Eco Complete MIXED w/Flourite?....Good? Bad? Ugly?

[el wadd]

I recently purchased a 96g. tank which I am planning on setting up with discus/plants(emphasis on the plants). I have 3 bags of eco-complete substrate ready to go into it, but was wondering if Mixing the bottom 1/3 with flourite or something along those lines would garner greater results...Or would it be overkill/dangerous?

Question 2~
Is one 10,000k HO light mixed with a 54w Actinic HO enough lighting in a tank thats 22"~24" tall?

Any and all input any of you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everybody in the newbie forum for the help in tank selection..

 

[Marinemom]

I woud do one or the other. I actually prefer the eco-complete to the florite but that is just me. If you use the eco-comploete,DO NOT RINSE IT BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE TANK. If you use the florite then you need to rinse it before putting it in the tank.

As for the lighting, I would change out the actinic bulb for another plant light.
The plants cannot use the actinic spectrum very well and will do better with just a plant light in the 6500-10,000k range.

Marinemom

 

[el wadd]

thanks for the advice.
now on the lighting, you're saying I should be okay if I switch my other light to something in the 10,000k range as well? I looked on a websites conversion chart for wpg, and it was a tad confusing. My lights are T-5 HO, and it really only asks the total wattage of the lamp in relation to the dimensions of the tank. There has gotta be more of a difference between my T-5 HO's and the other kinds of lighting....T-8, T-12, VHO, 55 watt florescents etc...
confusing.

 

[Marinemom]

It is confusing. I have t-5 lights on three of my planted tanks but they are not HO lights. They are just normal t-5 lights. As far as the watts per gallon rule, it is hard to figure this out with the t-5 lighting since the plants can use this spectrum more efficiently then other lighting options including PC lighting. Maybe try changing out the actinic light for something in the 6500k range instead.

 

[phanmc]

There is no reason to mix eco-complete and flourite, unless you like the look of black and rusty red gravel. Their benefits to growth are about the same.

The old WPG rule refers to regular fluorescent T12s, which are less efficient than T8s, which are less efficient than T5s.

Then you have the normal output vs high output (HO) vs very high output (VHO). The WPG rule refers to the normal output. Simply put, higher output provides more light and better depth penetration.

T5HO is the same as CF lights, only the CF lights are bent back along itself to add more light in less space.

The wpg rule is simply a very basic guideline, one that I still use even though I use mostly CF lights. Since I am using CF lights, I aim for the lower range of the wpg rule when figuring out setup and plant choice. Most people consider low light to be around 1.5w-2w, you can get away with less than 1.5w using CF or T5HO.

So you have 2 54w T5HOs? That would put you at 1wpg, quite low even if you're using T5HO. Enough for low light plants if you switch out the actinic.

 

[el wadd]

man, I feel like I kinda spent money and it didn't even really get me any farther along than if I'd a just stuck with my regular old florescents that came with the tank.

whats the difference?

 

[phanmc]

If you had 1wpg of normal output fluorescents which most hoods use, chances are you wouldn't have been able to grow anything.

 

[el wadd]

ok, so what are my chances of a lush green tank with what
I have?

Should I look into more lighting? How about co2?

 

[phanmc]

With your current setup you can have a lush green tank if you limit your choices to low light plants, which would also make it much easier to maintain. Some plant choices are:

java moss
java fern
african fern
anubias (lots of variety)
Cryptocorynes (lots of variety)
hornwort
anacharis
marsilea (aquatic clover)
marimo balls
Possibly water wisteria and water sprite

CO2 will help growth but isn't necessary at low light levels. Adding more light will open up more plant options but will lead to more maintenance, if you double the wattage you will most likely have to consider CO2 and additional ferts.