Advice needed please

[angel12]

Set up is a Rio 180
This holds 40 Galls and has 2 x 30 W Tubes
Depth is "16 from sub to top of tank
substrate is approx 2.5" with a layer of Laterite below the surface

in Order to maintain a healty Biotope is the light that I have sufficient I will be stocking with a few Discus and bristlenose plecs .. Will I need any liquid form of fertilizer for the plants ? also would you suggest a C02 reactor
the plants I will be trying to keep are mainly ones that can survive the higher temps

if anyone could adivse I would appreciate there input

:)

[ronrca]

That will depend on the plants. They will no doubt have to be low light plants as you have 1.5W/G! Normally with low light tanks, the need for fertilizer isnt as great as in high light tank but nevertheless it is still needed but in smaller doses. C02 may not be required.

[angel12]

is it possible to get lager wattage lights but still have the same size I would like to be able to grow more light intensive plants but using the existing type of flourescent tubes (in other words get 50w lights and still fit in the hood)

Thank You ronrca for your input

:)

[ChloroPhil]

Angel,

Most aquarium hoods are set to use only one wattage bulb making it unlikely that you'll be able to add wattage without increasing the actual number of bulbs or getting some sort of refit kit. That's the bad news.

The good news is that with 16" your tank isn't high enough to really necessitate anything other than NO (normal output) fluorescents. If you're looking to do an aquarium that is true to the habitat or even general region of discus you don't need many high light plants.

During half the year discus live in thick stands of fallen trees and root tangles with no plants at all. That's an easy one to recreate. :) There are exceptions to this rule, but it's generally accepted/proven that 90%+ of discus live in environments like this during the dry season.

The other half of the year discus are found swimming among the submerged foliage of the flooded jungle. A setup like this would be similar to the previous with a few plants here and there. A flood level water's edge biotope might consist of a tangle of branches with one or two large Echinodorus species Amazon Sword plants and some sort of grassy plant. Echinodorus tenellus would be a good choice for a ground cover in this tank.

Regardless of what aquascape you choose you'll only need one bristlenose pl*co in a tank that small. Just make sure you have some real wood for it to rasp on whatever type you choose. Good luck and take pictures!