kind of plants I want. I barely know what kind of plants are out there.

At any rate, I'm excited to learn more about going planted and how I might be able to make my tank from blah to awesome! Any suggestions are more than welcome.

 

[neilanh]

If you wanted to stick with NO fluorescent lighting, you could add a second tube and get plant bulbs. That would put you at a little over 1WPG, which would allow you to grow low light plants and not need CO2. But, it would limit your plant selection.

Check out plantgeek.net, in their plant guide, it will help you see what you could grow at different lighting levels.

 

[Purrbox]

If you were willing to go with a T-5 fixture you could get the 30" one listed on this page which would get you pretty close to the 2WPG that you were talking about.

As neilanh suggested, the PlantGeek.net plantguide is a great source for information on plants. I highly recommend it as a starting place for researching plants.

 

[Zezmo]

A 39 gallon is a great size to get planted. A single 65 watt Compact Fluorescent bulb would do nicely, and let you grow most of the common plants.

ECO complete is a nice choice for substrate. Looks natural, and it works well enough.

DIY Co2 is also pretty easy, there is plenty of info on this forum if you do some searches.

As for plants, Start with some cryptocorynes, and maybe some Ludwigias, Hygrophilas, or Rotalas. All easy and nice looking.

 

[spilzer]

If you were willing to go with a T-5 fixture you could get the 30" one listed on this page which would get you pretty close to the 2WPG that you were talking about.

I checked out the T-5 lights per Purrbox's suggestion and they seem to be a nice bang for your buck. But I'm wondering if they are really worth the extra cost vs. a twin-tube fixture? The twin-tube from All-Glass is ever so slightly cheaper than the T-5 fixture and the bulbs are less expensive so it seems like it might be a better idea. But then again maybe the T-5 bulbs don't need to be replaced as often? I guess it does seem like if I can afford T-5 it should be inherently better but sometimes I know less is more.

 

[Purrbox]

The T-5 fixture will give you more options plantwise. If you're willing to be more limited in your plant choices, then the T-8 fixture would be more cost effective. Just depends on what your goals are.

 

[spilzer]

So with a T-8 would I be limited to the lowest-light plants?

I looked at plantgeek.net and you're right, it's a great place to start! I have a whole list of plants now that I'm interested in:

Crinum natans
Anacharis
Giant Hygro
Narrow leaf Java fern
Watersprite
and many of the Crypts

Most of those are listed as "Medium Low" light plants on plantgeek.net. Does anyone know what WPG they mean by that?

 

[Purrbox]

A rough guestimate would be around 1.5WPG. There are many variables in lighting which make it impossible to give an exact number. The Java Fern and many Crypts should be fine with the T-8 fixture, just slower growing. You may be able to get away with the others you have listed as well.

 

[pitt420dude]

I'd say medium law is between 1.5 to 2 wpg. Most of those plants listed would be able to thrive in that amount of light, assuming everything else is in place (co2, ferts, substrate).

 

[spilzer]

Okay, so I'm leaning heavily towards going with the Nova Extreme T-5 fixture but I'm still a little confused about lengths and watts and such.

My tank is a standard 29-gal All-Glass so it's 30"x12"x18". Does this mean I want a 30" light? I know that's the one that Purrbox linked to and I'm pretty sure that's what I want, but just want to double check.

If I get the 30" T-5 fixture it says it has 48 watts (2x24 W). That means about 1.65 WPG in a 29-gal, right? I'm getting a little confused by all the lumens vs. watts discussion I've found on the web. I know that lumens are more important than WPG so what range will the 48 watts put me in for my 29-gal?

 

[Purrbox]

Fixtures measured by their total length just like aquariums, so yes you'd want the 30" fixture to get one that would fit over your aquarium and look like they belong together. Fixtures that are a bit longer or shorter can be made to work, but generally don't look quite as good.

There are so many variables with lighting that even lumens aren't necessarily the best measure. They are all just guidelines that give you an idea of what to aim for. The only way to know for sure would be to get an expensive light meter and take measurements of the light that actually makes it into the aquarium, and even that won't help you figure out what to buy the first time around.

 

[spilzer]

Cool, thanks so much, Joy, your comments have been very helpful.

I think I am going to go with T-5 because it's on sale and sounds like a pretty good fixture for a planted beginner.

Stay tuned for more updates about how my process is going.

 

[Zezmo]

The nova extreme 30" and the 24" use the same bulbs. I was using the 24" on my 60p (16 gallon). Is seemed like a decent light. Although, it was not enough light for that set up (CO2, Aquasoil etc). So I replaced it with a 2x 65w Satellite fixture (also Current USA).

The nova extreme was moved to a 20 gallon tank that I use for my breeding pair of Angels. That tank is fully planted but no CO2 or other ferts. The light seems perfect for that tank. So on a 20 gallon it behaves like a solid med-low light set-up. On your 29 it will also be Medium to Low (more low). It should give you lots of plant choices without forcing you to use CO2.

This fixture is very narrow, so if you ever wanted to go to a higher light setup you could just add a second fixture.

 

[spilzer]

Okay, I've decided to definitely go with the Nova Extreme but now I'm wondering how much Eco I should get.

I was planning on 3 20 lb bags but now that I'm spending a little bit more on lights I was wondering if I could get away with only 2 20 lb bags?

 

[spilzer]

All right! I just put in an order at DrsFS for the Nova Extreme 30" freshwater, a twin-versa top, three bags of EcoComplete and a new master freshwater test kit (mine is out of date). It wasn't cheap but I knew that was going to be the case.

Man, I'm so excited to get all this stuff, hope the shipping won't take to long.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions once I get the gear onto/into my aquarium, so stay tuned...

 

[pitt420dude]

We'll be waiting and ready to help! I'm interested to see how it turns out.

 

[spilzer]

I got the shipment notification email from DrsFS today so my stuff is on it's way! The estimated arrival date is Monday which is too bad because I'll be out of town on Tuesday and not able to start right away.

Oh well, I guess I've been waiting a while, one more day won't hurt.

*twiddles thumbs*

 

[spilzer]

Okay! My stuff arrived a few days ago but I haven't had time to put any of it into the tank yet. :-(

I'm hoping I can work on it tomorrow night, and if not tomorrow then definitely on the weekend.

I also got to help my boss at work plant his 110 gallon. It was really cool and now I'm even more excited about my own little tank.