New to live plants

[Batesy82]

I set up my 120g tank and initially went with fake plants for ease of set up. After talking to my LFS I decided to try some live plants. I currently have a dual lamp AquaticLife T5HO.

I am looking to get some beginner advice as to what type of bulbs I should be using, how long I should be running the light and what type of plants are easy to keep alive. The tank is built into a wall in my basement and doesn't get much natural light.

My tank is stocked with:
Lemon Tetra, Black Neon Tetra, Brown Cory, Bristlenose Pleco, Gold Platy, Dwarf Pufferfish, Malayan Halfbeak, Otocinclus

Any suggestions, ideas, comments etc would be appreciated!

 

[Batesy82]

My LFS suggested I start with a corkscrew val, which I bought and seems to be doing well, but now I want to move away from any plastic and get all live while keeping a relatively easy to maintain tank.

 

[tyspot1000]

Welcome to AA!

How many watts are running off the dual lamp AquaticLife T5HO? Why I ask this is because the watts on your tank depends on what kind of plants you can get.

You will want to give your plants a full spectrum of light (Not required). How to achieve this is to get the right types of bulbs. The bulbs are rated in kelvins (K). To get a full spectrum of light, you will need 1 bulb around the 5000K range and 1 bulb around the 10000k range.

You should generally keep you tank lights on 10-13 hours a day. If you accidently leave them on for a full day, dont worry, it shouldn't do much.

 

[Batesy82]

Okay so after a little research I realized I have reef bulbs. One 10000K and one 420/460nm actinic.

What effect will these bulbs have on a freshwater planted tank?

 

[Coleallensmom]

Okay so after a little research I realized I have reef bulbs. One 10000K and one 420/460nm actinic.

What effect will these bulbs have on a freshwater planted tank?

Any bulb in the 6,500-10,000k range is good for plant growth.

The 10,000K in your current fixture is fine for a planted freshwater tank. Usually the only difference between a freshwater fixture and saltwater fixture is the 2nd bulb. Saltwater light fixtures often come with an actinic bulb while freshwater fixtures often come with a pink Rosette plant bulb. I'd take out the actnic and replace it either with a rosette bulb or with another plain 10,000K bulb.

 

[Coleallensmom]

I set up my 120g tank and initially went with fake plants for ease of set up. After talking to my LFS I decided to try some live plants. I currently have a dual lamp AquaticLife T5HO.

I am looking to get some beginner advice as to what type of bulbs I should be using, how long I should be running the light and what type of plants are easy to keep alive. The tank is built into a wall in my basement and doesn't get much natural light.

My tank is stocked with:
Lemon Tetra, Black Neon Tetra, Brown Cory, Bristlenose Pleco, Gold Platy, Dwarf Pufferfish, Malayan Halfbeak, Otocinclus

Any suggestions, ideas, comments etc would be appreciated!

The plants that will do well in your tank will largely depend on your lighting. You're on the right track with the T5s; AquaticLife is a fairly popular brand. How many watts are each bulb in the fixture?

 

[Batesy82]

Easy enough to swap out the actinic bulb for a rosette bulb, I can do that today.

What are some good simple plants to start with? Another thread mentioned plantgeek.net and I was checking out some things there. Anubias seems to be regularly reffered to as an easy plant to maintain. Does anyone have any advice on Anubias, any issues with it?

 

[Coleallensmom]

Can you check the watts on your bulbs? That will help me determine just how many wpg you have.

Many lowlight plants are very easy to take care of. Anubias, some swords, hornwort, java fern, anacharis, java moss, crypts, and vals are all great starter plants.

 

[Batesy82]

I'm not sure what the wattage of each bulb is, I can't find it written anywhere on the unit.

Here is the exact light that I bought from BigAls...it says that it is 180 total wattage. I have the 48" marine version.

Dual Lamp T5HO Light Fixtures

 

[Batesy82]

Hmm...for some reason my messages keep saying they need to be approved?

I'm not sure what the individual bulb wattage is, I can't find it written on the bulbs anywhere. I looked it up on the LFS website, and my lighting unit is 180 total watts. AquaticLife and I have the 48" marine version.

 

[Coleallensmom]

Were you trying to post a link or a photo? Sometimes when new members try posting links, photos, etc. the posts are automatically put in for moderation. I think it's to defend the forums against spammers and the like. Once you have a few posts in, it should stop.

180w on a 120gal should put you at about 1.5 watts per gallon. Should be more then enough to get you started with some low-med light plants. There are many different Vals and Crypts that would look good in your tank and do well with your light...no need to stick with just Anubias.

 

[Batesy82]

Just two more questions!

1. If I change from the actinic bulb to the roseate bulb, what will that do to my wattage if anything?

2. I have a very large piece of DW as my center piece, I want to plant some low height foreground plants around this but the DW creates shade at the base. What would a good plant be for this area?

 

[Coleallensmom]

It shouldn't change your wattage. For example, my fixtures (on my much smaller tanks) hold dual 24w bulbs. One is your typical 10,000k bulb, the other is a Roseate bulb. The difference between an actnic bulb and a roseate bulb is that the actnic bulbs produce light from the blue end of the light spectrum while roseate bulbs provide light in the spectrum that plants utilize (the red, orange and yellow colors found in the lower end of the light spectrum). Check this link out, it explains it a little: Aquarium Lighting: Fluorescent Bulb Selection Guide

 

[Coleallensmom]

I have a very large piece of DW as my center piece, I want to plant some low height foreground plants around this but the DW creates shade at the base. What would a good plant be for this area?

I've seen your tank..very cool driftwood you have there! Unfortunately most grasslike plants need more light then what your tank has. Anubias or java fern are two options. There are some crypts that stay smaller.

Check the plant list for my 37 gal in my profile for some more plant ideas.