neurotik
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hello plant people! I bought a 55 gallon aquarium kit a couple of months ago because I wanted to get back into fish keeping on a more serious level. I hadn't had fish since I was a kid, and back then I didn't know half of what I know today (thanks to these forums!).
Anyway, so I've got my tank cycled and my water parameters are all fine, I've upgraded from the HOB filter that came with the kit to an Eheim Ecco 2236 canister filter (still considering purchasing a second canister as well), I've been stocking my tank over the past couple of weeks and I've got a nice freshwater community setup going right now with no problems so far, and lately I've been wanting to get more serious with the live plants in my tank to make it more visually appealing. My primary question right now is in regards to what type of lighting I should upgrade to so that I can provide adequate light for live plants. All I have had in my tank so far is some Anacharis, which has surprisingly been growing pretty well for just using the two 18" 15W stock fluorescent bulbs that originally came with my 55 gallon kit when I bought it. I'd obviously like to begin adding some other plants to my tank though, so I figured this is a good time to ask you guys what type of lighting I should be upgrading to and stuff.
I've been reading around and looking at several sites to check pricing and such, because I'd like to try and avoid spending more than a couple hundred dollars for now until I get some hands on experience with more plants and everything that goes along with it. So far I've had someone suggest that I get two 24" Current single satellite compact fluorescent fixtures and replace the bulbs that come in them with two SunPaq dual daylight 65W 6700K/10000K bulbs. Would this be a decent lighting solution for me to start out with while I am still getting my feet wet with planted tank stuff? I would also like something that will not require me to have pressurized CO2 yet, as I will probably not be doing anything like that until later this year, assuming everything goes well for me between now and then with the plants. Also, I've read several places that Flourish is a good fertilizer to dose a planted tank with, but I've noticed there are several different 'flavors' of the product and I'm not sure exactly which one(s) I will be needing when I get started. I am also a bit confused with exactly how much and how often to dose a tank with each of the products, so perhaps someone can shed a bit more light onto that for me as well.
I'm open to all suggestions, as long as they are not way over my head and will not cost me several hundreds of dollars just to get started. If you need any more information about my tank, feel free to ask. Thanks in advance!
Anyway, so I've got my tank cycled and my water parameters are all fine, I've upgraded from the HOB filter that came with the kit to an Eheim Ecco 2236 canister filter (still considering purchasing a second canister as well), I've been stocking my tank over the past couple of weeks and I've got a nice freshwater community setup going right now with no problems so far, and lately I've been wanting to get more serious with the live plants in my tank to make it more visually appealing. My primary question right now is in regards to what type of lighting I should upgrade to so that I can provide adequate light for live plants. All I have had in my tank so far is some Anacharis, which has surprisingly been growing pretty well for just using the two 18" 15W stock fluorescent bulbs that originally came with my 55 gallon kit when I bought it. I'd obviously like to begin adding some other plants to my tank though, so I figured this is a good time to ask you guys what type of lighting I should be upgrading to and stuff.
I've been reading around and looking at several sites to check pricing and such, because I'd like to try and avoid spending more than a couple hundred dollars for now until I get some hands on experience with more plants and everything that goes along with it. So far I've had someone suggest that I get two 24" Current single satellite compact fluorescent fixtures and replace the bulbs that come in them with two SunPaq dual daylight 65W 6700K/10000K bulbs. Would this be a decent lighting solution for me to start out with while I am still getting my feet wet with planted tank stuff? I would also like something that will not require me to have pressurized CO2 yet, as I will probably not be doing anything like that until later this year, assuming everything goes well for me between now and then with the plants. Also, I've read several places that Flourish is a good fertilizer to dose a planted tank with, but I've noticed there are several different 'flavors' of the product and I'm not sure exactly which one(s) I will be needing when I get started. I am also a bit confused with exactly how much and how often to dose a tank with each of the products, so perhaps someone can shed a bit more light onto that for me as well.
I'm open to all suggestions, as long as they are not way over my head and will not cost me several hundreds of dollars just to get started. If you need any more information about my tank, feel free to ask. Thanks in advance!