# Low tech 75 gallon.



## Nocturnus (Feb 4, 2004)

Well, I had to redo my 75 gallon few weeks ago. I'm thinking about going low tech on it. I am able to use a T5 setup and I can do 1 or 2 bulbs (so I can go either 1x54 or 2x54). I know 2 I'd need co2, do I need to do co2 with just a single bulb running?

After that, what would be some good plants? In my past planted tanks I've used Vals, Foxtail, Cabumba (sp). These still work? What else can I look at.

I know I can do some Anubias and ferns.


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Are you asking what would work with 1 t5ho or what would work with two?

as you know though, two would push you into needing co2. but if you go that route, you can more or less try to grow anything


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## Nocturnus (Feb 4, 2004)

Yeah, I'm really just wanting to run the single lamp. I'm not wanting to go co2 on this tank. Mainly looking for ideas for plants that will work under the single light setup.


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## seanski21 (Mar 4, 2012)

check out Hoppy's PAR information in the lighting section of this forum. shoot for anywhere between 30-50. In that range you will have a lot of options, especially if you have soft water and a good substrate.


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## sowNreap (Jun 10, 2012)

Yes .. Vals, Cabomba & Foxtail will still work in low light tank. 

These also do good in my low light tank 75 gal.

Ludwigia repens
Water Wisteria
Echinodorus uruguayensis (type of Sword plant)


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## Nocturnus (Feb 4, 2004)

My substrate is blast sand. I've been debating dosing Flourish later on. Would I be able to get away with 108w lights if I dose Flourish or will I have to do co2 at that point?

I remember reading that page about PAR while back. I think I still have a headache..

I think I'm just gonna keep this tank simple and setup another tank that is designed to be a planted tank. That way I can get the right substrate and all.


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## sowNreap (Jun 10, 2012)

I'm running T8 fixtures. One is a regular aquarium hood with pretty decent reflectors and 1 bulb. The other is the Diamond Plate 2 bulb fixture with pretty good reflectors. Both are hanging above my tank but at different heights. My setup is kinda of weird but I like having 2 fixtures. My PAR toward front of tank might be slightly less than middle & back and figured it ranges from 30-40. I've guesstimated I'm high/low to low/medium light. I like the slightly slower growth rate and everything seems to be doing fairly good. 

I do use a couple Osmocote tabs in the substrate mostly around my Sword and a few other places .. probably only about 4 total in my 75g. I also dose modified EI low light 1x/wk and use Glut (Excel). No co2 in my tank. 

What brand is your T5 as some have under-powered ballasts and won't give as much PAR as a better ballast would. Does the light sit right on top of tank? The problem with single bulb in 75 gal that sits right on top of tank is the light might not spread enough front to back. It might be better to hang it to get better spread & then you could use both bulbs. The problem with that is light spillover. 

Check this chart for your fixture:










IF your fixture is there you can see the PAR for the number of bulbs for that fixture. Then you can tell about how much PAR the fixture produces a different heights. You can sort of guesstimate the value for just 1 bulb by taking half the PAR reading if the fixture uses 2 bulbs.

Quoting Hoppy, _I don't believe there is any consensus about the definition of low, medium and high light. But, here is my definiition, subject to, and almost certain to change:
Low light - 15-30 micromols of PAR - CO2 is not needed, but is helpful to the plants
Medium light - 35-50 micromols of PAR - CO2 may be needed to avoid too many nuisance algae problems
High light - more than 50 micromols of PAR - pressurized CO2 is essential to avoid major algae problems_

So you'd want to stay below 50 PAR for sure in order not to have to use co2. I prefer the 30-40 range which seems to be working for me.

Edit: As you can see from the chart the PAR for various fixture varies widely and why it's hard to say what PAR your fixture might produce. The 108 watts doesn't mean anything when using T5's.


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## PaulG (Oct 10, 2010)

Hygrophilia Polysperma. Grows in very low light levels I've found.


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## Nocturnus (Feb 4, 2004)

I have the fish need it setup. But I've decided that my 75g will stay as is with just the couple of plants and rest fakes. I'm planning out a different tank and will be going co2 and possibly LED's (still need to read more on the LED setups). I just cant decide on tank size. I was looking at a 40 breeder for the real planted tank, but I might just do standard 55 gallon.


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