Jagwa
Aquarium Advice Regular
Hi, iv had my aquarium for just over a year now and im keen to start aquascaping. i have a standard 29 gallon tank and was wondering what lighting i would need and if CO2 is necessary?
What do i Need???
- Thread starter Jagwa
- Start date
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buddha_red
Aquarium Advice FINatic
do you happen to know what plants you like? Try to id some plants you would like to keep. this will let us help you further in picking out a light.
neilanh
Sliced Bread
Right, it's highly dependant upon what kind of setup and how involved you want it to be.
Jajgwa I am new to this to and am still in the preparation stage myself, be prepared to start reading and keep reading tons of information.
So much to know.
I was pointed to a good article on this site that you should check out.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/36/1/So-You-Want-a-Planted-Aquarium-/Page1.html
Good starter place.
So much to know.
I was pointed to a good article on this site that you should check out.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/36/1/So-You-Want-a-Planted-Aquarium-/Page1.html
Good starter place.
elwaine
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 174
Jagwa,
Lighting is a very interesting topic and there are many misconceptions about lighting and plant growth. In general, brighter light makes everything grow faster, demands more precise control of CO2 and fertilizers and can be troublesome as regards to algae. But many plants can grow under lower lighting - even plants that are traditionally considered high light requiring plants. They just grow at slower rates.
That is a poor man's synopsis of a very valuable lesson I learned from Tom Barr. I suggest you read this before deciding on your lighting system:ADA lighting at Aqua Forest and nice low PAr values-who knew? - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report
It seems that the beautiful Ammano aquariums we see photos of run under considerably lower lighting than most would have expected based on the plants grown in those magnificent aquariums. Tom Barr actually measured the light intensity of one of the top ADA aquariums (# 20 world wide) and his findings and discussion are a must read if you want be able to separate lighting fact from lighting fiction.
Lighting is a very interesting topic and there are many misconceptions about lighting and plant growth. In general, brighter light makes everything grow faster, demands more precise control of CO2 and fertilizers and can be troublesome as regards to algae. But many plants can grow under lower lighting - even plants that are traditionally considered high light requiring plants. They just grow at slower rates.
That is a poor man's synopsis of a very valuable lesson I learned from Tom Barr. I suggest you read this before deciding on your lighting system:ADA lighting at Aqua Forest and nice low PAr values-who knew? - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report
It seems that the beautiful Ammano aquariums we see photos of run under considerably lower lighting than most would have expected based on the plants grown in those magnificent aquariums. Tom Barr actually measured the light intensity of one of the top ADA aquariums (# 20 world wide) and his findings and discussion are a must read if you want be able to separate lighting fact from lighting fiction.
Jagwa
Aquarium Advice Regular
thanks for all the help. iv decided to try and get a carpet going first. im thinking about using Eleocharis parvula(dwarf hairgrass). From what iv read it is easy to grow?? I currently only have 1.3 watts per gallon of lighting and will be installing a diy c02 system in the next few days. will this plant grow under these conditions?
elwaine
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 174
Truth is, I don't know. Dwarf hairgrass - by conventional wisdom - is supposed to need "medium" light. For a 29 long that would equate to somewhere in the range of 75 to 100 watts... or around 2.5 to 3WPG. But that's not to say it won't grow - albeit slower - with 1.3 WPG. If you keep your CO2 at 30 ppm or so, have good circulation and use an effective regimen of fertilization (whatever that may mean), I'll bet you can grow hairgrass in you tank under 1.3 WPG. - But there is only one way to find out...
I just planted some under 3WPG and it is too soon for me to know how it will do in my tank. But WPG is not the sole factor in achieving good plant growth. In fact, WPG isn't a very accurate way to determine lighting needs anyway. Lighting Level for Aquatic Plants
Good luck and please let us know how you make out with the E. parvula.
FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
I use to have some dwarf hairgrass in a 5 gallon way back with only 1.5-2.0WPG and it just slowly died. That's IME though.
elwaine
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 174
I forgot to mention, in my previous post, that I just set up an experimental 2.5 gallon, plant only plastic tank. Dwarf hairgrass is one of the plants I put in there. It's under very low light, and I'm not using CO2. Will the hairgrass grow? I don't know, but I'm going to start a new thread so that we can all follow the progress (or demise) of dwarf hairgrass under low light and no CO2.
JustOneMore20
Algae Fighter
In my experience, Dwarf hairgrass is healthier and grows faster in high light with co2 and added ferts. 
I've tried it in a great substrate, under medium-ish light and no co2 and it grew super super slow. Tried it in medium light in inert substrate and it died off.
I've tried it in a great substrate, under medium-ish light and no co2 and it grew super super slow. Tried it in medium light in inert substrate and it died off.Jagwa
Aquarium Advice Regular
iv been to sooo many shops in my area and not one has had any carpeting plants. it sucks. Why does south africa have to be so far from everything. are there any online stores that will get anything to s.a alive??
