Adrienne Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Sorry for the slow reply, my night is pretty much your day currently. I don't know the solution to the lighting and I am not technically minded enough to be able to have successfully worked it out yet. I can get saggitaria micro folia to grow but it stays short, short for even a dwarf sag. You could Plant it out with plants that are better in lower light for the bottom areas of your tank or you will eventually have to look at halogen or similar lights in the long run. However, my suggestion is to start off with what you understand, as you are, and build on it from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 In my experience with T5 lighting you are really getting to maximum carpeting depth at about 50cm. Adrienne has said, when you get to about 60cm in depth they do no provide enough power to be effective in a high-tech tank. Depending on the types of plants you are wanting to grow, you could be up for quite a challenge with a tank that's 80cm. What type of plants are you looking at using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I would go with LEDs. You get more depth and par with them. They also don't need to be replaced as often as flouresents and are more power efficent. The only thing is that they can cost more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I would go with LEDs. You get more depth and par with them. They also don't need to be replaced as often as flouresents and are more power efficent. The only thing is that they can cost more. Yeah I think we will have to supplement the T5's with LED's to get some of the plants which require an extreme amount of light. Once I get serious with some carpet plant's I can see this might be an issue for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 I would go with LEDs. You get more depth and par with them. They also don't need to be replaced as often as flouresents and are more power efficent. The only thing is that they can cost more. the intial cost of LED is more than saved on power alone, but you also save on never having to change the bulbs. don't know if anything decent is being imported yet (easy to get chinese made ones but do you trust it???) so have a look at the American or German websites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Thanks - yes - I have not been able to find a setup that I think its going to be suitable for my tank - at a reasonable price. I can always just lower the water level slightly should I need to. This will get my by for now. Went on a trek to port waikato today to see about finding some wood - got some really nice bits of drift wood. Also went to stone and water world and got some amazing schist - very nice large rocks and only $1.04 per kg - (got 70KGS). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ok - so cancelled my order for lighthing .. stressing a little over the right setup. I'm back to square one. :facepalm: Anyone have a deep planted setup and care to share they lighting setup with me? :nilly: Also - is anyone doing LED on a big tank. Keen to hear some thoughts here. The idea was for 8 t5's in the tank - however .. 4 x gropro and 4 x day lights - but with so many comments about the depth and light - I am worried it could be an expensive mistake (around $2500).. So now I look for some wisdom from those who have walked this path before... Or if you have an idea as to how you would set the lighting up - please post your scenario for me to consider. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ok so .. earlier in the thread I talked about how the top of the stand seemed to be around 2mm out at one end of the tank. This meant that there was 2mm that you could lift the ply of the base before it made contact with the tank. So tonight I stood around looking at the stand for an hour before using wooden builders wedges and selleys no more nails to fill the gap. The ply now sits hard up against the glass in all corners .. along front and back. When water is slowely put into the tank, everythihg should sit tight and level. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Nice work! I haven't done a tank taller than 600 but LEDs will be very cool. I think you would have made a mistake buying those fluoro's. Maybe check out the forum part of plantedtank.net . There are a lot of people over there that will be able to help you get the right lighting. For $2500 I'm sure you could get a really nice kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 THanks for that antwan - I have posted on that forum asking for some lighting advice - I am sure they have a wealth of knowledge to share .. I'll keep you posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I can't help with any suggestions...I only have small tanks that do not require all the technical know how stuff :slfg: BUT....I cannot wait to see this tank with everything set up in it :spop: :spop: :spop: Love the idea of the black substrate :thup: WOWEEEEEEEEEEEE! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks Caper - I am looking forward to it also - I think I have the lighting sorted .. next stop .. plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 I think I have the lighting sorted Do tell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 I would ask Tom Barr on his Tom Barr Report Forum... I think he would have experience with lighting a tank of that depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecap Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 !drool: , productivity will increase? I have said that i would get rid of the TV for something like that at home........... the rest of the house hold don't seem to agree..... oh well The pic of it in the office did remind me of a link from simonsaquascapeblog, if you haven't already seen it despite the narrator i did watch it all It is gonna be an awesome addition to the office, can't wait to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for the thecap Yeah - i was actually inspired by the greenmachine to do this tank as a planted tank - I saw the size of the stuff they would with and decided that it was a worthwhile challenge and looks amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Ok - awesome news - lights arrived yesterday minus the bulbs. I will have to go and hunt some of these down from the usual retailers. I AM going to be using t5 fluro bulb setup for now - and this will be supplemented in the future with some other lights - which I am planning for at the moment - but not in a hurry to buy. The lights I got were GLO T5HO 48" 122cm (2 x 54w). I was very lucky to be contacted by someone who provided these to me at a very reasonable price. Nice to have made a decision - given the amount of different views and opinions of some people. Everyone has a preference - which has allowed me to explore the different aspects of lighting and learn alot about what I could setup. I am going to hange these above the tank. The idea is to have them able to be hoisted into the roof when maintenance needs to happen. Rather than having to remove them everytime someone wants to hope into the tank. As tempting as it was to setup LED's - I just don't have the time to learn - trial - error - learn - rebuilt a setup just at the moment. The 8 t5 bulbs will give me sufficient PAR to grow almost all of the plans I want to put in the tank - I'm going to have some very small limitations in some areas within the tank - so I will use low light plants for those areas. If I need more lighting - a couple of MH lights will be added to the setup in the centre of the tank which I will run for 4 - 6 hours per day in addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Oh - and it's substrate day! - fingers crossed I get some time to go and pick this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Cool :spop: Remember you can increase PAR with good reflectors. Looking forward to pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 The Glos have good parabolic reflectors 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 Sounding good! Just waiting or your next post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 Trip to hollywood fish farm today in Mt Roskill to pick up my substrates and a few other random bits. We are now all set for our install and arrangement of our hardscape. First up we have for base - JBL Aquabasis plus - this base mix will ensure the plants root system at the bottom of the tank will have a nutrient rich system to tap into. - effective for a minimum of 3 years. essentially it is a fertiliser tha does not require any mixing with sand as it is already premixed essentially. JBL Florapol 200 - this is essentially the concentrate fertiliser that makes up the above product. I won't be pre mixing this and it's certainly not normally required - however given my tank size and the amount of plants - I've decided to add another nutirient layer to the tank. My first base if you liek is Seachems Flourite Black Sand - This will be spread on top of the ferts - It can be used on it's own - but is only good for a short time if not using a base. The last layer is a black grit - it is a fine grit and looks like course black unground salt. I will post a photo when I have one. If I am a bit thin I will use the grit to top the tank up. I also got my first 4 bulbs today - 4 more to pick up tomorrow. Filter wool - couple large bags of this .. - will be used in my mechanical filter. I got http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/deta ... -25/m/937/ which is the Marina Aqua Vac - you would have seen this in your local fish shop - most of them use it for quick water changes - no buckets required. I also got some additional hose to go with it. Also got some other general products that I will need for cycling the water and prime etc. Here is a generic photo from this afternon showing some goodies and my hospital tank in the background. This weekend we hope to start our scape. This all depends on how our wood. I am also looking for tons of plants - if you have loads of plants - can recommend someone who has them or just know where I can go - please let me know .. especially interested in mosses, grasses, carpeting plants, blades etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Trip to hollywood fish farm today in Mt Roskill to pick up my substrates and a few other random bits. We are now all set for our install and arrangement of our hardscape. First up we have for base - JBL Aquabasis plus - this base mix will ensure the plants root system at the bottom of the tank will have a nutrient rich system to tap into. - effective for a minimum of 3 years. essentially it is a fertiliser tha does not require any mixing with sand as it is already premixed essentially. JBL Florapol 200 - this is essentially the concentrate fertiliser that makes up the above product. I won't be pre mixing this and it's certainly not normally required - however given my tank size and the amount of plants - I've decided to add another nutirient layer to the tank. My first base if you liek is Seachems Flourite Black Sand - This will be spread on top of the ferts - It can be used on it's own - but is only good for a short time if not using a base. The last layer is a black grit - it is a fine grit and looks like course black unground salt. I will post a photo when I have one. If I am a bit thin I will use the grit to top the tank up. I also got my first 4 bulbs today - 4 more to pick up tomorrow. Filter wool - couple large bags of this .. - will be used in my mechanical filter. I got http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/deta ... -25/m/937/ which is the Marina Aqua Vac - you would have seen this in your local fish shop - most of them use it for quick water changes - no buckets required. I also got some additional hose to go with it. Also got some other general products that I will need for cycling the water and prime etc. Here is a generic photo from this afternon showing some goodies and my hospital tank in the background. This weekend we hope to start our scape. This all depends on how our wood. I am also looking for tons of plants - if you have loads of plants - can recommend someone who has them or just know where I can go - please let me know .. especially interested in mosses, grasses, carpeting plants, blades etc. Nice, but I thought you were going to go 100% Seachems Flourite? If only you where doing this a couple of months ago when I broke down my large tank, I got rid of a load of plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted June 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I was always intending on getting the best substrate base, i think i was pretty sure the flourite was going to do the job! Its ok! I went on a successful journey and found some plants today and a few other little surprises! But im tight lipped just at the moment! Substrate down and hardscape tomorrow! Plants due for sunday at this stage! This is it ! Its party time! I have a whole lot of updates in addition which :happy2: i will post later tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I've heard that top soil capped with flourite works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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