Lights

[All_fish]

I have a ten gallon tank with two 25 watt bulbs and I was wondering if those lights would support plants. I also want to know if there are any plants that are like grass and form a " carpet" on the bottom of the tank. Thanks.

 

[Supergummy]

The would definitely support plant life. As far as what plants I can't tell you. What are your tank dimensions?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

What kind of 25w bulbs? Incandescent, CFL, or what?

 

[All_fish]

What kind of 25w bulbs? Incandescent, CFL, or what?

Incandescent.

 

[All_fish]

The would definitely support plant life. As far as what plants I can't tell you. What are your tank dimensions?

20x10x12

 

[All_fish]

20x10x12

Any ideas on what plants I should get?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Most grass like 'carpeting plants' require more light... so first thing you'd have to do is swap out the incandescent bulbs for 'full spectrum' CFL bulbs. Then invest in fertilizer and a carbon source like CO2 or liquid carbon like Excel. Then you can get dwarf hairgrass or something.

 

[All_fish]

Most grass like 'carpeting plants' require more light... so first thing you'd have to do is swap out the incandescent bulbs for 'full spectrum' CFL bulbs. Then invest in fertilizer and a carbon source like CO2 or liquid carbon like Excel. Then you can get dwarf hairgrass or something.

Thanks a lot. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Coursair]

You can't just add light and not add ferts and carbon. I use 20 watts total of mini CFLs in my stock fixture. Going higher watts without the right ferts will just grow a ton of algae.

Dwarf Hairgrass is NOT an easy plant to grow for most people. Carpets need High Light and CO2 in most set ups to out compete the algae.

Study up.


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[All_fish]

You can't just add light and not add ferts and carbon. I use 20 watts total of mini CFLs in my stock fixture. Going higher watts without the right ferts will just grow a ton of algae.

Dwarf Hairgrass is NOT an easy plant to grow for most people. Carpets need High Light and CO2 in most set ups to out compete the algae.

Study up.


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What fertilizer should I use, do I have to change the substrate or can I dose it weekly? Also what would be a good co2 system?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

What's your stock? You can buy a nice CO2 system like Aquatek's mini regulator for paintball. Or if you're on a budget, you can go the DIY CO2 (yeast/sugar) generator route. Substrate like eco complete or Floramax would be recommended... but sand would be okay. DHG is mainly a water column feeder... so you'd need to dose micro and macro fertilizer. You can go liquids like Seachem's NPK and Flourish. Or save a ton of money and have a lot of fertilizer to last you by learning how to dose dry ferts. There are two more popular dosing regimen, EI and PPS-Pro. I prefer PPS-Pro. You can buy the PPS-Pro pack from GreenLeafAquariums.com.

 

[All_fish]

For stock I have 5 neon tetras, 5 black kuila loaches and a snakeskin guppy.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Okay... the only reason I asked is because shrimp wouldn't be able to handle a DIY CO2 system. Too much instability. Maybe some delicate fish too... but seems like you'd be okay to set one up.