Hello, I'm fairly new to this forum, although I have been reading it for quite a while now as it has loads of good info. Despite this I have a question I'd like to ask regarding lightning and hopefully you could help me decide.
First some info from me:
14 gallon tank (54 liters) 60x30x30 open top
Power Sand and Aquasoil Amazonia substrate
Hagen Aquaclear 150 hang on filter
Lightning: 2x26w 6500 CF bulbs (but not the spiral ones) on for 8 hours per day, reflectors included.
CO2 injection from Aquatic Nature 1bps for now, no fish yet.
The tank is almost 1 month old and I started dosing ADA step 2 (I couldn't find step 1 but it seems the additional Fe isn't encouraging any algae) and some k2so4 (will change to brighty k in January when I'll be able to purchase it from my local store).
As for plants I have: Rotala Rotundifolia, Ludwigia Inclinata, Pogostemon Helferi, HC, Eleocharis parvula, Proserpinaca Palustris, Java Moss and some other fast growing plants for the start up.
Regarding my question. I was wondering if the light I have now is strong enough, as my Rotala is growing extremely fast but is not that red and it doesn't seem too bushy. Also, HC had a foliage loss (could be due to its emerse form) but is creeping, although pretty slow. I was thinking of adding another 26 w bulb but was unsure if this would be wise, since it was a hassle to prevent algae (the AS was leeching tons of nutrients and had to do daily WC for 3 weeks) and would not want to unbalance what I achieved until now. Also, with all the water changes there is practically no PO4 and NO3 stays at 5 ppm. So do you think that it would improve the adding of another light bulb or would it just make my life more complicated? I don't mind complications, as long as my lovely plants are happy
Thank you in advance!
Regards,
Dana
First some info from me:
14 gallon tank (54 liters) 60x30x30 open top
Power Sand and Aquasoil Amazonia substrate
Hagen Aquaclear 150 hang on filter
Lightning: 2x26w 6500 CF bulbs (but not the spiral ones) on for 8 hours per day, reflectors included.
CO2 injection from Aquatic Nature 1bps for now, no fish yet.
The tank is almost 1 month old and I started dosing ADA step 2 (I couldn't find step 1 but it seems the additional Fe isn't encouraging any algae) and some k2so4 (will change to brighty k in January when I'll be able to purchase it from my local store).
As for plants I have: Rotala Rotundifolia, Ludwigia Inclinata, Pogostemon Helferi, HC, Eleocharis parvula, Proserpinaca Palustris, Java Moss and some other fast growing plants for the start up.
Regarding my question. I was wondering if the light I have now is strong enough, as my Rotala is growing extremely fast but is not that red and it doesn't seem too bushy. Also, HC had a foliage loss (could be due to its emerse form) but is creeping, although pretty slow. I was thinking of adding another 26 w bulb but was unsure if this would be wise, since it was a hassle to prevent algae (the AS was leeching tons of nutrients and had to do daily WC for 3 weeks) and would not want to unbalance what I achieved until now. Also, with all the water changes there is practically no PO4 and NO3 stays at 5 ppm. So do you think that it would improve the adding of another light bulb or would it just make my life more complicated? I don't mind complications, as long as my lovely plants are happy
Thank you in advance!
Regards,
Dana