75 planted

[Travis55]

So ive been tossing ideas around and think ive came to a conclusion. Im gonna do a 75 planted tank. I can get tons of mosses and other plants free from a person i work with. I wanna do dinner a heavy planted with a big school of neon tetras. And guppies. Maybe a catfish if i can find one that will leave the others alone.

My question is, i still have my 2-150w halides from the reef setup. Would this work for plants? Or will it "burn" everything?

Sand substrate
Driftwood
Few assorted rock piles

Neon tetras
Guppies
Catfish (really want another irredescent * shark)

Thanks all!

 

[Mebbid]

Two halides would probably be overkill on a 75g tank. You shouldn't be looking for too much more than 100 par at substrate for a planted tank and with high par ratings like that you might really want to look into pressurized CO2 to prevent algae growth.

 

[Travis55]

Two halides would probably be overkill on a 75g tank. You shouldn't be looking for too much more than 100 par at substrate for a planted tank and with high par ratings like that you might really want to look into pressurized CO2 to prevent algae growth.

I can hang them as high as i want. They sit on the tank 6" from the water but i could hang it 12-18" if need be

 

[Travis55]

Would a uv sterilizer help with algae?

 

[Mebbid]

Would a uv sterilizer help with algae?

It would work with green water but that is a rare thing. Pressurized co2, proper fertilization, and 6 hours a day of light are generally used for algae prevention.

 

[Travis55]

It would work with green water but that is a rare thing. Pressurized co2, proper fertilization, and 6 hours a day of light are generally used for algae prevention.

Ok. Im new to plants and am gonna keep it untammed. Co2 is outa my budget. What should i do for fert?