50 replies to this topic

[skittles]

Hey guys i have some questions i need help with
1.how many watts per litre if i want to grow plants like swords crypts lotus and anubius nana
2.if i used a soil for a substrate like for lilys from a nusery or something will it lose its nutrients if i wash it before its in the aquarium
3.is it alright to use a soil in a tank( that would be covered with gravel)
4.what are some god grow lights that i can get for relativly cheap around 50$ per console
5.Where can i rent boc cillinders
6.What are some good plants
Please any suggestion
greatly apreciated

[ant747]

man thats alot of questions, ill answer as many as i can, but you shoudl also head over to aquariumlife.com.au. more of a focus on planted tanks rather than cichlids there.
1 Not much, your could easily grow them with like .2 watts per litre, but they are going to grow slowly at that light. those kind of plants are hardy as, and will grow in almost any light.

2 it would lose some but not enough to make it useless, it will still hold a fair amount of nutrients, you can always shove some fert tabs in it later.

3 yeah thats fine, people do it all the time, just might want to soak it for a bit to clean it out abit, but no worries on that.

4 well if your only planning on those plants, go for just a standard flouro output. its better to have the ability to add more light later if you want to try some different plants, so im not sure how big your tank is but a 2 tube would be enough adn a 3 tube even better. And depending on the size of the light unit, the tubes will be chap as.

5 Boc, get them from "boc gas and gear" or "air liquide", go to their website and look up a retailer near you. its like www.boc.com.au but their are other options to renting a cylinder. How big is the tank? if its under 3ft or so you could use a DIY system with yeast and sugar. Ask if you want ot know more.

6 Some good plants? well the list is endless, keep in mind that most plants need more light that swords do, not that much more but some, some common ones people are keeping around perth are, rotala macranda, glosso, Hygrophilias( many different species), lots of anubias, go to www.tropica.com and have a look through.

And now i have arthritis in my fingers. lol not really, ask if you want any more info, but if i could suggest one thing, head over to aquariumlife.com.au and just have a cruise through, lots of nice perth people willing to share their plants and heap of info.

Ant

[skittles]

Thanks heaps ant i was looking at getting two metal hallades or something
because i would love to have one of those tanks with the real bushy plants that grow like wildfire with good light
Thanks for the sites

[Warp]

Metal hallides are quite expensive if bought new. Best to go to a lighting shop or a lamp specialist. there are a few wholesalers around that you can pick them up at retail prices. But I recon the cheapest youde find them would be 90 dollars a unit or so, including the ballast and ready to rock. But thats a shop lighting not a hang over the aquarium type lamp. It costs a fair bit more to get a pendant syle or suspended lamp.

Before you go diving in at the deep end though I'd definitely recommend you buy or borrow a book or two perhaps from the PCS library if they have any and get stuck in. There is a lot to learn and think about. But it can be great fun.

In general though working on 2.5 watts per gallon of water for a tank that has mediocre lighting.Above that for high lit tanks below for low lit.

Heres a few sites that have some good content to read.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/

This is a good plant finder for finding the types of plants you'de like to try growing.

http://www.aquaticpl...pc/plantfinder/

http://www.plantgeek.net/

Heres a great site full of helpful people and heaps of information.

http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/

Good luck and happy planting..

Regards

Mike.

Ps. Down the track when your setup sling me a PM I have plant cuttings available a fair bit of the time.

[skittles]

I have changed my mine and im going to go with a T5 unit
heres a link from ebay i was wondering if the unit was alright
plez help any suggestions
http://cgi.ebay.com....1QQcmdZViewItem

Or this one
http://cgi.ebay.com....1QQcmdZViewItem

[skittles]

Ow and forgot to say thanks heaps warp im now a member of aquariumplantlife lol are u
thats the only site ive been to so far so plenty more good sites

P.S I would love to get some clippings off you when i get my tank sorted

[Mr_docfish]

May I point out several things:
Last I looked, eBay sellers were not sponsors of PCS and I am sure that your LFS Sponsor would have similar light units for consideration and can be very helpful in the result of any warranties and sometimes change of mind.
T5 units are also still in their infant phase so problems abound (why do you no longer see the compact T5 units? - too many problems) to prove this check out the disclaimer from the aforementioned eBay seller of the T5 units:
"These fittings are equipped with electronic ballasts and are sensitive to power fluctuations and electrical storms. We suggest you run the light thru a UPS with a surge protector. Spare ballasts are available at $12.00/ea + transport. For this reason we can not warrant the ballasts."
I have experienced a number of problems with the former Compact T5 units and the current standard T5's particularly with the ballasts (surge protectors don't solve all their problems) and the LFS that I deal with has been more than helpful and replaced, credited or repaired, free of charge, any faulty unit.
Pay a bit more, but save a heap (money, stress and time) in the long run.
And don't forget, support those who support this forum.


A handy tip with some T5 units - when the tube starts to flicker as it begins to die, remove it immediately and replace ASAP with a new one, as this can also kill the ballast (some Chinese made tubes don't last long)

Mr_docfish

[skittles]

Hey docfish
I never said i was going to buy it i was only seeing if it the unit was alright i mean one of the lights doesnt evan fit my tank so why would i look at buying it, i wanted to know if they were a suitable type as i could look out for one.

and why would i buy something from ebay because you cant have a chat to the owners like you could with an lfs.

[Mr_docfish]

and why would i buy something from ebay because you cant have a chat to the owners like you could with an lfs.

I'm glad you think that way, I wish more people would.

BTW keep in mind what I think of the ballasts in the T5's. If you feel you want one, go for a brand that has been in the market for more than a year or get one with at least 12months warranty that covers the control gear.
(If you get one with a repetitive problem, you have a right as a consumer to request a different brand as an exchange)

Mr_docfish

[skittles]

Yer i read that about them and they wouldnt be suitable because our tanks are always tripping out the power when the dishwasher or toaster get turned on, evan tho we have had an electrition in to make two separate lines but its because there out in the cold so the heaters run more often so i would need plenty of the ballasts lol

Is fired clay good for an aquarium and what about some volcanic rock thats fired and pops like popcorn at a temp
do you know anything about it.

[Noddy65]

Hi Skittles and welcome to the wonderful world of high tech planted tanks.
Doc is correct about T5 units up to a point. You do get what you pay for.
There is a link on Aquariumlife about the various problems with the compact globe units (not really T5 units) and some of the genuine T5 units. Most problems appear to be of certain manufacturers coming out of China. The workmanship is often (not always) terrible. There is one post on the aquariumlife where the guy in Aus opened up the unit, found screws floating around, wiring not insulated and even open wires.
The nice thing about these units is that the are cheap (sometimes 1/3 the cost of better units) and can just be tossed or recycled when they break down (and they will breakdown eventually) or cause a fire.
Another option if you have an exisitng hood is to buy the componant individually and get a sparky mate to wire it up for you. Ive been running T5's like that in my hoods for many years now and have had no problems at all.
Many of the online suppliers will honour waranties (in fact one particular site is very very very helpful, not sure if its a sponsor so wont mention here) but you will probably run into problems if the supplier is an overseas online store.

To give you some ideas on a setup that works well. The specs of my tank.

Litres: around 600
Watts: 6 x 55 w T5
Substrate: thin layer of laterite on bottom, covered by 3 cm of Water Lilly compost, covered by 3 - 4 cm of standard fine aquarium gravel.
CO2: pressurised system on about 2 bps
Ferts: I used to use the EI method but since changing to mostly native plants Ive found that its too much ferts. I fertilse KNO3, MgSo4 and traces and Fe. The powdered ferts are once a week now and the traces are twice a week. i get much stronger growth using this method.
Pruning: every week.
Water change: around 40 - 50% weekly. My lawn loves the exra water.

Mike

Oh yeh...heres a pic taken this am.

[skittles]

Thats a lovely tank noddy i would love to create something like that
Thanks for the info so what light should i get then im loking at around 2-3watts per gallon
Ill probrably be using some aquasoil topped with fine gravel thats like sand is that alright

[ant747]

if your using amazonia for your top layer mke sure you rinse it well and let it soak for a day or two first, i use it and it leaches tannins into the water to a spectacular degree. Though it only lasts a few weeks.
Ant

[skittles]

Hey ant what do you mean amazonia im using a gravel for my top layer

[Noddy65]

Another thing about Amazonia that Ive heard is that you may get a huge ammonia spike after setting up...Ive never used the 'fancy' substrates so maybe someone who has used it can comment here.

Mike

[skittles]

Is amazonia a aquarium soil or it it the stuff that i wanted to use aquasoil.
The aquasoil is meant to be for aquariums and ponds and is unharmful for your fish thats the stuff i was talking about

[ant747]

though you were talking about ADA aquasoil? no? what i meant was im using eco complete with a top layer of ada amazonia, just for looks really, i prefer the larger gravel size of the amazonia.
And i didnt get any ammonia spikes that i know of, just a really huge tannin stain in the water.

[ant747]

thought id post a photo of my tank awhile back, its just freshly planted in this photo, lots more growth now, ill put up some more soon, but i might also mention that all the plants you can see are freebies from people around perth.

[cobby]

Nice pics mate

That peice of driftwood looks awsome

Regards Cobby

[ant747]

cheers mate, hopefully that anubias will cover it eventually.