I have a planted tank and I'm just wondering if it matters what the ph is, the spectrum of lighting and if it would actually make a difference if I bought supplements for the plants

I dont dose, I run 1.5wpg no Co2 and have great growth on my stem plants and crypts, the dwarf sag dont like the low light too much, I moved it to a 15g 2wpg tank.

My Ph's range, hospital tank is 7.0, 52g is around a 8.2 possibly lower with the new wood in there and the 40g is a 7.6 all planted.

It really does matter whether or not the plants have enough light to grow. The light spectrum is actually better closer to the daylight spectrum than the 10000K plus that some people advocate. The high energy spectrum light tends to promote the growth of algae instead of the plants. The pH does not seem to matter much.

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Fishless cycling

Well IMHO yes and no.

In terms of just getting a tank setup where plants grow and fish live, planted tanks are extremely forgiving.

But for awesome plant growth then lights and nutrients do make a difference.

I have found using peat moss in the substrate and 1.5-2 watts/gallon of 6500k lights work nicely with no co2 and no dosing. KH and gh are constant over a few years at 4 degrees and 9 degrees. With no peat kh and gh increase and some fish like neon tetras do not last.

I have used flourescent of various color temperature and even incandescent lights. And in some tank very low levels. Although I do like the 6500k "pig tail" lights for looks and plant growth, the other lighting worked fine with fish and plants that lasted for years.

edit: For years i never measured pH. In my uncirculated planted tank pH is 8.4-8.8 with the api high range test kit. Even fish that are reported and "needing" much lower pH values lived for years.

But that's just me.

and my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Beasl, same here, angels and neons in 8.8Ph water with no ill or adverse effects on the fish, infact the neons lived for almost 5 years. Angels are still alive and kicking.


In my before post, I neglected to mention having 6500K bulbs for plant growth.

Beasl: I'm curious what it is that you're calling pig tail lights. . . As far as I've heard the pig tail on a light is the cable between the light its self and the plug.

Is this a new exciting toy I've never heard of?

It is the light itself not the cord the is shaped like the sprial pig tail. The compact flouresent screw in incandescent replacement bulbs.


Here's a page for 6500k spiral bulbs from the GE web site. If you click on the picture you will get a larger picture clearing showing the packaging on the shelves at walmart.

ge 6500 k pig tail lights


Thanks for asking as I am sure others were wondering also.


my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

They are CFL bulbs( Compact Flourescent Light). the go green craze bulbs.

I used two of them on my 10g planted tank(petsmart kit tank) holy crap was that tank bright, plants grew like weeds in there, I was trimming every 3-4 days. They give off a very crisp light, only downfall is they are low watt output bulbs so the bigger the better with these guys.

+1

I even searched around for an incandescent hood and paid $20 for it with no bulbs for the wife's 10g.

2 10w 6500k pigtails were like $8 and was bright. Even brighter was the 2-15w.

And the plants grow like weeds and completely fill up that tank in a couple of weeks.

Nice crisp blue-white color also.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden