Anybody have a spare CF endcap laying around?

[macclellan]

I finally got around to replacing a two year old 96w PC bulb, only to find that was fused to the endcap (bit of rust from humidity and brittle rubber...). I had to cut the cord to save the life of the "mother." heh.

Straight or square pin, doesn't matter, I need a new bulb anyways.

PM me if you gots one!

 

[macclellan]

I broke down and bought a new one...jeez, these aren't easy to find!

Should help the "new" tank I just set up grow out nicely:

 

[ct_vol]

What bulbs are you using??? I just bought a "ColorMax" for Ashley's tank I hope thats a decent one???

She's wanting to try a few plants... What supplements do you add???

 

[macclellan]

Colormaxes are freshwater Coralife bulbs, which are fine...but not Giesemanns or anything...

That tank (30L) has an AHS 96w 6700k PC bulb, and one of those Coralife NO T5 fixtures, 2x18w, one 6700k and one 10000k.

I use standard dry fertilizers because they are cheap in bulk and best/most flexible to use once you know what you are doing (liquid ferts are really really overpriced bottles of 99% water...). I generally follow the EI dosing method, but I tend to dose a bit heavy... Macros: potassium nitrate (for nitrates), monopotassium phosphate (for phosphates), potassium sulfate (for potassium), and Plantex CSM+B for micros.

That's probably more than you wanted to know and not very helpful... I honestly don't have good advice for dosing non-high-tech planted tanks. If the light is low enough intensity, usually fish food and waste provides enough macros and waterchanges with tapwater give the micros, and from there just look for deficiencies and dose accordingly or leave well enough alone. It is more about getting the right kinds of plants, but that's another topic...

 

[ct_vol]

Ummmm, so I'm completely over my head is what I'm getting from this conversation... lol

She wanted to set up a planted tank, so I gave her my 56g column (30lx18wx24h) and a 2x65w PC fixture I had and added the two Colormax bulbs... I have some 99% water fertilizer, but she only has a couple swords and some java moss for now... Any links you can point me toward for the beginner???

 

[macclellan]

Sorry about that...that's about what I get out discussions of keeping SPS corals, calcium reactors, blah blah...

That light sounds good for that size and depth tank with no co2.
Basically, without adding co2, you don't need to worry too much about fertilizers, since carbon is going to be the limiting nutrient. CO2 is like crack for plants...they grow 10x or more faster (literally, not exaggerating) and more colorful, dense, and robust. Actually, in a non-co2 tank, adding nutrients can get you in trouble (algae).

After carbon, the three main nutrients necessary for plant growth (nitrogen, phosphate, potassium...N-P-K) are typically given in enough quantity by fish food and poo in non-co2 enriched tanks, so then something like Flourish is all you'd need, and may not even be necessary (to add micro nutrients nutrients)... I don't dose my 1 low tech tank at all.

Basically, co2 is to planted as alkalinity is to reefs (carbon), and nitrates are like reefs' calcium... can you believe that I ADD 3tsp WEEKLY of nitrates to my 75g (target levels of 10-20ppm)? Imagine doing that to a reef!!!

Here is a decent general article:
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Basics-to-starting-a-Planted-Tank/4/

and one on ferts:
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Fertilizers-in-a-Planted-Tank/1/

The best single site for straightforward practical info is:
http://www.rexgrigg.com/
Randy, you'll like his style...ex-marine with a sense of humor.

The best forums are:
www.plantedtank.net/forums
www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/

 

[Fishboy42]

From someone who knows next-to-nothing about these things: How does one keep the pest/micro algae from growing in those high-tech planted tanks? Is it that the plants out-compete the other algae for nutrients? Utilitarian "grazer" fish/inverts (shrimps?). Everything always looks perfectly clean; it just seems like there simply isn't any! I took this at a public aquarium, but there are lots of fish in there, yet it still looks clean

I notice that in our Koi ponds at the house, even though we fertilize the lilies, bog plants, etc, once they get growing in the spring, all of the other algaes disappear...

 

[macclellan]

The simple answer is that given ideal conditions, plants outcompete nuisance algae. A major algae outbreak is usually due to non-ideal conditions, or a shock to the system...sorta like crashing a reef. Most tanks have (or would have) a bit of algae, at least some of the time, and it is just that planted tanks have clean up crews just like reef tanks (algae eating catfish and/or algae eating shrimp and/or algae eating snails), and plants grow quickly enough that if a leaf gets algae or something, you just remove it. If it gets on rocks or driftwood, they can be scrubbed, etc. Oh, and there is no cure for Green Spot Algae (GSA) on the glass...at least none I know of - still gotta clean the glass every few weeks, but not nearly as often as a reef tank, at least in my experience.

That answer may be too simple, because some folks still have algae problems despite reportedly ideal parameters. If its allelopathy, more complex causation than "outcompeting", etc., no one really knows...

but ideal parameters + clean up crew + normal maintenance = algae free tanks for me anyways.

That discus tank doesn't look like a high tech tank, BTW. Plant biomass and species wouldn't need co2 or high light.

 

[Fishboy42]

Thanks; that's kind-of what I was thinking but wasn't sure if there were other techniques used on those types of tanks. The combination of tools seems to be the most sensible approach anyway

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14538502#post14538502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macclellan

That discus tank doesn't look like a high tech tank, BTW. Plant biomass and species wouldn't need co2 or high light.

It's not really. It and most of the aquariums there (can't remember the name of the aquarium, somewhere in Paris...) were low-tech; most of the marine tanks were having hair-algae and diatom blooms...

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14533800#post14533800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macclellan

Beautiful pair of keyhole cichlids! I have always wanted a pair of those but never got around to getting any

 

[ct_vol]

Thanks for the links... I have to go to work now, but I'll read them once I get home...

 

[macclellan]

Yeah, I got those keyholes at that Feed Supply place on Middlebrook just before they got out of aquaria...good buy! Loads of personality like oscars, only about 1/10 the size and plant-friendly.

 

[goreefer]

I have two square pin PC end caps that you can have. They have never been used.

 

[macclellan]

Thanks GoReefer - I ended up buying one along with my new bulb, so no longer needed - but I appreciate the offer.