# Pic of my 22 Gallon



## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)




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## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

Very, Very Awesome!!! 

Do you think you could post the specs on it? 

Also what are the two red plants on the bottom left? They are really pretty! 

Kyle


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

This is an OLD 22 Gallon tank I pulled out of my parents basement on my last visit. It had an incandescent canopy on it so I replaced the pendant bulbs with Phillips Screw-in Marathon Compact Flourescent bulbs.

The colour spectrum is around 2700k, 40 Watts. No CO2, basic substrate.

Oh, and if I knew what those red plants were.. I'd tell ya!


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## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

Man what a beautiful tank! I guess that goes to show you what you can keep without CO2, expensive lighting etc....

Good job!


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

So your telling me you took a old/cheaper incadesant light and was able to screw in flourecent lights ? 
I always stayed away from incadesant because they heated the water up a lot, but bottom line is there cheaper to buy than flourecent


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

I've seen those bulbs that can screw into incandescent sockets. They are a lot larger than incandescent bulbs and a bit more expensive, since they incorporate the ballast into the bulb base, but they work well. I actually found some 5000K bulbs at Home Depot that are a little more appealing than the low color temp yellowish bulbs you normally see.


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

How much were t hey at home depot ?
I'm trying to go about this the cheapest and least work involved as far as goign with co2 etc etc


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

Don't pay more then $12 (Canadaian) for these CF replacement bulbs. There are many available, I actually found a place that has 6400k screw in type bulbs!

I'm going to pick up a pair and see how that looks, should look better then the yellow/green tint I have now.

I initially set up this tank "to see if I could do it". One of my LFS was telling me that I could NEVER do anything planted unless I forked out tons of cash. I'm not saying this is a perfect tank, but I like how its coming along. Its only about 2.5-3 months old at this point, so in another couple of months it should look pretty good.


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

If it works that well maybe all of us with small tanks atleast consider getting the incadesant canopy and replacing the bulbs with what u suggest, be cheaper and work better !! 
dont u think ?


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

I cant think of a reason NOT to do this. For a lot of people money just isnt there to spend on a hobby, so this is a great alternative.

I'm experimenting with a few plants to see what works well in these "budget" tanks. I have 43 new plants on the way, and should have them on Friday.

I'll let you guys know how things turn out.


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## qwuintus (Aug 2, 2002)

sweet tank!!


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

So where is everyone getting these bulbs ?
I went to home depot yesterday and didnt find anything !!
I ended up going home with 2 not sure of the brand name flourecent lights of 40w i thinik and 650 each on lumens i did put them in and boy a few hrs later it's piping hot but no change in water temp and it has a nice yellowish color, the bulbs did say for plants they actually have a blue color to them, its just a blue color to the bulb not a blue light anyone have any luck at walmart ?


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

I wish I could tell you but the Canadian and American Distribution channels are Night and Day different. Even the same chain in both countries sell different products.


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## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by rdracer66_
> So where is everyone getting these bulbs ?
> I went to home depot yesterday and didnt find anything !!
> I ended up going home with 2 not sure of the brand name flourecent lights of 40w i thinik and 650 each on lumens i did put them in and boy a few hrs later it's piping hot but no change in water temp and it has a nice yellowish color, the bulbs did say for plants they actually have a blue color to them, its just a blue color to the bulb not a blue light anyone have any luck at walmart ?


Home Depot and Wal mart both carry these bulbs but most of them aren't very good for plants at all. You can buy them online and they have a reasonable color (5700K). I will look for the link for you. 

I was also surprised how hot they got when I (along time ago) had some on top of my tank!!!

Kyle


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

They get extremely hot! I have a 95 Watt PC Bulb that runs at 40 degrees celcius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)

You do have to plan for extra ventilation in some cases


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

So Home Depot and or Walmart are not goign to be any good ?
how pathetic is 1400 lumens in a 20g ?
I bought 2 bulbs from home depot the other nite for 5 $ each at 700 lumens each and 40w each
I coulndt really find anything higher 
guess i should go look agian ?


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

Well.. The tank in the picture has 2 x 20 watt bulbs at 2700k each. Each bulb gives off 1200 Lumens at a CRI of 82 (pretty low).

You can probably get away with that ammount of light, but if you find something better at low cost, I would invest


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## Projekt107 (Aug 15, 2002)

man your tank is really nice... (glances over at my tank) (then looks at your pic again) LOL man ur tank makes mine look so bare.. grow plants grow!!!


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

Ok i dont have my water specs yet ill have them in a few, but i re did the tank last week and put 1-2in of flourite in my 20gal i got the incadesant hood from a friend who wasnt using it anymore
and tried to find those bulbs for it
and these are 2 pics the plant bulbs i used for a week and they were very very hot and started to melt the hood, and the plants dont look like there doing to well, few have small holes in it and some are yellow and they just look like there starting to shrivel u p like t here not getting water or sometihng if it was a normal plant, i am using barbs to cycle the tan, the 2nd set of bulbs i bought yesterday from walmart, first bulbs are from home depot for 5$ each the walmart ones were 15$ for 2
any ideas guys how i can get decent light on this or something to thrive in there ?
if i can't get a 20 to work i have no idea how i'll get my 55 going that i really really want to try with discus
any info would be appreciated
Kurt


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

[No message]


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

Ok all these are my specs for the 20g
5 tiger barbs 1 penguin 170 without bio wheel,1 5-15 gallon cheapo filter from walmart that was established in another tank for months, the lights i mentioned above on for about 6 hrs a day but for atleast 4-6hrs natural light (not direct)
i have about 2in of flourite and 1in of natural fine very fine gravel
these are the test results after one week of running and 24hrs after a 25% water change maybe thats too early or too much ? i'm use to doing 20-25% weekly on all my cichlid tanks 
ammo-0
nitrite-0
nitrate 10-20 i have bad eye sight lol
ph- 7.4-7.6
now the gh and kh are wierd
acorrding to doc wellfish i put in one drop and if it doesnt t urn a certain color then its 1 well it kinda t urned that color after one drop on both kh and gh
but i went ahead and continued dropping till i saw a stronger finish color
and those results are gh-6 kh 7
thanks for any info !!!
on why i can't grow plants
even the java fern in there is growing a tad but just doesnt look healthy !!

Kurt


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

Those lights will probably do fine. I'd guess the color temperature of the bulb to be in the 3000K range from the last picture - but digital cams and jpgs are funny about portraying the right color.
The output and lumens could definitely be classified as "intense". At 60 watts each, you've got 6 watts per gallon. Algae will be prolific very quickly if those nitrates don't come down. 

I think you're doing well on water changes and the overall setup. I'd make one major recommendation right now - more plants. Fast growers like Hygro and Saggitaria will consume those nitrates before algae can take hold. 

Above all - be patient. Plants can grow insanely fast, but it takes time for them to settle in, take root and really start utilizing the nutrients that are available. 

The Leaf Zone stuff you got is probably fine. Some supplements are better than others, but almost all of them supply the basics.

Have you set up a DIY Yeast reactor yet to supply some CO2?


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

rdracer, to be honest - I would take out one of those bulbs. 60 watts will be plenty for that 20 gallon tank. At least for now, anyway. That is far too much heat for a small plastic hood. My metal hood is 4 feet long with two 60 watt bulbs in it and even I needed to add a fan to keep things cool and extend bulb life. 

Take one bulb out - think about adding a fan. I found some 120VAC 60Hz fans on Ebay for $5 a piece. Radio Shack has them for about $20. Mount it to the side of the hood and drill holes for ventilation. Need to keep air moving over those bulbs!

You're giving them light, and nutrient levels seem to be adequate - try the DIY CO2 reactor and see if that doesn't spur some growth!


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

Thanks for the reply, GDominy has 40 watts on his and he didnt mention how much of a heat problem he has or doesnt have ? since those last few posts i bought marathon lights from phillips that look the same as those white ones
they put 1500 lumens out at 23 w supposedly simulates 90w and have 2 in there, as far as fans go i do have a few computer fans that im not using that i might be able to get in there, I'm thinking of tossing all this idea tho and havign a friend build me a small canopy hood for it and then i could possibly put 3 small strip lights in there ? . This realy is just supposed to be a experimental tank
to see if i can grow plants at all, I really want to get a 55g going that ih ave ready whenever and put some nice rainbows and discus in it, but i wanted to wait to see if i could do it with a 20g first, and i know i need to be more patient but if i can't get a small 20 going how am i suppose to get a 55g going even tho i do have a strip ligth with 2 48in bulbs that i can use but the highest wattage i've seen on those is 40w so thats 80 watts total which is less than 1.5w per gallon
guess i should just wait it out and see what happens, maybe i am doing something right last nite i was looking int he tank and my first plant i bought was a sword even tho i knew i shoulndt have and it so i thought eventually died and i pulled off all the leaves from the bottom and last nite i noticed 2 small leaves starting to grow. Also no algae growth yet what so ever.

Kurt


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

O and as far as co2 goes i'd like to stay away from that if at all possible 
just more stuff to do, I have enough work keeping all my cichlid tanks clean and doing well

Kurt


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

Think i should cut the plants i have to the bottom since it appears they are dying
or just leave them be ?

Kurt


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

Well, to start off - if you really want to restrict yourself to a tank that has only incidentary CO2 levels (absorbed from the atmosphere) you'll probably only see 3-4ppm at the most. You won't need more than 20W on that 20gal tank without CO2. The additional light will only fuel the growth of algae, rather than provide additional or faster plant growth.

The computer fans are most likely 12V so you'll need a transformer to run them off of 120Vac. Building that hood sounds like a good idea, but then again, putting off the major work until you start the 55g is an even better idea. 
On a 55g, you have a ton of flexibility. It's four feet long, so you could fit four of the 40watt 48" bulbs you mentioned. That would provide 2.9watts per gallon which is absolutely perfect for a planted tank with CO2.
As for your plants, don't clip until new growth appears. Clipping the dying leaves will just speed the plant's demise. I've seen some plants come back from just roots and a crown, with no living leaves, but its rare. You need to try and provide the nutrients the plants need before they completely wither, or replace them with new plants.


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

Well I know everyone says co2 diy is so easy, but to be honest i dont have that much free time these days plus no where to really hid the bottles, and how do u monitor how much goes in when it's setup like tha twth the 2 pop bottles


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

Let's continue this * Here * so that everyone can benefit from the discussion.


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## rdracer66 (Jul 31, 2002)

Where ?


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## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by rdracer66_
> Where ?


He was giving a link to a new topic rdracer. The word *here* has the link. 

You can also get there by click here.

Kyle


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

oops, sorry for the confusion. I just wanted to make sure everyone could benefit from the information in the discussion that might not be perusing the photo album. That, and I tend to feel a bit self-conscious about hi-jacking someone's thread and beginning a discussion of my own.


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