Plant Q's

[FlameTetra333]

Happy holidays MFT!
I have a couple of questions.

1. Say you have a 10 gallon tank. If the hood takes two incandescent bulbs, and you put 2 25 watt incandescents in, would that make the overall wattage 2.5 or 5 watts per gallon?

2. What's a good substrate that I could use for adequate plant growth? i would also appreciate homemade recipes.

3. Can someone show me a video or explain to me how to make a DIY gas separator for a DIY co2 generator? Recently i tried to make one for my 20G and yeastleaked into my tank. NOT GOOD. So I'm now retrying it on a soon to be 10G with 12 boraras merah and maybe a pygmy gourami (my first nano, however it is a big nano; i don't call it a nano by the size, but rather by the type of fish stocked).

4. I heard that you can diffuse CO2 by putting it in the intake. does this mean you can literally take the airline and shove it in the tube where water enters the power filter?

Thanks!

 

[FlameTetra333]

Happy holidays MFT!
I have a couple of questions.

1. Say you have a 10 gallon tank. If the hood takes two incandescent bulbs, and you put 2 25 watt incandescents in, would that make the overall wattage 2.5 or 5 watts per gallon?

2. What's a good substrate that I could use for adequate plant growth? i would also appreciate homemade recipes.

3. Can someone show me a video or explain to me how to make a DIY gas separator for a DIY co2 generator? Recently i tried to make one for my 20G and yeastleaked into my tank. NOT GOOD. So I'm now retrying it on a soon to be 10G with 12 boraras merah and maybe a pygmy gourami (my first nano, however it is a big nano; i don't call it a nano by the size, but rather by the type of fish stocked).




4. I heard that you can diffuse CO2 by putting it in the intake. does this mean you can literally take the airline and shove it in the tube where water enters the power filter?

Thanks!

P.S. I heard seachem flourite was good, so i picked it up. If I cap it off with black sand, will the sand fall into the flourite?

 

[freash_water_monster]

i run my co2 in to my intake it helps it break the bubbles down for easier diffusion

 

[Lotus]

Incandescent bulbs won't give you plant growth. You can use compact fluorescent bulbs in those hoods, though. Because fluorescent bulbs tend to be round/twisty, you won't get that much light. If you have two fluorescents in a 10g tank, you should be able to grow most low or low to medium light plants.

Yes, if you try to put sand on top of flourite, you'll end up with the sand at the bottom. It's better to stick with only the flourite -- it works pretty well.

 

[FlameTetra333]

Incandescent bulbs won't give you plant growth. You can use compact fluorescent bulbs in those hoods, though. Because fluorescent bulbs tend to be round/twisty, you won't get that much light. If you have two fluorescents in a 10g tank, you should be able to grow most low or low to medium light plants.

Yes, if you try to put sand on top of flourite, you'll end up with the sand at the bottom. It's better to stick with only the flourite -- it works pretty well.

Okay, so the twistly CFLS are fluorescent? So technically I can place a 10G over a lamp and BAM! 6 wpg right? Is that what most people do for nanos? Also, how would I provide a cover for my tank if I go with my lamp idea?

 

[Lotus]

The WPG rule breaks down on smaller tanks, and most twisty light bulbs don't direct the light into the tank efficiently. So, while you may have plenty of WPG on paper, that doesn't translate to the light the plants are getting. So, if you're trying high-light plants, you'll find they fail.

If you have the standard 10g tank that comes with incandescent bulbs, you can simply replace those bulbs with twisty bulbs. The Walmart fish section has some that work well in those tanks. They're not the "twisty" style, so you get less light "lost" to refraction, etc.

 

[FlameTetra333]

The WPG rule breaks down on smaller tanks, and most twisty light bulbs don't direct the light into the tank efficiently. So, while you may have plenty of WPG on paper, that doesn't translate to the light the plants are getting. So, if you're trying high-light plants, you'll find they fail.

If you have the standard 10g tank that comes with incandescent bulbs, you can simply replace those bulbs with twisty bulbs. The Walmart fish section has some that work well in those tanks. They're not the "twisty" style, so you get less light "lost" to refraction, etc.

Do you know what specific brand, color temp, and watts the bulbs are?

P.S.: Thanks for your help. I knew that HC was hard to grow but I never thought it would be THIS hard.

P.P.S: Do you know how to create a yeast/gas separator? I absolutely HATED it when yeast infected my tank as a result from my DIY CO2 incident.

 

[Lotus]

I think the brand at Walmart is Lights of America. I believe they're around 6700K. I'm not sure on the wattage, but they probably won't grow HC (which really needs high light). I've used them for years on one of my tanks, but I consider it medium light and I've never done CO2 on it.

The gas separators aren't hard to make. Basically, the tubing from your CO2 bottle goes into a second bottle, and you have plain water in that bottle. The tubing goes below the surface of the water. Then, a second tube is well above the water line and goes into the tank. This image shows it reasonably well: Redirect Notice

 

[FlameTetra333]

I think the brand at Walmart is Lights of America. I believe they're around 6700K. I'm not sure on the wattage, but they probably won't grow HC (which really needs high light). I've used them for years on one of my tanks, but I consider it medium light and I've never done CO2 on it.

The gas separators aren't hard to make. Basically, the tubing from your CO2 bottle goes into a second bottle, and you have plain water in that bottle. The tubing goes below the surface of the water. Then, a second tube is well above the water line and goes into the tank. This image shows it reasonably well: Redirect Notice

Well, I guess I don't NEED to grow HC. Can it at least survive/grow vertically in moderate light?

Just curious; If a 20 watt fluorescent bulb is used on a 20G (1 WPG) that's considered low light. But if it's used on a 5G (4 WPG) that's high light. What I'm wondering is why does the volume of the tank affect the effectiveness of a bulb on plants? From this information, couldn't I just take my HC and put it in a plastic bin with some substrate over it with just a lamp, ferts, and some kind of CO2 until it makes a carpet, then transfer it to the 10G?

 

[Fuzz16]

why not try some low light things? i have seen some tanks done with just low light tanks thatre super nice. and its less work to keep everything happy and alive. on top of the fact theres a large variety of low light plants you could do. its ideal for a cheap setup

and flourite can be cloudy, so prepare for that, you would only need one bag though in a 10g, and most people wash it before to deter their tank from getting so cloudy from the dirt. You could also use sand (which is popular too) and just use flourish tabs, or another root suppliment tab to put into substrate. same concept as flourite but cleaner. also may want to look into column fertilizers, i use flourish comprehensive. avoid the flourish excell because it will kill your shrimp and any moss balls you have in the tank.

you can diffuse co2 by a few methods, my fav is with the ceramic disc though...you can get them off ebay or amazon for cheap, and i got a bubble counter off amazon for 4$ish thats easier than making one. and its a lot more compact than another bottle. I would also recomend a check valve, it keeps things from going down, but allows the co2 to flow up neccecity for anything tubing related (co2 or air bubbler)

 

[FlameTetra333]

why not try some low light things? i have seen some tanks done with just low light tanks thatre super nice. and its less work to keep everything happy and alive. on top of the fact theres a large variety of low light plants you could do. its ideal for a cheap setup

and flourite can be cloudy, so prepare for that, you would only need one bag though in a 10g, and most people wash it before to deter their tank from getting so cloudy from the dirt. You could also use sand (which is popular too) and just use flourish tabs, or another root suppliment tab to put into substrate. same concept as flourite but cleaner. also may want to look into column fertilizers, i use flourish comprehensive. avoid the flourish excell because it will kill your shrimp and any moss balls you have in the tank.

you can diffuse co2 by a few methods, my fav is with the ceramic disc though...you can get them off ebay or amazon for cheap, and i got a bubble counter off amazon for 4$ish thats easier than making one. and its a lot more compact than another bottle. I would also recomend a check valve, it keeps things from going down, but allows the co2 to flow up neccecity for anything tubing related (co2 or air bubbler)

Meh, that would save some time. I heard that Dwarf Hairgrass might do well in low light. That's really my favorite plant (in the whole wide world) and I would really like to have some. Will DHG carpet in moderate light (the light that Lotus recommended)?

 

[Fuzz16]

i dont think so...itd be slow and brownish. it really needs min of med light. you could always try and see where it goes though.

 

[FlameTetra333]

i dont think so...itd be slow and brownish. it really needs min of med light. you could always try and see where it goes though.

Moderate light = Medium light.

Also, what kinds of LFS's sell genuine plants (I hate those plastic tubes) ? If there's no store that sells em, then would freshwateraquariumplantsonline.com (or aquariumplantsonline.com, I forget the name) be a good source for plants?

 

[Fuzz16]

i use aquabid or ebay, whatever i can get a good deal on.
and petsmart started selling these plants in gel or something that sits on the shelf and keeps until in tank...like cryospace keep thinger lol...but i got some DHG from that and its working out pretty well, they have wendtiis too which is a good buy for 7.99 for 4 of them. but id personally find a local pet store with some live plants so you can get some snails (free cleanup crew!!) and it supports a local business..their normally willing to make deals with you as well

 

[Lotus]

You're better off looking for an independent fish store for buying plants. Most of the chains sell nonaquatic plants or have a poor selection. As Fuzz said, aquabid or eBay are good. You can also try the plant forum sites to see if other hobbyists are selling plants.