Italian Val, Green Cabomba, and Ludwigia Repens Questions

redchigh

Nope, plants don't require an adjustment period.

The cabomba and Rotala are 'stem plants', so they may or may not have roots when you get them.
Just strip the lower 2 sets of leaves and burry them in the gravel.

How to plant stem plants. A Graphic by Redchigh. :)


Sorry for the rough image, but it might help give you an idea. Hmm, img tag isn't working, just click the link.

Definately dose the tank with Flourish (comprehensive supplement) and I personally use 2 10W CFLs (6500k cool white) in an incandescent hood over my 10Gs.
If you have a flourescent hood (with tubes) then get whatever will fit your hood, and make it 6500k (often called 'cool white' or 'daylight', but look for the 6500k. No need for fancy grow lights, just get the bulbs from wal-mart.)

TFish

Thanks! I actually do have an incandescent hood (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Cultu...-Pets/10311306) and was wondering if I was going to be able to find CFL bulbs that will fit it. Isn't 20watts too little though?

Inga

I was told not to worry about the Wattage so much at the K rating. The plants need the 6500K - 6700K to grow.

Red your illustration is hilarious and awesome!

Byron

Go to a hardware store and look for compact fluorescent bulbs. On my 20g I have two 10w GE daylight bulbs with a 6500K rating; they are perfect. One of these would work well over a 10g. "Watts" is only a measurement of the energy used by a bulb, it has no direct relation to the light intensity. And CF bulbs produce considerably more intense lgiht with less energy (watts) so they save energy.

TFish

So, I should probably get 2 3300k bulbs? I can't just get 1 6600k because one side would have 6600k and the other side would have less, right?

Byron

No. The "K" (kelvin) rating is only the colour of the light produced. The sun at midday is around 6000K [going from memory] so a bulb that is "daylight" or "full spectrum" will be rated around 6000-67000K. A bulb with a lower K number is "warmer" or more red, and a higher number is "cooler" or more blue. Plants in a small tank do best under 6500-6700K and the colours are natural. If you have two bulbs, get the same type; otherwise you will have different shade on half the tank and believe me this will not look good, nor be best for plants.

If you can find two 5w bulbs of daylight, great. Going fromwhat mine are like, a single 10w will be sufficient if that's all they have. Hardware stores are the best for this, or maybe a light store; they'll be cheaper in these stores than in fish stores.

TFish

Oh, I get it . But why only 10 watts total? Also, where can you get the Flourish stuff?

Inga

Waaaaaaay cheaper, as it turns out. Like less then a third of the price you would pay in a pet store

TFish

Also, my pH is 7.8 and my water is hard (don't know exact numbers). Is this ok?

Inga

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...52&pcatid=4652

You will notice that there are many different kinds of seachem's plant care but you want the "Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive"

You might be able to pick it up at a Petco, Petsmart or live fish store in your area. I just thought I would show you that site because I have ordered many things from that company and have always been happy with the price, the service and the product that I have purchased from them.

10 watt is probably the only size that bulb comes in??? The Watt is just the energy used to run the light. Mine are 15 watt and I understand your confusion. When I first started looking for plant lights someone said I needed to have 2 watts per gallon so I was looking for 30 watt lights. I called every hardware store and every light store around. They all thought I was nuts. Finally someone told me that they don't even make lights in the length I wanted in higher wattage. lol Well, turns out the wattage is not important, only the K rating.

Hang in there, it seems confusing in the beginning but it gets much much easier.