FishProfiles.com Message Forums

hey.. setting up a new tank but not sure about wat tubes to put in my 4ft dual heto reflector.
i havnt really had a proper planted setup, been more into africans lately but im finally seting a plated 54"x18"x24" discus tank.

i was thinking of maybe puttin two powerglos in there???
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=112&PROD_ID=01016300020101

but im not sure..

tank will not have co2, will have latrite topped of with iron ore gravel.
plants wont be difficult.. eg swords, crypts, anubias, vals .. still deciding wat else..

thx in advance.

Hi rOb3y,
I recently went thru the process of deciding if I should try a DIY Co2 kit and the trail done by a friend was a disaster With the help from upikabu, another member of FP, he helped me set up what I needed for my heavily planted 5'(79g) tank. This is what I have set up:-
1 x double Heto Light
1 x single Heto Light
1 x Sylvannia Aqualux White 36w Tube
1 x Coral Blue 36w Tube
1 x Sylvannia Growlux Pink 36w Tube
I also purchased and use the following fertilizers every 2nd week:-
Sera Florena and Leaf Zone
I have to admit that just recently I have some awful algae on one of my anubias and philodendron, but this seems to have stopped spreading since I've stopped turning on the Coral Blue Light. I'm also using Algaefix to get this algae under control. I won't be using the Coral Blue light in future. I'm not sure if this is correct but I read somewhere that you should go on 1 watt per gallon of your tank.

---

My Fish like swimming all day long,
They love my bubbles 'pop' on their bum!
http://photos.yahoo.com/shedevil_90

Powerglos would work fine but it depends if you like the color and they are more expensive than you need. A couple daylight spectrum bulbs from the hardware store would work just as well and cost around half as much. Most of the glo bulbs tend to give off a purplish or reddish tint compared to other bulbs. Can make some cool effects with it though such as I use 2 aquaglo bulbs for morning and evening and it looks a bit like a sunrise and sunset. The powerglos probably aren't as bad as the flora and aqua glo bulbs but I'd still bet they are slightly reddish when compared to other bulbs.

thank you for your replys..
i have used the aquaglos before and like the colour.. but have never used the powerglos. ill either go the 2 powerglos or 2 aquaglos..
wat do yous think....

the tank is 95 gallon so ill be under in wats as the bulbs are 40w each..

r0b3y

Hi,

I have just put on a new Heto dual reflector with 1 x sylvania aquastar 10,000k (pink) and 1 x 6,700k hardware variety tube(white).

What I found was that the 6,700 tube made the tank look very bright green, but when I added the 10,000k tube it counter-acted it and made the tank appear more natural and brought out the colours of the fish.

You will need at least the 6,700k for plant growth, could you fit another reflector on the top of your tank, then you could have more wpg. I started with a single reflector and have definately noticed a big change in plant growth since putting the double reflector on.

Cheers
Crusha

---

Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

r0b3y,

I assume that you have a fluorescent fixture with four tubes. I do like bulbs that are 500k to 6700k for planted tanks but I have also noticed that the bulbs do give the tank a "green" tinge.

My fixture uses four compact fluorescent tubes and I recently re-lamped the fixture with two 6700 lamps and two lamps that are "dual", both 6700 and 10000k. I like to brightness that the 10000k bulbs provide as it does seem to eliminate the tinge from the 6700K lights.

My recommendation is to use two FloraGlow and two PowerGlow lamps. Place the PolwerGlow lamps in the front of the fixture. I believe that Hagen has a lighting chart available at lamp displays...



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Use whatever glo blulbs you like. The plants will grow the same amount under any of them. I'm told under blue light they stay shorter and spread out more and under red light they get taller instead of wider. Never noticed much difference. Many people say around 6,700k is white light and normal sunlight color. I think anything under 10,000k looks really really yellow. I like a slightly blue tint to my tanks during the day. Right now I mostly have 12,000k and 10,000k bulbs over my planted tanks. The only one that doesn't have that is the little 5g because you can't get screw in compacts above 6,700k very easily. The plants don't really care that much.