Experience with Echinodorus species?

[bhavik95]

Ok i will do ahh that's really annoying I thought these lights would have been fine :/
If I was to return them and replace them with the fluval plant 2.0 would that defo work? And grow my plants with no problem?

I don't know what you mean by lens size but I know it has a 120 degree beam angle

Ok i'll increase the red and blue to max. Even when increase to max the plant growth won't be as great say something compared to the fluval plant 2.0 will it?

Yeah I've stopped put the roots tabs now

 

[Caliban07]

I can see a few issues here for sure.

As already noted this tank is way deep. This will pose problems with just about every aspect of growing plants if not addressed. Obviously lighting could be too low but also I'd look at your flow too. You have what looks to be a fluval canister filter. What model number and how many litres is this tank. If flow is poor you may have issues getting co2, oxygen and other nutrients to the plants although with root tabs deployed nutrients might not be too bad.

The main issue here I think is the type of fish you have. They could easily be feasting on those plants, especially if they are suffering to begin with.

Fish type and lack of water changes may also increase dissolved organic compounds. As the plants decay, ammonia is released and oxygen is consumed. This promotes algae and if dissolved organics compounds are high enough this will affect plants too.

If you switch the filter off do you get a oily film on the surface at all? This will also reduce light which may not be adequate enough already.

There's a few things you can do to improve this tank but I feel that with hungry angel fish and plecos the plants are already at a disadvantage.

 

[Bert2oo1]

The fluval plant 2.0 is far better than what you currently have, the par rating is 57 at 45cm deep so I'd expect 20-25 par at substrate in your tank. That's just a ruff guess so I'd be sending fluval a message to ask the par at your exact depth. I'd want 20+ for a low tech setup.

However you'll want to sort out the algae abit before blasting it with like aswell. Caliban brings up good points. With a more powerful fixture you'll want to water change atleast every 2 weeks and pleco are crazy messy so I'd be getting out the gravel vac every week or 2 just to get rid of the excess waste sitting on top of the substrate. No need to deep clean the gravel as you might dislodge the plants or root tabs.

Pleco's can also be pretty harsh on plants, they will eat holes in them if food is a little hard to come by. They also like digging around in the gravel sometimes.

 

[bhavik95]

For the filter I have a fluval 205 and the tank is 200L as for the fish I have a pair of angel fish that only nibble on the water wisteria which I am fine by but the other plants they do not touch and so I'm not sure why they are looking crap as well
As for the pleco it hardly touches the plants and that only the Amazon swords here and there which again I am fine with as for digging the substrate and pulling plants it doesn't do that

Hmm ok I'm going to see if I can get the lights exchanged to the plant 2.0 if not I don't know what I am going to do :/

When I do water changes I defo take out all the solid waste that I see on the substrate

 

[Bert2oo1]

For the filter I have a fluval 205 and the tank is 200L as for the fish I have a pair of angel fish that only nibble on the water wisteria which I am fine by but the other plants they do not touch and so I'm not sure why they are looking crap as well
As for the pleco it hardly touches the plants and that only the Amazon swords here and there which again I am fine with as for digging the substrate and pulling plants it doesn't do that

Hmm ok I'm going to see if I can get the lights exchanged to the plant 2.0 if not I don't know what I am going to do :/

When I do water changes I defo take out all the solid waste that I see on the substrate

Deep tanks are a curse for lighting. People have had to spend some serious $$ for lights on large deep tanks. The 2.0 should be a lot better but before exchanging it's worth messaging fluval and ask what the par is at 60cm deep.

The 205 has a flow rate of 680lph so that's only 3x turn over per hour. Do you have another filter on the tank at all? U should be aiming for 8-10x turnover per hour of you can [emoji106]

 

[bhavik95]

Ok i will do! Also if I were to revert back to t8s and using 2 x 30 watts bulbs would that be good enough light to grow my plants that I have?

No atm I don't have any other filter
Would adding a sponge filter in there help?
I've had this tank for about 10 years or so and was sold this filter with it and have been running this on since

 

[Bert2oo1]

Ok i will do! Also if I were to revert back to t8s and using 2 x 30 watts bulbs would that be good enough light to grow my plants that I have?

No atm I don't have any other filter
Would adding a sponge filter in there help?
I've had this tank for about 10 years or so and was sold this filter with it and have been running this on since

For the depth you'd want 2x t5's rather than t8's. The t8's won't be bright enough to hit the bottom [emoji106]

Yea the plants like more flow. Your filters fine for a freshwater no plant setup but I'd try and get a cheap HOB maybe? Sponge filter won't aid with flow

 

[Caliban07]

Bhavik I used a 205 on my 180 litre but also used another hang on back filter. It did well with 2 x T5 High output (with reflectors) and this filter setup however, I would at least service the filter if it has been running for 10 years. Have you changed the impeller at all? I'm not sure they still supply parts for the 205 but maybe the 206 impeller is the same. It should be. Fluval also do a spraybar kit that you can use in conjunction with the 205 that may be useful for better flow spread. Having said that, the extra length from the spraybar will reduce flow somewhat. Fluval do undersell when it comes to flow but their design is very ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing.

You would be better with a Fluval 306 or a JBL 1501e. They are beasts.

Problem with plecos is that they may be more active at night so you can't see what they are up to. They are notorious for sapping on swords. I just worry that you end up investing in new equipment to make it work yet the fish will never allow it too.

Also it's the substances you can't see that are dissolved in the water that need to be removed. This is why it is important to change water. A cleaner tank and filter means less oxygen demand which is better for the microorganisms that are filtering out harmful nitrogen such as ammonia and nitrite.

 

[bhavik95]

Oh ok so would you highly recommend changing to the plant 2.0 rather than stick with what I've got?
Yeah I have change the impeller recently and the sponges. As for the spray bar I made my own diy one and I was using it up until 2 days but it didn't seem to do much but that might have been because of the lights not being great
The spray bar was moving the plants in the flow but again my not have benefitted if the lights weren't great

 

[Caliban07]

Oh ok so would you highly recommend changing to the plant 2.0 rather than stick with what I've got?
Yeah I have change the impeller recently and the sponges. As for the spray bar I made my own diy one and I was using it up until 2 days but it didn't seem to do much but that might have been because of the lights not being great
The spray bar was moving the plants in the flow but again my not have benefitted if the lights weren't great

Would any of the juwel high lite T5 fixtures fit on top of your tank?

The lengths can be seen here.

https://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/Pr...lamps/HiLite-T5-fluorescent-tubes/HiLite-Day/

 

[bhavik95]

Hi yes maybe the 895mm as the t8s I have right now are 36inches
But would these fit into the t8 lighting i have right now?
As the pins are different compared to t8s aren't they?

 

[Caliban07]

They are T5 bulbs thinner nothing to do with T8

 

[bhavik95]

Yeah but what I am saying is the hood for my tank is made for t8s so would t5s still fit into the socket where you connect the tube?

Also what would be better the t5s or the aqua sky that I'm using ATM?

 

[Caliban07]

Can you remove the hood completely?

 

[Bert2oo1]

If your looking to replace the lighting id do some serious online research. Email fluval about the 2.0 planted and see what the par ratings are or google what the par of 2 t5's would be for your tank depth.

I wouldn't just buy something without looking into the par for the tank depth or you could end up wasting $$. You want to make sure whatever fixture you go with will actually work.

The 2.0 has an optic spread of 120 degrees and deep tank normally require 90 degree so I'd definitely be asking the question.

Might pay to make a new forum asking what people use on 60cm deep tanks [emoji106]

 

[bhavik95]

I can remove the hood but then where will I put the t5s in and how will I close the tank?

So would you suggest to carry on with the aquasky or go back to the t8s?
I can see my plants just withering away don’t know if they are dying or just adjusting to everything being turned up to 100%