Need some serious help with lighting and plants

[Kimlafeiet]

Hi all, I am finally getting started on my fully planted tank. I went with the Aqueon 25 gallon tank because it fits perfectly on the 29 inch wall I am putting it against, and supports a glass lid (darn cat).
The kit came with an Aqueon dual T5 ballast and 2 lights, one a 6700k plant light and the other a colormax bulb. Both bulbs are 14w each.
Here's my dillema. According to what I have found online regarding watts per gallon, at 28 watts over a 24x13x21 tank, it only puts me at 1.14wpg. That is low light
I have been talking with Rivercats about PPS Pro ferts, and plan to run DIY Co2 (at least until I can afford a pressurized system). The plants I am going to have in the tank are Cabomba green and red, blyxa japonica, bacopa caroliniana, rotalla wallichi, blood stargrass (Diandra), postemogoten gayi, and a few various swords and vals, moss balls, and a red lotus flower. I would eventually like to carpet with micro sword, baby tears, or dwarf hairgrass down the road.

Obviously, the light thatcame with the kit isnt going to cut it. So, here are my options. I could purchase a second one of these ballasts and bulbs, which gives e 28 watts, or 2.28wpg. Better.......but is it enough?
My other two options are the Dual T5 HO light from Aquatic Life, found on Amazon. From what I can tell each bulb is 24 watts, which puts me at 1.92
Or the Finnex Ray 2. I have no idea how to calculate wpg with leds.

Am I doing these calculations correctly? It seems with even a HO T5 ballast, I am not getting even medium light.

Much help would be appreciated.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

WPG becomes irrelevant when you get into lighting outside of T8, T12, and CFL. What you have is a T5NO (normal output)..T5HO (high output) puts out significantly more light despite using comparable wattage due to the reflectors..obviously the better quality reflectors will give you more light too.. The AquaticLife T5HO is known to have great reflectors. I have used the Ray 2 and although you get a great deal of PAR, it has trouble in taller tanks maintaining colorful stem plants due to the lack of full spectrum IMO. It's heavy in blue spectrum and water naturally filters out what little red is there (in terms of the spectral graph finnex published). This is my observation though and it might be conjecture.

So if i were you, go with the AquaticLife fixture. Don't get two Aqueon T5NO because you'll have to run 4 bulbs to equal the output of that dual bulb AquaticLife... This can get expensive having to replace bulbs too.. The Aqueon uses non-standard proprietary bulbs which forces you to buy their replacement bulbs.. Conversely, T5HO bulbs come in so many color temperature options and brands. BTW, Giesemann bulbs are considered among the best..

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Thanks Brian. I am leaning towards the aquatic life one for sure. If I go with that one, would I be able to grow some higher light plants? Would that lighting be considered maybe a medium light tank? Im really looking to go all out and get high tech with this tank. I have dabbled with the low light no Co2 stuff, and while I love it, I am ready to jump in and have myself one amazing planted tank

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Hey Brian, I was just reading up on your dutch aquascape, and saw you are using new lights. They look great. How are you liking them, would they be something to consider for my new tank? My 25 has similar dimensions to your 26 as far as height and length.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

According to this:
PAR vs Distance, T5, T12, PC - New Chart

The very good reflectors t5ho fixture would give you very high light on your tank.

With two of the Current Satellite LED+ fixtures I'm currently using, you'd get only moderate lighting. Still good enough to grow plenty of plants. However, the AquaticLife with co2 and a comprehensive fertilizer regimen (i.e. PPS-Pro or EI dosing), you'll get better growth and coloration from your plants.

I definitly like the Current Sat+ lighting... just wish the intensity would be stronger.

 

[Rivercats]

Told you Brian would be the one to ask about the lights... lol!

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Haha. Yep, you were right
Ok, I think I am going to go with the Aquatic Life dual bulb T5HO.
I will get it ordered this afteroon, along with the PPS Pro and test kits. Thanks so much for all of your help, you guys are so awesome!!!!!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Haha.. Janis is making me blush!

Glad we can help.. Janis is the Jedi master of the planted tank order..I'm just a padawan leaner

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Lol, you guys are both Jedi Masters, I feel a bit like an Ewok with the whole plant world right now.
OK....on a good note, I got my light and test kits ordered. Went with the Aquatic Life HO T5 dual light. Whoot Whoot!
Question though, I need to get a scale to measure the PPS Pro ferts I ordered today also, but what kind of scale do I need to get? I guess Ebay is the best place to get it, but there are about a million types of scales out there, lol. Any suggestions?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Here's the scale i use:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Weig...TF8&qid=1370028145&sr=8-3&keywords=gram+scale

 

[Old Scales]

+1 on the scale Brian is showing. I have this one too and it works great! OS.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Thanks for the quick replies about the scale. I was able to contact Amazon and add it to my order today.........scale problem solved

I am going ot get my plants ordered, and with any luck I will have everything delivered and ready to get started next weekend. I will start a new thread journal, I am super excited to get started on this project!

Thanks again for all of your help everyone!

 

[Old Scales]

Make your journal and keep us posted. We'll all be glad to follow along and offer help/suggestions. I think you'll find a tank with healthy plants is just as rewarding as a tank with healthy fish. Later, OS.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Ok. Status update..........and more questions, lol.
Light arrived last night, I have not opend the box yet to check it out, but all looks well. I will set it up tonight and make sure it is working propery.
Test kits, scale, etc will be here Friday, and the PPS Pro ferts will be here Monday. Yay!

Got the tank and stand up, just need to get a back on the tank. Probably going with black. I have Eco-complete (about 1/2 a bag) and Floramax substrate that I will be using. I think I am also going to use a couple of small clay pots. I currently have my swords in clay pots in my large tank as my loaches kept trying to "rescape" them in the tank, lol, and I actually really like the look of a couple small pots.

I don't want any hardscape, with the eception of a couple pots, and maybe a rock or two, no wood. Think I am wanting go go with more of a dutch style. Working on drawing my idea out on paper, I am super stumped on what kind of plants to order. I know the ones I want for sure, but there are so many plants out there, I feel a bit lost I think.

I am going to post a coule pics of planted tanks I see online, maybe you guys can help me figure out what a few of these plants are???????

 

[Kimlafeiet]

What is this plant that is in the center of the tank?

 

[Kimlafeiet]

and the green foregorund center plant in this one???? Also, the green background one on the left upper corner?

 

[Kimlafeiet]

and the green patch in the front left of this tank, next to the orange colored plant.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

I definitely want to have some reds and greens and orange plants, suggestions on what other like and have used would be most helpful. Also, a good suggestion for a ground cover. Maybe HC or dwarf baby tears? I want to get my order together and place it tomorrow so it will arrive next week.

 

[Rivercats]

Picture 1 and 3 is Syngonanthus sp 'Belem'. It is a very hard plant to find, not cheap, and you can't just order it you will have to look for it. It is also a very hard plant to grow. It like's a Kh and Gh of preferably less than 4 with 2 or less being even better. It needs high light, prefers an acidic substrate, and needs plenty of iron to retain it's bright green color. I have it and it is taking forever to get it established even in my 220g.

Don't know what picture 2 is.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Hahahaha. Of course I would take a liking to the plants that are hard to find and grow, lol. Ok, maybe I will pass on that one for now.

Here are the ones I am really leaning towards.....
Cambomba green
Cambomba red (It think its Furcata)
Ludwigia narrowleaf
Mermaid weed
Blood Stargrass
Bacopa
Blyxa Japonica
Tall Hairgrass
Rotala Wallachi
Vesuvius
amazon compacta
Hygrophila narrow leaf temple
crypt wendti
riccia (to cover rocks/pots)
and some sort of ground cover, such as clover, dwarf baby tears, dwarf pennywort, dwarf hairgrass.

I know this is a lot of plants, should I scale down, or can I have this much variety? I want a densly planted tank. Also, I know a lot of these are tall background plants, I need some ideas for midground...........