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Since I already have a couple of high-tech tanks (see my signature link) I was thinking of doing a low-tech, low-light (read: low maintenance) tank after I was left some Java Moss and Ferns plus a whole bunch of small C wendtiis. I have a 29g tank in the garage that I tore down when I set up my 125 in September. So my first thought was to set up the 29 with a single 65w strip, but the tank won't fit in the spot I'd be setting it up in.
So my fallback plan is to get a 20H from an LFS for $30, but can I do a low maintenance setup with 3.25wpg? I don't want to grow any stem plants except for maybe some 2 leaf Micranthemum. Everything else will be ferns, moss, Anubias, or Crypts.
Substrate would be a thin layer of peat+mulm, covered by a 50-50 mix of Flourite (or maybe Profile) and coarse quartz sand. I'd go all Flourite (or even Eco-Complete) but I still have 100# of sand leftover from my 125 setup. Fish load would be some Endlers, Cherry Shrimp, a few Corys and an oto or two.
Can this be done without injecting CO2, daily dosing, and most importantly, without fighting a never ending battle against algae?
I guess I could always buy the 20H with the NO strip light kit and end up with a 1wpg setup instead
So my fallback plan is to get a 20H from an LFS for $30, but can I do a low maintenance setup with 3.25wpg? I don't want to grow any stem plants except for maybe some 2 leaf Micranthemum. Everything else will be ferns, moss, Anubias, or Crypts.
Substrate would be a thin layer of peat+mulm, covered by a 50-50 mix of Flourite (or maybe Profile) and coarse quartz sand. I'd go all Flourite (or even Eco-Complete) but I still have 100# of sand leftover from my 125 setup. Fish load would be some Endlers, Cherry Shrimp, a few Corys and an oto or two.
Can this be done without injecting CO2, daily dosing, and most importantly, without fighting a never ending battle against algae?
I guess I could always buy the 20H with the NO strip light kit and end up with a 1wpg setup instead