Gurus..... Please suggest.......Plant Q., Light Q. and General Q.

[chat_patta]

Hi: Please suggest on the following:

1) 45G tank needs according to 3WPG 135W or 165W light Full Spectrum..... Any suggestion for the type/make/model and the source from your personal experiences.

2) The Tank is 20" High, so with substrate about 2.5", I can fill water up to what height....... obviously have to leave at least couple of inches from the top. But the question is what is beneficial, as some plants can benefit/bloom after breaking the surface. So I keep my water level low these plants will benefit. But is there an issue with low level for fishes?

3) I bought 25+ Ludwigia Repens (Red Ludwigia), generally about 12"-14" long. Problem is that for almost all of them the leaves are only on the top 5"-6", the rest is bare stem and at the bottom 2"-3" you have roots. If I plant them as whole, they are arched and curved so will be a mess. So if I cut the top 6" I loose the roots, Will the bottom with roots (no leaves) can be planted successfully.

<---5"-7" Leaves -------><------3"-4" bare stem----><----2" -3" Roots---->
Where to cut? and can both parts then be planted?

4) Is there a way that I can make a long strip anchor (instead of individual) for my plants, so my plants are anchored as well as in a straight line. Has anyone tried that or can you suggest where to find soft plastic material that will not harm the plant while holding it. I need to anchor them as my grown Siamese Algie Eaters (3) will play havoc with unrooted plants. I am open to other suggestions which you have experienced in planting lot of plants (50+) at one time.


Hope the questions are clear........ Following are my tank details:
Acrylic rim-less 36"L 15"W & 20"H. 2.5" Substrate: Eco-Complete+Caribsea Flora-Max Sand+Flourite. CO2 Injection system. Generally Water parameters in control and near ideal. Light I will be buying soon currently only 15W total. Community tank SAE-3, Angel-2, Clown Loach-1, White tip tetra-2 & Red Wag Platy-4. Plants: Anubias Barteri (or Nano)-1, Anubias Petite-18, Ludwigia Repens-25, Hygrophila Corymbosa-13+ , Hygrophila Difformis-10 & Red Tiger Lotus-1.


Thank You For Your Time.
Best Regards;

 

[chat_patta]

50 views not a single Guru can suggest? Wow!
The last article here written about Light is in 2005 "A beginner's guide to lighting" by
malkore.
Please suggest the type of light based on your experience which has 165 W Full Spectrum with remote control, and if possible suggest the price to buy it today.
The other Qs are really general knowledge which comes with experience. I have resolved Q# 4, from Dollar General bought ' Magic Cover - Shelf and Storage Liner" 18" x 4". I will cut about 1.5" strips with 'X' shaped cuts on equal distances, then pass a plant on each cut. Finally bury the whole strip with the plants in the substrate. Hopefully the plants will be anchored by the liner strip.

 

[Bert2oo1]

3 wpg is generally not what u go off. The PAR rating is the light strength. A lot of people on here use finnex 24/7 planted+ fixtures. I'm pretty sure these come with a remote to dim to whatever u need.
Assuming your in the US?

As for water level it really depends on how much stock u have. If u have lots of fish then u will need as much water in there as u can. I've always had my tanks full to the rim and my plants are growing like weeds.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Magnum 350]

The repens grow like weed. If they don't have any leaves at the bottom they will when you increase the lighting. If you go with 3 watts per gallon hope you have c02. The repens need to be just stuck in the gravel even with no leaves they will grow. As for lighting i use acombo of t5 high out put and t5 normal out put. I have 318 watts for a 90 gallon and im pruning that plant every week vigorously. It is a root feeder so use root tabs. With that high amount of light 3 watts per gal you are going to need to to use fertilizer. The plants with high lighting will cosume nutrients a lot faster then plants that don't.

 

[chat_patta]

Thanks Gurus Bert2oo1 and Magnum 350