Planted tank?

[goldfisher]

Hi!My 180g tank is under cycling process right now.My plan is to make it a planted tank with assorted tetras.My current lighting system is 72"aqualight with 3 250W Mh which I'm trying not to use, instead,I will only use the power compact(4,36"power compact) that comes with it.I'm only gonna keep an easy to care plant at this time.My question is what type of light do I need in terms of kelvin rating, which will make plants grow and make the fish colorful.Thanks

[R_sustaita]

it also depends on what plants you are trying to grow. i am no expert but the amount of light should match the type of plants.

[eklikewhoa]

Drain the tank... decide on how you want to go about this cause planting dry and all from the start would almost negate the cycle since the plants would utilize any. nitrogen cycle that starts. Also easier to scape this way.

In all honesty.... RUN THE 3x250w!!!! That would be my first choice if I had it!

[Complexity]

There is only one answer to your question... it depends.

It depends on what your main goals are. I have tanks with all kinds of lighting and setups, all of which are happily planted with nicely growing plants. So I know you can have a planted tank with just about any lighting you want. You can't grow every plant under every lighting, but there are plenty of plants that you can grow under whatever lighting you choose to make it work however you want.

As far as kelvin rating, I use a combination of 6000 + 10000 and 6500 + 10000. The 6000K range is mostly to grow the plants while the 10000K range is to give a brighter, more white look to the overall tank and fish. With 3 bulbs, you could mix 2 6500K bulbs with one 10000K bulb so you can have both. I'd put the 6500K bulbs on the outside banks and put the 10000K on the inside.

Drain the tank... decide on how you want to go about this cause planting dry and all from the start would almost negate the cycle since the plants would utilize any. nitrogen cycle that starts. Also easier to scape this way.

I disagree with this. The cycling process is the accumulation of beneficial bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite, and then nitrite to nitrate. Even though plants will utilize nitrate, nitrite, and even ammonia in the tank, it will not remove or starve out existing bacteria, rendering the cycling process null and void. Instead, plants will often arrive with beneficial bacteria on their surface which adds to the cycling process, and the utilization of the nutrients in the water often helps ease the cycling process from spikes, making it safer for the fish.

At the same time, plants contribute to the cycling process by adding dead plant material which breaks down into ammonia which is then converted by the beneficial bacteria.

Until the tank's cycle is fully stabilized, it's hard to say which contributes more—the plants adding to the ammonia through dead plant material or the plants utilizing nutrients in the water.

In all honesty.... RUN THE 3x250w!!!! That would be my first choice if I had it!

Why? That's a ton of light to be throwing on a very large planted tank, requiring considerable time and effort to start up and then maintain, possibly begging the need for injected CO2 and dosed ferts. Not everyone wants a tank like that nor does everyone want to start up a tank that way. Often it's better to start out with low light and work your way up (if desired) as the tank matures. Keep in mind that when you get into tanks as large as 180g, the wpg ratio no longer applies.

[eklikewhoa]

I've done all my planted tanks this way and fully stocked them days later once the dust settled... haven't lost a single fish/shrimp since nor do I own a test kit so you may be correct but it works for me.

by fully stocked I don't mean a few tetras or a couple of shrimp. I like seeing a full tank so ..... I can only offer my personal experience of it.

[goldfisher]

There is only one answer to your question... it depends.

It depends on what your main goals are. I have tanks with all kinds of lighting and setups, all of which are happily planted with nicely growing plants. So I know you can have a planted tank with just about any lighting you want. You can't grow every plant under every lighting, but there are plenty of plants that you can grow under whatever lighting you choose to make it work however you want.

As far as kelvin rating, I use a combination of 6000 + 10000 and 6500 + 10000. The 6000K range is mostly to grow the plants while the 10000K range is to give a brighter, more white look to the overall tank and fish. With 3 bulbs, you could mix 2 6500K bulbs with one 10000K bulb so you can have both. I'd put the 6500K bulbs on the outside banks and put the 10000K on the inside.



I disagree with this. The cycling process is the accumulation of beneficial bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite, and then nitrite to nitrate. Even though plants will utilize nitrate, nitrite, and even ammonia in the tank, it will not remove or starve out existing bacteria, rendering the cycling process null and void. Instead, plants will often arrive with beneficial bacteria on their surface which adds to the cycling process, and the utilization of the nutrients in the water often helps ease the cycling process from spikes, making it safer for the fish.

At the same time, plants contribute to the cycling process by adding dead plant material which breaks down into ammonia which is then converted by the beneficial bacteria.

Until the tank's cycle is fully stabilized, it's hard to say which contributes more—the plants adding to the ammonia through dead plant material or the plants utilizing nutrients in the water.



Why? That's a ton of light to be throwing on a very large planted tank, requiring considerable time and effort to start up and then maintain, possibly begging the need for injected CO2 and dosed ferts. Not everyone wants a tank like that nor does everyone want to start up a tank that way. Often it's better to start out with low light and work your way up (if desired) as the tank matures. Keep in mind that when you get into tanks as large as 180g, the wpg ratio no longer applies.

Very informative.Thank you so much.All I need is about 2 to 3 easy types of plant to cover my overflow and to provide a natural hideout for the fishes.Very good suggestion of combining different kelvin ratings.By the way here's my 180g that I would like to share with you all here in HFB(just before I took it down)http://www.marsh-reef.org/showthread...Buddy-SPS-Tank

[Complexity]

I've done all my planted tanks this way and fully stocked them days later once the dust settled... haven't lost a single fish/shrimp since nor do I own a test kit so you may be correct but it works for me.

by fully stocked I don't mean a few tetras or a couple of shrimp. I like seeing a full tank so ..... I can only offer my personal experience of it.

I don't doubt it. However, I would not advise this to anyone without specifying that this only works when the tank is fully planted and the plants grow well (low amount of die off). While this is often what most people think of when starting a planted tank, some people mistake the notion of a planted tank to mean 1 java fern, 2 anubias, and maybe a small ball of moss, all of which are barely growing. There has to be enough healthily growing plant mass to utilize the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in the water or things can go south in a hurry.

[Complexity]

Very informative.Thank you so much.All I need is about 2 to 3 easy types of plant to cover my overflow and to provide a natural hideout for the fishes.Very good suggestion of combining different kelvin ratings.By the way here's my 180g that I would like to share with you all here in HFB(just before I took it down)http://www.marsh-reef.org/showthread...Buddy-SPS-Tank

Very nice tank! I imagine it was hard to tear it down. What kind of fish are you planning to keep in the tank now?

If all you're wanting are a few plants, then by all means, keep the light low; otherwise, you'll be growing a ton of algae. What you can plant will also be influenced by what fish you want to keep and by the substrate you intend to use. I'm gathering the idea that the plants are more of an accent to the tank than the main theme of the tank?

[Totenkampf]

for optimum plant growth the bulbs should have a heat rating of 6000-6700k. you can also mix in a couple of the roseate bulbs that are described as having a 580nm wavelength, but they are reddish. With only four of those lamps you will be looking at somewhat low light, especially since your lamps will be well over 24" off the substrate. Anubias, Java Fern, Crypts, Swords, some Hygrophilia are all good choices. That can give you a good variety of deep greens and browns along with some light greens which will provide variation and set the fish off. You would have a sick setup with those MH though!

[Complexity]

Yeah, but 750W of lighting for just a few plants with no CO2 or ferts? I think that's just asking for trouble.

[eklikewhoa]

Well of course... that's why I stated to fully plant the tank at the start, to plan all what you want and accomplish it at one go.

[goldfisher]

Tank

Keep coming guys and gals.......Thank you all for the info.Yeah it's hard for me to let go of my salwater set-up.Anyway the planted tank that I'm planning to set-up is not a "dedicated"planted aquarium.I just want something live and easy one that doesn't require a lot of lighting cause in this set-up i will only use 4,65W PC and not MH.