Lookin for a 36" lower wattage PC light

[grendl]

Hey all, before I go blow my cash on one of these bad lads online, I figured I would troll the waters here. I am setting up a planted FW tank. I do not want to have a high light tank & my target is ~ 2 WPG over a 45 gallon... so ~ 90 watts. Anyone have something in that range they are wanting to sell?

Trav

 

[Peyton]

Check with jo-mars. I got one of the cheap current dual t-5 36" strip lights there a few months back and I love it. I think it was around $30-40 bucks.

What kind of plants are you growing? I'll be taking two large freezer bags of plants there next week if you need any.

 

[grendl]

Not growing anything yet. Plan on having slow growers, & making the it an "el natural" tank. I just got my tank (45 gallon bow front, from one of the hobbyists here!) & it's a little taller than I thought it would be. At any rate, having jsut gotten the tank, I havent really put much though into plants. I will be ordering the lights & the internal JBJ submariner pump/UVS this week. I do not plan on heating the tank at first... just gonna see how it does at room temp & monitor that thru the year. If I decide to make it a high tech tank later, I have the lights & CO2 to do so... I just dont want to mess with all of that ATM.

How are your Amanos doing? Do they reproduce? I have seen some deals on RCS on APC that I will likely leap on, once I have it setup.

 

[firefish2020]

Speeking of FW tanks, anyone have any dwark baby tears?

 

[Peyton]

I have some red crypts in the bags I'm taking. Excelent plant for low-tech slow growth tanks. I also took some wendelov java fern there last week.

Amanos are doing great however I don't have a amano only tank anymore. My tanks are constantly changing. Guess I need to update my sig .

It is difficult to breed and raise baby amanos. Unlike most FW shrimp the babies go through many stages and require SW conditions when young.

Ron are you talking about HC? http://www.plantgeek.net/plant-275.htm

 

[firefish2020]

Thats the stuff.

 

[Peyton]

I have a small amount I'm trying to get started with at the moment. When I grow some extra I'll bring you some.

 

[grendl]

What kinda setups are you running Peyton? High light, low light, injected co2, diy co2, no co2... whatcha doin?

 

[carb850]

I believe he is doing all the above

 

[Peyton]

I'm running 2 high light tanks (40gal and 29 gal) 1 low light (a 30 gal hex) and 2 med light (10gal and 20gal). The two high light tanks both have pressurized co2. No co2 in the other tanks. All are community tanks with the exception of the 10gal which has nothing but cherry shrimp and snails.

Well looks like I won't be taking those plants to jomars next week. They were from a big trim I did last weekend and were sitting in a couple of bags since. I was going to put them in the 20gal till next week but when I opened the bag... whew. Rotten plants. Thats a bummer because I had several nice clippings in there. I should have more very soon though.

 

[grendl]

It will be a couple of weeks before I am up & running I figure. I have to get my last two pieces of equipment in, then buy the topsoil & rock I am going to use... then try to figure out a hardscape. I got some nice slate rocks, but they arent tall enough to suit me... afraid I am going to have to look for some driftwood. Which I really hate to buy online.

 

[Peyton]

I know what you mean about driftwood. It seems hard to find good pieces in our area. If you need any plants let me know. I have several different types that would work in low-med light setups.

 

[grendl]

I certainly will!!! This tank is taller than I thought it would be, kinda knocked my dimensions off. I bought a 96 watt PC fixture, & will need to figure out what tall growth plants will do well for a backdrop with 2wpg.

I had some Wendtii in my old tank, & the problem I ran into with it was that it spread thru the substrate & took it over. I had shoots all ove rhte place. It was impossible to control without basically unearthing the entire bottom of the tank. Stirring up the SS like that is a deathwish! I am worried about having that same problem again... Any advice on how you avoid that?

 

[spinnerbayt]

I use crypt spirals in the back of my tank. My planted tank has went to the back burner with the reef taking my time. Yesterday my GF said she missed the 125g planted tank I had before the reef so I guess I'm going to upgrade the 55g planted tank I have at the moment to a 75g. I want 2 more discus and she wants another angel fish so I guess I'll be making the switch sometime this week. I already have the tank and I started building the stand yesterday so here we go.

 

[Peyton]

Crypt wendetti does spread like crazy. I don't know of any way to control it other than removing the new plants. As far as backdrop plants I have the following that could fill that role.

Bolbitis heudelotti

Limnophila sessiliflora

Vallisneria americana v. 'Biwaensis'

Hygrophila polysperma

Vallisneria americana

Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'

As spinnerbayt mentioned Cryptocoryne spiralis is a good backdrop plant although for me it grew way too long. I was pulling plants with leaves about 3' long from my tank. Same thing with Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae

I've used Ludwigia palustris as a background plant also.

Anachris would fit the bill also and you can find that stuff anywhere. I might have more but thats all that come to mind at the moment.

 

[firefish2020]

Thanks, your plants are tops IMO.

 

[grendl]

Do you think those Vals would grow well under 2 WPG? How do you prune plants like that? Cut them towards the roots, or what?

 

[Peyton]

You should consider that with 96w PC over a 45gal you have a bit more actually than 2wpg. I believe, IIRC ,most people consider 1watt of PC = 1.25ish of N.O. flourecent. So with that your 96w is more like 120w of N.O. (120w over 45gal = 2.66wpg). I grew most of my plants with 110w PC in a 40gal BTW.

I have Val. biwaenis growing in a tank with 2wpg (of N.O. flourecent bulbs) and it's doing good. You can trim them by cutting the leaf tips. The only problem I have with them is that they send out runners constantly.