AquaMike Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Hey guys so i got an aqua zonic max bright light for my soon to be 50 litre(15 us gallons) planted tank. The specs are T8 2x18watt, one tube says sunlight and the other says super tropical tube( its pink), Ive kept cold water fish for most of my life but this is my first real attempt at a planted tropical tank and was wondering if anyone can tell me if my current light would be enough to grow plantes and if so whats the lighting range ie. High, medium, low, and also i have a few plants in my cold water tank without lighting and they been fine. And also i will be using Daltons aquatic mix and a thin layer of aquatic peat capped off with some aquaone black silica sand, not sure of the fish yet but most likely a few Rasboras and a couple of cleaners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Your lighting is low-medium. I run 1x T8 tube on a similar sized tank and it grow most plants quite slowly. You could grow most stems under those lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaMike Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Ok cool, thanx and if i replace the pink tube with another sunlight tube would that make my lighting any higher or not? Im going for a tank that can grow most plants, might even chuck on a DIY co2 system as ive been told it helps even on low light tanks Depending on what you guys reccomend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Personally if you were planning on running more light I think you would need some form of co2, either diy, pressurized or dosing excel, if not you will more than likely get massive algae issues especially using a dirt base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Keep the light as is, it'll be more stable and easier to manage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaMike Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 what would you suggest then if im looking for the best and fastest growth I could get with my setup I currently have? id like to keep anubias, java fern, rotala, cabomba, crypts, ambulia, amazon sword, hair grass, micro sword crystal wort and so on, maybe not all at once but I sort of want a setup that can grow all of those good enough to look nice and not die away. Also is Daltons aquatic mix a good choice for a nutrient rich base layer substrate? I was tempted to buy that aquabasis plus stuff but its abit expensive and figured that Daltons aquatic mix should be good enough. I was thinking an inch or so layer of Daltons mix and capped off with and inch or so of black silica sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 I'm using daltons in a tank at the moment and it's working great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaMike Posted August 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 sweet az im happy I didn't waste my money then, I was thinking of selling it by the kilo on trademe to help out people bcoz I know a lot of people cant seem to find it anywhere and I know how much the aquarium versions cost compared to this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 All of the plants you listed will grow fast enough under those lights, once established, trimming fast plants is a pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaMike Posted August 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 To be honest ill probs let it go jungle as for run in cycle and once cycled get to trimming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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