Need answers to a few questions

[byt]

Hi , I am new at aquariums and have a few questions so please bear with me.
I just got a 24" x 12" x 12" tank (which works out to 14G or so) with Nutrafin natural CO2 system and reflector lights with 2x20w 18,000K (Aqua-Glo) tubes.
I am planning on a planted tank and my lfs sold me 3kg of iron based gravel and 9kg of fine (2mm) gravel. I presume that I will need to mix them up ... is this ok as substrate and would i need to mix any fertilizers to the substrate ?
My understanding is that 3 inches of substrate depth is the norm for a planted tank. However, with my tank being kinda shallow and the stand & hood making it look even shallower, I was wondering if i could do with less substrate depth?
My plan is to set up the tank with filter running for a couple days and then start planting. I know I should plant heavy since it will help with algae but am also worried that if things don't go to plan, I will end up losing more plants than if I plant less?
I won't be adding fish until later so would I need to use some kind of fertilizer in the meantime since there is no fish waste to provide nutrients to the plants?

PS not sure if this is the right place to ask this but my reflector lights has a remote ballast , i was wondering if it matters where i put the ballast? Does it get really hot or can I just put it on the aquarium stand or something?

I think that's all the questions I have for now.... thanks guy !

 

[malkore]

Welcome to AA!

Is the iron based gravel called Fluorite...or Laterite? Flourite can be mixed with gravel, though at that ratio of 3:9, its not gonna be very beneficial. If it's laterite, you don't mix, but rather layer it. laterite on the bottom, then gravel above it. laterite dissolves in water...flourite doesn't...so the gravel holds it in place.

you do still want about 3" of substrate depth. the plants need enough room to root properly. 2.5" is a bare minimum depth in my book.

It's always best to plant heavy. Sometimse you lose plants...just like fish. Just swallow the loss and move on.

The ballast gets as hot, if not hotter, than the bulbs, potentially, so it's best ot mount it int he stand, in a manner that allows ti to vent it's heat. it'll get hot to the touch, but not hot enough to burn wood.

 

[byt]

Thanks for your reply malkore. I'm not sure if the iron based gravel is Fluorite or Laterite. It didn't come in a package, just from the lfs and it was unlabelled and all I know that it was called iron based gravel. However, they told me to mix it with normal gravel so maybe it is Fluorite. What ratio would you recommend if 3:9 is not going to be very beneficial ? Is there any other way around this besides getting more of the iron based gravel like adding a fertilizer to the substrate perhaps ?

Also, I have just noticed that some people say that 18,000K lights are not beneficial to plants and just help algae growth more. Is this correct? I have two 20W 18,000K tubes at the moment so should I just exchange one of these tubes to a lower one or should I exchange both of them ?

Lastly, I'm going to put the ballast lying down on the wooden stand under the tank for the moment , is it safe to do so ?

Thanks !

 

[rich311k]

You could get eco complete for a substrate. A 50?50 mix is better if it is Fluorite. I would think the ballast on the stand would be ok as long as it gets some airflow.

 

[byt]

Thanks for your reply rich311k. I am a university student and don't want to spend much more than I already have so it would be best to make use of the stuff that i have already purchased. But I guess I will take some of the normal gravel back to the lfs and get more fluorite so that I can get a ratio closer to 50-50.

Sorry to be repetative here but are two 18,000K lights ok for a planted tank or should I exchange one or both of these light tubes? I need to know asap cause I wanna set up the tank today and will be going down to the lfs and don't want to make unnecesary trips back to the lfs again if i find out I have to exchange my light tubes.

 

[malkore]

Go ahead and just stick to what you have now. As long as it gives you about 3 inches of depth in the substrate, you'll be able to grow plants. Some of the heavy root feeders may need some fertilizer tabs, but we'll worry about that later, if it becomes necessary.
Normally, if it was flourite, you'd want at least 50/50 mix. But since we don't know for sure what you've got, we'll just go with your LFS's plan.

Kelvin isn't always the best way to judge a bulb. 18000k used to describe marine bulbs only. Now with all the phosphor coatings they have, its deceiving. If they don't specifically say "Actinic", they may be usable.

Do your tubes have a spectral chart on the box? If so, you want lots of red and lots of blue.

If you can't tell, and are unsure, see if the LFS can swap em for something more in the 6700k-10,000k range.

 

[byt]

I just rang up the lfs and they said that it was neither fluorite or laterite, they said it was iron enriched gravel which releases nutrients slowly or something like that and they said that 3:1 ratio of regular gravel:iron enriched gravel would be fine so I will go with that and see how things turn out.

The lights are aqua-glo by Hagen and it says on the box that it's best for tropical tanks and planted tanks, spectral chart shows mostly reds and blues and I've also read that people who use this aqua-glo lights have great success with plants so I will try them out first also.

Thanks for your help again malkore and I'm sure I will be posting more questions again once the tank is set up and plants & decor added. Hopefully nothing goes horribly wrong !

 

[rich311k]

Good luck. I am sure it will work out. Looking forward to more posts from you.

 

[hashbaz]

I hate the Kelvin rating system. Generally speaking, you want a bulb from 5,000K to 10,000K. BUT... I did a little research a while back. Photosynthesis uses different percentages of different colors of light. I found the two wavelengths (colors) that have the highest absorption by photosynthesis and tried to find lights that put out those two wavelengths. The Hagen Aqua-Glo 18,000K matched the best - but is way out of the "5,000 to 10,000" range.

Cutting to the chase: your current bulbs are (in my opinion) the best you can find.

I hoped that matching the wavelengths would help me cheat the wpg rule. But I was wrong. You still need enough intensity - the right wavelength (color) only makes a small difference. As long as your lights are not the actinic lights, you can base your decision on what looks best. I like the slight purple look of the aqua-glo bulbs.

 

[byt]

Yeah from what I've read on several forums, people who have used the Aqua-Glo bulbs find that it works really well for the plants and seems to bring out the colour of the fish better too. I just set up my tank earlier and am happy with the way the lights look, slightly purplish as you mentioned.
My tank is set up with gravel/substrate , filter ,etc without plants, driftwood/rocks and fish yet at the moment. The water is slightly cloudy and bubbles all over the tank at the moment but i guess this is normal for a new tank and hopefully it clears up in a couple days. The plan is to then start planting and add a couple of hardy fish and do daily PWC at first till the tanks cycles since I can't find pure ammonia anywhere (I'm in Australia). Anyway we'll see how it goes.

 

[fastfly48]

Hi byt.
Just been read'n this thread and just notice your from Australia too.
Where? Not Perth?
Anyways, good luck with your set-up. If you do everything right at the start you shouldn't hit toooooo many (...or as many) problems down the track.

Ry.

 

[byt]

Hi Ry.
Nice to see another Aussie on these forums. I'm living in Melbourne.
I'm new to aquariums and have been trying to get my set up as best as a beginner like me could so I hope everything goes alright. We'll find out soon enough I guess. No doubt I'll be posting more questions as stuff comes up