Aquarium plant help

slojko

im looking to carpet my aquarium with some dwarf grass or something similar but i want to know if it will grow/spread/root first.

i have a planted sand aquarium 55* gallon

this is my light fixture
Aquarium Lighting & Supply

these are the lights i got for it


LIFE-GLO AQUARIUM FLUORESCENT FISH BULB T5 HO 54W 48" | eBay

some pictures

Photo Album - Imgur

Geomancer

With that much light, you will need to use CO2 injection to get a balance. Without it, you'll end up with an algae farm.

The link to your fixture didn't work, but I'm assuming from the bulb you linked and how bright your tank is it's at least a dual T5HO, possibly a four tube. Those are designed for marine reef tanks, in a freshwater setup it's bright lighting and hence why CO2 is necessary.

Under bright lighting and CO2 injection, yes dwarf hairgrass will carpet the tank. But you may want to get some sunglasses for those fish!

slojko

hmm thats weird it works for me. are you located inside the US?

here are the specs:
Deep Blue Solarmax 48." 108w T5HO Double Strip with 8 LED's

how much would a co2 pump run me? for a 55 gallon?

i don't know where to buy sunglasses that tiny!

some more pics with different exposure http://imgur.com/a/Y2Aw0

slojko

i have this stupid plexiglass top and i was wondering if there is going to be any difficulties when installing the co2 injection

Geomancer

Well, any light will 'work' on a tank ;) But without nutrient balance algae will take advantage of all that light.

I am in the US, and here a CO2 system will cost a couple hundred dollars to get started. There are cheaper to start DIY methods, but they only work on small tanks not one as large as a 55 gallon. This is what is called a high tech tank, which is not something I personally have expereience with so someone else will have to help with the specifics.

If you're just starting out with plants, I'd probably recommend going low tech to start which would require you to get a different fixture, a 48" dual T8 at most. Here in the US, a you can get a fixture at Home Depot/Lowe's for $18 which is far less than pet stores charge.

slojko

i want to really get into the plant thing so i dont mind spending the money, i looked up some co2

has anyone had any experience with these
Freshwater Planted Aquarium Plant Care: Drs. Foster & Smith Semi-Automatic CO2 System
Freshwater Planted Aquariums & Plant Care: Carbon Dioxide CO2 Green NRG Advanced System

also my sucker's fins have turned red, i dont know if he is getting nipped at or that's a natural thing to happen but they weren't like bevore i got my big roseline shark

how do you scale images?