Lights for plants

[Vanilla Magilla]

Followed up on the CO2 or No CO2 post and I need more watts to run my CO2. Question is, after researching there are a great many types of bulbs. Is a bulb that is just for plants ok as longs as it is aquarium safe?
I currently have 30 watts in an 18 gallon tall. Looking at getting a 30 watt bulb with the current 15 watt (Eclipse 1 hood with 2 bulbs) That will give me 2.5 wpg. I want to add some more plants. I have one amazon sword and 2 micro swords. They are doing OK not great, just ok. I had concerns with iron but have been using leaf zone and that has iron. Some leaves are getting transparent. Any help is always great.
Also, my daughters tank in a 10 gal and she had a hood with a "Regular" bulb type light. Is there any lights that I can put in there to let her try out some plants.

 

[d9hp]

You can use a 36 watt PC light on your tank most likely, and that may be enough, but if you could use the 15 watt bulb and a 36 PC that would be great. You could also use a 36 watt PC on the 10 gallon and that would be fine alone

 

[justDIY]

I have one amazon sword and 2 micro swords ... Some leaves are getting transparent

Swords are very hungry "root feeders", meaning they derive most of their nutrition from the gravel instead of the water column.

At the base of your swords, try placing an iron tablet (seachem and others make these). You can also place a small piece of a Jobes fert. stick deep down under the sword as well... this would make them grow like greased lightning, well, maybe not that fast, but some swords I have potted with Jobes and Iron, and some without, and the ones with have grown a lot larger.

 

[Guest]

Just a clarification on the Jobes sticks. I have only had a certain kind recommended to me, that would be the sticks for Palms and Ferns (I use them). They have less Nitrogen and more Phosphorus and Potash. This keeps algae blooms down. Also, you want any fert. tablet at least 1 inch below the gravel, to keep nutrients from leaching into the water coulmn and, again, causing algae blooms.

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

Would it be smart to cut up the Jobes into 1/3's or smaller to place around the swords, or leave them whole?

you could use the 15 watt bulb and a 36 PC that would be great

Is that going to light my tank to the point my kids willl need sunglasses to look at the fish? 8)

 

[justDIY]

compared to the 36 watt PC, you might not even notice the 15 watt bulb

yea, cut/break the jobes into smaller pieces and stuff them as deep as you can into the gravel near / under the plants.

transparent leaves are more an Iron problem though ... don't know if Jobes contains iron or not.

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

If I use the iron tabs and the jobes at the same time, is that an invitation to an algae outbreak

 

[justDIY]

iron won't have much affect on algae ... the jobes could be bad, very bad ... especially if one gets into your filter or spends much time in the water column

it's basiclly like dumping a large amount of fertilizer into the tank all at once, since the jobes are designed to slowly disolve in moist soil, not a rapidly circulating water column.

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

Hows this sound, iron tabs around he swords. 1/3 of a jobes around each sword. Do you think that will be to much fertilizer? Could I use less jobes? I don't want to wake up to a forest of algae.

 

[justDIY]

try one thing at a time ... start with the iron tabs.

wait at least two full weeks ... if the swords haven't improved, try maybe 1/4 jobes chunk.

even a small chunk lasts a long time under the gravel ... I've dug up plants that haven't moved for the better part of a year and after rinsing their roots, found them clinging to a mushy piece of jobes or iron tab!

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

Thanks, Ill give it a try.

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

A little more help needed.
I have an Eclipse one hood with 18'' bulbs. Where is a good place to get a bulb that has more watts? All my LFS have 15 and I can't find any on the web.

 

[justDIY]

you need to upgrade to Power Compact PC lighting to get more light in the same space.

www.ahsupply.com makes a 36 watt "bright kit" that contains everything you need to increase your lighting.

if your hood currently has two 18" T8 bulbs (standard size for that configuration), you can probably squeeze two 36 watt PC's in there, mounting them at an angle or something. This would take you from 30 watts NO to 72 watts HO, which would be a big jump, as PC bulbs have a higher output than traditional fluorescents.

Even a single 36 watt bulb might work for you since it is 36 high output (HO) watts, which is more like 40-50 normal output (NO) watts.

also visit www.hellolights.com for more "retrofit" options.

 

[Madkour]

So is upgrading to PC lighting a complicated affair? Do you have to change anything out? I have an eclipse 2 hood, and am in desperate need for more light. i've seen pictures of the smartlight retrofit kits, but does that mean you take out everything you previously had in the hood (is there a way you can use it to supplement the current lighting)? either way would it be appropriate for a 30 gal FW tank?

you can probably squeeze two 36 watt PC's in there

How would that work?

 

[justDIY]

right, you basiclly gut the insides of the light, keeping just the plastic shell ... you then attach the new light "retrofit kit" inside the plastic shell using glue, screws, whatever it takes.

an alternative to destroying your nice hood would be to build another one out of plywood...


as for actually installing the kit into your hood, I don't have any ideas, I've never worked with an eclipse system before - perhaps someone else can add their experiences?

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

I talked to my LFS he said they had a retro fit kit made for an Eclipse 1 hood. The may make one for an eclipse 2?

 

[Madkour]

Is there a risk of adding too many lights to a hood? i'm not worried of too much wattage, but when does heat become a problem? so far i'm thinking that if i have space i should be able to add something

 

[justDIY]

yes, heat can be a problem, especially with plastic ... you might need to add a fan or some vent holes to keep the plastic from warping or melting.

 

[Madkour]

Ok, if heat isn't a problem, would 62 watts (32 from pc bulb, and 30 from NO bulbs) in a 30 gal be too much for 2 java ferns, 1 bolbitis, java moss, 1 rubin swordplant, and a new addition i've already forgotten the name of? my tank is pretty deep and i'm not running any CO2. i have red/brown algae growing on the side and rear panels, but hopefully the new addition and regular water changes will be able to turn the tables a little, so would more light without CO2 mean more algae?

One last question, i have some white cotton or hair looking stuff that i suspect to be fungus growing on my driftwood and around the stems of the bolbitis - i started treating it with maroxy, but i dont know if that's right. suggestions?
thanks

 

[justDIY]

Ok, if heat isn't a problem, would 62 watts (32 from pc bulb, and 30 from NO bulbs) in a 30 gal be too much for 2 java ferns, 1 bolbitis, java moss, 1 rubin swordplant, and a new addition i've already forgotten the name of?

the rubin is a bright red sword, it has higher light requirements than it's green cousins. I'm not sure that 2 watts/gallon would be enough to satisfiy it.

my tank is pretty deep and i'm not running any CO2. i have red/brown algae growing on the side and rear panels, but hopefully the new addition and regular water changes will be able to turn the tables a little, so would more light without CO2 mean more algae?

generally yes, more light will mean more algae, with or without CO2. CO2 will give the plants more rapid growth, with the possibility that they will out-compete the algae for food.

One last question, i have some white cotton or hair looking stuff that i suspect to be fungus growing on my driftwood and around the stems of the bolbitis - i started treating it with maroxy, but i dont know if that's right. suggestions?

Is it white and cottony, or like hair? A hair is going to be algae, cottony is going to be fungus or bacteria.

Maroxy is a pretty expensive treatment for the harmless bacteria / fungus that commonly grows on driftwood, plus it destroys your tanks biological filtration, meaning you will have to go through a cycle again.

Almost any type of algae eater will eat it and it will go away on it's own once it has consumed all of it's food source. It's not harmfull to the fish in any way that I know of.