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I went and bought a potted wendtii, amazon sword, and mondo grass. i got a new bulb too but i accidentally picked up the wrong size so i have to go exchange it

i dont know what fertilizer to use

al885,

"no. im using what i already bought."

Good for you. Nevertheless, the 6,700K - although not the brightest for the human eye - is a better light for your plants. You can always switch to that one if you are not satisfied with your current growth.

Are you planning to fertilize your plants, and if so then with what?

The mossballs might be fine, but if I remember this right then you will have to turn them frequently to avoid that the underside starts to die off.

Have fun,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

no. im using what i already bought.

Yeah, babel's zero happy.

The number you're looking for is 6700K. You can vary it a bit around that number, but the closer you are, the better off your plants will be.

One of the bulbs you can find fairly easily (of course, that depends on where you are) is [link=Lifeglo 2]http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441808125&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030120&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1127951614118" style="COLOR: #00A0AE[/link]. This is what I use in MY ten gallon tank. You might be able to find a similar bulb for cheaper at your local hardware store or someplace similar.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

you got your numbers wrong, you have one extra 0. If i go to big als online, the highest bulb I see is 10,000K.

8,000 K is not the right type of light.

Switch it for something in the 65,000 range.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes
EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART.
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever..."

they had a few of those moss balls for sale, how would they do in my tank? yay or nay?

edit: I got an 8,000 K 15 watt bulb.

Last edited by al885 at 28-Sep-2005 13:20

its not as much the K bulb that matters, i think it does play a part but its the wattage that does a lot of the determing what kind of plants can go in the tank

The kelvin has everything to do with the light. You could have 5wpg of the wrong kind of light and stand around scratching your head, and the algae off the glass.

2-3watts per gallon of 65,000K Daylight is what you're looking for. 55000K will work if you cant find anything better, but it will provide a slight yellow tint to the light. 65,000K provides a clean light. You don't want any lights that say warm white, cool white, or black light.

10 watt bulbs will give you 1wpg, your plants will need more than that if you want them to survive and thrive.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes
EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART.
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever..."

Ive got just about everything, all i need is a different light bulb for the plants. but anyways my question is, how long should i wait until i start putting plants in? i bought come cycle

I see Bigals have 15W 18" flourescent bulbs. That would be better, it'll give you 1.5 wpg (watts per gallon) - enough to keep some more interesting plants like some sword species. Low light plants (e.g. crypts, ferns, anubias, java moss) would still do better though.

-P

these 18 inch bulbs only come in 10 watts by the looks. zoomeds bulbs

Last edited by al885 at 27-Sep-2005 20:51

its not as much the K bulb that matters, i think it does play a part but its the wattage that does a lot of the determing what kind of plants can go in the tank

its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

would a 5,500K rated bulb be right?

yes thats true, low light tanks dont need co2 or as much fert as stongly lit tanks as the plants in the low light tanks will not use up nutrients etc as fast.

I've read you dont need c02 on low light beginner plants, any truth to it?

thanks for the advice both of you.

Last edited by al885 at 27-Sep-2005 20:04

Chuck's got a great site following that advice should leave you with great results.

Putting the plants in first means you may not even need the cycle...plants consume ammonia after all...some planted tanks never cycle at all because the plants consume just as fast as the fish can create :%).

IME the most important things for sucessful plants is having enough light for the plants you've planted, and 2 having CO2 running so they can make use of the light to the best of their green abilities....DIY CO2 is easy enough and will work just fine on a 10 gallon.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Put the plants in straight away, lots of them. Here's a good article about setting up a planted tank:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm

Good luck!

-P