Ironing out details for new build!

BagelDog

BagelDog

AC Members
Apr 21, 2009
231
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Montana
The specs:
35 gallon hex tank (acrylic)
Aqua Clear 70 HOB filter (300gph)
19"x9" hood with two 18" fluorescent bulbs (t8 15watt)

My goals:
Moderately planted tank (growth does not have to be extremely quick but should support plant life)
I would like a carpeted floor (IE dwarf hair grass) and some taller background plants (IE vals)

My questions:
What is the best style of bulb to promote plant growth? 65k?
Do companies offer an 18" t8 bulb that is a higher wattage than the 15"s that I have?
I am planning on using black flourite in this tank. How many lbs should I purchase to get an appropriate plant bed?
I will be dosing with ferts. What brand would you recommend?
Are there any other suggestions or tips to get my tank started properly?

Thank you in advance for the help!
 
for a 35 gallon hex you would need quite a bit more light than the 30w you have for ground cover. (no there is no bulb that size with a higher wattage, you would have to buy a new fixture or modify what you have now). i like 6700k. and co2 would be a good thing. here is a gravel calculator, you would prob be shooting for 2-3 inches. http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/OnyxSand.html
ferts will really recommend on how much light and co2 you get going on in the tank. if you're going low light with no co2 you could get away with seachem products. it is cheaper to diy and you should take into consideration if you're gonna step it up w co2 and higher lights. you can order some from rex griggs, greenleafaquariums, and there are others you can search for. rex is a forum member.

tips. . . don't go nuts with ferts. read as much as you can before you do anything. ask questions here. we all made the same mistakes that you will make. dont use high lights without co2. rinse your flourite as best as you possibly can before you even think about putting it in your tank. and then rinse it again when your ready.
 
So, here's the story behind the lighting and why I feel compelled to make it work even if it isn't the appropriate wattage.

The tank being used belonged to my parents about 15 years ago. We gave it to a friend. 15 years later the tank somehow made it back into my hands. At this point, I want to get this tank going as a matter of pride.

When I got my hands on the tank it no longer had the hood it came with. I searched the internet was unable to come up with a matching hood. I called some manufacturers in hopes that they might have some ideas for me. One manufacturer referred me back to an online site that may be able to help.

I spoke with someone from the site and he had a custom hood built for me. The dimensions of the hood are great but the choice of components were terrible.
(Keep in mind, I'm new to planted tanks and had just registered on this forum) When ordering the 9"x19" hood he only installed one 18" T8 fixture and suggested that I go with a 50/50 or 20,000k bulb. I asked if that would be enough light and if that was the proper spectrum of light(I suggested a 6500k bulb). He assured me that it was. (Yes, I had explained to him that this hood as intended for a freshwater heavily planted aquarium.)

Lucky me, the first hood arrived and was broken. When sending me the replacement hood I asked if he could install a second fixture for me. It seemed like so much wasted space. Now that I have the hood I think that you could easily fit three 18" T8 fixtures in there.

So here I am with a custom built hood that I spent lord knows how much on that is only pushing out 30 watts, has no reflectors, has the wrong type of bulbs and has two on off switches... I'm less than happy with this purchase.

Can I pump any life into this money pit or should I call it quits with this hood and try to start fresh?
 
if you get a co2 system, you can do ok but prob wont get a ton of growth.. but your carpeted floor prob wont work.
 
I suppose I could scratch the carpeted floor idea. I guess I was hoping to setup this tank correctly from the start so I could have anything I wanted.
Would it be worth my time to purchase a retrofit kit for the hood?
 
can you give us a few pics of the hood to go off of? especially the inerts and useful (well of course that's a matter of opinion but you get the point) parts. i think there's always options. you may be able to wire up a couple regular fixture and use walmart 6500k ge cfl's (they actually work well). then you could use whatever bulbs you think look good to you in the fixture you already have. that's like $20 including bulbs and maybe $35 with a switch or two. and if you like the color of actinics it wont hurt. also although reflectors greatly increase the light coming from a bulb it is in fact the light that gets in that's important. reflectors are not the only way although they help keep down cost of replacing bulbs and electricity.

well that's my $.02. might not be worth a whole lot but if you were my close friend that hood would probably be fixed.
 
If I was doing a planted tank in a hex MH would be my first choice, due to the small footprint and great depth typical in these tanks. A 70w would be a good choice for a moderately bright setup. A 150w would let you do whatever you want.
 
I really like the look of that metal halide light fixture. If it's available in a lower wattage I might even want one for my 20gallon plant tank.

If the general consensus is that CO2 is a must have, does anyone recommend a good beginner's CO2 setup? I am trying to be a bit frugal but would like to avoid anything inconsistent or overly maintenance heavy.

This tank is turning into quite the high tech project. (High tech for me at least.)
 
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