Questions about power compact lighting.

[MyraVan]

Originally Posted by xerxeswasachump

I'm down. I really wanted some kind of exotic-looking broad leaved monster plant, but i could settle for smaller broad leafed plants. I really wanted anubias nana but i can't find it anywhere. Also, i don't have 130w of light. I have 2 55w 10000k lamps but that is it, considering the blues are useless. That means i have 110w of light going into the tank. Is that enough?

Yes, 110W = 2WPG, which is enough to grow some plants (not all of them but enough to have fun with and make your tank look nice), and at that level of lighting you won't need CO2, which can save you hassle and expense.

As far as "exotic-looking broad leaved monster plant", I have some Echinodorus Ozelet that are growing in my 1.5WPG tank (the 20g) so assuming you have a good substrate you ought to be able to grow them in your 2WPG setup. They are babies from a friend who has a planted tank. His mother plant is much larger than mine, but he has more lighting and add ferts, etc. In my tank it's about 8" tall, big enough to get noticed but not big enough to take over the tank.

Oh, if you can take out the blue bulbs, it would be a good idea from an energy savings point of view: no use having that extra 110W of power burning up if it's not doing anything for your plants!

As far as anubias nana goes, you can grow them in just about anything, they are very undemanding plants, but they grow VERRRRY slowly. The problem is that they get covered in algae. I have some nerite algae-eating snails in my tank that has them and they keep them clean. You may need to algae eating animals to keep them decent looking even if you can get them.

[xerxeswasachump]

Well i have a SAE who could take care of the algae no problem. I also have a half fluorite substrate that seems to be working. I would rather plant bulbs than live plants, they just seem to grow better that way. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find bulbs at LFSes that are anything very interesting. I'll try to get my hands on one of those plants you mentioned. I really would like to get some to "carpet" the tank but from what i have read that requires tons of maintenance and more lighting and CO2. Is that wrong? could i have some dwarf sag or something?

Also, it would be a bad idea for me to get the other 55w spots filled with 6700k bulbs? That would be too much light right?

[joe kool]

no it wouldn't be too much light ... personally I use 50/50 PC's becouse I have fish as well as plants. I'm a fish keeper that got tired of the plastic crap so I got some plants that for the most part my cichlids leave alone. (BTW 50/50 is 1 CF bulb with 1 tube of 10K and 1 tube of antic) they have other variaties now you can get half 6700 half 10K ect if you find the right store but even with what you have it will look nice with the fish. If you are wanting to concentrate mainly on the plants I would just get 2 6700 and put with the 10K and that should give you a very nice look and make for some great photography if you have a good camera there are several "mosses" you can get to create a "grass" effect that do well in low-mid or high light settings

unless you are going to get into the more difficult plants you should be fine with the lighting you have. Know this though ... alot of the "ebay style" lighting units aren't very efficient at getting the light "in the water" meaning that if you have a 55 watt bulb on a flat reflector you wont get near the "effective lighting" IN the tank as one with a multi angled reflector. check out AH supply's write up they did after recieving a complaint about some of their light bulbs not being as bright as they claimed from a customer http://www.ahsupply.com/Comparison.htm

pretty ... enlighting ... wouldn't you say

[joe kool]

edit for dual post

[MyraVan]

Originally Posted by xerxeswasachump

Well i have a SAE who could take care of the algae no problem. I also have a half fluorite substrate that seems to be working. I would rather plant bulbs than live plants, they just seem to grow better that way. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find bulbs at LFSes that are anything very interesting. I'll try to get my hands on one of those plants you mentioned. I really would like to get some to "carpet" the tank but from what i have read that requires tons of maintenance and more lighting and CO2. Is that wrong? could i have some dwarf sag or something?

Also, it would be a bad idea for me to get the other 55w spots filled with 6700k bulbs? That would be too much light right?

For carpet plants, the one that works best in my 20g (1.5WPG) is indeed dwarf sag. In my 10g (2.4WPG) I have some plants that I got from a friend that seem to be Echinodorus quadricostatus var. ''magdalenensis'' (to get info about this, look it up on http://www.tropica.com/). I haven't tried it in the lower-light tank since I don't think I have enough light there, but you might try both and see which works best for you.

If you put good bulbs in the other two slots ("good" being ones that will encourage plants growth) you will have 4WPG which is a huge amount of light and makes for a tank that its much more tricky to manage. You will have to add a good amount of CO2 and dose very carefully with ferts, or else all you'll end up with is a mess of algae. For aquatic plants to grow they need a good balance of light, CO2, and ferts, but there are all sorts of algaes that can make good use of any imbalance in your system. I personally would suggest just leaving the 2 blue tubes, or removing them complely, to get used to managing a medium-light planted tank before you go into the much harder task of managing a high-light tank.

As for the source of plants, I am very lucky in having friends that have planted tanks, so I often get plants free from them, but other than that by far the best source is mail order. I live in the UK and presumably you live in the US so I can't suggest any mail-order places for you, but Simpte can recommend some.

[xerxeswasachump]

Yeah, the cheapest PC bulbs i could find online were over $20, which puts them out of my budget. I'll just have to make due with the 10000k bulbs i have. Which is fine.
With the dwarf sag, do you have to replant every little shoot? Because that would be a pain in my ass considering how deep my 55 gallon is. I would like something that will grow on its own.
My old java moss that i have had since i start with this hobby almost a year ago (the first plant ever) seems to be growing pretty nicely. I might just use that.
Unfortunately, i am usually the guy my friends get their free plants from!
My best free source for plants has been state parks and local ponds, i have found some pretty cool stuff there. Lots of native hornwort. There is an amazing LFS near where i work, i'll swing by there on Friday and post what i get.

[Ownager2004]

My dwarf sag usually sends its runner under the gravel so all i do is watch it grow I do use eco-complete though, so that may influence it a little.

[xerxeswasachump]

Well, i have gravel and fluorite, would that provide enough space for runner to grow?

[CaysE]

I think nobody has answered one of your questions that I'm interested in. Will the increase in light from ~75W to 110W be harmful to the fish?

[Damon]

No, the added lighting will not hurt the fish. I have 260 watts over a 75 gallon tank. No harmful effects. I know people who have 5 wpg over their tanks. As long as there is a cycle of light and dark, fish are fine.

[CaysE]

I don't mean the fact that there's more lighting, I mean the sudden jump.

[Damon]

They should be fine. PC bulbs don't fire at full capacity when they first come on. Usually takes about 20 min to reach peak intensity. No worries

[xerxeswasachump]

Originally Posted by CaysE

I don't mean the fact that there's more lighting, I mean the sudden jump.

The fish seem to be alright. I had a massive brown algae bloom on the glass, so i got some otos, they seem to be doing a good job. Unfortunately, my SAE hasn't been helping that much. Instead, he has been killing and eating ghost shrimp, which wouldn't be that big a deal except that they are supposed to be food for the eel, who has made himself quite scarce.
What up fellow Jerseyan! Hey dude, what are your favorite fish stores in Jersey?

[CaysE]

Absolutely Fish in Clifton! Awesome place and tons of selection.