Want to try plants, but...

[malonbl]

I don't want to become frustrated with it like I did 15 years ago when I tried. What I hope to do is purchase the proper lighting, start with hardy "beginner's plants" and understand the appropriate maintenance and/or fertilization protocol so that I can be successful.

Here are my tank specifics. 29 gallon with HOB filter. 17.5 inches tall. CaribSea supernaturals gravel (It is a small/fine gravel). I have lava rock, other stones and driftwood in the tank. Temperature around 77.5 degrees. I am just at the end of a fish-in cycle. I have 9 zebra danios. I plan to add another school of danios (cpd's), a school of small tetras and 4-5 cory cats.

I am sure my lighting is not sufficient, but I will tell you what I have just in case. BTW, I do not understand lighting language, so bear with me (I did read the lighting article linked at the top of this forum). My bulb is an aqueon fluorescent bulb with the following specs: 17w, T8, 24". The hood for the light states the following specs: 120 volt, 20w, 60 hz, 30"

I do not plan to supplement the tank with CO2, therefore I know that I don't need to provide too much light, but rather need to balance the appropriate lighting with the available CO2.

My knowledge is limited and my questions are broad, so for my sake (to keep it simple), let me ask two specific questions initially and then I will build on the topic in this thread with subsequent questions.

1) Are there any "fatal flaws" in my tank specifics that will make planting my tank difficult?

2) What is a specific light (brand, specs, etc) that I can purchase that is suitable for "beginners plants" within my specific tank setting?

By the way, I understand I need approximately 2 watts per gallon (since I don't have CO2 plans) and I think I need between 5,000 and 10,000K. I don't know what "K" is though or what particular spec on my bulb corresponds to "K"

Any help would be appreciated and please forgive my ignorance

 

[Mebbid]

Alright, I will try to address everything but ask again if I miss something That's quite the eye full.

1. Nope, no fatal flaws that I see. Sand will be easier to plant in but I started out with gravel and it worked great for me.

2. Your current light will work fine for my following suggestions (see below)


I will start with the lighting now.

There is a ton of variables when it comes to lighting. As of now the Watts / gallon rule is outdated and isn't really used much anymore. There are just too many things that affect the light level to use this. What is important is the par rating of light which in short is the amount of light that plants can use. The following link is a rundown on what par is as well as par levels for some light fixtures. Low light: 15 - 30 par, Medium light: 35 - 50 par, and high light: Above 50 par. The higher the par rating in your tank; the more necessary it is going to be to add fertilizers and carbon supplementation.

K Rating is the color measurement of the light. Most planted tanks push for around 7500k which is fairly heavy in red color. The higher up the scale you go the more blue it gets. Planted aquariums generally don't want over a 10000k rating for the tank as the light gets less useful the higher up the scale you go. In short you want between 5000k and 10000k for your bulbs.

Lighting for a beginner:
Many plants can be grown under low light which is the category that your tank is at right now. You can upgrade your fixture now but just be aware that algae can easily take over a tank when changing lighting. I just added more light to my 55g and had my first algae breakout since June.

Plants:
The low light plants are also the most forgiving plants for the beginner. However they also grow slowly. Suggested plants include: Crypts, Anubias, Bolbitis, Java fern, and Java moss. The crypts are root feeders and will need root tabs while the anubias, bolbitis, and java fern should be tied to decorations rather than planted. The anubias can be planted but you have to make sure the rhizome is uncovered.

For a more complete list of low light plants: Excellent List of Low Light Plants

 

[Mebbid]

The easiest way to explain K rating is to show you so I took a few pictures of the same coral with different k rating of light to show you. This is a frogspawn frag that I have.

6500k

12000k ish

20000k ish

The higher the k rating the more the fish colors will "pop" Fluorescent colors of fish will show up more. Under the 20000k lights a lot of my corals seem to glow like under a black light.

 

[GlubGlub]

I just got into fish back in September and decided to add some easy plants as well. I have the exact same tank and light and my plants are doing great for my goals. Easy to take care of, growing slowly, look great.

I've got an anubias of some type, a java fern, two red crypt wendtii, a crypt spiralis (which is doing fabulous), a crypt parva (which hasn't done much of anything), a red melon sword, and a water wisteria (i think) picture below is a couple days ago, pic under my name is October.

I do dose flourish, and iron once a week, have root tabs next to the crypts and sword, and use 2 mls of excel daily, but that's all easy. They'd probably grow without that besides the tabs. Looking into getting some more now.

 

[malonbl]

Thank you all for the responses. I have been working so I haven't been able to respond until now. Mebbid, a couple of follow-up questions, if I may.

You mentioned a link showing par ratings for particular lights. I did not see a link, so I figured you may have forgotten it (unless I misunderstood something).

Also, how do I know what K rating my light is? Does this correspond to any of the specs I listed in the first post?

I still have more questions to come. I am very appreciative of the feedback so far.

 

[Mebbid]

Yep, I completely forgot to add in the link.

Lighting an Aquarium with PAR instead of Watts

From what I could dig up your bulb should be the full spectrum bulb at about 8000k. That's the bulb that I found that comes with the aqueon fixtures.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello mal...

I keep larger, 55 G tanks and use a couple of 40 watt T12 GE fluorescent bulbs from the hardware store. They cost about $6.00 each and last well over a year. You can keep many floating plants like Anacharis (Egeria densa), Hornwort, Duckweed (pretty invasive), and Penneywort. Singapore moss, Anubias nana, Anubias nangi can all be attached to driftwood or lava rock and dropped on top of the substrate. This is quite a few plants for any sized tank and require very little maintenance or fertilizer.

Just a couple of suggestions. This stuff is pretty simple.

B

 

[malonbl]

Many thanks again.

So, my bulb is 8000K. Does that mean that the "8" in T8 stands for 8000k or is the T8 a completely different spec altogether?

I read the link about PAR measurements. Thank goodness I have a science background or I would have quit reading after the first paragraph. I want to try to understand, so more questions, if I may.

Here's where I currently am in my understanding. Please correct me where I am wrong. I want to grow low-light, beginner plants. Therefore, I would like to have my PAR somewhere between 15-30. Otherwise, algae can be a real problem without carbon and other supplementation. PAR cannot be known without measuring within an individual tank, but based on the data charts in the link, can be estimated fairly closely.

The specific aqueon T8 is not shown in the link, but there is a graph "Par versus Distance T8 light fixtures". I presume my bulb would be represented by the black line on this chart labeled as "1 bulb with typical white inside surfaces". With a tank height of 17.5 inches, it appears that my PAR wouldn't drop below 30 until I hit the very bottom of my tank.

So, am I interpreting this graph correctly to say that my lighting intensity will fall within the medium light range as the majority of the tank depth falls between 35-50 PAR? Is this okay or will algae become an issue without CO2 supplementation?

 

[Hawkins409]

When I started, I bought what was available that I liked (or thought I would like) after maybe spending an hour or two (or more) looking up aquarium plants and needs online. After all of that... Many of the plants I wanted weren't sold at the pet store, and so I just took the plunge and bought a few.

Some did very well, others did not. Cuttings from some spread, others melt away and were impossible to save. You move plants around that thrive, buy more, and continue to learn what works.

So, my advice is. Think about it, but don't overthink it.

 

[malonbl]

That's great advice. I am a self-professed nerd, though, and sort of enjoy learning about things. But, I trust that my lighting is appropriate for low-light plants as I have already been told in this thread. I plan to give it a try soon.

 

[DragonFish71]

Many thanks again.

So, my bulb is 8000K. Does that mean that the "8" in T8 stands for 8000k or is the T8 a completely different spec altogether?

I read the link about PAR measurements. Thank goodness I have a science background or I would have quit reading after the first paragraph. I want to try to understand, so more questions, if I may.

Here's where I currently am in my understanding. Please correct me where I am wrong. I want to grow low-light, beginner plants. Therefore, I would like to have my PAR somewhere between 15-30. Otherwise, algae can be a real problem without carbon and other supplementation. PAR cannot be known without measuring within an individual tank, but based on the data charts in the link, can be estimated fairly closely.

The specific aqueon T8 is not shown in the link, but there is a graph "Par versus Distance T8 light fixtures". I presume my bulb would be represented by the black line on this chart labeled as "1 bulb with typical white inside surfaces". With a tank height of 17.5 inches, it appears that my PAR wouldn't drop below 30 until I hit the very bottom of my tank.

So, am I interpreting this graph correctly to say that my lighting intensity will fall within the medium light range as the majority of the tank depth falls between 35-50 PAR? Is this okay or will algae become an issue without CO2 supplementation?

T8 is the size of the bulb, meaning the thickness. A T5 bulb is skinnier than a T8.

 

[Mebbid]

We only realistically measure light level at the substrate. There are also other factors at play with the way lighting is figured.

1. Reflector - most t8 bulbs have a white background as a reflector. This will decrease the light power significantly. More expensive fixtures generally have better reflectors despite the bulbs being approximately the same. For example my aquatic life t5ho lights have mirrors for the reflectors which maxes out the par.

2. Distance from center - the highest light level is directly underneath the bulb. The farther off center you go, the lower the light level gets.

3. Hood - standard t8 tank hoods have a piece of glass between the light and the tank. This will also drop par a small amount.

All things considered it is safe to say your tank is a solid low light tank which is normal for t8 fixtures.

The article is a bit wordy but you will get used to it since most of the really good articles are just line that. It's even worse when you have to dig through scientific papers and journals for information

 

[GlubGlub]

Distance from center is a good point. I think one of the first replies to that article asks about 24" bulbs on a 30" tank. I never saw an answer to that. However, my crypt wendtii in the center is growing faster than the one up against the wall on the left.

 

[malonbl]

I have learned a lot about lighting and have a good list of proper starter plants from this thread. I am about ready to purchase, but wanted to be sure I was up to speed on fertilization.

So for fertilization, the bit of reading I have done suggests root tabs for plants placed in the substrate and a water additive type fertilizer for plants placed on dw or rocks.

Is fertilization a necessity for low-light plants or is it just a way to help them grow more quickly?

If a necessity, what are the best brands of root tabs and/or pour in fertilizers? How often?

 

[malonbl]

Nevermind on the fertilization; I think I have learned about that reading some threads. Seems like with my lighting and the plants I am going to purchase, I won't necessarily need to fertilize. I might eventually try some crypts so I can do some root tabs for fun.

So just a few more miscellaneous questions and then I will feel ready.

1) With my low lighting, what should my photoperiod be for starters?

2) Is online plant ordering recommended? If so, what are some good sources?

3) I plan to stick with anubias, java ferns, java moss and maybe crypts, but there are a lot of varieties. Out of this grouping, can anyone give me more specific suggestions for foreground, midground and background species?

Thanks for all the help in this thread

 

[malonbl]

Oh yeah, thought of 2 more

4) how often does a T8 bulb need to be changed?

5) Are algae eating species recommended and if so, what are the best to go with plants?