DubbieBoy Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Yep; those are the lamps I'm using - they put out a LOT of light. Electronic ballasts to run these are available from Rexel electrical (or any electrical suppliers I'd imagine), they're not very expensive as they're a common enough fitting. The ballast gear that runs your regular flouro tube is not compatible and would have to be replaced. You could just ring Rexel for a price on an electronic ballast for a 36W power-compact flourescent tube; they can supply the bulbs too (6,500K, Osram) but may have to get them in (from Christchurch). Alternatively Plantman seems to have some... Disclaimer... You may need to have your friendly, neighbourhood, fully-certified electrician replace the ballast for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Hi PeneJane. Remember you need to think about what you want to achieve and light it accordingly. You should also consider that if you add two or 3 of these sets, dont wire the whole lot together... You can always put them on seperate timers and have one come on for only 6 hours a day while the other tube runs for 10-12 hours per day. Giving the effect of the sun rising, "Midday sun", and then afternoon. Might sound corny but you could think of it as trying tp replicate as close as posible what happens in nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DubbieBoy Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Further to my previous post, I'd just like to add that when I was putting together my lighting requirements, I got everything from here... http://www.ahsupply.com/ Even after shipping, they were cheaper but the best part is the reflectors that they supply which are very efficient and do a great job of focussing all the light downwards. Sorry if we have wandered a bit off topic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramuk Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Guys, for substrate fertilizer, you can get away with using Jobe sticks (they are a lot cheaper) They come in different NPK combinations. Use the one with teh lowest P. I have used them in teh past, and they sit tight under the gravel and don't seem to leach anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 A lot of red or red/brown plants sold are realy pot plants and would be better off on grannies window ledge. Riccia is great for live bearers or fish that don't like strong light like many killies but acts like sun block if you are trying to grow plant. People talk about so much light per litre but the more important thing is depth of water. If you have adequate light in a 300mm tank you will need 10 times as much in a 600mm tank not twice as much. By this time you are getting too much light in the top 300mm. That is why most things in fish keeping are a compromise and you need to experiment and see what works for you. I think your tank depth would be great for plant but will need more light unless you grow plant that will get by without much. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted November 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 I have added some fert sticks many months ago (june/july) and my plants have taken off really well. The one plant that I can't stop from growing and is very quickly taking over the tank and is needing trimming almost weekly is the Ambulia (think I got that right) the one that looks similar to cabomba. I have almost half a tank of this stuff so I am going to get more sticks for my other 3 breeding tanks as they come in. Other plants are taking off well in there to but I have no idea what the name of them are and my camera takes crappy shots so I can't take photos of them either. I will be getting a new camera in a yrs time that has a 10cm macro WOO HOO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.