Lighting Question

Dec 14, 2011
229
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0
WI
#1
So I'm going to slowly start converting my 60 gallon to house live plants, but I have a couple of questions first. I bought the tank as a set, so it already came with two hoods and I don't want to replace them if I don't have to. I think they take 18" bulbs because they're the same size that come standard with 10 gallon tanks. Is this possible? If so, which ones should I go with?

Also, I've been reading about substrates and some being better than others, but I don't really want to change mine, so I was wondering if there was an alternative.
 

Feb 27, 2009
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36
#2
You can certainly grow some plants with 'stock lighting' and plain gravel. Lots are lower light plants, and some do not feed heavily from the roots, so can gain their nutrition from the water column. Those that are heavy root feeders can be grown in regular gravel with the addition of a 'fertilizer tab' put under the gravel near them, usually 2 or 3 times per year is all that is needed.

Do you know what plants you'd like to try?
 

Dec 14, 2011
229
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WI
#3
I don't really have any preferences as to specific plants, but I would like to have a few different species. I also want to fill the back of my tank with tall plants, and have some leafy ones in the front.
 

Dec 14, 2011
229
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WI
#5
Thanks the for link.

I'm assuming that the light I have now is low, because the bulbs are just what came with the hood sets. I have no idea what brand they are or anything about them. How many watts do you think would be considered medium for 60 gallons?
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
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Illinois
#6
60 watts would be medium lighting. thats 1 watt per gallon. some plants need as much as 2.5 watts per gallon. i would suggest some jungle val as it is a hardy plant that even though is rooted does well. also dwarf sag is good. it's a small grass that will pretty much turn the bottom of the tank into a lawn. lol. also i have heard ludwigia is also anther good plant for a plain gravel tank, fertalized obviously. also crypts work realy well. i'm kinda sold on a dirt tank. i've had the best success with a dirted tank then any other setup i have tried for a planted tank. i have not had an issue with leaves melting or anything. i'm running a 20 gallon tank with between 1.5-2 watts per gallon and it's doing great. just one issue with a dirted tank is algae at first. but plants like java moss and duckweed help with that ALOT, they pull the extra nutrients out of the water that the algae would normally feed on. the down side to dirting a tank is it takes a good 4-5 hours to do cause it's a total tear down of the tank. but in my opinion it's well worth it if you want to do rooted plants. also with dirt, co2 is not as important and it gives u more leway with lighting.
 

Dec 14, 2011
229
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0
WI
#7
I don't think that I'd be able to do even 1 watt per gallon with the 18" bulbs, but that's just from what I've seen.

I've also been looking at root tabs, and I've found two different brands (Flourish and API). Which is better? And are there any liquid supplements that are good to use?
 

skjl47

Large Fish
Nov 13, 2010
712
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0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#8
Hello; I have a 55 gallon with the two 18 inch fluorescent tubes. It has been set up for a bit over two years now. I have been using bulbs from Wal-mart that are labeled as aquarium plant bulbs. my plants have been and sre continuing to grow well. I have an amazon sword; cryptocoryne wendtii (red variety); java fern (microsprium pteropus); and what I think is dwarf sagittaria (sagittaria subulana).

The cryps, sword and java fern are doing very well with around a 14 hour on/10 hour off light peroid. The dwarf sags are holding on and growing slowly and i suspect would like a stronger light.

I placed the java fern under the crypts thinking they would do ok in the shade. They have not grown much, but are in good shape.

I like to use a gravel substrate of at least three inches and think four to five inches is better. I did not augment the gravel with anything but do add solid ferts directly into the gravel at the roots of the sword from time to time. I have and do use liquid ferts added to the water. A cycled tank will provide some nitrates which the plants will use.

Floating on rooted plants are also what i use. Hornwort for one.

Good luck
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
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0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#9
I don't think that I'd be able to do even 1 watt per gallon with the 18" bulbs, but that's just from what I've seen.

I've also been looking at root tabs, and I've found two different brands (Flourish and API). Which is better? And are there any liquid supplements that are good to use?
I use Flourish myself, but I'm sure API is good too. I use Tropica liquid fert....
 

skjl47

Large Fish
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#11
How often do you replace(??) your tabs? OC mentioned 2 or 3 times per year, but when I looked at the API one, it says to change them every month.
Hello; How often to add tabs to the rooted plants like swords will likely depend on how well they are adding new leaves. Plants like swords feed from the roots and if enough nutrients, light and such are available should be putting out a new leaf on a regular basis. A fairly sure sign that ferts or light are not enough is when little or no new growth is seen in over a week. New leaves should be emerging from time to time at the center of the plant and some growth of the new leaves should be noticeable over a few days.
No growth and yellowing leaves is one sign of ferts being needed. Of course the oldest leaves on the outside of the plant do naturally deteriorate with time and begin to look ragged so I am not talking about this. There should be some healthy new growth at the center of the plant and the older outside leaves eventually getting ragged.

A shorter answer is to try adding the root tabs at various intervials to see what schedule works. I have added such tabs on a monthly basis and have had setups where a longer interval worked well. There may be other sources of ferts in the tank that the plants can utilize.

I usually only add root tabs to the swords near the roots. The crypts and other plants I mentioned in a previous post do not seem to need this specific fert placement the way the Amazon swords do.

Good luck
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#13
I am using flourish excel in my tank and everything is going great. i had a little black beard showing up but it is dying off now just after 3 days. i would strongly suggest looking into doing a dirted tank. like i said u can actually get away with less light and co2 as well as not worry about ferts. and to do a dirt tank it only takes a couple hours in an afternoon.