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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Oh, I see, much like a plant on the outside does! I guess the plant I have in there now is what's helping out then. Don't ask me what it is, my wife suggested I put it in, and it almost seemed to have cleared the water! It might have been my imagination, but the sharks look like they like it too!
Do they require a lot of manual care? | 
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie  the "sharks" you have are actually in the catfish family...they are just called sharks because of their looks...I cant get a plant to grow in a tank other than java moss and im not sure if that is a plant or just a blanket per say LOL..dont forget to share pics with us! | LOL. I killed my java moss! I didn't think it was possible.  | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Plants flourish when a fertilizer is used, be it root tabs or liquid added after water changes. It depends on the type of plant which one is used. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| haha...i have some amazing houseplants..but cant grow an aquarium plant to save my life | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie the "sharks" you have are actually in the catfish family...they are just called sharks because of their looks...I cant get a plant to grow in a tank other than java moss and im not sure if that is a plant or just a blanket per say LOL..dont forget to share pics with us! | Yeah, I read that too, and was just a little disappointed! LOL! But I like them because of their look. Very sleek! So you recommend the Java Moss? Would I have to do any major re-landscaping? | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda LOL. I killed my java moss! I didn't think it was possible. | LOL! Really? Please don't tell me that! I'm looking to you as my professional adviser! LOL! | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie haha...i have some amazing houseplants..but cant grow an aquarium plant to save my life | That's what I'm afraid of, killing off either the plant or my sharks! | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| dieing plants wont kill your shark unless its left in there to raise the nitrates to untolerable levels...there are tons of members who have great sucess in planted tanks..im just not one of them  lol | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Ah well, maybe the moss was defective.
As it turned out, I had cheap lights in the hood of my 55 gal. I have since replaced the lights & am going to be planting my tank soon. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie dieing plants wont kill your shark unless its left in there to raise the nitrates to untolerable levels...there are tons of members who have great sucess in planted tanks..im just not one of them lol | Cool, that's a relief!
I mean that the plants are pretty easy to care for, not that you can't! LOL! | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| So the lighting has a lot to do with it too, huh? Recommendations? | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by dcorrea Cool, that's a relief!
I mean that the plants are pretty easy to care for, not that you can't! LOL! |  trust me ...I cant   | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Do you know how many watts of light you have in your tank? | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by shawnie | Lol! | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| for plants you'll want a florescent bulb. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda Do you know how many watts of light you have in your tank? | I may be wrong, but I believe it's a 100 watt?!? It's very bright. I must add, this was a tank that was given to us, so I didn't really have much of a selection! LOL! | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I'd be very surprised if the wattage was that high.
Is it a standard hood? (One single bulb) | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Red1313 for plants you'll want a florescent bulb. | Will that be good enough for both fish and plants? I believe it is a florescent. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda I'd be very surprised if the wattage was that high.
Is it a standard hood? (One single bulb) | Yes. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| The highest I can find for my 55 gal. is like 15-20 watts. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda The highest I can find for my 55 gal. is like 15-20 watts. | Like I say, I could be wrong (?)  I'll have to check all of this stuff when I get home. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| lol, it's alright.
You're going to be busy when you get home. 
All this new info. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| I I were you I would take back the bala shark and still buy the larger tank, this would open up a nice big space for other less-territorial fish. I dont care what you do just giving you a suggestion.  happy fishing! | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda lol, it's alright.
You're going to be busy when you get home.
All this new info. | 
It's all good, as long as my sharks benefit! I don't mind! LOL! I just don't want a bunch floating sharks, that's all!
So the lighting wouldn't be that high wattage? What would be recommended then? | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkFin I I were you I would take back the bala shark and still buy the larger tank, this would open up a nice big space for other less-territorial fish. I dont care what you do just giving you a suggestion. happy fishing! | But like RED1313 said, wouldn't that kinda upset the fish in a sense?
I appreciate all the advice given. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Well, first check what the wattage is.
Then take that number and divide it by the gallons in your tank.
That will give you the WPG (watts per gallon)
Anything below 2 wpg is low light, anything lower than .7 most likely will not grow plants.
You can always upgrade your lighting, but that can get costly. And then you'd need to have CO2 injections, so high light is more complicated. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda Well, first check what the wattage is.
Then take that number and divide it by the gallons in your tank.
That will give you the WPG (watts per gallon)
Anything below 2 wpg is low light, anything lower than .7 most likely will not grow plants.
You can always upgrade your lighting, but that can get costly. And then you'd need to have CO2 injections, so high light is more complicated. | CO2 injections? What is that?
Sorry for my ignorance, please be patient with me. | |
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January 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I'm not actually all that savvy on CO2 injections myself.
I know that it released CO2 into the water b/c the higher light makes the plants grow at a faster rate. This in turn makes the plants need more CO2. It's for high light aquariums. | |
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