29g planted tank questions

[callibear]

Hi there. A couple months ago I added live plants to my tank. Here are the specs

2 AC70 filters

water kept at 77F

3 23 watt 6500k cfl bulbs in an exo terra hood. glass canopy since there is no splash screen on hood

1 diy co2 bottle, seems to provide a steady 1 bubble per second (think that's how it's measured)

sandy soil with seachem root tabs, daily dosing with seachem flourish excel

I have a very large hornwort plant, three smallish-medium wisteria, two banana plants, a sizable moneywort, 1 anubias of some type, and dwarf hairgrass.

The plants seem to be doing well, but not growing as quickly as I would like. I know the "do I have enough light" question is done to death, but dear god does the lighting thing confuse me. Every time I start researching it my head starts to spin. I plan on adding a smaller hood with one more 23 watt bulb in it. Would the combined 92 watt 6500 cfl bulb at a 18" height suffice? that's about 3wpg. Also could I grow some higher light plants in this?

Also, I don't quite understand the differences between the different liquid ferts. Should I be adding something in addition to the excel? My root tabs are spaced in such a way that each one covers a 3" diameter. Should I add a few more? Is it possible to overdose them?

I am having some problems with the dwarf hair grass. It is "living" just fine, but within a week or so of planting it my cories had dug it all up (sand). I noticed when i gathered it to replant it that it had not shot out any runners at all. i researched a bit, split up the clumps into much smaller ones, and replanted. It's been planted for about 3 weeks since that and has not spread at all. I was under the impression that DHG grew very quickly and I have not seen any growth in a month (very little vertical growth). I trimmed the tops to "stimulate" growth. Do I not have enough light for the DHG? If it will not grow, would chain swords work for me?

My last question is should I add another diy co2 bottle? I am worried about suffocating my fish but would like extra growth.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'm not sure about CFLs on a tank your size, but I wouldn't be too confident in them for anything other than low light plants unless your tank was a nano. Perhaps consider a lighting upgrade to a t5ho or LED fixture. You can try adding another CFL and see if any improvement in growth has occurred. But I have zero experience using CFLs on a planted tank. Someone else can chime in. But my guess, more light.

Did you buy your DHG grown emersed or submerged? DHG would definitely do better in moderate to high light with adequate co2, ferts, and decent planted substrate. I've purchased DHG (e. Parvula species) at Petsmart emersed, it took a month for it to practically melt and grow back crazy.

How are you monitoring how much co2 is actually getting dissolved into the water column? 1 bps doesn't seem enough to me in a 29g. Are you using a drop checker? You might need to increase co2 or increase the supplement to your DIY system with liquid carbon such as excel to compensate for inadequate co2 dissolution.

Also a good liquid fertilizer like Flourish Comprehensive would be good to add for now. Maybe consider PPS-Pro dry ferts from GLA down the road once you get comfortable using Seachem products.

Once all components (e.g. lights, ferts, co2/liquid carbon, and substrate).. You'll see your DHG take off after it's been acclimated to its new conditions in your tank.

 

[callibear]

Well, initially I picked the cfl lights because they were cheaper but I may in the future upgrade to t5 ho. If I do, about how much of the t5 light would I need? Looking at my price range, it seems like I could get two 24 watt t5 lights. My tank is 30" wide and it seems that the lights come in 22" and 36". I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to have the lights hanging off the sides of the tank. I would love to go with LEDs but it seems like they are very expensive and money is an issue.

I did buy the DHG at petsmart in the little gel packs. It's good to hear that yours did eventually take off.

I had read somewhere that people measured co2 by bubbles and completely forgot that you could buy those meters to check the levels. I will have to get one soon. I do dose with excel, but I wanted to use both. Is there a point, if I add more co2, that eventually I should -not- use excel? I have not experienced seen any of my fish heavy breathing at all and I do not want to.

I'll pick up some flourish comprehensive. I can use this in addition to the excel, yes?