Is my light low, medium, or high

[fishfanatic]

I have a 35 gallon tank (deep). I have 2 t5HO bulbs 39watts each they are 5500K, I also have marinelands reef compatible led. They are 10000K

 

[fishfanatic]

I don't know if I worded that correctly, it made since to me lol. I want to know what range of plants I could grow in my tank ( plant geek ranks them low, low-medium, medium, medium-high, high, and very high) what could I grow? I have a preshirized co2 system in he mail, and I dose with flourish Exel, flourish, flourish potassium, and flourish iron.

 

[mfdrookie516]

With the T5HO fixture alone, you can grow most any plant... with the LED in addition to that, well, you'll get some pearling for sure. I would definitely start dosing EI or PPS Pro rather than the flourish line like that. Those, IMO, are ok for suppliments to a dosing method (iron for example), but for a high tech tank, you need to be able to adjust your dosing.

 

[fishfanatic]

So I am in good shape as far as lighting on my tank? I ordered a 20 pound co2 tank should this last me very long?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Meegosh has a 5lb on his 30 and he hasn't filled it since last May... so, I'd say it'll last quite some time. My 5lb went empty after 2 months, though I was injecting a 40 and 125... and I"m pretty sure it had a leak

 

[Batt4Christ]

With just the T5 HO, I would think you are medium lighting. W/ the mondo reef capable LEDs, probably High .. I'm sure someone else will chime in.

 

[fishfanatic]

Will the co2 help a lot with algae (algae is going crazy in my tank and all over my plants) also the thought is still floating around in my head to get some specialized substrate (my current gravel is blue and black and a little cheesy for the natural look I am looking for) what substrate would you recommend for a planted tank (I love the look of PFS but I can't find any locally) what would be another option?

 

[fishfanatic]

Were is a good place to buy PFS I thinking it looks nice and would be a nice up grade from this

 

[Batt4Christ]

Were is a good place to buy PFS I thinking it looks nice and would be a nice up grade from this

Lowes or your local pool supply house

 

[fishfanatic]

In the past I have called Lowes and 4 other local pool places and non of them had it. Although it was in the winter and I bet Lowes only caries it in the summer. Would I just be better off buying some specialized plant substrate? I imagine with PFS I will need to use root tabs?

 

[fishfanatic]

Dumb question were do I buy pps pro? Is it a powder I have to mix? How often do I dose?

 

[fishfanatic]

This is the only pool filter sand I can find on Lowe's web site... would it work?

http://m.lowes.com/mt/www.lowes.com...yView&langId=-1&storeId=10151&un_jtt_redirect

 

[fishfanatic]

I found this on line http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/c/ref=aw_d_c_garden/185-0032748-1111836
It would cost me 40$ to ship

 

[fishfanatic]

Would it be worth paying 50$ for PFS?

 

[roydooms]

I called my local pool supplies and asked them if they have PFS and they weren't sure what I was talking about. They said they don't have any. When I told them "the 50lb bags of sand" they said "oh, that? We have plenty". I don't think $50 for a PFS is worth it. I'll just buy 2 bags of plant substrate IMO.

 

[fishfanatic]

How many bags of say eco complete would I need for my tank (it is 36 inches long 12 inches deep and 24 inches tall)
(I need all the help I can with growing plants )

 

[roydooms]

I was told before to get a pound of substrate for every gallon. I'm not sure about this though. If this is right, I think it only works with long tanks. I have a 125g tank. I bought 125lbs of substrate and I have a 3" thick substrate that covers the whole tank. I think that 3" is good with planted tanks IMO.

 

[roydooms]

Eco complete is 20lbs per bag, right? I think 2 bags will give you 2-2.5" thick substrate.

 

[fishfanatic]

By the sounds of it you have eco complete? If so how do you like it? Is it very easy to clean/ maintain? Is it long term?

 

[roydooms]

By the sounds of it you have eco complete? If so how do you like it? Is it very easy to clean/ maintain? Is it long term?

I don't have Eco-complete but I did a lot of research about it. I was going to change my established tank's substrate to eco-complete but was told that it wasn't necessary and getting a CO2 system is a better choice. Anyways, people are saying that Eco-complete is very clean that some will just throw it in the tank without washing it. It is soak in water with good bacteria, I read, that will help in breaking down fish waste that will help with fertilizing the plants. How long it will last, I don't know. Eventually, it will lose all it's nutrients but you'll still have a nice looking substrate. Just buy root tabs when that happens.