New "planted" tank cycling

[Corbo]

So, here's my new tank
I want to know how to keep these plants alive while im cycling and have not a lot of income to spend on fancy lighting and such. I bought my tank used, and it has a fluorescent strip for 1 bulb, but there's nothing in it and I can't find anything locally that will fit. (30 gallon by the way)
So, I ended up buying a cheap-ish fluorescent fixture that claims it puts off 75 watts and it's optimal for plant growth at wal Mart. I just set it on top of my tank and hope it works. Any other suggestions? They're all low light plants.
Also, I do have fluorite substrate... If that helps any

 

[daileene]

wow wow weee so this is the one!

One question, do you know if the color temp of the bulb you got is from 6500-10000K? This temp is the range which plants can thrive.

 

[Corbo]

Yeah. Haha. Sorry Daileene. It's probably not everything you ever dreamed of in a tank, but so far it's coming along for what money I've spent on it. I'm cheapo. Highschool student+no job=broke

Let me check my lighting...
I don't see it anywhere. Haha. :| nothing about k's. Only wattage.

 

[Corbo]

Just found it! 7800k!

 

[daileene]

hey, i could dream of a 30g right now, i only have small tanks...i wish i had a big one like yours. and yeah, i am a single mom, so i am broke too..hehe.

Oh my, I hope that light will work. how does the light really looked like, is it yellowish? bluish? 6500-10000k is bluish, below that is yellowish.

You also have to turn the lights on for at least 8-10 hours only, more than that, you will have an algae breakout.

Since it is all low light plants, you don't really need CO2, but you might like to add fertilizer later on. Seachem Flourish or Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is good.

 

[daileene]

Just found it! 7800k!

cool...that works....and you said it was flourescent right? incandescent is not for plants.

 

[Corbo]

Yes ma'am. 7800k Flourescent. I might want to look into getting a higher wattage though. This one boasts 75w put off but is only truly a 25.. I don't know how that works out. Maybe if I'm lucky I can find a 40.

 

[daileene]

hmmm if it really emits the 75w, that will give you 2.5watts per gallon which your plants is okay. If it is really only 25w..then that means you have less than 1w per gallon. I don't know how the plants will thrive...you can experiment on that though. Is that what they called T5? I only know of the spiral ones. I know you said that is the strip one. If it is the t5, you can be in the low light for the plants. If it is the t5HO, then you are somewhere in the high light...I don't know exactly if I said it right...

 

[Corbo]

I'm not entirely sure to be honest, it's just a bulb I found at wal mart that came in this kit that mounts under a cabinet or on the ceiling. I probably need to get more wattage, I have a feeling it's just a gimmick.

 

[BigJim]

It's hard to tell what plants you have from the picture. I'm guessing that you've got a couple crypts, moneywort, and maybe hornwort. The crypts and hornwort do fine in low-light tanks. The moneywort likes a lot of light.

Your tank may be able to support low-light plants, but they won't grow very fast. The best bang for your buck way to upgrade your lighting is with daylight spectrum spiral CFLs from the hardware store. You could retrofit your fluorescent fixture with a couple incandescent sockets and use some 18W CFLs. I've got two 18W CFLs over my 29g and my low-light plants grow very nicely.

 

[Corbo]

Ahh BigJim... that's an amazing idea. I don't really know how to retrofit, but if I can get it to work I know exactly where the spiral lights are! Haha. I'll have to investigate this.. But yes, I have 2 crypts some hornwort from my other tank, and the one in the back that looks cool and is tall is something with a weird name, I don't think it's moneywort, but it may be... the guys at the store called it golden _____. I don't know haha. Some scientific sounding name. But I remember the golden part, because there was a darker colored strain in the tank next to it, that was just ______, no golden prefix. Haha! Any suggestions on how to retrofit my flourescent fixture before I go googling it? Is there a kit I could buy at, say, Walmart?

 

[Corbo]

oh, also I have an argentine sword... I think

 

[BigJim]

Got to Home Depot or Menards and get a pair of incandescent sockets. Strip out the fluorescent guts from the fixture, leaving the reflector if possible. Attach the sockets to the fixture in the center, pointing away from one another and wire them up. It's pretty simple.

 

[Corbo]

I'll have to stop by menards and look. I just have a feeling I would mess this up though. I have no experience with wiring... ever. Haha. Makes me nervous to be honest. You're sure it's as easy as it seems? All I have to do is take out the tube fixture and use the wires from it to connect to my 2 new back to back incandescent fixtures? Then place CFLs in them? Any suggestions on how to get them attached to my hood? Super glue? Haha.
Sorry to be a pain in the rear, but any help you can offer is greatly appreciated!

 

[BigJim]

I'm not great at wiring either, but a lamp socket is just two wires. Google sent me this: http://www.tutorials.com/09/0927/0927.asp It looks like a pretty good step-by-step tutorial. For two sockets you'd have to solder two leads onto the ends of each cord wire, but that's the only twist with the wiring.

You may be able to get a bracket or just make one yourself out of a piece of aluminum. It doesn't have to be fancy. Attach it to the fixture with a couple nuts and bolts.

 

[Corbo]

Thank you very much sir. Now I have a project for when I get home from school. I need to invest in a soldering iron then. I may have to put off this project. :/ maybe someone in my house has one. Haha

 

[daileene]

LOL...if you are so near to me, i could have done that for you. I have a soldering iron here somewhere. And yeah, the wiring is very easy. You can do it...you'll see.

 

[Corbo]

I ended up just getting two clip on light fixtures. it was easier. And it seems to work well.

 

[daileene]

LOL....you silly....

 

[Corbo]

Sorry! I'm lame! I haven't soldered anything since like 8th grade shop class.