Just ordered a Finnex Ray 2 Daylight

[mandoborg]

As the title says, i just ordered this light for my 29 gallon planted aquarium. My question is should i somehow mount this light inside my already existing cheap plastic hood, or should I just clamp it to the top of the aquarium and leave the rest open to the air. Inside the tank are Neons, AngelFish, a Bala shark, Serpae tetras, A Guarami, Platties and probably one or two i've forgotten...........oh yeah, a crab that lives in my driftwood....... Are any of these prone to take flight ?!!! I notice some people have a glass top on there, but is that crucial........

This place has been a great learning spot for me, thanks for all the advice.......... my fish are happy as heck, my plants are getting much better thanks to the Eco-Complete and CO2 advice i've gotten from here...

Next obsession, fertilizers !!!............

Thanks in advance for any help............

Jim

 

[simplicitysarah]

how exciting!! i like finnex!

 

[Zimmanski]

The finnex lights are really sleek and I like mine visible actually, instead of trying to hide it or having an open tank you could always go get a class canopy like the Versa tops, they're cheap and help greatly with evaporation and if you have any fish that like to jump it would be a good purchase. As for ferts you'll save a ton of money mixing your own liquids using dry ferts, it will seem overwhelming at first glance but its really simple. I used to go though countless bottles of premixed seachem ferts and while they worked, they made my wallet pretty light. I bought a fert pack from green leaf aquariums for roughly $30 several months ago and I'm just now barely putting a dent in them

The bala shark needs to go unless you have a large tank upgrade in mind, research their adult needs and make your own decision. The other fish don't usually jump, though I have had a platy jump out of a holding bucket before. Also keep a very close eye on the serpae tetras and the angel, those tetras tend to be more nippy than others and the long fins of angels can be extremely tempting. Aqadvisor.com would be a good thing for you to check out if you haven't already, its a good starting point and will give you some general warnings about your stocking levels, temperaments, and requirements.

 

[mandoborg]

Zimmanski, thank you for that advice !! It's exactly what i come here for !! the Bala is funny, he's totally happy, yet it goes against everything i've read about them........... he's alone in a somewhat 'small' tank, yet he's loving life !!! Thanks for the head-up on the Serpeas, i will keep a closer eye on them..........I watch everything in there like a hawk !! One of my Angels is about 4-5 inches tall and she's my baby !!!!
THANK YOU so much for the heads up on the Fertilizer from Green Leaf......I've been spending a lot of time researching this stuff and was thinking, 'wow, this is going to be expensive' buying the over the counter stuff...... Is it the PPS-Pro Fert Package that you were talking about ?? It's the only one i see in that price range, and it sounds too good to be true for the money !!

Thanks again for the advice and the heads up on a product that could save me some serious money !!

Jim

 

[aquandrew]

glass lids can reduce the light output up to 30% i would get a sheet of acrylic or plexiglass if you go that route

 

[mandoborg]

I was thinking along the same lines Andrew. I have some acrylic here that is only 1/8 inch or so and i was wondering if it would flex too much over the span of a 29 gallon. I was thinking going thicker if needed, but then started over-thinking light penetration/refraction etc....... i try to keep it simple if i can !!

 

[Zimmanski]

Zimmanski, thank you for that advice !! It's exactly what i come here for !! the Bala is funny, he's totally happy, yet it goes against everything i've read about them........... he's alone in a somewhat 'small' tank, yet he's loving life !!! Thanks for the head-up on the Serpeas, i will keep a closer eye on them..........I watch everything in there like a hawk !! One of my Angels is about 4-5 inches tall and she's my baby !!!!
THANK YOU so much for the heads up on the Fertilizer from Green Leaf......I've been spending a lot of time researching this stuff and was thinking, 'wow, this is going to be expensive' buying the over the counter stuff...... Is it the PPS-Pro Fert Package that you were talking about ?? It's the only one i see in that price range, and it sounds too good to be true for the money !!

Thanks again for the advice and the heads up on a product that could save me some serious money !!

Jim

No problem, that's what we're all here for. You can either do the PPS pro package or the EI package, whichever route you want to go. I think they're essentially the same but the dosing regimen is different.
If you haven't seen this page, here's info for the bala shark:
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/sharkfish/balashark.php

Here's another forums page with opinions on growth stunting, I'm sure there is countless threads about it on AA as well:
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum/index.php?topic=26431.0

And here is a google scholar list of articles if you like to read more scientific evidence:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q...a=X&ei=hoAXUv7YCITo2gWojoHIBw&ved=0CCgQgQMwAA

I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong, just providing information. Sometimes google searching can be overwhelming if you don't know what to do with the search results. I wish someone would do the same for me and my medical *ish* haha