1 reply to this topic

[Aaron83]

So is getting a bit hard watching normally tough plants wither and barely hold on in my 6ft x 2ft deep tank so thinking it deserves a lighting and CO2 upgrade but keen on some advice.

 

Lighting wise currently has a very old (and very heavy) compact fluoro + metal halide unit. Used to just run the fluoros on it for 10-ish a day but a month back added the halides back in for 4-6 a day, but not seen any difference in the plants. Was going to swap out for some LEDs, currently thinking the 'DEE PLANTED AQUARIUM FULL SPECTRUM 4 MODE LED LIGHT 5FT 150CM' unit. Would one unit do if I just wanted to have lush narrow java fern and vallis, plus possibly some anubias? Or two a better bet?

 

Next is the CO2, as understand that it will make avoiding algae easier (along with helping on the lushness) especially if lighting is up'ed. Currently don't have much (any?) of the bad hairy stuff but rocks and glass get a good coating pretty quickly. Ideally not spending huge $$$'s on the system but also don't want to bother with DIY mixes, etc. Any recommendations on a system? And would I need to remove the air stones if I'm running CO2?

 

Would like to get to one of the better shops around and talk to them and see what they can do, but thought there'd be some people here that could help as well.

 

Have attached some very poor phone photos but think good enough to see the pain that plants are currently in. Fish are happy, gets a good 30-40% water change a week, is just the plants it seems.

 

Cheers!

Attached Files

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•  20180202_070948.jpg   91.08KB   6 downloads

Edited by Aaron83, 02 February 2018 - 05:06 PM.

[Westie]

Given that it’s 6 foot I would go for an in-line co2 system from either Aquotix or Aquarium Gallery. If $ is tight, I would skip co2 until you can afford an automated system. For lighting on a 6 footer the makemyled option would probably be best if combining with co2. If skipping co2, and considering you’re using low light plants, I would go with a couple of the new 3 foot light units from Vebas or if you’re not worried about the look you could dogleg 2 x 5 foot Ista LED lights from Aquotix.