Home depot bulb or lfs bulb?
- Thread starter M00n3at3r
- Start date
Yes, 4 48". I want to try and avoid having to dose CO2. Back to the shed the hood goes!!! The tanks do look amazing!
On the note of lighting, how then do I determine how much light I have and which plants would or wouldn't be good for the tank? With just the 2 bulbs (6500k) am I low or moderate lighting?
Byron Amazonas
AC Members
Moderate. Avoid the high-light "carpet" type plants, and stem plants generally do not work, except for Brazilian Pennywort.
Alright. I will have to go to my lfs when I get some time and see what they have. Oh, and Zorranet had mentioned that anubias is a bit of a pain, I just recently put some nana in my 10g at work. Bulbs (2) are 6500k zoo med and I dose with leaf zone, because I'm growing java ferns and it was what I had. Is there anything else that I need to do? When I planted it, I made sure that it was held down enough not to float away, but the rhyzome isn't under the gravel.
You might be crossing up info, Amigo... I have never owned an anubias, so I definitely didn't tell you that.
Many people believe that anubias is a root feeder because its root system but infact they are column feeders. They dont consume nearly as much nutriets as stem plants and they do grow slow but they are cool plants.
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Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Byron Amazonas
AC Members
Anubias, JAva Fern and Java Moss are low light requiring, so they will be fine in moderate light. But best with some shade (those floating plants again, lol). Anubias and JF tend to attract brush algae if they are in direct overhead light.
Being slow-growing (low light plants are such), they also need less nutrients, which is why they will usually fare fine in almost any situation.
API LeafZone provides iron and potassium, which are two of 17 nutrients aquatic plants need. So if this seems to be working, fine, use it up. But for your other tanks I would recommend a more complete fertilizer, as you will haver more light and faster-growing plants. I use Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement, and another is Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti. Both are intended to provide the correct balance of the necessary nutrients, but only as a supplement. Fish foods (the organics) and water changes supply the rest. This works fine in low-tech set-ups, but can get very expensive in high-tech where daily dosing may be necessary. Some recommend mixing your own from dry, but I prefer using the liquid preparations that are balanced, and for me have worked well, as those earlier photos indicate.
The way I said that sounded so defensive. Gotta clear my name, yo! haha
Slow growers are, as Byron said, fine in most situations. I suggested fast growers as a way to compete with algae for nutrients and keep it at bay. I think it's simply that people don't understand the purpose of having plants when they fill a tank with all slow growers (which happens all the time). They just can't compete with algae on their own, so they need some help from fast growers to soak up the extra nutrients which algae will take advantage of if given the opportunity.
Algae is kinda like a fat kid sitting at a table with bunch of senior citizens in wheelchairs when it's algae vs. slow growers. Put some doughnuts on the table and the old folks are gonna starve without some basketball players (fast growing plants) around to block the fat kid's view of the doughnuts long enough for everybody to get a fair share before he gets a hold of them. The basketball players and old folks may be pickier than the fat kid when it comes to doughnuts, but they all have to eat or somebody dies. Starve the fat kid!
Slow growers are, as Byron said, fine in most situations. I suggested fast growers as a way to compete with algae for nutrients and keep it at bay. I think it's simply that people don't understand the purpose of having plants when they fill a tank with all slow growers (which happens all the time). They just can't compete with algae on their own, so they need some help from fast growers to soak up the extra nutrients which algae will take advantage of if given the opportunity.
Algae is kinda like a fat kid sitting at a table with bunch of senior citizens in wheelchairs when it's algae vs. slow growers. Put some doughnuts on the table and the old folks are gonna starve without some basketball players (fast growing plants) around to block the fat kid's view of the doughnuts long enough for everybody to get a fair share before he gets a hold of them. The basketball players and old folks may be pickier than the fat kid when it comes to doughnuts, but they all have to eat or somebody dies. Starve the fat kid!
Byron, grandma had the leaf zone left over from her tank when I took the plants out, so she said I could take it. Saved me from buying more. In the 75g and 29g its the Flourish Comprehensive Supplement. I don't bother with the root tabs, just to expensive for not a lot of result. In my opinion. As for the shade, if I can find some, would any kind of -wort work? Like I said previously, I don't know what my LFS has currently. Probably going tonight though to see.
Zorronet, you are correct, I apologize, I mis-remembered what you said. You said anacharis and I thought anubias. Also, that is the best way I have ever heard algae described. BRAVO!!!! Is cyperus kefri a fast grower? I mean, in a ten, there isn't much I can do with really tall plants. but perhaps that would be a good substitute for a floating plant as it gets fairly tall?
