planting question

[rodney10954]

so i have a 55 gallon with 2 balas 2 gouramis 2 red tail chalceus
a java fern, crypt wendti and java moss coming
now do you need flourite the tank is set up i have like
2-3 inches of natural pebble stone
can i just put some flourite in the tank and mix it around to get
50-50

 

[Guest]

Well the Java moss is not going to need the Flourite, the Java fern will do much better tied to driftwood so it really doesn't need it either. The Crypt actually doesn't need it.

The real question is how much light do you have on the tank, and when you say natural pebble stone just how big of pebble stone are we talking about here?

 

[rodney10954]

peanut m&m and smaller mostly smaller
i have 80 watts

 

[Guest]

Ok, you have a very low light tank. Your plant selection is good for your tank. But you will find that the plants you have grow VERY slowly. Your gravel size is very large. Are you running a under gravel filter? Normally the substrate in a planted tank is in the 1-3 mm size.

 

[rodney10954]

no underground filter

I just liked the way the rocks looked
they hold the plants pretty good
you think the bigger gravel is a problem

 

[Sinuhe]

80W for 55 gallons is considered very low? How do you get any more than that with regular fluorescent tubes? You'd need at least 3 tubes to get more wattage than that. I'd also think the depth of the tank matters a lot: the taller, the more light needed, and vice versa.

 

[TankGirl]

How do you get any more than that with regular fluorescent tubes?

On my 55 I have two standard shop lights with 40w x 4 bulbs. That gives me 160 watts, but it is debatable what actually gets to the plants due to restrike on the less then optimal reflectors in shop lights. A 55 is a relatively deep, narrow tank, and that has to be considered. I found the 2 15w bulbs in the standard hood to be barely enough to see the fish, but I grew crypts and java fern just fine. The crypts would not mind a root tab stuck in the gravel, but I would add some small gravel around the crypts if you have larger gravel. I don't think you need to go to the expense of Fluorite for what you have. There are tons of DIY options for making your own hood with increased light, but once you do that, then you need CO2 and you get into tricky algae and nutrient issues, so it is fine to go with what comes with the hood. There are low light plants that have done very well for me, like anubias, aponogeton, java moss, fern and crypts.

 

[rodney10954]

its like a mix of big and small i need to take a picture of it
could i just put like an inch of small gravel right over half the tank
im really only planting heavy on one side

 

[tkos]

With your plant choice your setup will work fine. The plants will grow slowly but they will grow and be healthy. An occasional dosing of ferts will help and this setup should keep the alage at bay. Java Fern in my 10 gallon tank with 2.6 watts per gallon took a month or more to start showing signs of grow, but has since started sprouting lots of new leaves.

As long as the plants are dying back and remain stable, the amount of light you have will be adequate. But for people that really want to have planted tanks with lots of growth, the standard package tank hood will never be enough. And to theis day I can't figure out why they even make incandescent tank hoods for smaller tanks. They are useless.

 

[Sati]

And to theis day I can't figure out why they even make incandescent tank hoods for smaller tanks. They are useless.

I'm guessing because they're cheaper. And most people who buy smaller tanks might not know they need more so it sounds good at the time. For people who just want some fish and maybe some fake plants it's an OK setup.