Ziggy's Corner Planter

[bud29]

....And the banana plant lives on haha looking good!

 

[Ziggy953]

Looks cool, I would have fun looking at your tank!

Its fun to look at haha!

 

[Ziggy953]

....And the banana plant lives on haha looking good!

haha yeah I know...still kicking

 

[Ziggy953]

So I ordered some more DW for the tank and I am looking at adding 10-14 more LEDs. I have been looking at warm white LEDs 3700K to tone down the very blue light on my tank. I've noticed that all the really nice looking planted tanks have a much more yellow looking light.

My light was originally designed for a SW tank so it is probably on the order of 14000K. Any thoughts, suggestions??

 

[Rivercats]

IMO it's more about the color of light you find appealing to look at. I had 10K's on my 220g and went down to 6000K because the lighting was so hard/bright that some of my plants looked washed out and many of my fish didn't like that light. Once the HID metal halide bulbs were changed down to 6000K everything looked dimmer but colors seem alittle truer to me, especially the red/pinks. I've never seen actual bulbs with that low a K rating so will be curious to see how the lighting looks after adding them.

 

[Ziggy953]

IMO it's more about the color of light you find appealing to look at. I had 10K's on my 220g and went down to 6000K because the lighting was so hard/bright that some of my plants looked washed out and many of my fish didn't like that light. Once the HID metal halide bulbs were changed down to 6000K everything looked dimmer but colors seem alittle truer to me, especially the red/pinks. I've never seen actual bulbs with that low a K rating so will be curious to see how the lighting looks after adding them.

Thanks for the input!

My current white LEDs are 6500K so not a major drop. I may rewire the current setup and remove the blues all together to start and see what that does. I just don't like the way the FW tank is looking anymore and I think it has a lot to do with the lights.

 

[Rivercats]

I'm still not totally happy with my lights. I've heard using 8000K makes for great viewing/color light. I'm limited to what I can find as there aren't many options for HID metal halides. I'd like to go alittle higher K rating but have to use what I can get.

 

[Ziggy953]

I haven't ordered the LEDs yet I'm trying to decide...UGH!! LOL

 

[Ziggy953]

 

[Ziggy953]

well I started scraping the glass today. I have to admit the blue was really making the tank look crappy!

Here is a quick couple of shots. Lights will get a rewire tomorrow and hopefully I can scrape the other side and repaint tomorrow as well. Black this time!

 

[Rivercats]

Just that little bit looks better already. I have a blue background but I guess I don't tend to notice it since very little of it is visable due to the plants. I would have preferred to have it painted black but due to the tank weight I couldn't do it after the guys that brought it in left.

 

[bud29]

Yes, it does look much better already. I think with a black background it will look more natural

 

[Ziggy953]

Just that little bit looks better already. I have a blue background but I guess I don't tend to notice it since very little of it is visable due to the plants. I would have preferred to have it painted black but due to the tank weight I couldn't do it after the guys that brought it in left.

I'm going to have to practically drain the tank move it fill it back up, finish scraping, paint, drain it again and move it back then fill it back up....

Not looking forward to that but I have committed to it at this point...

 

[Ziggy953]

Yes, it does look much better already. I think with a black background it will look more natural

Thanks bud!

I think it will look much better as well. The lighting change will make it look more natural as well. Right now it is too blue looking.

 

[Ziggy953]

Well I drained the tank as low as I could with fish still in it and was unable to move it so I will have to rethink this whole thing. Right now I filled it back up and got my new DW in place. I may have to leave the one side blue for now and just hide it with plants. I'm thinking VAL.

Anyway here is a pic....ignore the guy in the mirror taking the pic lol

 

[Rivercats]

Jungle vals would work or maybe try those Red vals which grow just as big. But remember they are going to grow and lay all over the surface of the water.

 

[Ziggy953]

Jungle vals would work or maybe try those Red vals which grow just as big. But remember they are going to grow and lay all over the surface of the water.

Yeah...I know I've had vals in my tank before and I like them a lot however I don't like them covering the surface of the water. any other suggestions?

 

[Rivercats]

I'm big into stem plants and truthfully one of my lushest, thickest, and tallest stems that totally cover the back of my tank to the water line are Rotala Macrandra. If you plant them checkerboard style about 3 stems deep I believe that may work to do what you want. Plus what I do is once they get tall enough, I trim the front ones down about 3" lower than the back ones, then the middle ones about 1-1/2" lower than the back ones. This makes them look alot fuller. I also have Corkscrew Vals which will take alot longer than Jungle Val to grow tall but they have never gotten above 28" in the 220g in over a year.

 

[Ziggy953]

I'm big into stem plants and truthfully one of my lushest, thickest, and tallest stems that totally cover the back of my tank to the water line are Rotala Macrandra. If you plant them checkerboard style about 3 stems deep I believe that may work to do what you want. Plus what I do is once they get tall enough, I trim the front ones down about 3" lower than the back ones, then the middle ones about 1-1/2" lower than the back ones. This makes them look alot fuller. I also have Corkscrew Vals which will take alot longer than Jungle Val to grow tall but they have never gotten above 28" in the 220g in over a year.

That is a clever idea indeed!! Can you link me a pic of the Rotala you are talking about? I had Corkscrew Vals in my tank and I really like the look of them. Maybe a combination of that and a few things will work. I really don't want to have to take the tank down completely to move it.

 

[Ziggy953]

Another quick shot now that the bubbles have settled down...