Reply With Quotei believe you'll need base fertilizer as well.
Hi everyone,
I've finally given in to my urges and I am planning to start my first planted tank! I've order my list of plants from Mizu World and it is gonna be delivered this Friday. I just want to get all the advice from all the experts here what are the important things to take note of when planting HC submersed.
Tanks Specifications:
- CO2 set (needs replacement, due to leak)
- 60x30x38 tank with 5mm thickness, 16.28gallons
- 55W light
- Fan
Soil
- Power Sand
- Amazonian II
- Amazonian Powder
Fertilizers I bought
- Brighty K
- Step 1
Plants
- 6 pots of HC
- 2 pots of Rotala macrandra "green"
- 2 pots of Rotala rotundifolia
- 2 pots of Bolbitis
- 2 pots of Blyxia Japonica
- 1 pack of Christmas Moss
Since I am starting this tank from scratch and I would not be adding livestock in the first month. Is it advisable that I overdoes on ferts and CO2 in the first month. I am not sure if the list of ferts that I have is sufficient, do you guys thinnk I should add on to my ferts list?
Also, I'm very afraid that my tank will the attack by algae, is there anything I should do in begining that could prevent a big algae attack
Sorry if I have too many question, but would like to get all the information right before I start out.
i believe you'll need base fertilizer as well.
Power sand is the base fert that celebskin is using.
Looks pretty much ready. The best way to prevent algae is not to introduce them into the tank in the first place. Clean all the plants first before introducing them to the tank.
For liquid ferts, you may consider getting Green Brighty Special LIGHTS and Green Brighty Special SHADE. Not that familiar with ADA liquid ferts though. For me, I use micro, macro, iron and K liquid ferts from various brands.
Try not to overdose both liquid ferts and CO2. You might want to consider shortening your intended photoperiod.
Hi there !
I guess to plant HC successful... you need sufficient light ( high intensity ) and good fertilisation and not to mention good CO2 injection and circulation.
If you want to have a nice and lush HC carpet as soon as possible, you should plant clumps of HC close to each other... leaving just small gaps for the HC to creep. If you plant the HC sparsely, it will take lotsa time for the HC to creep to form a carpet. Planting more HC at the beginning also gives u more "leeway" as its common for some of the HC to start melting a little when trying to adapt to its new environment in the aquarium ( adapting from emmersed to submerged form? experts please correct me )... so if u have more to begin with... having some of them melt won't result in ur HC carpet failing.
or you can grow it emerse which is much faster.
I think to grow HC you need more then 55W's of lighting.Originally Posted by celebskin
should get at least 72W's at 6500K
VIPER
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the advice!
I dont think I can grow the HC emersed, since I have ordered my batch of plants and all of them are arriving on Friday.
My boyfriend also suggested that I get a 75W light instead of 55W. But from what I have heard, HC needs >3wpg and since mine is 16.28gallons, I thought that 55W should be sufficient. Oh no, now I'm worried if it is not enough!!
You should have listen to your BF.Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the advice!
I dont think I can grow the HC emersed, since I have ordered my batch of plants and all of them are arriving on Friday.
My boyfriend also suggested that I get a 75W light instead of 55W. But from what I have heard, HC needs >3wpg and since mine is 16.28gallons, I thought that 55W should be sufficient. Oh no, now I'm worried if it is not enough!!
Good luck to you, anyway do post some pix of your new tank. Thanks
VIPER
Haha... yeah... should have listened to your BFHi everyone,
Thanks for all the advice!
I dont think I can grow the HC emersed, since I have ordered my batch of plants and all of them are arriving on Friday.
My boyfriend also suggested that I get a 75W light instead of 55W. But from what I have heard, HC needs >3wpg and since mine is 16.28gallons, I thought that 55W should be sufficient. Oh no, now I'm worried if it is not enough!!
Anyway... i noticed that your tank has a height of 38cm... therefore it would be better to get a light with higher wattage... as u will need a light with higher intensity ( higher the wattage the higher the intensity ) so that the bottom of your tank can receive sufficient light. Anyway... 3 WPG is just a guideline... there r people using higher than that coupled with EI dosing that get marvelous results !
just get another 55Wmy HC lawn also powered by 110W. It probably still grow under 55W but it grow tall instead of creeping.
Just to make you feel better or worstall Amano 2ft tank that published in Aquajournal powered by either 80W or 100W.
Oh no it seems like I might have to change my lighting....
Shadow, can I check with you for your tank you are also using two 55W light?
I'm sorry but I got to ask a stupid question, between one 110W light or two 55W light, is the heat emission the same? I'm afraid if I get another 55W light, the heat from all these light will cause an increase in temperature? Since I'm only using a fan not a chiller, would this be a problem?
2x55W... sorry can't comment on the heat, I never compare between one and two light. I suppose I can start doing it nowbut theoretically should increase but not sure by how much
I'm using T5 4 tubes running at 96W with UV lights I can still manage at 26C.
So even you have PL I think you can get it at about 28C.
Unless your Tank is next to window. Then keeping it at even 30C will be a problem.
VIPER
i believe powersand is to encourage healthy roots growth and a good beneficial bacteria system. It does not act as a base fertilizer. Correct me if i'm wrong.
Ohhh I see. I would set up my tank today to monitor what the temperature is like and decide if I would be getting a T5 or a PL. Currently mine is just a normal PL light I heard that for HC the temperature has to be kept low if not the leaves would melt?
Are T5 lights much more expensive, for a 96W T5 light approximately how much will it cost?
Normally at what temperature do you guys keep your HC in? Would a temperature variation between 27-30 deg be ok?
Just an update, I bought another 55W light for my tank and I've set it up last weekend!
But I seem to be having some problem with my CO2 system, I am using a manual regulator. I've noticed that once I have adjusted my needle valve to get the bps that I want, after a few minutes, the bubbles will just stop. And I would have to readjust the valve to get the bps that I want again. This is a common occurence for me, I will have to keep readjusting my needle vavle to get the bps that I want. Is this normal??
it is a common occurrence for everyone who are using manual regulator
Yes, its normal to get such problems if you don't have a pressure regulator. Heres the thread discussing this.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=51740
Paul
SeVeN Red pieces of paper....
VIPER
Extract from www.adana.co.jp :i believe powersand is to encourage healthy roots growth and a good beneficial bacteria system. It does not act as a base fertilizer. Correct me if i'm wrong.
"Power Sand contains rich organic nutrients for plant roots, and helps to make an ideal environment for bacteria activity. Its porous volcanic stones secure water circulation, and avoid the stiffing of the substrate. It also contains rich nutrients for aquatic plant roots for a long period."
It is a base fertilizer. Notice the first and last sentence.
It is normal. I have 2 CO2 tanks running on manual regulator. 1 works fine, the other need "fine" tuning. It took me a couple of minutes to adjust the CO2 regulator everyday. Don't like the idea of running a soleniod 24/7, but actually I only need it to work 2 times a day.
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