Hello, this is my first post.
I am very sorry if this doesnt belong here, but i have many questions that could fit in several of the boards.
Before getting to the point, some background:
I have about a year of experience with planted tanks, and the biggest ive kept is a 39gal low-tech. I have ran DIY CO2
but i am getting everything i need for pressurized CO2. I live in a third world country where we dont get good equipment, nor
commercial substrates like ADA; i could do ebay and amazon but the import fees skyrocket the cost up to 300% and considering how much
i would need it just doesnt fit my wallet. aquarium brand fertilizers are non-existant save for florapride, but that is just
Fe + K. Some salts like KNO3 can be found for dosing. i could also import dry ferts but i require a special import license which
i am in the process of acquaring. I have read the stickies and some topics pertaining to my questions and some of them were solved.
The tank:
its a 150 gal (60'x24'x24'), i have already bought 2 2x54 watts T5HO fixtures for a total of 4 bulbs.
I am going the route of mineralized top soil and will be doing pressurized CO2 as stated above.
The goal:
Island aquascape with carpet plants around, sort of like this:
http://36.media.tumblr.com/f4329093f...c1oao1_500.jpg
Though i will do two "islands". For carpetting its either glosso or HC. Other plants will be crypts, anubias and some colorful
ones like nesaea pedicellata golden, polygonum kawaegonum, and a mix of other red, yellow, purple plants among the rotala, ludwigia species.
The questions:
I also was of the notion that light should always be as high as "demanding plants" need it, and CO2/ferts should be adjusted accordingly
But then i realized the lunacy behind non-limited light and the amount of work i would need to keep the 150 gal the same way i manage a small 10 gallon
with high light, CO2 and Ferts. I certainly know a good level of light is needed for carpetting and that the same applies to red/yellow/purple plants
But where the limit is bettween "the least amount of work while achieving my goals" and "unnecesary high light and extra work" lies is beyond me, and most likely beyond most anyone because it really does need experimentation, and i get every tank is different and that the only way to know for sure where the limit is can only be discovered by the method described here:
http://www.barrreport.com/forum/barr...agement-method
So i am going to try that, however, based on your experience with the method (or the plants i am going to grow in the tank) does this method also apply to red/yellow plants?
i mean, am i still able to get lush, colorful growth out of the plants i listed? although i am sure the method proposed works and is certainly work-reducing, i found no reference of it while dealing with colorful plants, is it because the method applies the same or is the light limit for these plants relatively high to notice any change in the work necessary? or will the plants grow but with duller coloration if i push them back to their light limit? i mean, i realize the light limit is not something written in stone, but if the light limit is around 120PAR or so then i would be forced to go full EI and make 75gal water changes weekly (which is the point of what im trying to avoid).
im saying all this based on what ive read, and i sincerely hope i have explained myself well.
Most forums i visited and information i gathered always said that red plants (eg) definitely need high light to show their best colors, any less, and they "will" grow, but pale or green (depends on species). Do understand that i am still battling that hard-wired concept of always using light as high as possible when dealing with demanding plants.
So yes, i am looking to carpet a 24' tall tank and getting colorful growth out of plants while still being able to reduce work to a minimum.(dosing and trimming is ok, but 75 gallon water changes weekly is what kills me).
Also, how is my current light setup? ive been reading the PAR information on T5 and assuming the phillips models are similar to the ones used in the article then i should have 80+ PAR directly below the fixtures(placed about 6' above the surface)
probably a lot more if the fixtures are very close to one another, and i would be getting about 30-60 PAR in the front and back parts of the tank. What do you think of the setup? do i need more light or can the plants i listed be grown under this? mind you im not sure ive made the PAR calculations correctly. its 4 bulbs total in 2 fixtures, 2x54watts each (48' long) T5HO.
Are there any plants that definitedly need that high light? i realize light is a modifier of plant metabolism but i guess there could be a plant that needs an obligatory fast metabolism? 120+ PAR otherwise it dies? which are these plants?
Then, substrates: I am mineralizing soil right now, would i need dolomite considering my water is very hard? i have KCL for an initial K source and am getting clay tomorrow. What else can i add to this soil to help in the long run?
I tried looking out for worm casting but had no luck.
Finally, ferts. I have easy access to KNO3 and KH2PO4 and get florapride for Fe and extra potassium, i always assumed calcium and magnesium came in enough quantities in the water because its very hard. But what about the rest of microutrients? what salts can i get to dose them to the tank?(i realize wanting less water changes is contradictory to depending on water for calcium and magnesium but to what extend i dont know... i would dose calcium and magnesium if knew the salts required).
I am very grateful for any help i may get, any of my questions clarified. I know its a long read and im sorry for it. Many thanks!
I am very sorry if this doesnt belong here, but i have many questions that could fit in several of the boards.
Before getting to the point, some background:
I have about a year of experience with planted tanks, and the biggest ive kept is a 39gal low-tech. I have ran DIY CO2
but i am getting everything i need for pressurized CO2. I live in a third world country where we dont get good equipment, nor
commercial substrates like ADA; i could do ebay and amazon but the import fees skyrocket the cost up to 300% and considering how much
i would need it just doesnt fit my wallet. aquarium brand fertilizers are non-existant save for florapride, but that is just
Fe + K. Some salts like KNO3 can be found for dosing. i could also import dry ferts but i require a special import license which
i am in the process of acquaring. I have read the stickies and some topics pertaining to my questions and some of them were solved.
The tank:
its a 150 gal (60'x24'x24'), i have already bought 2 2x54 watts T5HO fixtures for a total of 4 bulbs.
I am going the route of mineralized top soil and will be doing pressurized CO2 as stated above.
The goal:
Island aquascape with carpet plants around, sort of like this:
http://36.media.tumblr.com/f4329093f...c1oao1_500.jpg
Though i will do two "islands". For carpetting its either glosso or HC. Other plants will be crypts, anubias and some colorful
ones like nesaea pedicellata golden, polygonum kawaegonum, and a mix of other red, yellow, purple plants among the rotala, ludwigia species.
The questions:
I also was of the notion that light should always be as high as "demanding plants" need it, and CO2/ferts should be adjusted accordingly
But then i realized the lunacy behind non-limited light and the amount of work i would need to keep the 150 gal the same way i manage a small 10 gallon
with high light, CO2 and Ferts. I certainly know a good level of light is needed for carpetting and that the same applies to red/yellow/purple plants
But where the limit is bettween "the least amount of work while achieving my goals" and "unnecesary high light and extra work" lies is beyond me, and most likely beyond most anyone because it really does need experimentation, and i get every tank is different and that the only way to know for sure where the limit is can only be discovered by the method described here:
http://www.barrreport.com/forum/barr...agement-method
So i am going to try that, however, based on your experience with the method (or the plants i am going to grow in the tank) does this method also apply to red/yellow plants?
i mean, am i still able to get lush, colorful growth out of the plants i listed? although i am sure the method proposed works and is certainly work-reducing, i found no reference of it while dealing with colorful plants, is it because the method applies the same or is the light limit for these plants relatively high to notice any change in the work necessary? or will the plants grow but with duller coloration if i push them back to their light limit? i mean, i realize the light limit is not something written in stone, but if the light limit is around 120PAR or so then i would be forced to go full EI and make 75gal water changes weekly (which is the point of what im trying to avoid).
im saying all this based on what ive read, and i sincerely hope i have explained myself well.
Most forums i visited and information i gathered always said that red plants (eg) definitely need high light to show their best colors, any less, and they "will" grow, but pale or green (depends on species). Do understand that i am still battling that hard-wired concept of always using light as high as possible when dealing with demanding plants.
So yes, i am looking to carpet a 24' tall tank and getting colorful growth out of plants while still being able to reduce work to a minimum.(dosing and trimming is ok, but 75 gallon water changes weekly is what kills me).
Also, how is my current light setup? ive been reading the PAR information on T5 and assuming the phillips models are similar to the ones used in the article then i should have 80+ PAR directly below the fixtures(placed about 6' above the surface)
probably a lot more if the fixtures are very close to one another, and i would be getting about 30-60 PAR in the front and back parts of the tank. What do you think of the setup? do i need more light or can the plants i listed be grown under this? mind you im not sure ive made the PAR calculations correctly. its 4 bulbs total in 2 fixtures, 2x54watts each (48' long) T5HO.
Are there any plants that definitedly need that high light? i realize light is a modifier of plant metabolism but i guess there could be a plant that needs an obligatory fast metabolism? 120+ PAR otherwise it dies? which are these plants?
Then, substrates: I am mineralizing soil right now, would i need dolomite considering my water is very hard? i have KCL for an initial K source and am getting clay tomorrow. What else can i add to this soil to help in the long run?
I tried looking out for worm casting but had no luck.
Finally, ferts. I have easy access to KNO3 and KH2PO4 and get florapride for Fe and extra potassium, i always assumed calcium and magnesium came in enough quantities in the water because its very hard. But what about the rest of microutrients? what salts can i get to dose them to the tank?(i realize wanting less water changes is contradictory to depending on water for calcium and magnesium but to what extend i dont know... i would dose calcium and magnesium if knew the salts required).
I am very grateful for any help i may get, any of my questions clarified. I know its a long read and im sorry for it. Many thanks!
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