Quote:
Originally Posted by cricha
Thanks Ari & Flashout for your replies. They are much appreciated.
Ari, thanks for the info about the lighting. You suggested 4X20W=80W. What about the watts per gallon rule? 80W give me slighty less than 2wpg. Is this ok?
Also I was looking through the DIY section and I noticed they were using Phillips PL-L tubes. Is this an option and what's the difference between these and the specialist tubes?
Lastly, I just fixed my 2 DIY fans and as of 12.30am (with one running) the temp of my tank is 27deg. I'm sure this is an achievable temp at night but on a hot day, I doubt even with both fans running, it can be achieved. Will this have any effect on my plants?
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about the watt per gallon rule....stuff it! dont lose any sleep over this, im sure the dude who wrote that rule did it on presumption....without considering the height and width of individual tanks. 80W would be enough to give you plenty of opiton on what plant to have in a normal 1.5feet height tank. dont worry about the watts , just pay attention to the colour spectrum and thats the key to the whole lot.
PLL tubes is not something you should mess around without the proper knowledge ,they bring more trouble than its worth. to start off your tank height should be at least 24inches and they must be place 12 inches above water level for a good result. i only use them for high light demanding plants.
its best you try the normal flo tubes first, move on to PLL once you have more experience.
about your fans...remember this...your plants are farm cultivated from asia. they are used to high tempt. fans are noisy and they doesnt really help much, this is one equipment i would skip..your plants wont die without them. if you had started off with plants in emerge form , then they will get used to your higher water tempt once they transformed to submerge.
dont waste your money on co2 tank and regulators....you dont really know yet how far you will progress at this stage, once you are sure you want to stay in this hobby..only then you decide on the co2 tank and regulators.
at the mean time a yeast diy type should work fine.