lighting and ferts for comumba and amazon sword

[shahrezsyed]

hello everyone!!!
i was just wondering i have a 42 gallon angelfish tank. how much normal flourescent tube lighting do i need? because no other type of lighting is availible here.
and can i grow amazon swords and comumbas with normal lighting, liquid fert and silica sand. and can i grow them with an undergravel filter or should i convert it to a canister filter?
shahrez

 

[CTD]

Pitch the Under Gravel Filter and get a HOB or Canister. The UGF is not Root friendly!

 

[mgamer20o0]

what about cfl bulbs? like you find at walmart?

 

[shahrezsyed]

i need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[beglely]

calm down people will get around to responding eventually--replys take time on here. For future reference if your unsure of what your doing do some research first before you buy that way you arent stuck waiting for people to respond to your advice. I agree with mgamer20o0 get rid of the UGF. It kills ur plants roots and is difficult to clean. The liquid fert and silica sand are good probably, but you should look into getting some better lighting than the standard incandescent that comes with some of the basic tanks. its only good for growing java moss. Im experimenting with the cabomba plant right now and growing it. My guess is you need the same decent power lighting that you need for most tanks. The general rule of thumb people suggest is about 2 watts per gallon of water. Look at some of the sticky threads around here they have some good articles that can help you out.

 

[jsoong]

I can't get cabomba or swords to grow under my medium light setup (2 wpg) ... you definitely need more than stock.

I would think you will need at least 80W of normal output (T12) fluorescent light over that tank for what you are considering. You will find a sticky at the top of this forum with info about lights, substrates, etc. for those starting out.