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will my crypt wendtii be good in bright light
:%)

Crypts will do well in just about any lighting conditions. These are slow growers(like your anubias) but might grow quicker in higher light if all the other required nutrients are available. The crypts might turn a darker green or even a brown color in high ligh, so don't worry if you see this.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

They'll do fine.

If they have enough space they'll grow flat on the substrate rather then upwards in bright light. They are very attractive this way.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

In 4wpg my wendtii brown and red have still grown up and have grown lots. Both are probably 6" tall with a dozen baby plantlets around them. The green wendtii has spread out more and probably covers 6" wide and only 2" tall instead. My big sword plant is getting choked out by crypts.

thanks everyone im soon to get a lighting system that has 3.75 watts of light and hope they do great and spread quick :%)

Bratyboy,

If I can quote Spiderman - "with great power comes great reponsibility".

3.75 wpg is a LOT of light. If you want to be successful with that much light you'll need to bear a few things in mind. Light alone is not a guarantee of success.

Balance is the key in planted tanks. Plants need light,co2 and a supply of nutrients. Keeping these in sync with one another is the key.They are all interlinked, none is independent of the other. Pump up one with out pumping the others is throwing the system out of whack. Keep all 3 in sufficient supply and you have beautiful plants with very little algae troubles.

That much light is going to increase demand from the plants for Co2 and nutrients. If the Co2 or nutrients are not available the plants won't be able to use the available light and flourish.

Also you will need a lot of plants. 3.75 wpg over a few Crypts and Anubias is overkill.

Light fittings are not cheap so I assume by buying one you are serious about getting a good planted tank going. Getting the lights is a good step but now you need to go all the way.

Use a system like Tom Barr's Estimative Index and you can't go far wrong.

With that light level this is what you need(assuming the tank is heavily planted):
C02 20-30ppm.
Nitrates 10-20ppm.
Phosphate 1-2ppm.
Pottassium 20ppm.
Micronutrients.

How do you get it ? Not so difficult. Co2 will be the problem more then likely.
With 3.75 wpg Co2 is almost a neccessity. Depending on the size of your tank DIY may cut it but it's pretty unstable.Pressurized is best. Then it's just a matter of setting the co2 level and walking away. You can measure your Co2 by measuring KH and pH and using a calculating table to give a co2 measurement. Your KH will remain the same, pH will fall with more Co2 and rise with less, you can then reel in or out the co2 by controlling the pH.

Now with good light and plentiful Co2 the plants will go into full on growth mode and will consume nutrients in the water rapidly.So much so they will use what's in the tap water and fish poo very quickly and will need to be replaced regularly so as they continue to grow.You may find your Nitrates drop to zero, good in a fish only tank, disastrous in a planted tank.
Nitrate should be added by using KNO3.
Pottassium by using KCL Potassium Chloride or K2SO4
Phosphate by KH2PO4
(Potassium can be dropped as the KNO3 and KH2PO4 should provide adequate).
Micronutients through a good liquid fert like Flourish or Tropica Master Grow.
The chemicals listed above easy enough to find and are very cheap, you only need small quantities. A few dollars gets you enough for a year.
Dosage depends on tanks size.

It sounds a lot but it's very easy and quick. Five minutes a week and it's all done.
You add a lot of nutrients which ensures the plants are well fed. Don't sweat the dosage too much, moderate overdosing won't cause any harm. Don't worry about algae, the focus is on feeding the plants, they'll easily outcompete the algae. 50% water changes prevent any build ups.
Typical routine is
50% water change.Add KNO3 and KH2PO4. Next day dose liquid fert. Day after macros again, day after that liquid again. And so on with the 50% water change done weekly to reset everything.Adding the ferts takes literally 2 mins.

With this you are now providing the plants with everything they need, they'll grow like crazy and algae doesn't stand a chance.

Just do a google on Estimative Index and you'll get lots of info on this method.

It may sound complicated but it's not. It's a routine, a very simple and effective one.

Word of caution.All the components have to be put in place at the same time. The biggest mistake most make is adding everything piecemeal. Money is an issue for most. Some think I'll buy the lights now, and more plants later, then save for the co2. This is is a mistake and leads to to long drawn out frustrating and problematic set up.

Plant heavily, and by heavily I mean 80% of the substrate area should be planted. Use a good amount of fast growers. Have lights and Co2 ready to go immediately. Get the co2 right and add ferts from the start.

If you don't want to go this way or don't want to tackle co2 then the best thing you do is cancel your order for the lights ! Go with something like 2wpg. Less light = slower growth = less demand for Co2 and nutrients. It also equals less algae.

You probably didn't want all this info but I'm feeling wordy today



Last edited by bensaf at 29-Jun-2005 01:28

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

great post bensaf. i don't have much to add (ok none at all ) except that i have red wendtii's in my 50g with 3wpg and co2 and they have grown about 12 inches tall with pretty broad leaves. when i had them in my 10g with 1.5wpg and co2, they got really leggy with narrow leaves but still grew up past the top of the tank. they didn't actually come out of the tank, they just kinda folded over once they reached the top.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

great post bensaf.

Moondog,
Much as I'd like to take the credit, it's all Tom Barr's work - I'm just giving a pretty poor describtion of the method.

For a high light co2 tank with a large bio mass of plants, the Estimative Index is a pretty bullet proof method.I've been using it for a few months now and love it. It's easy quick and simple, just routine. Plants look great and haven't seen a new speck of algae since starting, the tank sparkles.Many many others will tell you the same.

Tom has proven that algae is not caused by excess nutrients but rather by a lack of nutrients which slow plant growth thus giving the algae an opening. His method's focus is on plant health NOT algae eradication.A couple a years ago the thought of ADDING phosphate to a planted tank would have given some a heart attack. But it works. When I sarted adding phosphate, the only algae I had a problem with (green spot) dissapeared !!.

He's recently been working on finding the upper limits of nutrients before algae kicks in. It's amazingly high. He's pushed NO3 to 100ppm without any algae outbreak. Of course it would lead to dead fish and plant toxicity,but not algae, but the tests show that using the EI is very easy and safe. Even a big overdose is not going to cause issues. The weekly 50% keeps anything from building up and means you are constantly re-setting the tank anyway. The water change is not a neccessity but gives a bigger comfort zone and more elbow room.

But again it's a method for a tank with a lot of light , Co2 and big plant bio mass.With a lower bio mass of plants or higher fish load there may be some adjustment to the dosing required. But the target levels are there, and by testing for the first couple of weeks or simple observation of the plants you quickly get a feel on how to set the dosing for your own tank.A tank with a lot of Pleco's for example may not need to add so much NO3.

But there are other methods for the non co2 tank that work just as well. I have used those in my small non co2 tank successfully also. Pretty much the same, focus on growing plants. With the non co2 tank there's about 8 to 10 times less demand for nutrients. Plants are just as healthy just the growth rate is a lot slower, which is good thing if you have the patience. Unfortunately many, mostly beginners, don't.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.