Not sure, I've had it grow well in really low light conditions. Are the CFLs "daylight" bulbs? Any ferts at all?
And excel at full dose can hurt vals in particular.
And excel at full dose can hurt vals in particular.
rescaping my 10 gallon.
- Thread starter allaboutfish
- Start date
im pretty sure. theyre the ones at walmart in the fish isle. im pretty sure they say plant bulbs somewhere on them, but the rotala didnt even grow in my 29 gallon with t5HO lights 6500k. so excell would hurt the val not the crypts? i can just take the val out.
ok cool. do you think the exel would help my plants grow? how can i tell if the bulbs are daylight?
these... http://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-Energy-Smart-Spiral-CFL-Daylight-Bulb-15W-2pk/17163592 ... make sure they're the t-3 version... it'll say it on the package... you'll pick them up in the isle with all the regular house lighting
this under all your root feeders every 3+/- months... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/12-10-bobstropicalplants-root-tabs.html
this for your water column macro and micros... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/15-csmb-nkp-combo-pack.html
if you have soft water this too... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/271-gh-booster.html
this for your carbon source so you don't have to worry about your vals or inconsistency with diy...
all that and plenty of water changes, good filter maintenance and pack that tank with as many plants as you can as soon as possible and you should see major improvements in no time flat...
this under all your root feeders every 3+/- months... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/12-10-bobstropicalplants-root-tabs.html
this for your water column macro and micros... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/15-csmb-nkp-combo-pack.html
if you have soft water this too... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/271-gh-booster.html
this for your carbon source so you don't have to worry about your vals or inconsistency with diy...
all that and plenty of water changes, good filter maintenance and pack that tank with as many plants as you can as soon as possible and you should see major improvements in no time flat...
how do i know if i have soft water? my ph is 7.5 or 7.6(i havent tested in a while). could i do regular root tabs from like petsmart and excell? im not going to have vals in this tank, and id rather not spend like 19 dollars on the macro stuff. also where do i get the last stuff and how much is that? im 15 so i dont have a bunch of money.
and where do i get those test kits, and how much are they? i have maybe 10-15 dollars at the moment LOL. i mean i guess if i skipped buying some plants then id have 20-25. should i focus on getting ferts or getting more plants?
we're talking maybe $6 every 3-4 months, here. there's more expensive options if you wish.
florin axis should be available at any respectable LFS that has a decent product area. if not, you can get it online fairly easy.
i'd put the whole $25 to ferts for now. get the above mentioned products starting with npk+micros and the root tabs. that should buy you a few months before you need root tabs again... and a LONG TIME before you need more dry ferts. then pick up new bulbs... then pick up the florin axis... as soon as possible.
once you've got that all together, give it a couple weeks... maybe a month or so... see how the plants are fairing. if they're not doing perfect, get some epsom salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate) and dose that with your w/c's weekly... or add it to your fert regimen. then... two weeks later... if everything's not doing so great... pick up a gh test kit. if your gh is very low, get yourself a gh booster.
at that point, you'll have everything necessary to re-constitute the purest of water for planted tank golden goodness short of pressurized co2 and/or baking soda. :thumbsup:
EDIT:
looking back, i can go a couple bucks cheaper on your ferts. just sub NPK+micros for these...
http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/s...ono-potassium-phosphate-kh2po4-p-1-pound.html
and...
http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/231-pmdd-mix.html
the pmdd should contain mgso4 (magnesium sulfate) but doesn't contain phosphorous, so you'll need the kh2po4 to go with it. for the extra $1, i'd go with the whole pound over the half pound, personally. it's a better deal...
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the test kits are like $12 shipped online or $13+tax at most stores i think
and yeah, ferts first so that way u can buy plants later and they will grow better and u can sell them as if u do it the other way around, ur plants will get algae or something else, and then they won't be as healthy so they won't sell............
and yeah, ferts first so that way u can buy plants later and they will grow better and u can sell them as if u do it the other way around, ur plants will get algae or something else, and then they won't be as healthy so they won't sell............
