Hello all. Found this board and think it has beenvery helpfull,so hopefully i get a good response to my dilema. I can either go with a new light strip(coralife pc 4x65 for a total of 260 watts) or a full co2 setup. What i have now is 4x40 bulbs. 2x5500k and 2x1800k. The 2 1800k bulbs were a mistake but they cost me 40$ so they will burn till there gone. My tank is a standard 75 gal. Im not sure of what plants ill be getting but would like to be able to grow most anything. My thought is the light and use diy co2. Whats your ideas? Thanks all and look forward to your answers.
Question on spending $
- Thread starter ehauff
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G
Guest
Guest
That much light and only DIY co2 is likely going to lead to big algae problems. Doing diy co2 for a 75 gallon tank, you'd have to set up 4 or more 2 liter soda bottles to get the co2 you need. that will burn up $$ in Sugar costs pretty quickly.
Pressurized co2 with your current lighting won't hurt, but it won't really help much either until you get the lights over 3 wpg.
My opinion: Stick with the current set up, go with low-medium light plants, and keep saving up your money untill you can afford to get both the lighting and the pressurized co2. Learning more about keeping plants with the low light ones before you go to the high-light types will give you some good hands-on practical experience also.
Patience and financial discipline are difficult, I know, but I really think you'll be better off in the long run if you can upgrade lights and co2 at the same time.
Pressurized co2 with your current lighting won't hurt, but it won't really help much either until you get the lights over 3 wpg.
My opinion: Stick with the current set up, go with low-medium light plants, and keep saving up your money untill you can afford to get both the lighting and the pressurized co2. Learning more about keeping plants with the low light ones before you go to the high-light types will give you some good hands-on practical experience also.
Patience and financial discipline are difficult, I know, but I really think you'll be better off in the long run if you can upgrade lights and co2 at the same time.
betowess
Aquarium Advice Freak
Great Advice, CC. But when you get your new lights check out AH Supply online. Much more bang for your dollar, wattage wise as AH Supply's reflector design puts about 60% more light into the tank than equal wattage Coralife PCs. And you'll love going fully pressurized with a Milwaukee all in one or similar regulator setup. Check out Rex's FAQ at the top of the forum for some great advice that will save you many headaches too. HTH bob
G
Guest
Guest
I'd have to agree with corvus and beto. Save your pennies and upgrade the lighting and CO2 together. It's tough, but I assure you it's better than fighing algae blooms and PH swings.
With a 75g tank DIY CO2 would cause more problems than good. Eight 2 liter bottles, a silo of sugar and a lot of spare time mixing and swapping bottles would be required to keep PH stable and algae at bay.
Also, Is your 4x40 set up your currently running a four bulb fixture or a couple of two's? If it were two bulb fixtures. You might be able to run your current 2x40 x 5500k and incorprate one or two AH Supply fixtures to save some coin. Which could be used towards pres. CO2.
With a 75g tank DIY CO2 would cause more problems than good. Eight 2 liter bottles, a silo of sugar and a lot of spare time mixing and swapping bottles would be required to keep PH stable and algae at bay.
Also, Is your 4x40 set up your currently running a four bulb fixture or a couple of two's? If it were two bulb fixtures. You might be able to run your current 2x40 x 5500k and incorprate one or two AH Supply fixtures to save some coin. Which could be used towards pres. CO2.
My current light fixture is a 4 bulb 4' fixture. I was growing plants pretty good before in my 55 gal tank till the top broke and i had to dump it. It was going for 11 years. Now i have to start all over on this tank. Think ill check out this Ah Supply. If i can find lighting in my price range i could do both. Co2isnt that expensive. What lights do you recommend for a 75? Thanks again for the info.
G
Guest
Guest
Huummmm.......sounds like you have a basic understanding of plants then. Did you run CO2 on the 55g?
There are many people, including myself here on AA that praise AH Supply lighting. Thier reflectors are awesome. Great company, excellent service, shipped fast, reasonable prices.
The type of plants you intend to keep determines how much lighting they need. Do some research and find what plants you like and what thier needs are.
Seeing how your leaning towards pres. CO2. I'd say go for a jaw dropping planted tank with 3-3.5 WPG of lighting. Atleast, that is what I would do with a 75g
Do a search here on AA for a gentleman by the name of "Aquarium Freak". Best I can recall, he's got a 90g with 3.5 wpg, pres CO2 and dry ferts. It will give you an idea of what is possible.
I can't stress enough how important it is to have a basic understanding of water chemistry in a planted tank. Do lots of studying and research. If your confussed or don't understand, simply ask a question. Thats what brings us all here.
There are many people, including myself here on AA that praise AH Supply lighting. Thier reflectors are awesome. Great company, excellent service, shipped fast, reasonable prices.
The type of plants you intend to keep determines how much lighting they need. Do some research and find what plants you like and what thier needs are.
Seeing how your leaning towards pres. CO2. I'd say go for a jaw dropping planted tank with 3-3.5 WPG of lighting. Atleast, that is what I would do with a 75g
Do a search here on AA for a gentleman by the name of "Aquarium Freak". Best I can recall, he's got a 90g with 3.5 wpg, pres CO2 and dry ferts. It will give you an idea of what is possible.
I can't stress enough how important it is to have a basic understanding of water chemistry in a planted tank. Do lots of studying and research. If your confussed or don't understand, simply ask a question. Thats what brings us all here.
G
Guest
Guest
4x55 watts on a 75 is going to grow most anything you want to grow, but also will require CO2. I have a smaller AH Supply enclosure and they are a pretty good deal.
malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
You may want to hold off on running all 4 bulbs until you get the CO2 going. That or supplement with Flourish Excel for 2 weeks until the CO2 setup is running.
Also with that much light and CO2, you'll need to complete the holy trinity by upping your fertilizing dosing. You'll most likely need Nitrate, Potassium, Trace mix, and possibly phosphate.
Also with that much light and CO2, you'll need to complete the holy trinity by upping your fertilizing dosing. You'll most likely need Nitrate, Potassium, Trace mix, and possibly phosphate.
betowess
Aquarium Advice Freak
More good advice, malkore. A nice source for those dry ferts is gregwatson.com who sells as a favor to us fellow hobbiest and ships close to cost to boot. On my tank the fish always take care of the nitrates, but you'll likely need potassium sulphate, the CSM+boron trace mix and some Seachem Iron. Also, as malkore said, possibly some PO4 (phosphate) which one doses very carefully.
Maybe you already know all this stuff. Dry ferts seem the most economical way to dose ferts for big tanks, with Seachem's Iron being one exception. Because once you get that pressurized CO2 coupled with AH Supply's retina burners, things are going to really start popping. Glad to hear you ordered the AH Lights. Goodluck. Bob
Maybe you already know all this stuff. Dry ferts seem the most economical way to dose ferts for big tanks, with Seachem's Iron being one exception. Because once you get that pressurized CO2 coupled with AH Supply's retina burners, things are going to really start popping. Glad to hear you ordered the AH Lights. Goodluck. Bob
