Need a little Light advice

[ChloroPhil]

Flourite doesn't work as well as a base layer like Laterite. It was designed to be a substrate in and of itself. It's best used if mixed at least 60/40 throughout the entire substrate. I've tried it as a base layer and wasn't too pleased with the results.

If you are going to use Flourite it's best mixed with a like size gravel. If you're going to use sand, get Laterite. It's MUCH cheaper.

Thanks Biotypical

im reading up on laterite in another window as i type this.

I would like to keep the sand on top, i prefer the look over courser gravel, and wanted to lighten the tank up a bit. While i have everything ripped up would you recommend anything else for the substrate?

since i read your article about algea and nutrient levels, ive adjusted most of my levels to what you recommended in the thread, and ive got a very noticable decline in my cyanobacteria. I dont need to tear my tank down anymore as the large patches are now broken islands of green, but im getting eager to try a lighter substrate and add the laterite to encourage my plants while im down there.

worked very well, thank you

[ChloroPhil]

If you're looking for a lighter red substrate try Shultz Aquatic Plant Soil aka "Profile". You can get it in 10lb bags at Wal Mart for about 7.00. If you want something even lighter take a trip to your local pool supply store and ask for coarse filter sand, it's cool stuff. Just make sure you don't make it too thick, three inches is enough. Anything deeper and it may start to get anaerobic patches...

BTW, don't thank me for the algae post. Thank Tom Barr, most of what I wrote is based on his ideas about the nutrient levels plants do best in.

[ronrca]

Walmart? There is some substrate base at Walmart? Cool! I do not like buying from petstores as it really hurts the wallet. I'll have to visit Walmart again! I may have to tear down my 90 and start over with this Profile stuff! ;D Hmmmm! It has me thinking!

[ChloroPhil]

Ronrca,

Profile's lighter than regular gravel....buyer beware. It's not bad stuff though if you're on a budget.

[thebaglady]

I just heard Joe (Echanted Discus) speak this past weekend about his trip and competition in Duisburg, Germany.

He showed a lot of pictures and the dealer display tanks were to die for!! (well you know what i mean)

Picture this; eight to ten red melons cruising around over white sand substrate past large green swords in a bow front tank. A lot of the tanks had the white sand. They favor that there he said. Looks extremely bright.

Backgrounds--those high buck Back to nature ones with the built in filtration. Again, very pretty. Stands were also a treat. Really nice woods. Some of them made the tank look like it was suspended in air!

It was a very nice presentation. Joe will give it again at the ACA convention in Cinci. I hope to be there to see it again.

Good luck with your tank Blk wolfe. Sounds like you're well on your way. Jen K. P.S enjoyed this thread

Thanks baglady, but ive still got plenty to learn and experiment with

Biotypical, thanks for the lead on the laterite, but im thinking it would probably be a PITA for me if i ever wanted to move any of the plants around. How about 1-2" of sand with fertilizer sticks embedded by the plant roots? Anything you recommend for it?

Do the plants require a certain amount of KH in the water for some processes? i swear i read this somewhere, and from the co2 buildup during the night and photosynthesis during the day there is a good bit of ph swing between night and day cycles.

Im going to pull my air stones morrow when i do the cleanup, hopefully my fish will provide enough co2...but it should be more than current if the airstones were just stripping the co2 from the water. this may make the ph swing a bit worse...

and one last thing for tonight...at www.sfbaaps.com theres a co2 reference chart for ph/KH. Is this accurate at all or just under ideals or max capacity of the water?

[ChloroPhil]

Blk Wolfe,

If you want to use 1-2" of sand Laterite is needed, especially with swords. I've used it with sand and it doesn't leak out if you're careful to move slowly when removing the plants. Also, if you have a large sword to remove it's wise to trim the roots in the gravel before pulling it out; they can reach the entire length of the tank in a year.

I would steer well clear of Jobe's fertilizer sticks for aquarium use...they're a disaster waiting to happen. Flourish Tabs are better, but they can still cause anaerobic patches in sand if you're not careful. I wasn't, and had huge black patches all over the place and dead plants.

The referrence table at the San Francisco site is exactly what I go by. Think of KH as the waters CO2 buffer. The higher the KH the more CO2 the water can hold, but also the more you'll need to add to get enough for your plants. A KH of 3-4 degrees is ideal and will prevent wild swings.

A swing of 0.2 in a twelve hour period is the norm. For example, you've got a pH of 6.6 right when the lights turn on and 6.8 right when the lights go out. This is due to the fact that plants don't use CO2 at night so the buildup causes the water to go a little acidic until the lights turn on and the plants start using the CO2, causing the water to de-acidify a little. With a 12hr photoperiod this fractional swing is easily taken into stride by your fish with no problems at all.

I kept my discus tank at a KH of 1 with CO2 going all the time and they did just fine so you don't need to worry overmuch. As long as your KH isn't too high (meaning you have to add a lot more CO2) you'll be all set.

Thanks alot biotypical

I talked to Ron a bit, and after your earlier post, and im staring to lean towards the flourite now : sounds cleaner when moving plants around than the laterite, and im fine with the higher initial cost, ill just see how it turns out mixing it with the sand

i found some here it wasnt too expensive, Ron suggested and im probably gonna go with it: have the flourite mixed with the sand, then let the sand settle on the top as its vacuumed, light sand on top but still mixed with the flourite below.

I just noticed this but my orginal question never got answered yet

My lights. after some reading, i was just gonna pick up a couple from home depot, maybe a blend of a full sunlight bulb and something with a blue tinge? More reds/blues than the pink now

[ronrca]

Aim for around the 5500K! YOu can get some lower and higher but keep it around 5000K!

More important is intensity, not color!

Thanks Ron, im making a run to home depot morrow, they're starting to know me by name in there

the 5000K refers to intensity right? Ive seen a few recommend 6500K bulbs, and some that go up to 9500K. Is more better for this?

i wanted to try a bulb with a little blue tint to see if it would bring out the fishes color a bit, and i read somewhere plants like a little blue light along with red spectrums.

When the hell am i gonna get to buy you a beer? im busy this week so might be my turn to throw a wrench in things. Was gonna head out to Big Als for an aquaclear to replace my fluval sometime this weekend ill be halfway out there :P

[ronrca]

5000K refers to the color temperature measured in Kelvin! Has nothing to do with intensity rather the color appearance. For intensity, you need to look for the Wattage or W (not ideal but thats a different topic). So, yes, you can get some 6500K and higher if you want but be sure to mix them up with some 5500K lamps!