My 20 gallon fresh water tank so far

[Fresh2o]

So how long do you run your C02 for ? Should I only run mine like 4-5 hrs throughout the day? Yea man IDK why the moss went up and died and so did a few plants, the temperature has been at 80 the whole time so no temp shock. And just bump my BPS down to 1 BPS, And I have an airstone that runs 24/7 so that should help with displacement

I run the CO2 from 1:30-9:30 PM. They come on about 2 hours before the lights go on and go off at least an hour or two before lights out. Depending on the bps and diffusion method, it may take a while for the CO2 to build up to proper levels. If you run it on the same schedule as the lights, IMO you would have a CO2 debt at the beginning of the light cycle and CO2 excess at the end (an air stone run overnight should resolve the latter).
The air stone running 24/7 should be driving out some of the CO2 (which is counter productive during the day). If CO2 was the culprit, it must have been quite a bit going into the tank.
I am not familiar with the output, PAR wise, for the 10W halogen bulbs.


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[fishguy22]

So I'm in the process of getting materials for my 30 gallon tall or 29 gallon. I want to make it a planted tank. I already have a small regulated C02 setup, I just need lights and substrate.
The tank is 24 x 12 x24. Petsmart has a nice fluval canister filter , (fluval 206) on sale for 116 bucks, which is basically ebay prices. For the time being I will run my fluval 20-50 HOB filter then get the canister filter. I have 1 bag of flourite Dark and might get a second one. I also got some natural fertilizer balls as well for the substrate. My question is are those AQUEON LED setups bright enough for plants? Right now I just have 2 small fluorescent 5200k bulbs and I know now plants like more so are those LEDS like 6k 7k or 8k ? Modular LED Aquarium Light 20" 24'' 30" with Expansion Slots for 2 Lamps Aqueon | eBay

I would use the expansion slot for more LEDs of course, any help would be great!
Sorry if this post is all over the place

 

[Reefer James]

8am 3x T5 on
9am Co2 Injects
9am 3x T5* on (6 total)
6pm 10% Blue LED On
7pm Co2 Off (Electric solenoid)
7pm 3x T5 off
8pm 3x T5* off
8:30PM LED Off

Overnight fish exhale more co2 and plants exhale co2. So in the spirit of pH stability I turn on my light an hour before co2 to "wake up" my plants, trigger photosynthesis and let them begin using the co2 that has accumulated overnight. To the same rational, I turn off co2 an hour before light so that way the plants can use all the co2 I inject rather than me nuking the tank with extra needed acid. The LED is purely for my own visual benefit...

This method would utilize $free co2 being offered to the aquarium and stabilize pH to optimum. The only other strive for pH stability to be made would be reverse cycle refugium.

Those Aqeuon LED strips are horrible for plants even with all 3 in. No par.

6.5K would be the best spectrum for live plants and added blues after that. A Metal halide would be the best for planted tanks. I really like T5s. LEDs don't really do it for plants that well... Some try and aquarist will tell you all about the growth they get. Plants can grow better haha

 

[fishguy22]

Wow this is awesome! Your post answered a lot of my questions that I forgot to ask, good call on the C02, because I noticed when I put it in it lowered my PH and I had to use baking soda from time to time to raise it but using buffers all the time isn't fun. So what T5 setup would you recommend for a 30 gallon tall setup ? And I plan on buying asecond timer for the c02, thanks again ! http://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-Quad-24-Timer-6500K-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater-Plant-Discus-Tropical-Fish-96W-/291133233864?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c8e49ac8 that too overkill ?

 

[Reefer James]

Wow this is awesome! Your post answered a lot of my questions that I forgot to ask, good call on the C02, because I noticed when I put it in it lowered my PH and I had to use baking soda from time to time to raise it but using buffers all the time isn't fun. So what T5 setup would you recommend for a 30 gallon tall setup ? And I plan on buying asecond timer for the c02, thanks again ! T5 Quad 24" Timer 6500K Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Discus Tropical Fish 96W | eBay that too overkill ?

It's okay for there to be diurnal pH changes just minimize them

Probably a 36" T5 unless you wanted to go 24". As many bulbs as you can fit haha.

Just saw your link. yeah that's a badass fixture. I would upgrade the lights after you got say 5 months of use out of these guys stock bulbs or upgrade right away. I wonder how controllable that unit is it comes with. Nice find

 

[Fresh2o]

Nothing wrong with T5s. However, the cost of replacing the stock bulbs or annual bulb replacement comes close to the cost of the fixture itself.
Not all LEDs are the same. Most of the ones sold in LFSs and big box stores are not good at growing plants. Depends on what your goals are. Many folks are getting great results with fixtures from Finnex, Current USA, and BML (BuildMyLed).
Though I like the narrow, directional return path that a canister filter can provide, IMO I would put the cost into the lighting rather than the filter. The one you have is fine. You could add another hob filter or add a powerhead later as needed.
Edit: as for CO2 excess that occurs overnight, that highly depends on the turnover, surface agitation, and bioload. I would observe the drop checker and use that as a rough guide. Mine is generally blue in the morning.

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[Reefer James]

Yeah but if you spend $400 on an LED that lasts 5 years vs $200 on T5 with 4 $20 bulbs. You're at $600 across 5 years and it probably covers more room. But totally "great results" can be achieved from LED, in particular the above mentioned companies. I would like to add Eco Tech, Kessil, And Aqua Illumination.

 

[Fresh2o]

For a 24" tank, the Finnex Planted+ and 24/7 are $77 and $85, respectively. You could spring for a pair to give you better coverage (dealing with that myself as I've recently gone from two to one LED fixture).
The BML (63k Dutch) original and XB series run $140 and $220 for a 24" fixture. Those are HO and VHO and are dimmer capable. Costlier, yes, but in a deeper tank might be something to consider.


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[fishguy22]

So I bought a second bag of flourite dark, and I went ahead and bought the T5 Quad 24 light setup for 60 bucks and it has a self timer in it so we will see how it works out. Thanks for all the feedback. I have the C02 toned down quite a bit after my incident. I have it at 1 bubble every 3-4 seconds. Going to find a nice stand for the 30 gallon as well. And yea I think I will get a canister filter down the road. My HOB filter is working fine, Started a water test log today so I can keep track of the stats. Really happy that my tank is finally cycled after all those months. Water readings are perfect.
Ammonia 0 , nitrite 0 , PH 6.8 and Nitrate is 0. So what are your guys opinions on plants ? Right now I have some Blyxa grass and a bunch of cabomba plants. I want to really stock my 30 gallon with alot of plants.