potted plants and lighting

[dean9922]

just a quick question to find out if anyone has used any type of pots for plants and if they will grow without a proper substrate. Also, if so, what do you "put" in the pots along with the roots of the plants.
Another question, is there any lights that anyone can recommend without going to T5 or other expensive lights to work off just a regular flourescent light fixture and ballast, but will provide good viewing light, low algae growth and good all around plant bulb.

[judy]

some of the new fluorescent light bulbs work in ordinary bulb sockets, and you can get aquarium plant lights that will fit.

[KDodds]

It sounds like the best thing for you to do would be to take a page out of pond keepers' books, only on a smaller scale. What would probably work for you would be a low light plant like a Cryptocoryne in one of those small mesh type basket, using a "pond soil" like Schultz's (or Flourite or some other non-fouling soil) and tablet or pellet ferts. If you don't want to upgrade lighting, that's fine, but you should at least try to get it up to 1.5-2wpg of NO fluorescent lighting in a tank no taller than 17". You might also look into "clip on" CF lighting that is fairly inexpensive.

[Wahter]

If you're looking for a lamp to use in a Normal Output fixture, the Zoomed UltraSun work well - at 6700k and a CRI of 98, you get a nice white coloring with a very accurate color rendering. They cost more than a generic lamp, but I like them very much and used to use them all the time before going to Compact Fluorescent.

Here's a link:
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=179&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=3&SearchContext=YTo2OntzOjg6IlNlYXJjaElEIjtzOjE6IjMi O3M6MTA6IkRhdGFiYXNlSUQiO3M6MToiMiI7czo4OiJLZXl3b3 JkcyI7czo4OiJMaWdodGluZyI7czo3OiJIZWFkaW5nIjtzOjg6 IkFxdWFyaXVtIjtzOjg6IlNlYXJjaF94IjtzOjI6IjI0IjtzOj g6IlNlYXJjaF95IjtzOjI6IjIwIjt9

Hope that helps,


Walter

[krazykat]

I have potted crypts in my 75 gallon. They are in terra cotta pots filled with Flora-Base. I'm running a single 48" NO fluorescent bulb in it. The crypts are thriving.

[poconogal]

I had Anubias, Java Fern, an Onion plant and an Amazon Sword, all in Terra Cotta pots. The only light I had was from the regular T8 strip light that came with my 75 gal. setup. I do have quite a bit of ambient room light too though. The plants all thrived but I got sick of the pots on the tank bottom. They collected debris and were annoying to move around for cleaning after awhile, especially when the plants got very large. My plants were in regular gravel with a piece of Plant Tab placed in each pot periodically.

[poconogal]

If you're looking for a lamp to use in a Normal Output fixture, the Zoomed UltraSun work well - at 6700k and a CRI of 98, you get a nice white coloring with a very accurate color rendering. They cost more than a generic lamp, but I like them very much and used to use them all the time before going to Compact Fluorescent.

Here's a link:
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=179&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=3&SearchContext=YTo2OntzOjg6IlNlYXJjaElEIjtzOjE6IjMi O3M6MTA6IkRhdGFiYXNlSUQiO3M6MToiMiI7czo4OiJLZXl3b3 JkcyI7czo4OiJMaWdodGluZyI7czo3OiJIZWFkaW5nIjtzOjg6 IkFxdWFyaXVtIjtzOjg6IlNlYXJjaF94IjtzOjI6IjI0IjtzOj g6IlNlYXJjaF95IjtzOjI6IjIwIjt9

Hope that helps,


Walter
Does this bulb work well for both blue and red colors?

[Wahter]

Does this bulb work well for both blue and red colors?

I prefer lights that are whiter and not those that emphasize blues nor reds (just my own preference), so if you're looking for the artificial coloring, this one wouldn't fit your needs. Here's a the color spectrum chart of this lamp.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=42298&stc=1&d=1238198098

Hope that helps,



Walter

[MSD]

I float a few Aubias, they do not need pots or substrate, and I found the regular AGA fluorescent bulbs have a nice color for the fish too.

[poconogal]

I prefer lights that are whiter and not those that emphasize blues nor reds (just my own preference), so if you're looking for the artificial coloring, this one wouldn't fit your needs. Here's a the color spectrum chart of this lamp....
No I'm not looking for artificial coloring, just lighting that will not wash out red or vice versa. Just a light that reds, blues, whites will all look good with.

[poconogal]

I float a few Aubias, they do not need pots or substrate, and I found the regular AGA fluorescent bulbs have a nice color for the fish too.

That's what I have now, a T8 AGA bulb and that's what I used to grow my potted plants. I was wondering how color rendition of the AGA bulb stacked up against the bulb Walter posted about.