3 issues

[pjvtrash]

1st issue - I'm looking for input on lighting choices for a 30 gal. planted tank.

I currently have a 45 gal. flat (48L, 18W, 12D) with a double shop light fixture (32watt t-8 bulbs, 6700K). In that tank are amazon swords, compact swords, najas grass, anubias nana, crypts, java fern, valisneria, and E.tennelus (the last being the only plant that is struggling with low light).

I am planning to use that as a grow out tank and move plants and substrate to a 30 gal tank in another room and am exploring my options for lighting.

The complicating issue is that the gentleman at my LFS is suggesting I get a 36" coralife double fixture with 2 96 watt bulbs. He says I should have one of those two bulbs as a 50/50 actinic to avoid an unnatural yellow light in the tank, and that the blue would help the irridesence of borellii and cardinals etc., that are in the tank. Has anyone heard of or done this?

My options are as follows:
1. Coralife single light with 1 96watt pc.
2. Coralife double light with 2 96watt pc's, one of which could be 50/50 for blue accents. (192watts white or 144 watts with 48 watts blue)
3. All glass power compact with 2 55watt bulbs for 110 watts, one of which could be 50/50. (110watts white or 85 watts with 23 watts blue)

I'm leaning towards the All-glass for aesthetic reasons.

2nd issue - when replanting, some plants will have extensive root systems. Do I trim roots, and if so, how aggressively?

3rd issue - I'm thinking about a Carbo-plus CO2 block system. Any experiences or thoughts with these?

 

[brad]

1st issue. I wouldn't go with the coralife double. The single will be plenty with over 3 watts per gallon. The double will cause a whole lot of algae awfully quickly. Either the Coralife 96 watt or the All Glass 2X 55 will be excellent choices.

2nd issue. If you need to trim, then go for it. The plants will recover. Crypts may melt, and other plants may abandon some of the older leaves in order to concentrate energy on recovering the root system, but they'll be fine.

3rd issue. You're better off leaving that system on the shelf at the store. It converts your kh into "co2" so, if you're keeping apistos, either you'll have almost none and therefore your system will do almost nothing, or it could cause ph swings as your kh crashes. I'd go with a real pressurized co2 system, or at the very least, DIY yeast co2, but 1 thing is for sure, with over 3 watts per gallon of light, you'll defenately need co2 of some sort.

 

[pjvtrash]

Thanks for the input, Brad. The double sounds like overkill to me too.

In terms of the actinic 50/50, I know that the actinic light doesn't do anything for plant growth.

Has anyone heard of using them to improve the appearance of the tank and/or inhabitants? Or is this total gibberish? If I decide against it, I'll probably end up with a 96 watt retrofit from AH supply.


Lastly, I'd be interested in any other experiences with Carbo-plus. My understanding is that they do lower KH, not by converting it to CO2, but rather because there is a week electrode in the tank. The electrode converts the carbon block to CO2, and as a consequence precipitates the KH onto the electrode. As I have relatively high KH in my tap water, the prospect of lowering it isn't a bad one.

Thanks.

 

[beleg]

Hello,
I have been into planted tanks for around 10 years. During my experience i have used lots of different fluorescent types (t-8).

If actinic helps anything in planted aquariums that is algae. The spectrum is totally wrong for the plants.Your tank is certainly shallow enough to continue using t-8s.

If possible choose commonly available (at least in Europe) Phillips Aquarelle.It has very good performance and its price is very cheap compared to hobby dedicated tubes, which more than often don't work as they are promised.

You should always trim the roots when replanting. Make sure you leave like 1/3 of the original root length.

 

[brad]

If I decide against it, I'll probably end up with a 96 watt retrofit from AH supply.Thanks.

That would be an excellent choice. Kim is an awesome man. Give him a call and he'll explain everything you need to know.

My understanding is that they do lower KH, not by converting it to CO2, but rather because there is a week electrode in the tank. The electrode converts the carbon block to CO2, and as a consequence precipitates the KH onto the electrode.
QUOTE]

Sounds about right. That;s why I put it in quotation marks. My way of making a long story short. Kh goes down, carbon source goes up.

Even if lowering it sounds good, a stable kh should sound even better.

 

[eklikewhoa]

1.....The LFS guy is a joke, like beleg said actnic or 50/50 grows algae. If you want something to highlight the blues look for a different color spectrum, everything between 3000k-10,00k grows plants pretty well with the lower spectrum being more yellow and the higher being more blue and from green inbetween and 9325k a bit pinkish.

1.1..... I would go with the 1x96 if you don't want to complicate things too much. with that option you will need to supplement co2 and dose ferts to keep the plants nice and healty. I have the 2x96 over my 30g right now but I stagger the photo period....7hrs total- 7hrs of 1x96 and 1hr of "noon burst" of 2x96. I have pressurized co2 going at about 30ppms and dose ferts heavily to keep everything under control.

2.... Again what beleg said


3....I used DIY which is cheap and simple but after having to mix and change the stuff like every other week I decided to get pressurized and to tell you the truth I would never go back to anything less!!!

 

[pjvtrash]

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

I've been in touch with Kim from AH supply, and we seem to be in agreement that my best option is a 2x 36watt retrofit. That would give 72 watts (6700K) over 30 gallons.

It's going to be a messy transition, but I'm really looking forward to it. Assuming things turn out well, maybe I'll post a picture or two.

Thanks again.

 

[tjd]

I prefer to use dual 6,700K/10,000K bulbs. The bulbs provide a fuller spectrum and my plants grow quite well.

Also, cardinals tend to hide especially under bright lights. Even if you did run an actnic light (not recommended) it would have little effect on illuminating the cardinals. Moon light LEDs are a different story. When my main lights go off and the LEDs are on the cardinals come out to the open more and the irridesent blue on them glows.