[Wet Thumb Forum]-Backward boy gets serious

[Choppy]

Of course I have done everything backwards. For five years I have had a 55-gallon with very hard water lighted with only a couple of 40 watt flourescents. For awhile my anubias and crypts did well, but after some time passed and a couple of algae blooms things died back slowly and I had just a few scraggly anubias left. So recently I bought a couple of new 40 watt bulbs and ordered some plants I thought were low light--java fern and some vals for my hardwater. They should arrive in a couple of days. But in the meantime I found a 4 X 65 watt compact flourescent fixture with 4 6500K bulbs for $150, and I said, hey, what the hey? Why not go for it. So now that I will have enough light, what should I grow? Will the plants I ordered be too overcome with light now? What plants should I add? My water is hard with a commensurately high ph. I have a flourite substrate and I typically add Flourish Excell every day and Flouish twice a week. Help me get it right this time.

[imported_russell]

with that much lighting, you will probably want to add quite a few fast growing plants as soon as you hook it up. you will probably want to add do it yourself co2 also. here are some plants that should work for you:

ludwigia rapens
baby tears
rotala indica or rotala rotundfolia
red temple
wisteria
and many others

if i were you, i would check out the aquabotanic store. i usually get my plants from robert. he has some good stuff.

also, i think the plants you already ordered should be fine. they can tolerate low light, but they still do great in high light.

[Choppy]

Thanks, Russell. Not sure if I am ready to jump into CO2 yet (guess I'm still a little backward), but I will take your list and look at the photos in the store. I've ordered from Robert two or three times already -- had to do a lot of replacing with just two 40 watt flourescents . I have always been pleased--plus he is incredibly helpful when you call him up.

Can all the plants on your list tolerate hard water? I know others, like bolbitis, get black spots.

[imported_russell]

that wasn't a complete list at all as i'm sure you know, i was just giving you some ideas. i have very hard water here in oklahoma, and i grow glosso, hairgrass, baby tears, rotala indica, red temple, sunset hygro, ludwigia glandulosa, blyxa japonica, bacopa, java moss and i've had many others.

i would suggest that you try sunset hygro. it's really good, and it grows fast.

i think you should try DIY co2. you can make it out of a 2L bottle and some airhose. i use it in all of my tanks and it works very well. if you don't use it, you should at least use flurish excel (though it's more expensive).

[imported_BSS]

With 260w over a 55g tank, you're going to more likely need pressurized CO2 and a daily fertilizer regimen, if you want to strike a healthy balance. Personally, I would take out two of the bulbs initially until you get things settled in the tank. At closer to 2 WPG, you have much more room for learning "experiences" (the positive way of saying 'mistakes' ).

Good luck and keep the questions coming!
Brian.

[Choppy]

I am confused as to why I should drop my light down to 2 WPG. After struggling vainly with about 1.5 WPG for five years and having so few things thrive, I can't see how I would be moving on very far by limiting my light to 2 WPG. What is likely to happen if I keep all four 65 watt bulbs on --burn out? --uncontrollable growth? What am I being warned about?

Also, having just purchased lights, I wasn't ready to jump into CO2 quite yet. Rich, I am not. I do use Flourish Excell every day. I am not a do-it-yourself kind of guy either. Robert has a small CO2 kit called a Power Reactor listed on his site. Does this have everything I would need to begin?

[imported_BSS]

IMO, healthy plant grow is all about strking a balance. If you have intense lighting, the plants will need comparable amounts of carbon (dail Excel should fill this role, though over time it'll be expensive), the macro nutrients (NPK, plus Mg, Ca) and the micros. In my tank, which is at 3+WPG, I have pressurized CO2 on with the lights, I add macros and micros on alternate days. So, a "balanced diet" of all the needed plant nutrients is always available in ample supply to the plants. Assuming Excel adds the needed carbon and your water is hard enough to provide Mg/Ca, what are your sources of N, P and K? If you don't have it all in balance from the start with that much light, my guess is that the plants will 'starve'.

Take a read through http://www.rexgrigg.com. He'll likely explain much of this better than I have.

[Choppy]

I am beginning to see (I think). I have plenty of Flourish Excel on hand for now for daily use, so we will give that a try while I research my CO2 options. As for P, N, and K, I currently use Flourish (not Excel) twice a week--is this enough? Got better, easily accdessible recommendations?

Tomorrow or the next dy I will receive sme Vals and Java Ferns, my new lights should come in a week or so, and I was considering ordering from among the following plants after I set up the lights. Are there any here I should avoid (I already avoided anything that had CO2 explicitly recmmended):

Rotala indica
Red Temple
Tiger Lotus
Nessea
Ludwigia glandulosa
Cambomba furcata rosebud
Micro Sword lilae.
Micro tnellus-pigy chain sword

Thanks for all your help on this.

[Choppy]

Answering one of my own questions--The Flourish I've been using contains no NPK. Any recommemndations for brand additives? I'll be sure to use something. Don't want my plants starving. I checked out that web link--it's great, but a lot of reading there. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time there.

[imported_BSS]

Here's a snippet from a Googled web site, "Flourish™ is a comprehensive plant supplement for the natural freshwater aquarium. It contains a rich assortment of important micro elements, trace elements and other nutrients. These include calcium, magnesium, iron and other important elements that have been shown to be beneficial to aquatic plants. For macro element (NPK) fertilization, use Flourish Nitrogen™, Flourish Phosphorus™ or Flourish Potassium™ as needed."

As you can see, no NPK stuffs in Flourish. I'd recommend going to http://www.gregwatson.com.
By the way, getting the proper fertilize regimen can be one of the more challenging aspects of a nice planted tank based on my experience.