Starting a Planted tank. Help.

C

cichlid_guy

AC Members
Nov 27, 2002
105
0
0
51
photos.yahoo.com
ok, i want to get into planted tanks.
I figure my wifes 29gal platy tank would be a good start.

What size lights do i need? watt?
tank is a 29gal - 30"L x 12"W x 18"T

there is about 8 platies, and fry from time to time.
What are some good plants to start with that would be good for this tank?

What else would be needed for the tank?

I will build a top for the tank so light will stay in tank.
how may strips will be needed? (24" long)

I have seen "Aquarium/Plant" GE tubes at home depot,
can they be used? I think they are 20w for the 24" tube.
would like 4 - 20w tubes be good?

thanks for any help!
 
Originally posted by cichlid_guy

I have seen "Aquarium/Plant" GE tubes at home depot,
can they be used? I think they are 20w for the 24" tube.
would like 4 - 20w tubes be good?

thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

That sounds fine. You will be able to grow lots of plants with that amount, but you should be ready to add CO2 as well, or you might have algae problems. However, with less light, you will be very restricted in your choice of plants and you will want to upgrade later anyway. It would be great if you could arrange it so that you can add or take away one tube whenever you need to. Since you're building it, this is an option.

You should also look into compact fluorescent lighting - normal output fluorescents are becoming obsolete in aquaria :) They are smaller, so you can cram in a higher wattage in a smaller space, and last longer and are more efficient. If you have more questions or already know this, then I'm not the person to ask. Lots of people here will be able to help you if you ask a specific question about light. You can also post in the DIY forum about building your own.

Good luck :)
 
I'm in the process of setting up a high light tank myself. My subject tank is 24 inches long (a 15 gallon). I suggest checking out http://www.ahsupply.com as a source for compact flourescent lighting. They even provide plans for making a box to mount it in. A single 55 watt compact flourescent is about 22 inches long, with endcap -- perfect for my 24" length tank, and I was even able to use their plans to make a nice white-oak box to put it in. It shouldn't be a problem for your tank, but with the generic watts per gallon rule you may want to look at a couple of those for lotsa light (3+ (almost 4) wpg), or a couple of 32 watt models for moderate light (>2 wpg). Like Starry said, the more light you have, the plants will need supplemental CO2. 64 watts in CF may be plenty for all but the most light demanding plants. From George Booth's site, which I recommend among many, he states, "A typical CF bulb is a 36-watt bulb that is only 17" long and 2" wide! One can easily fit four of these over a standard 75-gallon aquarium (48" long by 18" wide), giving you 2 watts per gallon. This may seem like the low end of the "2-3 watts per gallon" rule, but the CF bulbs produce more lumens per watt than standard fluorescent bulbs. Combined with an efficient reflector, this combination will produce enough light to grow even the most demanding plants."

Check it out if you haven't come across it already:

http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Articles/AFM_Lighting.htm

There are also several other planted tank resources at the krib .

HTH

-- G.
 
Normal fluorescent lights are far from becoming obsolete. Shop lights in particular are very good if you want lots of light at a lower price. Right now other forms of light (ie. compact fluorescents, metal halides, etc.) are substantially more expensive than the shop lights you can get at your local home centre.

Before we can effectively answer your question, I have a couple of questions for you.

How much work are you willing to put into this tank? How much money are you willing to spend? What kind of plant growth are you looking for (ie. fast growth, or slower growth, etc.)?

HTH
-Richer
 
Well i guess i'm not wanting to put lots of time into the plants.
i guess what ever i put into teh tank normaly for the fish.
I do weekly water change, and water test, top off water if needed.

as for money, i'm not sure. I guess i don't want to put a ton into the tank. start me out small.

What i want it to look like , how fast.
I just want to put some live plants in teh tank for her platies to hide and swim. slow growing as i don't really want the tanks that
its hard to find the fish.

maybe like two or three taller plants, and two or three small / like moss.

she tried to put like two plants she got from petsmart and they died. (i didn't know much about them.)

I'm going to build the top myself, so let me kow how many tubes i need. 2 wpg? i can do that, 60w total. I am looking for cheap/beginner. I might get into planted more if i like it.
I have been fish only for 2+ years now. Having Large cichlids i didn't want plants (they get eaten).

But like i said let me know about the light. if all i need is 60w
i can get 3 - 20w Aqua/plant tubes. = $15 plus hardware.
what do the new bulbs run? are they the new kind i see that are replacing normal bulbs? (funny shaped ones, that still screw in.) I have looked at them, use less power to put out more light. i haven't seen any aqua bulbs for them.

OK, i have a light in the tank now, says "AQUA" on it.
its 20w what good is that light? (less then 1 WPG)
just to light up fish?

thanks
scottie
 
I have 40 watts of light on a 36" long (30 gallon) tank. This is a regular dual flourescent Perfecto hood, and I have cut back my green Hygrophila once a month (when it reaches the surface). If you planted sparsely enough you can still see the fish IMO (I had a thick clump of hygro in a 10 gallon with a couple of platys. I soon had more platys than I knew what to do with). My Java Fern and Java Moss are rather prolific as well. I don't see anything wrong with your 2wpg approach, given what I interpret your expectations to be. I don't have enough experience with other plants to offer additional suggestions conifdently. Perhaps anubias and Amazon swords. Have you checked out the database on Tropica?
 
Surface Agitation

Try and keep the water calm - no surface agitation, or minimal... Especially if you use CO2 injection.
 
Ah, just a few plants to liven up your tank and to provide your fry some protection.

Java moss work very well as a place for fry to run to when they're being chased. Java moss needs to be tied down initially (to a rock, driftwood, etc.) till they take root. Java moss is a very undemanding plant. Look for floating plants with thick root masses. These sort of plants are also very good for fry protection. For these particular plants, CO2 injection isn't needed, nor is intense lighting. 2wpg or lower would suffice.

HTH
-Richer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom