Thinking about my first truly planted tank

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Laser

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
May 13, 2006
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Michigan
I have recently been thinking about trying my hand at a planted tank. I want to start small so I have been thinking about using my established 10g betta tank.

Anyway, I could really use some advice because I'm not sure what I should be looking for. I'm finding it hard to find to find a t5-ho lighting fixture that fits on a 10g for under 100 dollars. If that is the going rate then I guess I'll just have to accept that. Also, I saw a small fluval co2 system. I'm not sure if this is something I need or not. I have been researching that and the seachem flourish products. I definitely don't want to build my own co2 system. Bad things happen when I try to build something myself. Also, I have been looking at flourish and eco-complete substrates.
 
What is your current lighting?
If it is screw in incandescents then you can get the screw in CFL bulbs and be able to grow most things just fine.
If it is a t8 fluorescent then you would be surprised at what will grow under it with a decent bulb.

IMO, the Fluval CO2 kits are a rip off. After you have bought the starter kit and a couple of refill packs you have nearly spent what it would cost for a full blown five pound rig. DIY CO2 is easy to do and very inexpensive, you might surprise yourself. :)
 
Yeah, it's a t8 15 watt I'm sure. It came with the aqueon 10g kit. I was looking into whether I could get a "better" bulb into that single t8. I did find this though.

Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting

As far as the DIY co2 I"m a little hesitant. If it really is easy I suppose I could give it a shot, but I'm afraid that I'll screw it up and I'll just waste that time and money and I could have just got a co2 system. Although a 2 liter bottle, some baking soda and sugar with some airline tubing doesn't sound all that complex.
 
You can grow plants with your T8.
Just try some Java Ferns to start.
Get Flourish ( comprehensive ) for now as a liquid Fert.

High Light tanks grow fast, but they are a balancing act.

I'm a low light/low tech person.

My tanks are in my sig. You can always go high light once you know more.
 
That sounds like good advice. I think I will stick with my t8 fixture for now.
 
tropicalmackdaddy said:
I got a 24w t5 fix tht was 24 inches but only 45 bucks at catalinas aquarium

Great fixture but once you go high light it's much more important to also go higher nutrient, that is, co2 and ferts. With low light, and slow growing plants, you can easily keep plants without co2 and not much dosing. I love high light but I wouldn't do it without a co2 system.

How big is your tank with the Catalina light. One T5 light isn't much for some tanks but it could be iffy on a low tech 10g. Do you use any co2?
 
Oops ya mine is on a 20 inch low-tech 10g. Didnt read the previous posts very well hehe
And flourish comprehensive
 
Generally speaking, a T5ho is way too much light over a 10g anyway. You may be better served by a t5(ho?) undercabinet type fixture but they really aren't meant to direct light downward. I don't even know if they have them with the right spectrum bulbs, or if replacements are commonly available. I suggest going with CFLs. The cheapest and most effective lighting is just basic full spectrum CFL's, I've used them plenty of times and even they can be a bit much depending on how well planted it is and if you plan to run co2.
 
Generally speaking, a T5ho is way too much light over a 10g anyway. You may be better served by a t5(ho?) undercabinet type fixture but they really aren't meant to direct light downward. I don't even know if they have them with the right spectrum bulbs, or if replacements are commonly available. I suggest going with CFLs. The cheapest and most effective lighting is just basic full spectrum CFL's, I've used them plenty of times and even they can be a bit much depending on how well planted it is and if you plan to run co2.
I hope the OP d doesn't get mad at me asking here but it might help him as well. By CFL's u just mean the regular "squiggly" bulbs you would put in your lamp on a desk?
 
TheNamelessPoet said:
I hope the OP d doesn't get mad at me asking here but it might help him as well. By CFL's u just mean the regular "squiggly" bulbs you would put in your lamp on a desk?

I'm sure those are what he's referring to. I've used them too, with great success, but they aren't better. They don't come in as many bulb options as far as Kelvin or specific light wavelength, although they come in lots of watt options making it easy to increase or decrease the light over the tank and they do grow plants. If you have a T5HO fixture and want less light you can always use a less efficient bulb like a T5NO and you'll still have loads of bulb options and a good light spread. They both work.
 
I guess it depends on how you define "better". I've never compared the two side by side, but I'm sure a plant specific t5ho bulb is better and more efficient than a spiral CFL. Spiral CFL's lose a lot of PAR because of restrike and the general design of a basic lighted hood on a 10g is not really geared towards reflecting the light down to the substrate.

As far as cost to install each goes, cfl wins all day long and then some since most people already have a screw-in fixture on their tank. So it's just a matter of spending $5-10 on some new bulbs that plug right in.

I have not tried it but I don't think plant growing t5s (no or ho) are warranted on a standard 10g unless someone plans to go ultra high tech, and even then they may have to reduce the intensity some.
 
jetajockey said:
I guess it depends on how you define "better". I've never compared the two side by side, but I'm sure a plant specific t5ho bulb is better and more efficient than a spiral CFL. Spiral CFL's lose a lot of PAR because of restrike and the general design of a basic lighted hood on a 10g is not really geared towards reflecting the light down to the substrate.

As far as cost to install each goes, cfl wins all day long and then some since most people already have a screw-in fixture on their tank. So it's just a matter of spending $5-10 on some new bulbs that plug right in.

I have not tried it but I don't think plant growing t5s (no or ho) are warranted on a standard 10g unless someone plans to go ultra high tech, and even then they may have to reduce the intensity some.

Totally right. But you actually can go high tech with CFLs. High watt ones are crazy bright. Your definitely right in about restrike, and CFLs work much better when mounted facing downwards in ZooMed type reflectors, but that's often only done on deeper tanks than 10 gallons. But if you don't have a fixture to start a single T5 strip can be had for around 40 bucks and only need one $10 (or so) bulb for a 10g so its not a big price difference anymore. Can it be to much for a low tech 10? You're right again, although some people just raise their T5 up off the tank to control intensity and get good results. Definitely easier to control the light level with CFLs. Just need lower or higher watt bulbs.
 
There's a lot of good information here. I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. It's still a little overwhelming to me as I've always been all about the fish. I might just start a fresh 10g and leave the betta alone. I want to strike a balance between high tech and low tech, possibly leaning more towards low tech. Do I absolutely need something like flourite or eco complete? If not I could just add some plants to my 10g with its 15w t8 bulb?
 
Laser said:
There's a lot of good information here. I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. It's still a little overwhelming to me as I've always been all about the fish. I might just start a fresh 10g and leave the betta alone. I want to strike a balance between high tech and low tech, possibly leaning more towards low tech. Do I absolutely need something like flourite or eco complete? If not I could just add some plants to my 10g with its 15w t8 bulb?

You can just use gravel or sand. I like sand. I use black sand.

Eco complete is good , but not necessary.

My 10g using sand and 6,500K full spectrum mini CFLs

More details in my albums.
 
What is there already? What kind of substrate do you have? How deep is it? Have you browsed through some of the low tech plant threads?

I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, as I am just getting started. But, in reading through a lot of the low tech planted threads, I got some really great ideas about the kinds of plants to try. I have a lot of java ferns, for instance, because they don't need to go deep (my substrate isn't very deep) and actually do best tied to rocks and driftwood. They also don't need a lot of high tech lights. So far, they look good. I also find java moss easy to use. I had to through mine out because of a Cyanobacteria problem, but the moss was the only thing really thriving in spite of the problem. I am not sure anything could have killed it! In fact, I am currently hunting for more because it grew so well.

My point is, you may be able to start with what you already have and add some low key, easy care plants. Your betta would probably be very happy in such an environment and you wouldn't have to lay out a lot of money.

Good luck! I am interested to see what you end up doing.
 
Laser said:
There's a lot of good information here. I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. It's still a little overwhelming to me as I've always been all about the fish. I might just start a fresh 10g and leave the betta alone. I want to strike a balance between high tech and low tech, possibly leaning more towards low tech. Do I absolutely need something like flourite or eco complete? If not I could just add some plants to my 10g with its 15w t8 bulb?

Check out my post in this thread...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/bulb-question-205990.html
That 75 gallon tank has ONE 32watt 8000k full spectrum bulb over it at 20 inches above the substrate. That works out to ~0.43 watts per gallon of T8 light. In your ten gallon, with your current fixture, you are looking at 1.5 watts per gallon of T8 light. There are many, many plants you can grow with your current fixture. Good ferts will play a large roll. The pics were taken about a month and a half apart.
You do not absolutely NEED an expensive plant substrate. That 75 gallon in those pics is 50 pounds of blasting sand and 20 pounds of Eco-Complete. Such a small amount of EC is really not contributing much and is there mostly for aesthetics and texture.
 
I just have some blue gravel in there right now with some fake green plants. I'm strange and I like the way blue and green look together.

Your 75 looks amazing. Maybe I will just get some plants and work with what I have. I'm pretty sure my light is full spectrum. It came with the aqueon deluxe 10 kit. Maybe I will get some excel and some flourish comprehensive too.
 
Laser said:
I just have some blue gravel in there right now with some fake green plants. I'm strange and I like the way blue and green look together.

Your 75 looks amazing. Maybe I will just get some plants and work with what I have. I'm pretty sure my light is full spectrum. It came with the aqueon deluxe 10 kit. Maybe I will get some excel and some flourish comprehensive too.

Your gravel will be fine if you don't want to change it. Personally, I find sand easier to work with as when I had gravel I had a difficult time keeping the plants down. If you do want to change it, and want to spend the money, then EC is just about the easiest solution as you don't have to rinse it. You could also go with PFS or blasting sand, or even dirt (messy), on the cheap.

Don't forget the root tabs for the root feeders. I use AquariumPlants.com Total pellets as they are very inexpensive compared to others, you can also make your own.

If your bulb is relatively old (pushing a year) replace it.
 
blert said:
If your bulb is relatively old (pushing a year) replace it.

^This. The easiest thing to do is to get a new bulb that is made for growing plants and will work with the light fixture you already have. There are lots of other ways to go with light but if you're just starting with plants, going to a pet shop, getting a new bulb, and getting a few easy to keep plants is cheap and easy.
Your gravel may work fine if it's not to large. Large or coarse gravel won't make growing plants much fun. Anything from pool sand to fine pea gravel will work with a few root tabs. You don't need fluorite or eco complete. The idea is to have something root friendly.
 
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