Hello all, after some setbacks concerning my fish, I've finally decided to invest myself in taking care of the plants I've purchased as well.
I thought it was fine to purchase hardier plants, buy a Flora sun Maximum Plant growth bulb, overstock the tank so that there's a ton of food and poop particles for the plants to feed on and voila!
Yea, no, that didn't work out so well. I guess the LFS generalized the terminology "hardy" when I decided to purchase all these plants.
I currently have the following plants:
1 Java fern
1 Laced Java fern
1 Wisteria
1 Hedge Plant
1 Anubias Nanas
2 Anacharis
2 Amazon Swords
1 Water Sprite
I have a 75 gallon tank that recently had a breakout of ich and I thus had to use salt (-_-).
The Amazons, Water Sprite, and Anacharis are suffering the most, probably a combination from poor lighting and the salt.
Java fern and anubias nanas seems to be able to handle anything, so I'm not too concerned about them.
I've tried researching this forum for past entries and online to see what sort of lighting fixture I should get, etc, but most of them were too generalized for me to really get an idea of what is the best thing for me to do.
First off, it's my understanding that no matter what bulb I get, the current standard light strip that comes with the tank (marineland perfecto), will not be adequate for plants, is this correct?
If so, what should I replace it with, and are there any safe and cheaper alternatives to produce the correct lighting for my plants? I intend to make it a medium to heavily planted tank. I'm wondering because I checked up on fish stores and have seen their light fixtures (Nova Extreme or something), and they seem to be placed at over $150, which seems ridiculous to me considering I got the tank/light strip/top for less than that.
Also, does anybody have an idea of how much using those particular lighting fixtures, adds on to your electric bills? I've a feeling the landlord will come to me with complaints. I'm just trying to imagine all these articles talking about 2 to 5 times per gallon of watts, for about 10 hours a day, it sounds like a lot in my head.
Finally, to reiterate the knowledge I just crammed into my head, I am suppose to get fluorescent lighting, a total of minimum 150 watts, in full spectrum?
Ahh P.S. I don't intend to go for needy plants that require high lighting. I've little interest in them as an actual hobby (I doubt I can afford the Co2 needs, nor trust myself to do a DIY Co2 injector), but moreso just to ensure the fish many hiding places and a lovely presentation.
Thanks for any assistance
I thought it was fine to purchase hardier plants, buy a Flora sun Maximum Plant growth bulb, overstock the tank so that there's a ton of food and poop particles for the plants to feed on and voila!
Yea, no, that didn't work out so well. I guess the LFS generalized the terminology "hardy" when I decided to purchase all these plants.
I currently have the following plants:
1 Java fern
1 Laced Java fern
1 Wisteria
1 Hedge Plant
1 Anubias Nanas
2 Anacharis
2 Amazon Swords
1 Water Sprite
I have a 75 gallon tank that recently had a breakout of ich and I thus had to use salt (-_-).
The Amazons, Water Sprite, and Anacharis are suffering the most, probably a combination from poor lighting and the salt.
Java fern and anubias nanas seems to be able to handle anything, so I'm not too concerned about them.
I've tried researching this forum for past entries and online to see what sort of lighting fixture I should get, etc, but most of them were too generalized for me to really get an idea of what is the best thing for me to do.
First off, it's my understanding that no matter what bulb I get, the current standard light strip that comes with the tank (marineland perfecto), will not be adequate for plants, is this correct?
If so, what should I replace it with, and are there any safe and cheaper alternatives to produce the correct lighting for my plants? I intend to make it a medium to heavily planted tank. I'm wondering because I checked up on fish stores and have seen their light fixtures (Nova Extreme or something), and they seem to be placed at over $150, which seems ridiculous to me considering I got the tank/light strip/top for less than that.
Also, does anybody have an idea of how much using those particular lighting fixtures, adds on to your electric bills? I've a feeling the landlord will come to me with complaints. I'm just trying to imagine all these articles talking about 2 to 5 times per gallon of watts, for about 10 hours a day, it sounds like a lot in my head.
Finally, to reiterate the knowledge I just crammed into my head, I am suppose to get fluorescent lighting, a total of minimum 150 watts, in full spectrum?
Ahh P.S. I don't intend to go for needy plants that require high lighting. I've little interest in them as an actual hobby (I doubt I can afford the Co2 needs, nor trust myself to do a DIY Co2 injector), but moreso just to ensure the fish many hiding places and a lovely presentation.
Thanks for any assistance