Plants

[fort384]

Potentially... they wouldn't hurt.

 

[jeffruth]

FYI - I was reading about Pfertz. They have a kit, N mix + tabs for $30. Says it should last a 20g tank almost two years. That's pretty cheap.

 

[fort384]

Not all that cheap for just n... But it is good stuff. Comparable in price to flourish n and sachem tabs now it sounds like. The prices have come down a bit.

 

[jeffruth]

I was doing some reading and it seems that for the setup i have, those would be adequate for me.

 

[jeffruth]

Latest tank shot.

 

[jeffruth]

I was curious yesterday so I pulled up the worst looking plants and to my surprise it has some very nice roots going. Good sign.

I added a scarlet temple over the weekend on my wife's request.(I told her it would be an expensive plant due to having to bump up the lights) I am now looking at a dual T5HO light setup. Will probably have to get a new hood though. Have a friend who cuts glass so maybe just get him to cut me one out how I need it. What would be a good combo for bulbs?

 

[jeffruth]

How does one figure out watt/gallon. Is it simply 15w/20gals? So 0.75 wpg. What is the general rule for medium light tank??

 

[fort384]

WPG is an ok yardstick, but I wouldn't call it a "rule". It really varies with the kind of light you are providing, so it isn't just about wattage.

15W/20gal = 0.75WPG...

For medium light on a 20, with T5HO lights, I would say anywhere close to 1.5-2WPG would grow medium light plants, and even some medium-high light plants with ease. For T8 lights, I would want to be at 2-2.5WPG to grow medium light plants.

 

[jeffruth]

So a double T5HO light at 24W each would give me 48w/20g or 2.4w/gal. Should suffice. Does a 10K vs 8k light make a difference.

 

[fort384]

The difference between 8000k and 10000k will be negligible. They would both be sufficient for growing plants.

 

[jeffruth]

T5HO ballast from a hardware store are not a good thing I would think they won't be water tight like an aquarium light needs to be. Is this a good assumption??

 

[royta]

T5HO ballast from a hardware store are not a good thing I would think they won't be water tight like an aquarium light needs to be. Is this a good assumption??

I don't see any reason the ballast needs to be water tight. I guess if your light strip was directly over the water without a glass hood between the two, you could seal up the ballast where the wires stick out with some silicone. Isn't there a cover over the ballast? That seems sufficient to me.

 

[jeffruth]

What length of time should the lights be on/off. Would 12/12 be a good start.

 

[fort384]

I would start with 8 on, 16 off to start. 12/12 would be an invitation for algae.
If everything looks decent, you could go up to 10/14.

 

[mfdrookie516]

T5HO ballast from a hardware store are not a good thing I would think they won't be water tight like an aquarium light needs to be. Is this a good assumption??

My ballasts aren't even in my fixtures. So, there's no need for them to be water tight. Most fixtures have splash guards as well. I don't think aquarium ballasts are even made any different than any others.

 

[jeffruth]

I will look into them. If I ran my lights 12/12 which I was, would that contribute to the brown algae issue I currently have?

 

[Crepe]

On the sword thing. There's a neat trick to keep them tamed for a smaller aquarium. True amazons can get to like 3' in height but you can train them like you train nymphaea. Plant them in the back in the near center of the tank close against the glass. This inhibits growth backwards and instead forces the leaves to splay out. Constatantly trim the largest leaves off (while keeping the leaf count decent.) You can train them so that they'll grow like a giant fan in your tank. Also I don't see an issue of a plant "Getting too big". Amazon swords can grow emersed (they are grown this way for the industry). It'd just come out the tank and you'd have a really neat looking potted plant XD.

 

[jeffruth]

That is the plan pretty much. Have it planted mid back with the grasses around it. Plan on trimming it as it grows. Hoping it kinda fills in/takes over it's current location. Fish love hiding in it

 

[jeffruth]

Is it common for a sword plant to send a offshoot up and now it has about four different sets of leaves coming off it. I thought swords were just single big leaves??

 

[jeffruth]

Been almost a month and the tank is looking good. I even got two plants off of my sword. It sent a shoot up that sprouted two sets of leaves that ended up getting roots growin on them. So I cut them off and planted them tonight. Time will tell if it will actually work. I wish I had taken a pic of the offshoot before I cut it off, oh well. Here are the lastest pictures of the tank.