Hi Guys, second post. Noob here
Specs:
Plants Amazon swords, Java fern, Onion plants, Red Foxtail, and Wisteria.
I dose with Seachem Excel (every other day) , Flourish (every 4 days), Iron (every 3 days) on a weekly basis.
No CO2, though I've thought of getting some.
I upgraded my 30 gallon x-high tank from the 15w T8 bulb to a Zoomed 48w T5 HO one week ago...
The T8 bulb that came with the starter kit was obviously too low for plants, but the swords, java, and onions survived and grew slowly - The Wisteria (grew well), - the foxtail is dying - I'll probably remove it if it doesn't revive.
I suspect the 30 min to hour of morning sun that hits the tank makes the difference.
I upgraded to the 48w T5 HO to breath some life into the plants - I want a natural planted tank, and I want to add babies breath/foreground plants that are more demanding to cover the gravel.
So here goes: 48w for a 30 gallon tank makes it about 1.6 watts/gallon, a bit on the low side. I have seen a Coralife 65 watt 24" fixture that would increase my lighting to above 2 watt/gallon. The Coralife fixture is also about $40 cheaper after shipping.
http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/2465wattaqualightfreshwaterbycoralife.aspx
1. Will the light make a difference, is it worth returning the Zoomed light for the Coralife fixture? I can't find any specs on the lux/lumen output for the 21" compact florescent bulb in the Coralife unit to compare it to the 2 T5 HO 24 watt bulbs in the Zoomed unit.
2. Any cool foreground plants that you recommend for this setup. I want grass like coverage, not too demanding for a newbie.
3. Should I breakdown and do CO2? How much should I spend and what specs should I look for if so. I would do lowtech CO2, but I don't want to deal with stinky yeast - the tank is sitting in my living room and I don't like clutter
Thanks again
Specs:
Plants Amazon swords, Java fern, Onion plants, Red Foxtail, and Wisteria.
I dose with Seachem Excel (every other day) , Flourish (every 4 days), Iron (every 3 days) on a weekly basis.
No CO2, though I've thought of getting some.
I upgraded my 30 gallon x-high tank from the 15w T8 bulb to a Zoomed 48w T5 HO one week ago...
The T8 bulb that came with the starter kit was obviously too low for plants, but the swords, java, and onions survived and grew slowly - The Wisteria (grew well), - the foxtail is dying - I'll probably remove it if it doesn't revive.
I suspect the 30 min to hour of morning sun that hits the tank makes the difference.
I upgraded to the 48w T5 HO to breath some life into the plants - I want a natural planted tank, and I want to add babies breath/foreground plants that are more demanding to cover the gravel.
So here goes: 48w for a 30 gallon tank makes it about 1.6 watts/gallon, a bit on the low side. I have seen a Coralife 65 watt 24" fixture that would increase my lighting to above 2 watt/gallon. The Coralife fixture is also about $40 cheaper after shipping.
http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/2465wattaqualightfreshwaterbycoralife.aspx
1. Will the light make a difference, is it worth returning the Zoomed light for the Coralife fixture? I can't find any specs on the lux/lumen output for the 21" compact florescent bulb in the Coralife unit to compare it to the 2 T5 HO 24 watt bulbs in the Zoomed unit.
2. Any cool foreground plants that you recommend for this setup. I want grass like coverage, not too demanding for a newbie.
3. Should I breakdown and do CO2? How much should I spend and what specs should I look for if so. I would do lowtech CO2, but I don't want to deal with stinky yeast - the tank is sitting in my living room and I don't like clutter
Thanks again