help with 20g planted

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chris127

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
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145
i have a couple of plants (6) total in a 20 gallon with some tetras/barbs. ive been replacing my plastic plants with real ones and im just starting to watch them grow. my question is, do i need to get a co2 diffuser or other plant accessories? i plan to add more soon.

heres a picture.

14vnprt.jpg
 
That depends on your goals and lighting. How much light do you currently have over the aquarium?
 
okay. the lighting is just stock light that came with the tank - all glass aquarium 15 watt (8000k) i was confused about all the lights at the pet store and didnt want to buy anything without talking to aquarium afficionados. i want to eventually put about 5 more real plants in there.
 
I would suggest increasing your lighting. You have very low light right now with the stock fixture and you won't be able to keep many plants healthy. There are low light options though, but not too many to choose from.

If you were able to get a double fluorescent fixture, you'd be doing better than you are now. Or if you can get a double T5 HO (high output) fixture, that would be even better and you'd have a pretty wide variety for plant choices.


It all depends on what your goals are for the tank. Right now, you should limit your plants to Java fern, Anacharis, Anubias, Cryptocorynes, and Java moss, as most others won't last long.
 
is there a higher watt bulb i can put into my stock light fixture?
 
hi,

i wouldnt think you could just pop a bigger bulb in as they tend to increase in wattage with size. so with the ballast you have your going to be pretty stuck with the 15w tube (probably T8') as far as i know.

Saying that if you dont want to splash out on some new lighting options you can try and optimise what you already have. I have a similar tank to yours with a 15w bulb. I vastly increased the growth of my plants by switching to a special plant bulb, adding a reflector then adding good substrate (eco-complete).

Then obviously i learned over time that only low light plants would actually grow and flourish, if only slowly.

Crypts, some vallis, and some java moss is what i have in mine. I'll post a pic when i get home tomorrow. I actually had to trim things back the other day for the first time in 4 months!. Which is the one real advantage of a very low light tank, you can just leave it to do it's thing.

If your wanting to get into planted tanks in a heavy way, up the wattage with a new T5 setup and open up a massive array of different plants with their corrisponding dosing schedules.

Best Regards,

John
 
what kind of bulb do you have? i dont have the money to get a high watt fixture :( struggling college student!! lol
 
is there a higher watt bulb i can put into my stock light fixture?

Unfortunately no. About your only option with the current fixture is overdriving the fixture by replacing the ballast. Do some searches for ODNO for more information.

what kind of bulb do you have? i dont have the money to get a high watt fixture :( struggling college student!! lol

Stick to low light plants like Anubias, Crypts, Java Fern, and Java Moss. You can still end up with a very nice planted aquarium, things just won't grow all that fast. You'll probably at most need to dose Micronutrients and Potassium after water changes.
 
i have Tetra's Florapride. i dose it every time i do a 50% water change(about every other week)

should i remove the moneywert since it needs high light? i clipped the top off and noticed that it grew back about an inch in a month.
 
Do you have a lid on the tank?

If not, you could easily add another 15W bulb, can probably get it from your LFS for less than $20 or so. That would put you still in a low light range, but it would increase your options tremendously.

Make sure the bulb(s) you have are in the 5000K to 10000K range and you'll be set.
 
yeah i have a lid. i guess i could modify it to fit another light fixture. ill see what i can do! two lights wont affect my fish?
 
Fish like light. No need to worry about the fish with the lighting. The plants are the ones who suffer when there is not enough light. The only thing you have to watch is the heat generated by too much light, but the 15w lights don't put out enough to worry about.
 
should i remove the moneywert since it needs high light? i clipped the top off and noticed that it grew back about an inch in a month.

If it's growing, then keep it. You only need to remove it, if it starts doing poorly. The recommended plants are the ones that should definatley do well with your setup. Sometimes more you can still manage to grow more demanding plants, they just grow a lot slower than under their normal conditions.
 
I'm a newb also to plants and aquariums also. So far I have found crypts to be nice for my low light tank(just a 10 gallon with stock 15W light). I'm not sure what crypt I have exactly but it grows very good for me. I also have Java Ferns and they dont seem to do much.
 
Hey there, I just wanted to let you know that I have a 20g planted tank with just the 18" 15watt bulb the hood came with. I have regular aquarium gravel and my tank is fluorishing with low-light plants. And even some "medium" light plants. You can check out my thread on my 20g here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f19/my-20g-planted-journal-56k-101691.html if you might find it useful. In case you don't want to read the whole thing, i've had a lot of luck with Cryptocoryne wendtii, Crypt Spiralis, Wisteria, Purple Cabomba, and 2 Anubias species. My tank is quite the jungle at the moment, but it's very low tech! I dose ferts ~once a week. So don't fear! I'm a recent college grad with very low funds, but i managed to turn my tank into a jungle! Good luck! :)
*edit* i forgot to say that I agree with Purrbox about the moneywort, if it's growing and doing well, you might as well keep it in there! :)
 
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