I started another thread asking about the Red Sea Co2 kit, because I asked the guy at Big Als about whether I could add more light to my tank without needing to add CO2 and got the "every planted tank needs CO2 - you must add CO2" lecture.
I have a 29 gallon with Coralife double T-5 strip light on it, it came with
1 x 18 watt 6700K plant light and 1 x 18 wat colormax full spectrum
This gives me 36 watts correct?
I want to put enough light on the tank to grow low - med plants, but not have to get into CO2.
Perhaps I should just leave it alone, the hygro is growing and I am getting a bit of algae on the crypts. Perhaps I should add some algae eaters?? I admit I like the lush planted look so maybe I should just be more patient and let the plants grow for a few months?
OR .......If I also put the original strip light - 24 " - with a 20 watt plant light in it, over the tank, this would be 56 watts which is just under 2 watts / gallon, or thereabouts because you are supposed to take into account the substrate and occupants of the tank so perhaps it is just over 2w/gal.
I have read so many threads, and some say anything over 2w/gal needs CO2, some say over 2.5 w/gal.....
Do you think I would be safe in adding the extra strip light without having to get into CO2?
I am a "little" obsessive about things and now that I've added plants I want to buy driftwood, flat rocks, get the plants growing.....all because I got an almost "free" tank.......
If you wanna use T5's to do the "WPG Rule" convert them to their equivalent in T12's. Essentially, that's because the T5's put out as much light energy as the T12s do, even though at a lower wattage. Back when the WPG "rule" was devised.. T5's didn't exist (in the aquarium trade anyway) and T12's were pretty much the norm.
2 18W T5 bulbs over your tank would be a good medium low tank (medium range of the low light levels). It sounds to me light you are looking for a nicely planted tank, without a lot of maintenance. Your T5 fixture will do that for you... it'll just take a nice mix of low light plants and a little bit of time.
Oh thank goodness. So I can leave it as is, with the 2 T5 bulbs and give it time and a little Flourish and get myself some patience and a few more plants and it should look gorgeous in a while. Whew. I really didn't want to spend any more money on it.
Thank you very much BigDaddy!
It's funny that someone at BA gave you the "every plant tank needs co2" lecture. Generally we only recommend Co2 if the lighting and the fertilizing schedule warrants it ;)
Quote from: artw on January 13, 2007, 09:29:37 AM
It's funny that someone at BA gave you the "every plant tank needs co2" lecture. Generally we only recommend Co2 if the lighting and the fertilizing schedule warrants it ;)
But you guys are at BA Innes correct? I find one guy in particular at Kanata BA always wants to sell me something, I usually try to avoid him but didn't this time. He said any planted tank no matter what needs co2, that you might get away with Flourish excel but real co2 was better.
Well... that advise is true... but misleading, here's why:
Every planted tank needs CO2... that's true. But low light tanks get enough CO2 from gas exchange between the water's surface and the atmosphere to provide the CO2 requirements of low light plants. While a low light planted tank can benefit from a suppliment of CO2, its not a requirement and frankly would be a bit of a waste since in most cases CO2 uptake in low light tanks isn't large enough to warrant it.
Excel is not "better" or "worse" than CO2. It is, essentially, a complex carbohydrate that plants can use as a source of carbon. Now, there are some downsides to using Excel... certain plants like Vals dont' take kindly to it.. but it is a good source of carbon for a planted tank. I run a 15 gallon with a 65 watt bulb over it, and Excel is the only carbon source I provide. The plants in my 15 do just as well as the ones in my 75 gallon with a pressurized CO2 setup.
Hope this clears things up for you