HELP this newbie ! plants purchase and conditioning

You will only want to use the bleach solution on your plants... its to kill off any algae or snails. After the rinse in the bleach solution you should rinse in water thats been treated for your tank before you put the plants in the tank.
 
eylk said:
Oh... one more thing... I intend to get Java Fern 'Windelov' and AnHygrophila Polysperma 'Dwarf Hydro'. It says that they require medium of low light...

So are the K and watts still the same? Which 1 do I reduce -- the K, the watts or the hours of lights on?

Thanks!
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No plant "requires" low light. It's just that some plants do well in low light and others do not. Low light plants tend to be slow growing regardless of how much light you given them, so it is recommended that you keep them under low light or in a shaded area of your tank to prevent the build up of algae.

As to your other question, no. K (or Kelvins) are the not the same as Watts. Kelvin is a temperature scale. In the case of light bulbs, K refers to the color of light emitted from the bulb.

To reduce the amount of light in the tank either reduce the Wattage.. which usually isn't easy since you have to buy all new bulbs and in some cases new fixtures... or reduce the photo period. Most people start out with 8 - 10 hours per day. But I have a 40 gallon with 2WPG that is doing great at just 6 hours per day.
 
Actually, I think I phrase the words wrongly... haha.. I know K and watts are different.. What I meant was since the plants dont require that much light, should I lower the K or watts. Anyways, you answered my question.

Now, if K is the temperature, watts are the... erm, power generated then what is NM? The colour range of the light? So, since fluorescent light is white, I shouldnt be worrying about the different colours right?

Lastly, I still do not understand the fertiliser section and links that I've read... I intend to use root fertilisers(tablet) only... Can someone please just tell me what kind of tablet root fertiliser I should look out for? Please dont give me brand names.. I looking for a range of 'ingredients'... For example Iron should be 1-5, Calcium 5-8, something like that...

Thanks !
 
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Alright no offense but you really need to read read and read some more. Instead of asking questions go read. Kelvin is the color temperature, lower than 6500k is yellow. Above 6500k is more blue. So an incandescent bulb is about 2800k and gives a very yellow light. Watts are the intensity at which the lamps shine. So 6500k fluorescents would be ideal since they are the right color temp and moderately priced. Once you get more advanced you'll get into more expensive, brighter bulbs. BTW, fluorescent is a type of bulb not a color. There are 2800k fluroescent bulbs. About fertilizer tabs, you don't need them if you are using low light. If you have high light use fluorish tabs, that's it don't worry about ingredients and shop at http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Shop.cfm?N=2004. READ READ READ
 
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haha none taken!

Actually I have been reading... only maybe I aint absorbing...

Anyways, thanks for shredding light on... well.. light!
 
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