Lighting on my planted tank

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fishin4life

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Jan 20, 2010
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Hello, as I said in my introduction thread, I have been in saltwater reef keeping for almost 12 years and have taken the plunge to convert my 180 into a planted tank. I realize this will be a challenge but i am up for it...i think One of the questions I have is I am trying to keep as much equipment as I have and one of them is lighting. I have three 250 watt MH lights and I have taken one down. So I now have two spread across a 72 inch tank and mounted in a canopy that is about 16 inches above the tank and are also spread across the braces to create a bit of a shadow.

So I am wondering is this going to be too much light. I am currently trying my hand on the starter plants to get them going. Let me tell you a little about my set up to see if this helps or matters:
-180 gallon tank with dual overflows.
-no power heads will be used
-I am not currently using CO2
-I will cut the return pump back as much as I can to cut back on the amount of flow.
-All drain lines are submerged in water when the water returns into the sump
-I have my light cycle on about 6 1/2 hours
-I am using eco complete planted substrate about 3 inches deep
-Right now I have added about 40 or more plants and have realized that it sounded like a lot but when I put them in there I need about 3x that....YIKES

Thanks for your help and I certainly appreciate any advice you can give on the lights. Sorry for so much info but i was not sure if you needed it to help out more.
 
I think that having the lights 16 inches above the tank and in partial shade might make this setup doable. Planted tanks usually don't use MH lights because they are expensive and generally do not produce much per Watt in the 430 & 680 nm wavelengths that plants prefer.

However since you have the equipment I see no reason not to use the setup. You may have to mess with photoperiod to get it balanced out (add more time, split the photoperiod, etc.)

You will definitely need to pick up some ferts. Just buy some dry ferts online. For that size of a tank you will be using a bottle of the liquid stuff that they sell at the pet stores every week. If you want a beautiful tank you must study up on plant nutrition and how to fertilize your tank.

Hold off on getting a ton more plants. Once they get established and happy they grow really fast. Depending upon the species you might actually have too many! Swords and stem plants can quickly get massive.

Unless that plants are being ripped out of the substrate by the flow, you don't need to reduce your circulation. Just choose the livestock for the tank appropriately. Then again this is entirely up to you.

If this is your first attempt at a planted tank and it doesn't turn out to be an algae farm... I will hate you BTW. Took me over a year to figure out how to do it (kindof). Algae is a natural part of a planted tank.

Finally POST PICS!! And welcome to the AC.

For more information look for Tom Barr at http://www.barrreport.com/ He can get you started in the right direction.
 
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Thanks. I think i will bite the bullet and add a CO2 set up. I am going to give the lights a try. I need to at least change my spectrum though right now they are 14k's. Here are some pics so far. This was just before I completed filling it up with water. So now the sump is in full action. I will also be adding some driftwood in the next week or so
DSC00551.jpg

DSC00544-1.jpg

DSC00548.jpg

DSC00546.jpg
 
Those are some nice looking plants :thm:. Looking forward to seeing them grow out :clap:
 
You'll need to pull those anubias out of the substrate, you never want to bury their rhizome. You can just bury the roots, leaving the rhizome exposed, or strap it to a rock or driftwood and let it root.
 
Thanks and I will take that advice on the anubia. I traded one of my MH lights I took off for a CO2 set up ....YAY!!! that will be another whole learning experience for me.
 
I see you like to ease into a new experience nice and slow. Not one to jump in with both feet and figure you'll learn how to swim on the way. ;)

Get to reading. Especially on the fertilizer amounts. CO2 is basically just another fertilizer. You'll need to balance out the other nutrients to get them growing well.

Good luck :)
 
You can also add a nice floating plant to shade a bit and suck up nutrients if you find the light too much. Something like guppy grass or Indian fern would work well. You'll need to pull out handfulls of it when it gets too unkempt but it makes great cover. My fish love swiming through and around a dense mat of floating veggies.

Great looking aquascape by the way. Very natural. Looking forward to seeing it progress.
 
hi fellow cft member lol.
now that i see your tank pic you need a few larger plants in there and it will look great. you do have alot of flow in there but it should be a problem with the plants.
fw is a new world for you since you have been in sw so long but youll get the hang of it in a month no worrys. send me a pm im on here all the time.
 
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