Switching to Planted..A few questions remain

[TrixyEnigma]

I've decided to switch to a planted tank from a fish only tank. I've read all of the stickies and have been to plantgeek, etc. So with that said, I still have a few lingering questions. The tank is a 30G xtra high. The dimensions of the tank are 24x12.25x24.75. The tank has been established for about a year and has 3 honey gouramis, 7 neon tetras, 6 platys, 1 cory cat, 3 mystery snails, and 1 golden inca snail. I have mostly plastic plants, but I've also managed to keep an amazon sword alive (barely, lol) and some of the anacharis. After reading all of the stuff I've found on here, I've realized that my setup is all wrong. I have a 17w, 10,000k light in the original fixture purchased for the tank, which is way too low (a little over .50 wpg). I also have medium to large gravel in the tank--also wrong. So here are the things I know I will change for sure:

New light--I'm looking at the Coralife Lunar Aqualight 2x65W (will probably lose the True Actinic 03 Blue bulb. This should give me just over 2wpg
Substrate--Going with the eco-complete, probably about 60lbs of it for my tank
New filter--My xp2 canister filter arrived yesterday

I'm thinking of these medium light plants: compact hygro, rotala rotundifolia, asian ambulia and willow leaf hygro.

Please let me know if I'm on the right track. I am confused about whether I need to start thinking about CO2, so advice would be helpful. I'm also confused about the process of making the switch. I really don't want to upset my fish too much, so advice on the process of redoing the tank would be helpful. If I need to purchase a smaller tank to temporarily house them in, I'm willing to do so. Also, any advice for breaking in the new filter and possibly minimizing the amount of cycling time would be really helpful.

 

[neilanh]

For the lighting, because you have the XTall tank, consider using T5HOs instead. Those bulbs penetrate deeper into the tank and will be able to provide better lighting down at the substrate level.

At 2wpg is right around where the turn to needing CO2 occurs. It will definately benefit your plants to have it, but may or may not be necessary with your deep tank unless you go with much higher lighting.

As for the eco-complete - if you stick to easy plants, you can still use your gravel. It's not ideal, but will work. Adding eco-complete will in all likelihood cause a mini-cycle.

 

[TrixyEnigma]

For the lighting, because you have the XTall tank, consider using T5HOs instead. Those bulbs penetrate deeper into the tank and will be able to provide better lighting down at the substrate level.

Thanks for the help. Any recommendations on the fixture. I've been buzzing around on bigalsonline looking at the 24" T5HO fixtures but I can't find the wattage for the lights. Is there a standard wattage for the T5HO lights?

 

[meegosh]

I think a majority of the 24" T5HO's are 24w bulbs. Some fixtures have two or four bulbs in them so you'll have to add them up. If you can post a link to the one you were looking we might be able to help you more.

 

[Crepe]

I have a double 24watt T5HO set up. Consider using a single 75w MH light (viper is a common brand) as it will penetrate the deepest in that tank. (about 170 dollars). I think the best route is a diy T5HO system. Hagen makes a 4 bulb ballast w/ mirror reflectors for 55 dollars. It will let you pick the length and power of the bulbs you want and at a minimum cost.

 

[TrixyEnigma]

This is what I was looking at http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...currentusanovaextreme242x24wt510000ksaltwater

and you're right, all of the 24" T5 fixtures are for 24w bulbs. Thanks for the info Crepe, I'll check out the Hagen setup and the MH option. Would it be possible to get away with a standard T5 fixture, or is the depth of my tank too much?

 

[taylorodw]

How high is your tank?

 

[TrixyEnigma]

It's 24 inches tall, but if I plant 4 inches of substrate that means the plants will be about 20 inches from the light source.

 

[Crepe]

20 inches will let you use regular t5s I think. Your ground cover should be something that uses less light though like E. tenellus or L. Brasilienses or better yet, S. Subulata.

 

[TrixyEnigma]

20 inches will let you use regular t5s I think. Your ground cover should be something that uses less light though like E. tenellus or L. Brasilienses or better yet, S. Subulata.

Thanks, I'll take a look at those plants!