Thaiboxer
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hey all,
I'm not new to aquariums, but am new to plants. I have two tanks, a 125 gallon and a tall 15 gallon. I'm looking to run low to mid-light plants, probably not too dense to begin with. Here are my questions.
Lighting. On the 15 gallon I'm running this light:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...wattpowercompactfixturesinglestripwlunarlight
Is the 10,000k bulb good for growing? I sure hope so.
On the 125 I'm running two of these:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...fefreshwateraqualight36powercompactlight1x96w
That gives me almost 3/1 watts to gallons on the small tank, but it's high and I've heard that small tanks need a little more wattage. It's about 1.5/1 watts to gallons on the big tank. If need be, I can supplement that later. I have a monster canopy that I built myself, it's pretty sweet. (Pics to come)
Substrate:
Right now I have a ton of regular gravel. I've ordered root tabs and Flourish Excel, don't know if I'll need the Excel yet though. If I use gravel and root tabs, do I need anything else in my substrate to be properly fertilized for now?
Water:
I have an RO system that all my water comes from. My tap water is very bad My LFS says I should buy a nutrient mix for my water because it's too pure. Is that true, or BS? (They're also trying to sell me a supplement substrate to mix with the gravel, thus my question above on substrate.)
Thanks for your help!
PS - if anything, I have too many filters. I'll be running an XP3 and Magnum 350 in line on the big tank, and a HOB on the small one. No carbon.
I'm not new to aquariums, but am new to plants. I have two tanks, a 125 gallon and a tall 15 gallon. I'm looking to run low to mid-light plants, probably not too dense to begin with. Here are my questions.
Lighting. On the 15 gallon I'm running this light:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...wattpowercompactfixturesinglestripwlunarlight
Is the 10,000k bulb good for growing? I sure hope so.
On the 125 I'm running two of these:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...fefreshwateraqualight36powercompactlight1x96w
That gives me almost 3/1 watts to gallons on the small tank, but it's high and I've heard that small tanks need a little more wattage. It's about 1.5/1 watts to gallons on the big tank. If need be, I can supplement that later. I have a monster canopy that I built myself, it's pretty sweet. (Pics to come)
Substrate:
Right now I have a ton of regular gravel. I've ordered root tabs and Flourish Excel, don't know if I'll need the Excel yet though. If I use gravel and root tabs, do I need anything else in my substrate to be properly fertilized for now?
Water:
I have an RO system that all my water comes from. My tap water is very bad My LFS says I should buy a nutrient mix for my water because it's too pure. Is that true, or BS? (They're also trying to sell me a supplement substrate to mix with the gravel, thus my question above on substrate.)
Thanks for your help!
PS - if anything, I have too many filters. I'll be running an XP3 and Magnum 350 in line on the big tank, and a HOB on the small one. No carbon.