Soil vs Lighting

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Aquarist, not Aquarius
Oct 17, 2004
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16
Gainesville, Florida
I'm sure you've all read about my endevors to start a 29 gallon tank. Meanwhile, I've been trying to research how to get the best results on a planted aquarium.

Several people swear by CarribSea's Eco-Complete. I myself, am a huge fan after trying it in my 10 gallon planted tank for so many years. Many other people mentioned using ADA's Aqua Soil, noting that Eco-Complete doesn't perform as well.

In my city, ADA is not to be found, while Eco Complete runs at $22.99 a 20 lb bag.

This is only 3 dollars below ADA soil per bag, but how much ADA soil would someone even need for a 30" x 12" X 1-3" substrate?

Just how much light do you need over a 29 gallon tank to warrant buying the more expensive Aqua Soil?

In addition, the water in my city averages 7.4 pH after chloramine treatment, so would ADA Soil give up after a few water changes of lowering the pH?

I've looked at 30" 130w Fixtures made by coralife and thought they were overkill, while the 65w fixtures might not be enough.
 
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I have both, and can tell you that ADA is far superior, but if it is not readily available Eco will do. Will you have pressurized CO2 in this tank? If not I would opt for lesser light. If you plant on pumping CO2 and dosing erts, than the 130w is not really overkill if you run it for 8 hours a day.
I don't think the substrate has anything to do with how much light you put over the tank. The questions is, do you want high tech or low tech. Will you dose, use CO2, prune/trim and maintain, doing 50% weekly water changes? If so then more light is the answer. The substrate is just a matter of personal preference. AS will not "quit on you" It is a matter of what is feasible. AS is better but you can gropw most anything in Eco too, just not as easily.
 
I've put in the budget money for a CO2 tank & injection and more light if needed. Using high light plants has been a dream, but a sharp (and expensive) learning curve as well.

I did a little measuring and figured around 7-8 liters of soil would need to be put down. (Measured the inside of the tank for length and width, then got the volume in cubic inches [assuming 2 inches deep] and converted to cc)

Does the power sand need to be added below the soil? It seems redundant to do so, but maybe I'm missing the point of the sales pitch.

The pruning and water changes are not really a bother at all. I really enjoy it, actually.
 
There are a few plants that I haven't been able to grow until I used ADA AS, like toninas and eriocaulons, but the vast majority of the commonly available plants will grow fine in Eco-Complete, Fluorite, or other substrates.

At least a few knowledgeable aquarists think powersand not necessary. After using it I kinda wished I hadn't, because the powersand often gets uprooted when I trim and replant so I have white and brown rocks littered across an otherwise nice dark substrate.
 
Here's another idea to throw out there:

AHsupply.com's 110w fixture
64.99 2 x 55w
18.99 55w bulb
18.99 55w bulb
20.00 Cost of Supplies for enclosure
10.50 Shipping
______
133.47 Total


VS.

Coralife's 130w Fixture on Marineandreef.com
135.15 Total (with shipping)


For two bucks more, I gain 20w of pc light! However, people rant and rave about the reflectors also being a better help to their tanks -well worth the lack of 20w.

Why?
 
A proper reflector will refocus light that would otherwise be lost down into the tank, thus giving more light. Just think of a flashlight, they focus their light into a cone that is much brighter than a lightbulb of equal wattage.

Going above 90w and you're in high light territory, going above it isn't necessary and especially since you're using PC lights. Above the 3wpg point, you're just making plants grow MUCH faster by squeezing in more wattage.

Kelvin temp should only play a role in helping you choose a pleasing color light. In the vast majority of lightbulbs, the kelvin temp doesn't play a role in determining light beneficial to plants.
 
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