# 36g bowfront low-tech lighting help



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

here, this is your best bet.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...5/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight30 

many people use this for their low tech tanks...

if you want to go pc @ 1.8 wpg(pushing it a little for low tech though)

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...oralifefreshwateraqualightdeluxesingle30strip

and if you want to go with t-8/12 

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU.../allglassfluorescenttwintubestriplight30black


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

blackrocks;
Also if anyone knows where it would be possible for me to order online a glass hood for a 36G bowfront. in finding them for the 46G bow front just not for the 36G.[/quote said:


> i would just make a cut out with cardboard of the size you need it to be and take that to a local glass shop. that would probably be a lot cheaper than trying to order one. i just did a search and came up with nothing, sorry.
> 
> edit - oh ya, and welcome to this forum!


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

oldpunk78 said:


> here, this is your best bet.
> 
> http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...5/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight30
> 
> ...


Thanks much for the help. 
With the *Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-30"* That uses two 18watt T5 lamps that is giving me a total of 36Watts and i have a 36 gallon tank therefor giving me 1wpg, isnt this a little low? From what I have been reading i should be shooting for 1.5 -2.0wpg. 
Is the 1wpg ok because of the fact that the T5 lamps are more intense than T8 and T12 bulbs?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

blackrocks said:


> Is the 1wpg ok because of the fact that the T5 lamps are more intense than T8 and T12 bulbs?


yes.


edit- the other bonus of that fixture is that the tubes span the entire length of your tank. the other two options do not.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

blackrocks said:


> Is the 1wpg ok because of the fact that the T5 lamps are more intense than T8 and T12 bulbs?


Yes. :thumbsup:

IMO these are the perfect fixtures for low light tanks. I've got 2 of them (30" on a 29gal and 36" on a 46gal) and am very happy with both.

The "2wpg rule" is really based on T8 and CF lighting levels. You can definitely make T12s work for you if you're really into DIY, but IMO the easiest option would be to go with the Coralife T5.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

Thanks guys. I will order that fixture 2morrow.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

A quick question I have for you about your T5 lighting fixtures. 
how do you have yours mounted above your aquariums?? Do you use the Mounting legs and have the lighting fixture mounted over the open aquarium ? 
I ask this because i was wondering if it is a good idea or not to place my lighting fixture over an all glass aquarium hood.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

those coralife t5 fixtures have metal legs that slide out from the sides. they are designed to go right on the top of the tank. if you wanted it up off the top a bit you could always put a couple of bends in the legs so that they lift it up some.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I've left them over glass tops and over open water; since they have a shield over the bulbs they work either way.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

Have you ever had any problem with Flourite substrate making the water a little cloudy?
I have my Tank set up right now Flourtite as substrate i have two good sized pieces of drift wood in the tank and also some rocks all which i have used before in a tank. I can see that the Driftwood is turning the waters colour slightly brown. I dont know if it is this that is causing the glear from the flourecent light to make the water look a little cloudy. 
Have you ever had this problem? Should I just do water changes frequently?
( by the way I jus recieved the Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light in the mail today. it is so tiny and compact but seems to put off alot of light. It seems like a good buy)
Another thing about the Flourite. Ive seen a few seeds that must have been mixed in the bag starting to grow, I have removed them when i see them but is this typical of FLourite having seeds?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

blackrocks said:


> Have you ever had any problem with Flourite substrate making the water a little cloudy?
> I have my Tank set up right now Flourtite as substrate i have two good sized pieces of drift wood in the tank and also some rocks all which i have used before in a tank. I can see that the Driftwood is turning the waters colour slightly brown. I dont know if it is this that is causing the glear from the flourecent light to make the water look a little cloudy.
> Have you ever had this problem? Should I just do water changes frequently?
> ( by the way I jus recieved the Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light in the mail today. it is so tiny and compact but seems to put off alot of light. It seems like a good buy)
> Another thing about the Flourite. Ive seen a few seeds that must have been mixed in the bag starting to grow, I have removed them when i see them but is this typical of FLourite having seeds?



no idea about the "seeds"... ???

did you rinse the flourite before putting it in the tank? it is very dusty and needs to be rinsed first to avoid a lot of the cloudiness. it will go away after a while. water changes will help. be careful not to disturb it while putting the water back in (like use a plate or a bowl or something).

as far as the dw is concerned - it's going to leach tannins into the water. there are a few things you can do to help. if they are small enough to fit into the dishwasher, throw 'em in! that helps a lot. so does boiling. you can even let it sit in tub of water for a few days if want. i also use purigen in my filter insted of carbon and it works really good at removing colors from the water.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

OH yea i washed the Flourite Like like 50 times. and let it soak over night then washed it again trying to mixing it around in the big tup i was washing it in to get all the dust out. I filled the tank sowly with my hose using a bowl so the water doesnt disturb the substrate. The tannins from the drift wood is really mild. Like I siad I used them before in tanks, I guess there is jus a lil more juice left in them  
I dont know what is up with the seeds i picked out almost 10 seeds that started to germinate in the tank. I found it kinda strange that there were seeds in the Flourite.
2morrow im going to go out and buy some plants i just got my light fixture today so i was really waiting on that. I will try and post some pics soon of the tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's VERY bizarre that there were seeds in your Flourite; I can't imagine what they would be! You sure they didn't get mixed in from using a bucket or something?

The cloudiness might also be from a bacterial bloom, those are very common in newly set up tanks.

I use Purigen in my filters to keep tannins in check.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

what is Purigen and where can i get it?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's a chemical media that absorbs impurities that will stain water (such as ammonia and tannins). It's made by Seachem. If your LFS doesn't carry it, www.bigalsonline.com does, as well as Dr.F&S. You want to make sure that you get Seachem's bag to go with it (if you get some that does not already come inside media bags); it's really small in size and will go right through the holes in most regular media bags.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

OK. I took some pictures of my Aquarium, I hope that they upload. They are not the best pictures because they are taken with my cellphone. 
I wanted to run my tank by everyone so I could get some feed back and advice.
Tank is 2 weeks old.

36G Bowfront tank.
Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-30" That uses two 18watt T5 lamps
Flourite Substrate
Aqueon Power Filter.
200 Watt heater @ 79° F 
(2) pieces driftwood. (not sure what kind)


Plants:
Pennywort.
Water Sprite.
luwiga
hyrgo
red Melon sword

Stocking:
(10) Malaysain trumpet snails
(2) Pineapple swordtails (male and female)

After cycling I will add:
(2) Angel fish.
(2) Otto Catfish
(4) cory cat fish
(12) tetras. ( havent made up my mind as to wat species, maybe neons)
(1) Bristle nose Pleco.
(1) Blue Ram

At this point in time Should i be adding any ferts to the tank? and if so what should I be adding?

Any feed back on my tank is welcome.
What plants can i add.
what live stock i can add.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

Do you use Excell at all in any of your Low tech tanks?
( I posted pics of my tank) please check them out tell me what you think)


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## thirston (Nov 17, 2004)

blackrocks said:


> Stocking:
> (10) Malaysain trumpet snails
> (2) Pineapple swordtails (male and female)


HAHAHA :icon_mrgr That was yesterday... you have 100 MTS today and you'll have 30 swords by the end of Jan.

You're off to a great start. Now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Be patient and let the tank cycle  properly then rock out with your new fish, a few at a time.

It doesn't look like you have a lot of stem plants in there. You have nice variety but could use a little more volume. You'll want to keep tabs on the duration of your photoperiod so as not to get too much algae right off the get go. Think about adding some additional fast growing stems/floaters (algae busters like hygro, wisteria, water lettuce, etc...) just to help ease you through this transitional period with the tank.

Looks good.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

thriston thanks for the feed back. The low light plant selection here in Atlanta is limited. The stem plants in the LFS here are mostly the ones that require high amounts of Light. I do though have Hygro, Pennywort and watersprite in the tank. I ordered some more pennywort from a fish store near me. There is one store here thats has some nice looking tiger loutus plants but i noticed that the back wall of the tank was covered in BGA, so I didnt buy anything from that tank for fear of that breaking out in my tank.
My photo period is 9 hours right now, I will see how that works out and adjust it accordingly.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Looks like a great start! :icon_smil


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

Is the Use of Flourish Excell ok in my lowtech Tank? Im reading that adding C02 to a low light tank is not good. Though from reading posts in this forum its seems as if people have been dosing wiht Excel, but i thought that Excell is just a liquid form of C02. 
Right now im dosing with Equilibrium and FLourish Potassium once a week, Im intereted in knowing if Excel would be ok aswell.


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## rpayer (Jun 9, 2008)

I would recommend using Excel. It helps keep algae in check and is a good source of carbon if you're not ready for C02.

Be careful with that hygro... I am convinced it is in the same family as Kudzu:thumbsdow. Check my tank for examples.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Why would adding CO2 to a low tech tank be bad?

Personally, I just don't like fooling with it, and with a 36gal tank you may not get good results without using a pressurized setup b/c of tank size, but CO2 would only enhance plant growth...

Excel is not the same as "liquid CO2" - the active ingredient is actually gluteraldehyde which is a preservative (do we all realize that we're dumping diluted embalming fluid in our tanks? LOL), but it is effective as a carbon source for plants.


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## dtaubert (Nov 4, 2008)

here is your glass top if it is a all glass tank
http://www.pets-warehouse.com/Vpasp/shopexd.asp?id=91319
Dustin


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

Updated pics of my tank.
The water sprite is doing very good. It is growing rapidly, constantly sending out new branches from the roots. My Ludwiga is growing slowly but surely, I wasnt sure if it would do well but its looking good still. My hygro as put out lots of new stems and is full of bring green leaves. When I first bought the hygro it was looking pathetic but its starting to show its beauty. The red mellon sword is really spreading out. and taking up most of my tank my it looks good. I recently added a couple bunches of Wisteria and a Crypt wendtii, the crypt start to melt a little but is catching itself.
My Stock right now is.
(2) Pineapple Swordtails
(2) Emerald Coreys
(2) Marble Angelfish
(12) Glow light tetras.
I started with 10 Malaysian trumpet snails but I see lots of babies crawling around in there now if i turn on the light a few hours after the timer goes off.
There are some pond snails that came in as refugees but they are ok for now, I just dont want them getting out of controll.


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## blackrocks (Dec 16, 2008)

Can anyone suggest a hardy easy to grow moss besides Java moss that i can attach to my drift wood. Also where online can i order it?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Any moss- check out the Swap n Shop. AquaBotanic.com also started carrying mosses recently, but I'm not sure now is a good season to order from up North.

Xmas moss IME grows as fast or perhaps even more quickly than Java.


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## Chartreuse Boots (Nov 16, 2007)

seeds in your fluorite? lol.
that reminds me of somthing funny that happened where i work...
we have some buckets of pea gravel that we use for turtle tanks and such. when we are done with it it goes back in the buckets. well at some point they got put in a shallow plastic tub instead of the bucket, still all wet with gross turtle water. and at some point someone spilled hamster food in it. then it was put on one of the reptile shelves and forgotten... (gross yeah, but it's petsmart, whadya gunna do?)

so i come into work one day and my boss says, "rachel, are you growing something in new arrival?" (they know i'm all into planted tanks) but i had no idea, so i'm all: "no why?"

he pulls the tub off the shelf, and sure enough, the hamster food had sprouted.
the hamster food. it sprouted. in a tub of pea gravel and turtle water.




so that is mostly unrelated, a little late, and quite random.
but yeah, stuff happens.





....anyway i'd use x-mas moss for that tank. the branchy shape would fit better with the bolder silhouettes in that tank. also, you might want to stuff it between rocks and the lower parts of the wood and let it creep up for better composition. but that's just my two cents.


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