26g Bow Front - My First Dutch Inspired Scape Journal

[Brian_Nano12g]

I always tell people that are new to planted tanks to keep nitrates at 10-20ppm and phosphates at .5-1.0ppm. This is a good standard for most hobbiest.

But when running a tank with high light, CO2 or liquid carbon, and a good dosing plan and in my case a 220g tank with over 2/3 of the tank planted with non-green plants that actually use alot of phosphate. And in order to attain more non-green color nitrates need to be low, 10ppm.

Okay so I finally brought my test kits over and here are the results...

Nitrates = 15ppm
Phosphates = 0.5
GH = 7

So do I need to decrease nitrates and increase phosphates?

 

[Rivercats]

Brain it looks like you need to get you nitrates down alittle if you can. I like 10ppm. And phosphates are way low. You need to get up to at least 2ppm. I've been running mine now for about 4 weeks with a 5-10ppm on phosphates (hard to tell where in between those numbers it's really at due to their lovely color charts). I also double dose my micro's daily.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Semi-Major Update Here!!!

New Lighting and Semi-New Scape!

So I'm still working to get things dialed in in terms of ferts based on the advice giving to me so far -- thanks Janis, Aqua_Chem, and ScottsPets!

Janis was very kind to send me some Fissidens fontanus, Rotala Macrandra, Rotala wallichii, and some mystery plant (Ludwigia broad leaf?). Anyway, I had to make some changes here because (1) the Angels are getting bigger and will need to be rehomed pretty soon. And, (2) I had no where to put the lovely new plants. Oh, I also got some Elatine triandra from a SCAPE member but I waiting so long to plant it, it practically melted 90%. So hopefully that survives and carpets the front.

Speaking of the front, I also removed the curved sandy river to make room for more plants. I removed the Manzanita because the Angels had less swimming room and I wanted shorter and more robust Malaysian DW to tie the Fissidens, Flame Moss, and some Anubia Petite on. Did a little rearranging of the stones as well

FTS pics are to come! But first and foremost, here's the new star of the show (full review will be posted later, as I'm still writing that):

The New Current USA Satellite LED+ Fixture!

Here are some features and notes:

• 18W
• 48 White (6,500K) + 24 RGB LEDs
• Wireless Remote for custom color output
• Internal memory to store custom settings and for it to start up on the last setting used when using a timer.
• To get an adequate amount of PAR on a tank as tall as this, two of them were required!
• Best part... It's FULL SPECTRUM!

And now some pics with more notes and initial impressions.

Full spectrum mode... All white LED's and RGB's are on full. When the Red, Blue, and Greens are on at the same time, they appear somewhat violet. But upon closer inspection, you can see the Reds, Blues, and Greens firing at the same time. When the RGBs mix with the 6,500K white LEDs, they produce a stunning color IMO.

So here's me fiddling with the remote to get the colors separated on the RGB's.

REDS!

GREENS!

BLUES!

FTS (new scape & major trim)!!! With the sexy new and VERY SLEEK Current Fixture! Please excuse the Fluval filter pipes... I neglected to give those a cleaning too.

The co2 level is actually up... The drop checker was cleaned and new reagent and 4dkh was added. But forget about the drop checker, look how nice that fixture looks!!!!

More to come! Stay Tuned....

 

[Autumnsky]

That light looks fun and fancy!!! I am looking for a new light too so I am VERY interested in learning more about that!!!

The tank looks spectacular! Really beautiful.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Initial Impressions....

I really like the new fixture! Current did a great job in producing a sleek LED fixture here. It feels solid and doesn't get too hot after prolonged use. Further, I find it clever for their design/engineering team to incorporate 2 rows of (4x) 6500K white LED to every row (2x) of RGB along its strip.

This should provide a boost in the "full spectrum" arena where my Finnex Ray 2 fell short (no pun intended Finnex, you guys still make great fixtures). I still need to get a spectrum analysis graph, but from the Finnex graph I posted earlier, the blues are heavy whereas it falls short in the reds, etc -- the Current Sat+ has to excel by comparison. The Ray 2 grew plants well (albeit green plants) and you get a good PAR-bang for your buck, but colors honestly looked a bit washed-out and drab IMO.

So aside from the immediate boost in color enhancement from my fish, I noticed improvement in the color reflection in my plants as well. The Angels never looked so golden, and the Cherry Barbs never looked so RED!

I think my plants are starting to enjoy the "full spectrum" as well. It's a little premature to make a full assessment, but after a few days so far, I think there are positive signs!

Take for instance, this comparison picture of the the Rotala rotundifolia. Notice in the first pic (after my trimming) under the Ray 2, it grew green and straight. Now under (x2) Current Sat LED+, there's some colors developing and there's some bending with all the leaves pointed up! The Rotala is loving this light and taking it all in! I haven't seen this type of bending in my Rotala since I put in new PC full spectrum bulbs in my 12g. Also notice some reds popping up -- especially in the Persicaria sp. "Kawagoeanum" and Ludwigia Red (which became green under the Ray 2).

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

That light looks fun and fancy!!! I am looking for a new light too so I am VERY interested in learning more about that!!!

The tank looks spectacular! Really beautiful.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm really enjoying the fixture so far! The color modes are fun... there's even a thunder storm mode to mimic clouds floating by and lighting flashes! LOL... I'm obviously going to be using the full spectrum mode for my plants' benefit, but those extra fun modes are interesting to entertain guests or especially if you have kids and they want to have some fun!

PAR is less than the Ray 2 but compensating by getting two Current fixtures if you have a taller tank would work. Time will tell

 

[Autumnsky]

Wow, that is an amazing change in plant color!

Oh btw, I was thinking about the LED for instance on the Fugeray or whatever its name is...Could you use some stained glass paint from the craft store and paint some of the white LEDs red to enhance the color, and other colors as well if needed???

I was thinking that might be an interesting enhancement / solution, and make the Finnex fixtures more useful.

That was a Finnex fixture I was looking at, but the one was out of stock so I still didn't get the email of its availability yet. Anyway this Current light looks like it would be great for my 72G bowfront (48") (No co2 for me though)

My husband would love the remote...! I am staying tuned!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Autumn, I believe this fixture would be adequate on your tank for low light plants and no co2. However, if you wanted to grow any more light demanding plants, you'll need to add a second fixture along with co2 or liquid carbon alternative such as Glut to get favorable growth. But I'll definitely update my progress down the road with this Current Fixture.

If you have an account on TPT, you should also follow along on a thread I started there. There have been others who got the Current LED+ fixture as well and have been posting pictures.

(New) Current Satellite Freshwater LED+ Fixture (6500K/RGB)???

As for your idea with modifying the Finnex Fugeray, I'm not quite sure that would work. I honestly don't think it would. Finnex does make the Monster Ray fixture that has RGB lights on it. But unlike the Current LED+ fixture, the RGB's are not controllable and they aren't mixed in with White LED's.

 

[aqua_chem]

It wouldn't work. A tinted glass will block all colors except its own (and block some of that), increasing the proportion of light that is a given color but dramatically reducing the overall intensity/PAR. You can not 'change' the color of single photon, only filter it by wavelength/frequency.

Also, the entire elatine genus basically turns to goo when you ship it. Hydropiper and gussonei do the same thing. It's a nutrient hog, so make sure you dose heavy or it will pout.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Thanks for the tip on the ET aqua! I read it really likes nitrates so hopefully it will reduce my nitrate levels so i can force some reds out with my increase in phosphates.

 

[Rivercats]

Thanks for the tip on the ET aqua! I read it really likes nitrates so hopefully it will reduce my nitrate levels so i can force some reds out with my increase in phosphates.

I'll be curious to see how your Elatine triandra does! I have been looking into another small carpet plant since my almost completely established HC is suddenly getting picked apart. I looked at the ET but dismissed it because of it's poor shipping property. And a nitrate loving plant I'm afraid isn't going to do good in the 220.

I like the new lights and also have been trying and failing to find something similar in a 72" length to add onto the 220 in front of the big AquaticLife fixture. When the plants start getting real tall they cut down the light getting into the front of the tank! So any ideas would be welcome!

I like the new scape and hope the plants are doing well! Is the Fissidens attaching? Are you going to leave the little area of sand? I think it would look better at this point just removing it.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Well i surrounded the small sand part i left with ET. My hope is to have a full carpet of it around it to where it barely creeps on to it. Something similar to this tank that inspired me to leave a little...




In terms of a 72" light, would LED have enough penetrating power? You might need something that has HO type CREE emitters. Also check out buildmyled.com. They might have something that long or can custom build it for you. You can choose the color mix of LED and optics for light spread.

 

[aqua_chem]

How deep is your 220g Rivercats?

 

[Rivercats]

How deep is your 220g Rivercats?

It's 30" deep with a 3" deep substrate so we are looking at a 27" depth penetration. The T5HO/Metal Halide fixture takes up alot of space so I need something streamlined like a LED fixture. I wanted a T5HO but the smallest is an 8 bulb fixture which is too wide to use in front of the other fixture. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

 

[Rivercats]

Brian seeing that inspirational pic helps alot with seeing what your shooting for! I like the look of the ET but not sure if it would tolerate the Glut along with the Angels and loaches. I'll be watching to see how yours does.

I have Aciotis Acumminifolia which would look good in your smaller tanks and have trimmed the 3 stems I got into 5 but don't want to use that all the way to the glass. I considered trying UG which I like the look of and which also would look good in your smaller tanks but don't know if it can tolerate Glut or survive the Agels and loaches. The Mini Alternanthera Reinekii is pretty cool and would look good in your little tanks but talk about not shipping well and being one of the hardest plants to try to get planted... ugh! I'm on the hunt of something... just don't know what! That's why I'm interested to see how your ET does. Are you going to keep it trimmed or let it grow? Is your Macrandra starting to color? I tried some Macrandra Japan Red and Varigated but both are too small to see how they are going to color up but down the road should have some to share. Only started out with 3 stems of Japan Red and 5 of the Varigated but know both do well in the 220 so I know I'll have trimmings down the road.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I think you should get Fort to build you a custom LED fixture with reef capable power but obviously with color temps appropriate for planted tanks.

The BML site shows they have 72" fixtures. They're full spectrum with reds, greens, blues etc. Perhaps getting a narrow beam configuration might help to penetrate the depths?
http://www.buildmyled.com/freshwater-planted-tank/

Edit... Yeah I'll see how the ET goes. I've read its touchy at first but once it acclimates, it takes off so fast that you wished it grew slower. Tom Barr's ET looks so nice! But of course, we're talking TB here! Haha

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Now that's ET to strive for. I think i need a doctorates to get there though! Haha...



Edit: my macrandra is still in progress... I'll update soon on that. All the plants are reacting differently with the new lighting. With less blues or just enough to balance with red, greens, etc. algae is disappearing and plants are growing better. Having too many blues hidden in the spectrum, even so its not so visible to the human eyes, reminds me of when i was a newbie running actinic bulbs on a FW tank and how it produced algae over plant growth...lol

 

[Magicmarymac]

Now that's ET to strive for. I think i need a doctorates to get there though! Haha...

Edit: my macrandra is still in progress... I'll update soon on that. All the plants are reacting differently with the new lighting. With less blues or just enough to balance with red, greens, etc. algae is disappearing and plants are growing better. Having too many blues hidden in the spectrum, even so its not so visible to the human eyes, reminds me of when i was a newbie running actinic bulbs on a FW tank and how it produced algae over plant growth...lol

That is a breathtaking photo, Brian!

 

[Billbug68]

I'm a little late, but I'm digging the new scape! I hope the lights work out as well as they look! Keep the updates comin!

 

[Rivercats]

I think you should get Fort to build you a custom LED fixture with reef capable powet but obviously with color temps appropriate for planted tanks.

The BML site shows they have 72" fixtures. They're full spectrum with reds, greens, blues etc. Perhaps getting a narrow beam configuration might help to penetrate the depths?
Freshwater Planted Tank - Build My LED, LLC

Edit... Yeah I'll see how the ET goes. I've read its touchy at first but once it acclimates, it takes off so fast that you wished it grew slower. Tom Barr's ET looks so nice! But of course, we're taking TB here! Haha

Yeah I might just give Justin a call and see what he thinks on the lighting! I got some of my plants from T. Barr and they were really nice! I love that tank you posted, which is one of his isn't it? OH, I'm loading pic's now and will finally be posting pic's of the new plants on my thread! No more teasing!