New to planted tank

[Fishdreamz]

I am new to planted tanks but not other systems. I placed an 18 inch Floramax Plant Growth fluorecent bulb T8 above my 49 gallon tank. The tank is cycled with florite substrate. It has a power filter with a biowheel i do not plan on replacing. I started with a simple java fern that is doing well and growing. I have 2 treadfins, 2 bolivian rams, 4 black neons, and a golden snail. I then added some hair grass a moss ball and a type of crypt. All doing well. I am getting hair algae. I have fertilized only 2 times so far with liquid fertilizer. My question is do I need Co2 or am I going to be fine with the lighting I have? I assumed this bulb with my size tank would be considered low to medium lighting but do not know. Any suggestions are very welcome


Fishdreamz

 

[Rivercats]

You have low lighting and if your getting algae you need to run lighting only 6 hours until it's gone. You should at least be using ferts once a week in the water. The crypts need root tabs. Your lighting won't support DHG at all. DHG needs high light, good ferts, and either CO2 or a higher dose of liquid carbon.

 

[nereksnad]

Co2 is only for plant enthusiasts. The reason people add it is to:
1) improve plant growth and
2) being able to keep more "demanding" plants alive.

you sould add fertilizer after every change of water, though. the basic idea is that you add nutrients through fertilizer, the plants consume what they need, then you change the water and add more fertilizer again. that means that you won't reach 'harmful' levels of fertilization while maintaining a level of neutrients that the plants can benefit from.

also since i don't know how many wattage your bulb provides i can't anwser what grade lighting you have, but i'd reckon it is on the low end.

 

[Fishdreamz]

wattage

My bad i made a mistake. Its a 25 watt 36 inch bulb. Thanks for the replys. I am a wanna be right now but a long time aquarium enthusiest I want it heavly planted

 

[Fishdreamz]

Help me out fellow aquaculture friends

 

[sodbuster95]

My bad i made a mistake. Its a 25 watt 36 inch bulb. Thanks for the replys. I am a wanna be right now but a long time aquarium enthusiest I want it heavly planted

That's fairly low light for your tank and what Rivercats said above still applies. If you're after heavily planted, a better idea of what you have in mind might help get you advice on ways to get there.

 

[Kristian Tombs]

With that lowlight you should grow moss and java fern

 

[Fishdreamz]

Ok I'm a newbie when it comes to plants. I could buy a light but was not sure what to go with. I figured I would start off on the easy side for a learning curve. Looks like if I want to do this right I need a Co2 reactor. What would be a good one that's easy to use? If I do buy lighting I'm thinking the grow light that has not come out yet. Not sure the price on those. This hobby is what keeps me going. I'm a pretty sick lady and love to learn what I can. Thanks

 

[Mebbid]

First off, what are the dimensions of this tank? 49g is a strange aquarium size that I'm not familiar with

You don't need co2 with a low light tank which yours is either low or very low depending on how tall your tank is. co2 is needed with higher light aquariums where the plants are growing fast enough to utilize all the co2 created by the fish. It might help in your situation but probably not much.

If you want a heavily planted tank then I would suggest upgrading your lighting before anything else. Look at a 2x t5ho bulb fixture such as the aquatic life linkable fixture ($110ish) and that should put you in the medium light level for your tank depending on the depth.

After you upgrade your lighting then you should look into buying dry ferts and dosing either a pps pro or EI dosing schedule for your tank.

Along with that you can buy a bottle of metricide 14 day sterilizing solution which can be diluted in half with distilled water and kept in opaque containers. This gives you a large amount of a glutaraldehyde solution which plants can use in leiu of co2 saving you the money of investing in a pressurized co2 system.

 

[Fishdreamz]

36 length
20 high
Has 36 Long T8 25 watt Floramax plant growth bulb
I'm thinking after some research I need higher wattage but not sure how to calculate.

 

[Fishdreamz]

Thank you for that to the point nice reply. I will follow your advice

 

[Fishdreamz]

Is gluteraldahye the same as chlorhexidine gluconate used in Rx for dental gum dz??