Placement of plants vs light requirements

[Happy Frog]

I've had two aquariums up and running for the last two months, a twenty tall and a standard 10 gallon. It looks like I'm going to be experimenting with these things for months before I ever buy frogs!

I placed my plants based on care sheets but some of them that we're suppose to like low levels of light are bending towards the brightest area of the tanks.

How do you guys do it? How do plant a wide variety of plants and keep them all happy?

[flybyferns]

I've had two aquariums up and running for the last two months, a twenty tall and a standard 10 gallon. It looks like I'm going to be experimenting with these things for months before I ever buy frogs!

I placed my plants based on care sheets but some of them that we're suppose to like low levels of light are bending towards the brightest area of the tanks.

How do you guys do it? How do plant a wide variety of plants and keep them all happy?

Hi Happy Frog,
Very shortly I will be putting up a simple "how-to" article on plant prep.

You really need plant lights....... 10- 12 hours/daily on timers.

Check out Philips brand "plant" florescent and/or Philips "plant" standard base bulbs.
They are inexpensive- home depot
Here is a pic of the standard base bulb/box I snapped while in HD, for my article.........
I think they cost under 3.00$ and work really great as you can move the light around.
The fixture I use is there as well for about 8$.


Hope this helps

[DonLisk]

Exactly, quality lighting.

I use T5 lighting and the plants love it. On tanks that have 6500K color temp compact florescent bulbs, the plants do OK, but when the T5 with plant lights were added the plants went crazy. I am constantly cutting back things now.

On my vertical tanks I use T5 strip lighting with a good reflector.

Now if I can find a way to make a good but inexpensive reflector i would be all set since home Depot carries a 48 inch strip which holds 2 bulbs and costs only 40 dollars (without bulbs).

[helm96]

I am there with Don, I use T8 Fixtures, I have a plant CFL in one and a 6500K daylight CFL in the other. The Plant CFL seems to have aboutt 20-30% more effectivness with the plants.

[flybyferns]

I am there with Don, I use T8 Fixtures, I have a plant CFL in one and a 6500K daylight CFL in the other. The Plant CFL seems to have aboutt 20-30% more effectivness with the plants.

The T8s ARE great!!!.
However, it's the electrician's cost that causes the problem for many !! $$$$ $$$$

[helm96]

The T8s ARE great!!!.
However, it's the electrician's cost that causes the problem for many !! $$$$ $$$$

Actually Lowes sells a really cheap 18" T8 fixture, I bought 2 of them for $16. I am taking them out of the cheap plastic case and building a wood hood that I will mount them in.

[Happy Frog]

First...Thanks to all of you that have offered advice. I've taken all of it under advisement! Unfortunately all of it is starting to remind of those four straight evenings I spent on that UK reptile UV lighting website and I think the brain fry is starting to return. I am so confused.

On my two tanks I have Marineland/Perfecto strip light fixtures and are using the fluorescent bulbs that came with them. The bulbs just say "Daylight" without any mention of color temperature. All of my plants are growing like crazy. Here's the list;

Neoregalia Fireball
Pellionia repens
Fittonia
Crypthanthus sp.
Golden Pothos
Birds Nest Fern
Ficus repens
Sheet Moss

Even the sheet moss is growing. I've never had luck with any of that dried moss that's suppose to come back to life if you add water.


T8, T5, CFL's and Lynn mentioned regular incandescent bulbs. How do you guys control the heat that these lights generate considering your enclosure are sealed to create the necessary humidity.

Maybe if you could point me to some pictures of some of your fixtures I could get a better understanding.

Thanks to all of you.

[Happy Frog]

By the way...Do any of you remember that plant grow light that Hagen use to make? It was made for a planted aquarium tank. Is that still being produced? If it's still around how would that work in a PDF tank? It would put out a greenish tint in the tank.

In the beginning when I was just starting to build these tanks and I had about six of the plants that I now have planted I stuck them in a empty aquarium and used a figure that had a Hagen 50/50 Power Glo in it. The
plants took off and grew crazy even in their tiny little pots that they came in. 50/50 --- Half 10,000 k and half actinic. What about that?