Greetings

Hey all,
A few years ago I kept tropical fw tanks, but I didn't know too much back then so they obviously didn't last.
This time round I hope to start a proper planted FW tank without anything dying on me. Also have hopes to start a Marine tank in the near future.

We have a 100L tank (this is what I was told, so I'm going to measure it and make 100% certain) Will list all the equipment we've got shortly.

I wanna know, say it is a 100L tank, what lights would we need to keep a well stocked plant tank?

No pics yet... will post once we've taken some.

 

Hey there and welcome
Pics are in high demand on this forum

 

Hi and welcome to TASA hope you enjoy the site

 

Thanks for the welcome! Kat, I'll post 100s of pics once my tank is running nicely ^_^

 

Hi and welcome

It is probably a standard 3ft? 90cm length?

For lights I suggest no more than 2 watts per gallon (WPG) to get you going. 1 gallon = 3.78 litres. Preferably T5 tubes. Go to a lighting retailer and get the ballasts and tubes and lampholder endcaps. Get some "Daylight" tubes, normally 6500K colour temperature. They are much cheaper than pet stores. And if you need help with the DIY job there are plenty of resources on the web.

With this setup, you should be able to grow almost any plant, except the most demanding ones. And more than 2WPG require injected CO2 or else you end up battling algae all the time.

Regards
Lauré

 

Welcome Linxie, it is suggested that 4 watts per gallon is prob going to give u good results (this isnt exact science but a good number to work with). So the maths is 100l = 27.7G
27.7 X 4 = 110.8
So you should aim at about that number of watts, this seems to work bes for florecent tubes.

For a lot more detail have a look here http://www.americanaquariumproducts...._Lighting.html
and here http://www.aquabotanic.com/lightcompare.htm

Otherwise there are some other factors to bear in mind when starting a planted tank - substrate, CO2 and fertilisers.

Hope this give u more answers than questions...

D

 

Thank you SO much for the advice Laure & Sailing Derrick!

I don't see me being able to get a co2 tank just yet (maybe in the near future yeah) so what else could I use. I read somewhere about using a liquid substitute. Have any of you used this? Actually let me go and create a new thread with all my plant related questions in the proper section.

 

hi and welcome

 

Hi and Welcome

 

Welcome to TASA!!

 

Thanks for the warm welcome! Have been reading so many interesting thread today, I don't think I've done any work lol

 

I would still suggest that no more than 2WPG unless you inject CO2, either DIY or pressurized. It is a good place to start for a beginner.

You don't need 4WPG. Nobody does. 2WPG and no CO2 and you can grow 60% of the plants out there, provided you maybe add liquid carbon. 2WPG plus injected CO2 (and then you must be sure you got 30ppm of CO2) and you looking at growing 90% of plants. The other 10% requires higher light, but no more than 3WPG.

You can, of course, use 4 and even 5 WPG if you wish. All the light does is speed up the growth rate, which means you must provide more CO2 and more fertilizer and you end up trimming sometimes twice a week.

Go look at those fantastic ADA display tanks. Google it. Beautiful aquascapes with plants often described as difficult to grow. What light do they have? 2WPG for 10 hours per day and a 3 hour burst of 3WPG midway through the photo period.

High light means things happen faster. Growth, problems, algae, etc.

Lower light and the tank is easier to manage. Gives you time to respond. The are minimum levels of light required and they vary from plant to plant. In a 45cm high tank you can achieve this with 2 to 3WPG of T5 tubes. Taller tanks require more intense light like metal hallide.

 

Laure, this liquid carbon, can I get it from any LFS?
I'm going to buy a few more lights tomorrow, but I won't be able to afford a Co2 tank just yet, so need alternative solution. I really want plants in my tank, so need to find a way to do it without using the co2 canister

 

Why dont you do the DIY Co2 like most of us do?
it is cheap and very easy

 

Welcome, welcome

 

Check with Veegal (top poster on this forum!) she may have stock of a product called Happy Life Happy Carbo.

The most common liquid carbon is Seachem Excel but it contains Gluteraldehyde which is OK if you use it for a short period but in the long run is not so good for fish.

 

Gareth, I'd like to... could you point me in the right direction? Maybe a thread around here with a step by step guide on how to do this? (lol my boyfriend's Gareth aswell) *edit* I found a few links, thanks ^_^ going to try this when I get home.
Thanks Gaawie

Cool, thanks for the tip Laure... waiting for Veegal to come online... sent her a pm regarding plants.

 

Hello and Welcome to TASA.

 

Hi and welcome to TASA

 

Thanks for the welcome!