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wooz29 · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:43 pm Post subject: Take the leap?

Looking into using real plants in my African tank and Vallisineria sounds like a safe bet. Am I correct in assuming an species of Vallisineria is hardy? I like the thinner leaves and not so much the broader leaves. These will grow in sand?

AnneRiceBowl · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject:

As long as you have the proper lighting, they should grow fine. What watts per gallon (Wpg) do you have on the tank? Be prepared for it to grow tall, which will block out some light. I just gave mpp a plant that was nearly 36" tall. They can be trimmed. In my tank with Eco-Complete, they grow like crazy. Example: a new plant can reach the top of my 30 long in less than a week, and start to cover the surface in about 2 weeks. (I have V. spirallis.)

wooz29 · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:25 pm Post subject:

I dont have my tank lights picked out yet. I'm still shopping around Smile

mpp · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:39 pm Post subject:

AnneRiceBowl,
one little pleco isn't enough of a trade... we're going to have to do better than that Cool

just keep it in mind please
mike

AnneRiceBowl · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:13 pm Post subject:

LOL...I guess you liked the plants. Very Happy

I've been giving it some thought on more ABNs. I like the little guy that I got from you!

AnneRiceBowl · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:36 pm Post subject:

wooz29 wrote:

I dont have my tank lights picked out yet. I'm still shopping around Smile

I have a 96W 10,000K compact flourescent light on my 30 gallon long, which gives me 3.2 Wpg. I've got high light plants in mine, so I need alot of light in my tank.

Your lighting will depend on what kind of plants that you want. The Kelvin will also play a role in what plants you want. You want at least 6,000K to mimic the afternoon daylight for decent plant growth. You also want to stay away from acintic (spelling?) lights, which are the blue lights. In a planted tank, they are not good because you'll only get 1/2 the Wattage. My light fixture came with a 50/50 (half white and half actinic), and I was only getting 48W. When I finally got the bulb that I have now, I saw a massive change in the plants: greener plants, red in the plants that can produce the red color, and faster growth.

wooz29 · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:52 pm Post subject:

This is what I am looking at today...I really want actinics-I like the way they look on my fish Smile

36" Satellite 1x96W SunPaq w/Lunar Light-
Includes dual phosphor SmartPaq (10000°K daylight and 460 nanometer actinic) bulb that provides 3 times the light output of standard fluorescent bulbs. Square pin system. Keep in mind I will have to have 2 of these fixtures on my 72" tank. That equals out to 1.53 wpg.

AnneRiceBowl · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:56 pm Post subject:

how many gallons is a 72" tank?

is that 1.53 Wpg before of after you figure in the actnic bulb?

wooz29 · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:14 pm Post subject:

It's a 125 gallon. SmartPaq Daylight 10000°K/Actinic 460nm is all one bulb.

wooz29 · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:47 pm Post subject:

I posted the question on another site and they said half of the power output is 10k, half is actinic for a grand total of 96w. So technically the bulb is on 48watts of daylight x 2 =96watts on a 125 = not enough light for Vallisineria?

AnneRiceBowl · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:09 am Post subject:

It should be okay with that Wpg. You'll be limited on other plants, though. You'd have to stick with low light plants.

wooz29 · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:17 am Post subject:

Vall and Anubias are the only ones (that I have found) to that wouldnt get destroyed by my africans.

mpp · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:24 am Post subject:

I think it depends on the Africans. Anubias are pretty tough but will suffer if the rhizome becomes buried and in that situation rhizomes typically rot. As long as your Africans aren't the "movin' stuff around because I can" kind of Africans, anubias should be alright.
regards
mike

wooz29 · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:52 am Post subject:

Mine like to dig in the sand

MelonHead · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 2:06 am Post subject:

wooz29 wrote:

It's a 125 gallon. SmartPaq Daylight 10000°K/Actinic 460nm is all one bulb.

Wooz - saw your setup waiting for you at Pet World today. VERY nice!

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