planting a 29 gallon high after cycling?

[Mr. Limpet]

oh ok
watts-20
it's called a perfect-a-lamp,it's a t10, and it says F20T10AQ (ive only got the bulb bc the tank and verything is from cl)

20 watts means you should stick with low light plants, so the Cabomba may be an issue, google the bulb info and it'll tell you what the K factor is, but my guess is an 8000K which is good.

oh and how deep should my sand be it's about an inch currently

I prefer 2-3 inches of sand and 1 might be too shallow. Some plants are heavy root feeders so I'd suggest root tabs and plantgeek will tell you which is which.

 

[allaboutfish]

cabomba?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

cabomba?

Opps, wrong thread . Any luck on the bulb K rating?

 

[allaboutfish]

this is it but i dont see the k

 

[allaboutfish]

ha found it 4200

20420 FL20SW 20W T10 4200K 23-1/4" MOL Straight T10 Fluorescent Tube Light Bulb at eLightBulbs.com

 

[Mr. Limpet]

this is it but i dont see the k

4200K near as I can tell. I've read on some sites where that will work, but I prefer 6700K.

Good job!

Haha! That's what I get for not hitting the reload button and miss your post .

 

[allaboutfish]

ok and how long should i keep it on for? and any more reconmendations for lowlight common plants from petco or petsmart

 

[Mr. Limpet]

ok and how long should i keep it on for? and any more reconmendations for lowlight common plants from petco or petsmart

IME stay away from petco/petsmart because they sell a lot of non-aquatic plants. Walmart was actually pretty good for plants and I got Free MTS to boot .

Anacharis, java fern/moss, crypts, anubias, wisteria, onions, vals. That's all I've got for now, but like I said plantgeek.net is great, just hit the low light link and they've got a ton to choose from.

EDIT: keep lights on 8-10hrs

 

[allaboutfish]

so these would work(and i dont plan on buying them from there im going to check around)
Anacharis Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Cryptocoryne wendtii "Green" at PETCO

Onion Plant at PETCO

Corkscrew Vallisneria Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Java Fern Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

 

[Mr. Limpet]

so these would work(and i dont plan on buying them from there im going to check around)
Anacharis Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Cryptocoryne wendtii "Green" at PETCO

Onion Plant at PETCO

Corkscrew Vallisneria Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Java Fern Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Double check at plantgeek, but I'd say they will. I've never found any of those at my petco except anacharis and it's always brown lol.

 

[allaboutfish]

haha ok ill do some research b4 i put together a list and take it to my lfs(most of these are at petsmart

 

[Mr. Limpet]

haha ok ill do some research b4 i put together a list and take it to my lfs(most of these are at petsmart

One thing I found at my petco is they'll cal it one thing but when I go to plantgeek to confirm, it's not what it says. So I'm always armed with my browser when I go plant shopping .

 

[allaboutfish]

haha

 

[allaboutfish]

pick a light any light:
Coralife T5 High Output 6,700K Aquarium Lamp at PETCO

Coralife 10,000K High-Intensity Purified Super Daylight Lamps at PETCO

Zoo Med T-8 Flora Sun Max Plant Growth Fluorescent Bulb at PETCO

 

[Mr. Limpet]

pick a light any light:
Coralife T5 High Output 6,700K Aquarium Lamp at PETCO

Coralife 10,000K High-Intensity Purified Super Daylight Lamps at PETCO

Zoo Med T-8 Flora Sun Max Plant Growth Fluorescent Bulb at PETCO

The Coralife T5HO @ 6700K is my suggestion.

 

[allaboutfish]

but if i wanted to do high light plants wouldnt the second one be better

 

[Mr. Limpet]

but if i wanted to do high light plants wouldnt the second one be better

Some would say the 10000K because the light looks better to them, I choose lights on what's best for plants and 6700K is the sweet spot of the light spectrum for plants.

 

[allaboutfish]

so even with a plant like this it'd be better? just kind of baffled bc it is the cheapist.
Alternanthera reineckii at PETCO

 

[Mr. Limpet]

so even with a plant like this it'd be better? just kind of baffled bc it is the cheapist.
Alternanthera reineckii at PETCO

My bad, I thought they were fixtures and not just a bulb.

You have a T10 20w 24" bulb for a fixture right? None of those will work in your fixture. You have to match wattage and there's no way around it. Sorry . If I'm wrong about your fixture, you still have to follow the wattage rule when shopping around.

That plant requires lots of light and you'd need to triple your wattage, add lots of ferts and a co2 system IMO. That's a big jump from where you're at right now isn't it?

 

[allaboutfish]

ok so if i stayed with low lights i couldnt upgrade at all id have to stay with the current light (this isnt a all in one hood it has a hood and then a fixture over glass