Lighting

[Danio35]

I am planning to change the lighting in my new 55 gal planted. So far i only have the lighting that it came with, which I am sure is way too low. I don't have a CO2 injector, so I think I need to say below 2.5 watts/gal. Right? I am so new to the lighting/plant thing and am unsure where to start.

THanks,

Michelle

 

[penpitt]

The best option would be to get powercompact lighting. At Bigalsonline you could get a Coralife Freshwater Aqualight with 2x65w 6700k bulbs. THat would give you roughly 2.5wpg. Just stay away from bulbs that are part actinic. THose are for sw setups not fw.THe fw plants cant use that part of the spectrum. Heres the striplight I was telling you about:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29553;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

 

[malkore]

I'd aim for 2wpg, which is just gonna be tricky on a 55 since most pre-fab fixtures run 65watts.

However if you hit www.ahsupply.com you can get 2 55watt retrofit kits, and just install them in your existing light fixtures. Then you'd be at a solid 2wpg. CO2 would be useful, but not required. You could run a little DIY CO2...might take 2-3 one gallon DIY containers to do it, but IS possible.

 

[Danio35]

Thank you so much for your advice. For some reason, I am having trouble wrapping my brain around the lighting/plant/CO2/O2 aspects. I've read a few articles, but I just can't seem to make sense of it.

Thanks

 

[SnyperP]

Generally 2wpg is the breakpoint of co2. Anything after that point it's going to require the use of Co2. Not to mention ferts in some form. Plants then use the co2 and release o2. This is where pearling comes from...that is if your plants produce an extreme amount of o2. At night, I believe, plants start absorbing o2. Some feel the need to oxygenate their their water at night to prevent suffocating their fish. I don't think it's needed. I leave the co2 running 24/7 (dyi setup) and it's usually at 7.0 ph (28ppm) in the morning.

 

[malkore]

I too run CO2 24/7, with no airstones at night. With a dKh of 8, I have plenty of buffering so CO2 won't skyrocket overnight. I'm more concerned with pH swings by NOT running CO2 at night.
I stay between 22-28ppm, no gasping fish, plants look great.

 

[travis simonson]

Just to confuse things a little more I thought I'd put this in: CO2 and O2 are not mutually exclusive in your water column, it's possible for your water to be saturated with (or depleted of) both at the same time. CO2 levels and O2 levels are independent of each other, which can make it tricky to determine whether a fish might be gasping because of low O2 or excessive CO2. I'm with the 24/7 CO2 people. It's better to have a stable pH, and if you're using a pH monitor, CO2 supplementation won't run much at night anyway since there is very little uptake of CO2 during the dark part of the photoperiod and it will only run to combat atmospheric liberation of the dissolved CO2.

 

[malkore]

And to give you an idea of good O2 levels, water becomes saturated with O2 at something like 5ppm. CO2 on the other hand can probably reach triple digit ppm's (I accidentally got to 85ppm once, thankfully no fish were harmed).

 

[Danio35]

Is it a good idea to monitor O2 and CO2 on a regular basis with planted aquariums? Or should you monitor if you have a CO2 injector? How often should you measure? So, I see from your posts that light and therefore CO2 levels can effect pH. How does that happen? My water is very alkaline with a pH of 8.4 and very hard. I'm guessing that my pH will be pretty stable with my parameters, right?


Thanks!

Michelle

 

[travis simonson]

In a planted tank it is not really necessary to monitor O2 levels as it will basically take care of itself as long as your filtration system is functioning properly. CO2 should be monitored by finding the pH and KH of your water and cross-indexing them. Check this link for a calculator and chart showing the relationship of pH and KH to CO2 levels, as well as a great explanation of how the relationship works.

With a pH of 8.4 and very hard (i.e. alkaline) water you will have very low, almost non-existent levels, of CO2 in your water. The only way to increase CO2 levels is through CO2 supplementation which will, by necessity, drop your pH. If you've got any questions about how it works, don't be afraid to ask

 

[Danio35]

Just want everyone know that I really appreciate your help!

Can you tell me if these are good products for CO2 supplementation?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=8981&Bc=1&N=2004+2021

They seem too cheap to be good..

Thanks