Which Light

[aqua_chem]

what is your substrate? i know that you don't want to dose ferts or co2, but if you have nutrients in the substrate, then you grow low-medium maintenance plants without problem. also, it doesn't make sense to me that you would invest the money in a quality light but not substrate

if you already have eco complete, you can grow about i would say half of the plants out there. if you don't mind, you can always grow stem plants like ludwigia, although you will not get the redness that a lot of people want since ludwigia needs co2 for redness. wisteria, rotala indicas, anubias, ferns, moss, dwarf sag, riccia, vals, and etc are also good.

I think you are grossly overestimating the importance of substrate. I usually put it dead last on my list of importance.

 

[dragonfisher33]

I think you are grossly overestimating the importance of substrate. I usually put it dead last on my list of importance.

really? i could be wrong. but i do firmly believe that a great tank starts with the foundation, in this case the substrate. like i said, i could be wrong but so far i haven't been proved wrong in my tanks

 

[GodFan]

I think substrate is important if you plan on planting your plants in it lol Some plants for example dont like sand.

 

[dragonfisher33]

I think substrate is important if you plan on planting your plants in it lol Some plants for example dont like sand.

i do give aqua_chem the benefit of the doubt since he's in the hobby longer than i have and probably has seen more about fish than i have. i'm just speaking from experience since i have dealt with sand, eco complete, dirt capped with flourite, and dirt capped with eco complete. every single tank except sand has not failed me regardless of the light. but again, just the benefit of the doubt on aqua_chem's suggestion and my personal experience. also the fact that different geographical region might have different water factors.

 

[bud29]

Heavy root feeders do IME like nutrient-rich substrates however I don't feel that the kind of substrate you have determines the plants you can grow. You can "beef up" a sand substrate with root tabs and substrate additives if need be - it may not be quite as effective, but it still works well. But if you have low light, you still have low light regardless of the substrate.

 

[MMantelli]

Too late but I was gonna reccomend taking a look at the monster ray its less par than the ray2 but has more color

 

[GodFan]

Too late but I was gonna reccomend taking a look at the monster ray its less par than the ray2 but has more color

Ill keep it in kind if his one doesnt work

 

[Tobykourtney]

Too late but I was gonna reccomend taking a look at the monster ray its less par than the ray2 but has more color

From what I've read the current plus and the monster ray are pretty close par wise but the current is cheaper.

 

[MMantelli]

From what I've read the current plus and the monster ray are pretty close par wise but the current is cheaper.

Yes there pretty similar but I think the finnex is a better quality and has a wider spectrum. there's a 24" monster ray on eBay new right now for $90 I'd love to get it and a ray 2 and put them together on my 20g I bet my plants would Love it.

 

[GodFan]

Yes there pretty similar but I think the finnex is a better quality and has a wider spectrum. there's a 24" monster ray on eBay new right now for $90 I'd love to get it and a ray 2 and put them together on my 20g I bet my plants would Love it.

Yea! I was also looking at finnex ray 2 but I dont use co2 so....

 

[eAts]

Yes there pretty similar but I think the finnex is a better quality and has a wider spectrum. there's a 24" monster ray on eBay new right now for $90 I'd love to get it and a ray 2 and put them together on my 20g I bet my plants would Love it.

I use the monster ray, ray 2 combo on my 45 and it grows plants great. I have not been disappointed with my finnex fixtures. I just setup my pressurized co2 system today and I've been dosing a complete fertilizer regimen.

 

[MMantelli]

I use the monster ray, ray 2 combo on my 45 and it grows plants great. I have not been disappointed with my finnex fixtures. I just setup my pressurized co2 system today and I've been dosing a complete fertilizer regimen.

I plan on going pressurized later on and will probablly be going with that combo on my next project.

 

[GodFan]

Yea I just dont want to do any ferts or co2.

 

[MMantelli]

Yea I just dont want to do any ferts or co2.

I know what you mean all my tanks have ferts med-high lighting and either glut or co2 I sometimes with I had different taste in plants. LoL

 

[GodFan]

I know what you mean all my tanks have ferts med-high lighting and either glut or co2 I sometimes with I had different taste in plants. LoL

Lol yea I am terrible about tank maintenance so I keep it simple. What is glut?

 

[MMantelli]

The active ingredient in seachem excel but waaaayyyyy cheaper

 

[GodFan]

The active ingredient in seachem excel but waaaayyyyy cheaper

Oh ok where do yall get it?

 

[MMantelli]

Amazon its called gluteraldehyde made by metricide. You can buy a pint shipped for $20 or a gallon shipped for $30 and get a bottle that blocks uv light it breaks it down and makes it useless then mix it 50/50 with distilled water and you have excel for a fifth the cost

 

[GodFan]

Amazon its called gluteraldehyde made by metricide. You can buy a pint shipped for $20 or a gallon shipped for $30 and get a bottle that blocks uv light it breaks it down and makes it useless then mix it 50/50 with distilled water and you have excel for a fifth the cost

Cool! If I ever need excel I may just use that instead!

 

[MMantelli]

Cool...