emilie5459 Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 hi everyone!!! it is time for me to change my lights, i have been told that it is a powerpack, not tubers... though i will send a picture to make sure. my tank is the AquaStyle 620T... (the middle, black one on the left colum) http://www.aquaone.co.uk/AquaStyle_aquarium.php 130L Dimensions Tank: 62W x 38D x 72H cm Lighting: 2x18w PL i have 2 x 18W - 14000k if that means anything to u!! :-? because it doesn't to me i heard that these are useless for plants. i have a reasonably planted tank, but not too much, and i have always had the "black leaves" problem. so does anyone know what i should buy? the brand,how many "K" or watts etc... thanks so much guys emilie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 can we get any Interpet Compact T5 Starter Units, in NZ?? http://store.livingseas.co.uk/index.asp ... &catid=176 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 The AR units often have an odd size bulb that can only be ordered in from Masterpet. With a 60cm wide tank that may not be the problem, but first we should address the issue of the "powerpack not the tubers" issue. Is your starter/ballast the problem? If so, you'll need to get a whole new unit. Arcadia makes a fluoro starter like in this auction but that unit would be too strong for lights in a 60cm tank. I'd try replacing the bulbs first. Go to an electrical wholesaler and tell them you need 6500K/daylight bulbs. If the bulbs aren't a go, you'l have to replace the starter and can probably use the new bulbs anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 thanks is the starter/ballast what the powerpack goes into?? i don't there is a problem with that my bulbs are about 1 year and 1/2, though i my plants have never thrived and the edges of the leaves are always black. i'll try buy the 65ook daylight bulbs and try them thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 .... so there's an AC adapter that plugs into the starter/ballast? I have a couple Aqua One tanks and haven't seen that before. Perhaps a newer model than mine. Well, can't go wrong with new bulbs anyways. Best of luck finding the ones you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 i'm so confused what is an AC adapter and a starter/balast i'll try send some photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 these are some pictures, hope they work!! http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?Phot ... 3093984553 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Remove one of the bulbs and take it to your LFS, they will be able to order you in a replacement. The K rating is the colour of the light (aka temperature). 2700 kelvins is your normal household bulb (ugly yellow), daylight is 6500 or 7000 kelvins, white is 10,000 kelvins and anything higher moves in to more of a blue/white. For plants you really want 6500 or 7000 kelvin lights. When ordering from your LFS you should have more than one option of tube, try to get one as close to 6500 kelvins as you can (but no lower than about 5500). Each tube will cost around $30ish. You wont have any choices other than the temperature (K rating) to worry about. I think when you say 'Powerpack' you actually mean 'Power Compact'. Powerpacks are those black box things you plug in to the wall to recharge your cellphone or iPod etc lol (also known as an AC Adaptor) which you wont have on your tank. Power Compacts are a type of lamp often used in fish tanks though Hope this helped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 will that be enough to grow plants and get rid of the blacky brown algea that sits on the leaves?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 It'll be more than enough to grow plants The black algae is common in tanks with an inbalance. If the plants grow fast enough they'll use the algae's resources first, so it wont grow, hopefully getting lights in the proper kelvin range will cure this. However if its still a problem aftwards, you'll need to come back and make another thread, as thats a whole topic on its own! Flourish Excel, CO2 injection, cleaner water, and maybe a SAE/Flying Fox fish are all helpers against it, but hopefully you wont need any of those. A 6500K light is just as bright as a 14000K light, its just the colour spectrum they put out thats different, both use the same amount of power etc Plants like daylight, algae isnt picky. Hope that helps Is your algae look like little black hairs or more of a slime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 from above it looks like slime, but if you look at it reali closely u can see little, little strings sorry that doesn't help, there is both i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 so, ok i will go to my LFS and get the closest 6500 kelvins power compact i can find. i will by some excell flourish too, to help the plants grow. 3 more questions?? :lol: ***what is the watts for the power compact, or will they know? ***will this 6500K bulb be a good light fish, and bring out the colours? ***what types of plants do you think would be suitable for my style of tank? thanks so much. sorry i've asked so many questions!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 They'll know, and it will be written on your tube/bulb too Most tropical fish look great under 6500K, it's like being outside. I'm not sure which bulbs bring out colours precisely the best, but most people I talk to seem to think fish look great under 6500K. Your plant range is huge, lots of options, I'll leave that up to the aquatic experts on here as I'm terrible with plant names. Oh and with the Flourish Excel, it's not a fertiliser, just so you know, its a carbon supplement, does a similar job as injecting carbon dioxide, its a great way too boost plants without boosting algae growth. If you've got algae, you probably wont need any fertiliser stuff like standard Flourish etc Only downside with Flourish Excel is the cost, its like $30 a bottle which is just enough to stop me from using it. What fish do you have? An algae eating fish might help a lot if you dont have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilie5459 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 yeah that's great!!! i'm so ecited to get rid of the little buggar (algea!! haha) yeah i have, though in another tank, because my one is cycling 4 golden barbs 2 zebra danios 2 guppies 3 peppered corys 1 moonlight gouramy (not sure of the name!) um i was thinking of getting 1 bristlnose catfishand and 2 otocinclus yes i have to agree with you flourish excell is reali, expensive thanks spiderweb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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