My first 2ft Planted tank - Please advice

[luncheonMeat]

If the glosso growing upward .. blash them with more light .. I am using 4x24w T5... and non of them growing upward.

I am using the same amount of light as you. And i have them on for about 8 hours in total. sometimes even longer. Do they need more hours or is it becasue my tank is too tall for growing glossos? my tank is custom made so its slighty higher compared to a normal 2ft tank. height is about 50cm high.

My tank is about 110L to 120L which is about 31 Gallons.

so i have 96w / 31 gallon = 3.1 wpg

Is this calculation correct?

is 3.1wpg sufficient for my tank?

[Verminator]

Have patience Its part of the hobby. You don't quit and change your plan after 12 days. Plants need time to adjust, this doesnt happen over night. Give it time.

[Verminator]

Your wpg should be fine. Although i read in another thread somewhere (forget where) that people think it doesnt apply to smaller tanks. The depth in your tank could be the reason. 50cm is quite deep for 24W bulbs to penetrate. No idea on other peoples experiences with this though. I myself have none

[blue33]

Your wpg should be fine. Although i read in another thread somewhere (forget where) that people think it doesnt apply to smaller tanks. The depth in your tank could be the reason. 50cm is quite deep for 24W bulbs to penetrate. No idea on other peoples experiences with this though. I myself have none

I came across a journal on another forum, on 1 ft tank using 27W. And his carpet plant grow amazingly. Btw 50cm deep is too much for light to reach.

[Verminator]

27W - was it a mini halide Thats incredible! I wish i could get my plants to grow with any lighting. I just suck at plant growth in general

[luncheonMeat]

I came across a journal on another forum, on 1 ft tank using 27W. And his carpet plant grow amazingly. Btw 50cm deep is too much for light to reach.

Damm... i knew this would be one of the reasons. but theres no way i can increase the light intensity already.

/sighs sighs sighs...

[Verminator]

luncheonMeat - perhaps continue your scape of riccia (mini?) along and have more wood with moss. And those two beautiful stem plants. The green one looks somewhat Egeria Densa like and the redish one looks simply stunning whatever it is. This continued theme would look just as good, and seeing as its growing the depth issue wouldnt be a factor.

Perhaps removing the glosso is the best bet if your tank is 50cm deep

[blue33]

If you have strong light, you need to increase your CO2 and nutrients also.

[christopher.wtc]

Hi,
Nice tank with lots of potentials. I suggest you place your drop checker on the other side of the tank.

I do have some kh4 solution if you need. However do note that the checker will not be very accurate if you are using ADA soil or if you use any type of buffer that contains phosphate for your water.

Good luck bro.

[blue33]

Damm... i knew this would be one of the reasons. but theres no way i can increase the light intensity already.

/sighs sighs sighs...

Either you increase the gravel height or lower your water, either one will help, another alternatives is Metal Halide, hang it high.

[blue33]

Have patience Its part of the hobby. You don't quit and change your plan after 12 days. Plants need time to adjust, this doesnt happen over night. Give it time.

Hey! You learn it fast!

[ivanlo24]

Hi Bro,

My drop checker looks to be doing ok. I compare with PH Meter and looks within range.

I never tried KH4, can any bro please help explain how KH4 works with drop checker?

My tank is 14" high, 2ft, glosso seems to grow fine and creeping, using 55W x2 PL light

[Shadow]

try take out your drop checker from the tank, leave it outside the tank for few hours, if it is turn blue then it is working.

nothing special about kH4, it is just that the collor chart which is come with your drop checker is based on kH4. People with ADA soils or other soils with KH lowering property will need this kH solution because ADA soils will cause your kH drop to zero.

some people reporting that their tank with ADA soils have kH not equal to zero, but as far as my experience, all my 4 tank with ADA soils have kH equal to zero.

[luncheonMeat]

im using a combination of Gex and Magicsoil. had leftovers
i took the dropchecker out for 1/2 hour and no color change so i put it back in. Anyways, i will try again today. Thanks.

[blue33]

im using a combination of Gex and Magicsoil. had leftovers
i took the dropchecker out for 1/2 hour and no color change so i put it back in. Anyways, i will try again today. Thanks.

Unless you did not use CO2, the colour should be changing.

[Shadow]

I assume you are using your tank water for the drop checker. what is the KH of your tank water?

[BuWaC]

Do you still face with algae probl? Am using same 2 x 55W T5 lighting, on for 8hrs a day, high CO2 with checker in the greenish yellow zone, but still getting backflush of BBA every now and then, very sickening...

[luncheonMeat]

I assume you are using your tank water for the drop checker. what is the KH of your tank water?

I didnt check the KH. so i left the drop checker there. i did what you said and left the checker outside the water. overnight, it turned blue. In anycase, im not overloading the tank with lots of CO2 just 1-2 bubbles/sec for about 4-5 hours.

Do you still face with algae probl? Am using same 2 x 55W T5 lighting, on for 8hrs a day, high CO2 with checker in the greenish yellow zone, but still getting backflush of BBA every now and then, very sickening...

My algae problem all cleaned up by the yamatos and Otos. now i think its too clean they start chewing my plants. Any bros want some yamatos? i can give 10 odd away so they don over crowd.

[blue33]

I didnt check the KH. so i left the drop checker there. i did what you said and left the checker outside the water. overnight, it turned blue. In anycase, im not overloading the tank with lots of CO2 just 1-2 bubbles/sec for about 4-5 hours.




My algae problem all cleaned up by the yamatos and Otos. now i think its too clean they start chewing my plants. Any bros want some yamatos? i can give 10 odd away so they don over crowd.

I can take them in(Yamatos).

[Shadow]

I didnt check the KH. so i left the drop checker there. i did what you said and left the checker outside the water. overnight, it turned blue. In anycase, im not overloading the tank with lots of CO2 just 1-2 bubbles/sec for about 4-5 hours.

so your drop checker seem to work properly