Finnex Planted+ 24/7 Light

[patelike]

HI I currently have a and I was wondering if it would be considered medium or low light for a 20 gallon high tank?

And I might get a 30 gallon tank sometime and have a with it. Would that make that tank a high light tank?

 

[chrt396]

It would be considered perfect for a planted tank! It's not stupidly bright..but it's brighter than most and full spectrum. I HAD the Planted Plus on a 29 gallon and it was more than enough to sustain plant life. I of course dosed with Root Tabs, Flourish and Excel. Finnex does not warranty the product however. They will find every excuse NOT to cover it. Mine burned out after 2 mos. and the company said that it was due to water damage. He didnt see it...he just came to the conclusion that it was. He told me that if I looked at it, I could see black soot around the burned out LEDS. I told him that I looked and there was NO soot of any kind. He said that I would have to ship it to him at my expense and pay for return shipping if he deemed it abuse. It was not that expensive...so I just stuck it on my 20 gallon hospital tank. I now have a current satellite Plus Pro on it instead! Its been on there for 5 mos. No problems.

 

[TexasDomer]

I have two Planted Pluses (both bought from members on here slightly used), and I have no issues. They're great lights.

A 20 gal high would probably put you around low/medium-medium light, though you'll need to look at the PAR ratings at your tank depth for confirmation. You can do the same thing for your 30 gal. Google "Finnex Planted Plus PAR" and you can find a chart giving the PAR ratings at various depths for the different length of lights. You'll have to dig around in different forums to get it though, Finnex never released one to my knowledge.

 

[Silister Trench]

I know this is a little old on this topic, but about a month ago I bought the 30" Finnex+ 24/7, and have been using it to carpet Eleocharis Pervula (Dwarf Hair Grass) on a 20L. All of the gimmicks aside, I really have enjoyed the fixture. It puts out great, beautiful light and as far as the research I've done on it's PAR on my 20L it is putting out High Lighting, but that's at about 12" above my plants, give or take 2-3" in some spots.Anything higher than that and you're going to be medium light in a hurry and probably low(ish) light on a 20H I'd expect the low end of medium lighting at substrate level. The fixture sits about 3" above the top of the tank with it's legs. The fixture is great, but everything always depends on one very important factor: what exactly you want to grow and achieve with the light fixture.




I just wanted to get some other experiences by anyone using the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 that came out earlier this year. I currently own the 30" 24/7 version, and have been running it on 20G Long. I use osmocote plus DiY root tabs and dose flourish once in a while with a DiY Co2 generator. The substrate is inert black sand and I have 15 lbs of Seiryu Stone (the stuff they sell on EBay that isn't real Seiryu, but beautiful).

Now, immediately I loved the 24/7 setting on the light just for the look of it. Basically it gives beautiful light all day and most of the night which looks stunning in my living room. I've ran the 24/7 lighting schedule for about a month and a half. My dwarf hair grass has spread gradually, and seems to be doing well, almost doubling in quantity of original purchase. The Ludwigia Repens grows sideways and have grown about 4"-6" in three weeks, needing to be trimmed in that time, and then I replanted the cuttings. All in all, my plants show decent growth as far as I can tell, but...

My Seiryu stones become quickly covered in brown algae, as well as my dwarf hair grass ... The Ludwigia Repens original leafs... The glass... Substrate now... Lately it seems no matter how much I scrub and scrub the dreaded diatoms return with vengeance. I've cut back to feeding the 11 neon tetra's and 2 male guppies every other day because they seem to like eating the white hair algae that sometimes gets spit out of my filter outlet. The tank is new - 3 or 4 months old - but I still feel the 24/7 setting on my light is the bane of my tank's healthy glow.

Has anyone else experienced high algae growth using the 24/7 mode on their Finnex? Or maybe a better question might be: How do you use your Finnex Planted+ 24/7?


----------

I've recently turned off the 24/7 lighting in place of a timer schedule of two 4hrs lighting period with a break of 2 hrs in the middle on the Max light setting, kept about 14-16" above my substrate or roughly 60(ish) par from my research. I will update any changes over time with this new light schedule.

 

[alink]

My Seiryu stones become quickly covered in brown algae, as well as my dwarf hair grass ... The Ludwigia Repens original leafs... The glass... Substrate now... Lately it seems no matter how much I scrub and scrub the dreaded diatoms return with vengeance. I've cut back to feeding the 11 neon tetra's and 2 male guppies every other day because they seem to like eating the white hair algae that sometimes gets spit out of my filter outlet. The tank is new - 3 or 4 months old - but I still feel the 24/7 setting on my light is the bane of my tank's healthy glow.

I've recently turned off the 24/7 lighting in place of a timer schedule of two 4hrs lighting period with a break of 2 hrs in the middle on the Max light setting, kept about 14-16" above my substrate or roughly 60(ish) par from my research. I will update any changes over time with this new light schedule.

Sorry, I can't help with your questions about this light. However, I wanted to offer my input on 2 other things you mentioned.

The first being diatoms. According to my research and other people on here, diatoms are a common occurrence in new tanks and will go away on their own after the tank matures, usually around 6 months or so. Being that your tank is 3-4 months old, you are at least half way there. So, IMO, your light may be helping the diatoms grow, they will go away over time, especially with the tank being moderately planted and all the extras you are adding (ferts and co2).

The second being the lighting schedule. When you use the short photo periods and have live plants, you want a minimum of 4 hours on, 4 hours off, 4 hours on. With a shorter dark period, the plants won't be able to finish their shutdown process before having to turn on again when lights come back. Forgive my lay-man terms, just trying to keep it simple. Increase the dark period to 4-6 hours and I think that will help the plant and even limit the algae as algae needs prolonged periods of light in order to flourish.

I hope someone else can come along and help you with your other questions regarding this light.

 

[jroe263]

Following - I'm looking at getting the light because of the 24/7 feature.

 

[Silister Trench]

Thanks for your input already. I'm glad you mentioned the longer dark period. I never even thought of that, and am happy to say I've only ran that lighting schedule just today and it's easily changed.

Following - I'm looking at getting the light because of the 24/7 feature.

Just let me know if you want pictures or if you think there's a question I can answer for you with the fixture right here. I've only had it running in 24/7 and all the plants in this tank right now we're grown under it from small portions and propagated in the tank. Total cost of plants has been $22 - one tissue culture portion of DHG, 6 stems of Ludwigia with a small portion of cardamine lyrata in the right corner.

 

[TheAmateurAquarist]

I recently purchased the 24/7 haven't set up et, but I can answer your questions. Diatoms are coming because your tank is new, also they're spreading faster and faster due to the lighting..there is an imbalance of nutrients. Right now you have too much light and not enough co2 and nutrients on the water column most likely. How many BPS are you running? With the 24/7 dosing flourish won't help...

Here's what I' do, that 4 on 4 off 4 on 4 off period as stated in the earlier post..then rank up your co2 slowly and see if it helps..then go invest in dry ferts and so some research on te EI method which is what I HIGHLY reccomend..GLA sells EI dry ferts for just $15..EI method is simple easy and SUPER effective. If you create a good balance between co2, nutrients and light your plants will thrive and algae will cease.
If you really want to get rid of diatoms get some Otos or Amanos.. 2 Otos wiped out a whole tank of straight out diatoms for me.. We're talking so much diatoms you couldn't see half of the tank


TAA, Signing Out

 

[Silister Trench]

Thanks TAA!

With the DiY Co2 system I have running in BPS let's call it 3-4 on a good day, and 2 on a bad day? I started it off with a DiY system until I could swing a good, quality system with all the bells and whistles. It seems pretty efficient considering, but a hassle, and originally I had one system set up and there seemed to be no change, so I set up a system on each end and the micro bubbles are dispersed much more evenly. So one system runs at 2 BPS directly into the impeller of a HOB filter, and the other runs about 3 BPS through a glass diffuser.

I will try your recommended lighting schedule, and am actually waiting for my EI fertilizers to arrive.

I appreciate the advice about ottos or amano shrimp, and have been searching high and low for the amano shrimp for a few weeks, but no local stores have them around my area. Seriously, none. And all the employees tend to look at me like I have a boogey on my face when I ask about them, then ask what are they for, then try to direct me to their selection of plecos or snails... I'd resort to ordering them from online but in Minnesota it's about 0 degrees outside and don't believe any aquatic life will survive delivery. Hopefully I can locate some nearby before summer...

-------

How do you plan on running your 24/7 TAA and with what sort of set up if you don't mind me asking.

 

[TheAmateurAquarist]

Thanks TAA!

With the DiY Co2 system I have running in BPS let's call it 3-4 on a good day, and 2 on a bad day? I started it off with a DiY system until I could swing a good, quality system with all the bells and whistles. It seems pretty efficient considering, but a hassle, and originally I had one system set up and there seemed to be no change, so I set up a system on each end and the micro bubbles are dispersed much more evenly. So one system runs at 2 BPS directly into the impeller of a HOB filter, and the other runs about 3 BPS through a glass diffuser.

I will try your recommended lighting schedule, and am actually waiting for my EI fertilizers to arrive.

I appreciate the advice about ottos or amano shrimp, and have been searching high and low for the amano shrimp for a few weeks, but no local stores have them around my area. Seriously, none. And all the employees tend to look at me like I have a boogey on my face when I ask about them, then ask what are they for, then try to direct me to their selection of plecos or snails... I'd resort to ordering them from online but in Minnesota it's about 0 degrees outside and don't believe any aquatic life will survive delivery. Hopefully I can locate some nearby before summer...

-------

How do you plan on running your 24/7 TAA and with what sort of set up if you don't mind me asking.

No problem. You might want to look into a co2 reactor and atomizer to maximize the amount of co2 that is being used in the tank and make that co2 count. Looks like your one step ahead with the ferts! Good job planning ahead. I'm supposed there are no Otos near you..I got mine at petco..he's still thriving a year later..guess you may have to wait till spring to order stuff


TAA, Signing Out

I plan on running my 24/7 on a high tech tank ..high light, pressurized co2 and EI ferts..If my timer won't let me do 4 on 4 off 4 on 4iff then I'll just do an 8 hour photo period.setup will be a ten gallon with more than $300 going into it...


TAA, Signing Out

link of my aquascaping plans, I'm going Dutch style..I'm a kid btw, and yes that's me in the vid


TAA, Signing Out

 

[Silister Trench]

Thanks for sharing the video TAA. It sounds like you've got a good map to follow as a starting point, and I hope it turns out great! It sounds like a lot of cash to drop on a 10 gallon, so I hope it works! ✌️
-------------------



Day 3

So maybe a quick update. As I said in a earlier post the 20L has been set up for about 4 months. 2 1/2 months it was left unplanted with only the 15 Lbs Seriyu stones, a piece of driftwood, and the black sand substrate as decorations with no plants, and a few basic LED's I canabalized from a starter tank hood I've had in storage. For 1 1/2 months I've been running the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 in it's 24/7 function mode, as it really is lovely used this way.

Brown algae everywhere...

API test kit readings today -

Ammonia: 0-.25 ppm (I always seem to have the slightest bit of ammonia lately)
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 20-40 ppm (Like some, I have a hard time telling exactly)
Ph: 6.4

I did a 30% water change and will do another tomorrow. Yesterday I switched my lighting schedule off the 24/7 setting to the MAX setting (4hrs light / 4hrs dark / 4hrs light / 4 hrs dark / 4 hrs light / 4 hrs dark). I scrubbed all the brown algae off two days ago, and it's back again. Yay... However, I saw something today after the water change. Among the coating of brown algae on my Seiryu Stone I spotted something never before seen in this tank. I saw green Algae! Okay... One should probably not be as excited as I am for it, but after almost two months of scrubbing brown junk from stones in buckets of dirty tank water and wiping it from Dwarf Hair Grass and Ludwigia Repens this stray spot of color has pleased me. I also noticed some on the back glass. All of it is too unnoticeable to be captured by my camera, so just an update picture.

Day 1 of new light schedule




My brown algae pearls so lovely...

 

[Grom2K]

I'm running the planted+ 24/7 48'' on my 60 gallon. For the most part I just leave it on 24/7 mode, and I have yet to see any sort of algae(nothing that has caught my attention I should say). I've been running the light about a month, and my tank has been set up for about 3-4 months, dosing Co2 daily up until a few days ago I bought a small Co2 system. I still lightly dose with my liquid Co2 though. I'm not currently using any ferts other than root tabs, but I have all the fert packs on the way so I'll update ya on the changes as it progresses. I don't really have any carpet or really small plants either right now other than a very tiny patch of hair grass that my corys have ripped up, but I'm going to have a try at some staurogyne repens to see how well the light affects them with my tank being so tall.
Subscribed!

 

[Silister Trench]

That's a really good looking tank and some beautiful angels! Sounds, and looks, like the 24/7 feature is working out for you, and your mention of Staurogyne Repens got me curious so I had to do a quick Google search. It's an amazing looking plant I haven't seen (or remembered) and I instantly began to imagine placement in my own tank.

Our tanks and Finnex planted+ 24/7, as well as the fact we've both been running in 24/7 mode, are close enough in comparison for me. My algae bloom appeared shortly after using the Finnex, while everything had been clean and prestige up to that point, but you've showed it just isn't the case so I'll have to reconsider and add a second guess as to why and that's water. I have another unplanted tank that had slight brown growth after starting up... Nothing like this planted tank... It went away in a few days never to be seen again until I just did a water change. Both times it was during colder months when I noticed that, so I imagine silicates are in higher ratio because of this in our water supply during these cold months.

After following TAA's light schedule (just to see if there was change in algae, which hasn't improved) I really noticed an explosion of growth in my carpeting Dwarf Hair Grass and I think I'd see even better growth if I upgraded my co2 system. I just can't seem to diffuse enough of it with two DiY systems set up, so while at Fleet Farm today I looked around at paintball supplies and air compressor parts, and think I can come up with a quality 24oz paintball Co2 setup for $40. $55(ish) with a solenoid shut off. That's just a rough estimate, of course. Just from the growth I've seen in the last few days with the new lighting schedule - 4 on / 4 off x3 - I think the 24/7 mode works quite well with my stem plants and probably low-medium plants that sit higher because they experience a greater intensity of light throughout the day compared to my Dwarf HAir Grass, which in 24/7 mode, only hits true, high-intensity light for about an hour at 3:00 PM. It is working well to carpet on my 20L, and I can't wait to read up on even more hobbyist's experience.

Quick question:

What kind of substrate are you using and what kind of root tabs?

Oh yeah, and what's your Co2 system like, Grom?

Thanks!
-Sil

 

[Grom2K]

Alright, this may end up long but I'm going to breakdown my entire build for you the best I can to hopefully answer some of your questions and any more that you might come up with! Bare with me

Luckily I haven't seen any type of algae blooms since my tank has been running, besides the tiny amount on the far back of the glass that gives it that slight hazy appearance. Nothing changed even after I added the Finnex. Keep in mind my tank is about 23'' tall and the light about, so your Finnex may be having more of an affect on your 20 gallon long than mine may show. I don't know if my Finnex puts out enough for me to successfully grow low carpet type plants with my tank being quite taller, but I'm going to trial and error it and see what happens.

Not sure what you have as far as a clean up crew goes, but I have quite a bit of pest snails, 4 assassin snails added recently to keep them in check, an albino brittlenose pleco who's always at work, and my 6-7 inch rainbow shark is always sweeping every inch of the tank. On top of that all my corys keep bottom build up to a bare minimum.

I do not have an advanced Co2 system or anything, nor do I know all that much about it, but this tank is more or less a trial and error build as it is my first larger sized planted tank. I am just running the ISTA water plant 45g cartridge system that I picked up at petco to experiment with. I've stopped dosing liquid Co2 to see how it works out alone at about a bubble per second. Since I've stopped dosing liquid Co2, I've also changed up my light schedule a little bit to see if I can get some noticeable change in my plants.

I've been turning my Finnex on to the 9am setting at around 11am when I wake up, and turn on the Co2 at about noon as well as switching to max setting. Around 10:30pm when I get home, I turn off my Co2, and switch the lights to the 6pm setting for about an hour. Then around 11:30pm-midnight I switch to the 9pm or midnight setting, which is on for about an hour give or take before I turn off the light entirely. Wake up, repeat the process. Pretty much worked around my work schedule lol

I have about an inch of fluorite underneath an inch and a half or so of black sand.
I'm currently using the apI root tabs, but I think they should be on their last limb.
My flourish tabs, seachem enhancer, and fundamental packs are expected to arrive on Monday so those will be factored in next week. I am currently dosing flourish 1-2 times a week though, as well as dosing Tetra EasyBalance Plus once a week as well.

So far, all my fish are alive(lol!) and very active, and my plants are all brightening up very well so I want to think there has been improvement!

Here's some specs for ya:
60 gallon tank
48'' Finnex planted+ 24/7 of course
750 gph flow rate
78 deg
2 water changes a week
(10-20% in the middle of the week, 30-40% on sundays)

I'm going to check my water levels later today so I'll post those up for you as well!
As of last week:
7.6-7.8 PH
Ammonia 0-.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate around 40ppm

pH may have dropped a little bit with the add on of pressurized Co2 and a few more pieces of driftwood so like I said, I'll post up fresh numbers at some point soon!

I'm going to need to do some re-homing eventually, as well as upping some schools, but here's my stock list as of now
4 Angels
1 Gold Gourami
1 Paradise Gourami
1 Rainbow Shark
1 Albino BN Pleco
2 Red lamp tetras
6 gold pristella tetras
6 rosy fin tetras
2 false JulI Corys
3 large Emerald corys
3 Albino corys
4 Assassin snails
xx pest snails

Here's the tank on max setting as it stands. Did a little re-scaping the other day with a few added ferns to the back right corner. Excuse my glass being a little dirty from spilling water down the front!
edit/ You can probably ctrl+mouse scroll forward to enlarge the picture if needed!

 

[Silister Trench]

Two Week Update:

Tank size: 20L
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 10 - 20 ppm
PH: 6.6 - 6.8

Co2: DiY
Fertilizer: Omsocote Plus root tabs
Light Fixture: Finnex Planted+ 24/7
Light schedule: 4 on / 4 off / 4 on / 4 off / 4 on / 4 off



Now, as said in previous posts I started using the Planted+ 24/7 only in its 24/7 mode. I had used it for months with a fresh bunch of tissue cultured Dwarf Hair Grass (X1), six stems of Ludwigia Repens, six stems of cardamine lyrata. Growth was slow over the two months I had the tank planted... It's been noticeable, but in comparison to the last two weeks it was stuck in first gear with loads of brown algae that absolutely covered the Seiryu Stone, Substrate, plants... As pointed out, the age of the tank contributes to brown growth, and I don't doubt my cities tap water helps, but as you can see in this next picture (approximately two weeks in lapse) the growth is so much better... The algae nearly gone! I'd say growth has nearly doubled but the handful of additions including; Christmas Tree Moss, two Amano Shrimp, one Otocinclus Catfish, the rearrangement of small stones along with the propagation of Ludwigia Repens, make it hard to see. A week after the switch in lighting schedule the brown algae showed visible die off, and a week later is almost all gone. The algae eaters I added contribute to a healthy appearance, but I doubt they're responsible to a fraction of the disappearance I've noticed.



Comparing the growth over the last few weeks I'd like to say when the Finnex is locked into it's very appealing 24/7 mode the overall lightning is most likely LOW, save for a brief hour long peak at 3pm. It definitely grew my plants, spread dwarf hair grass, but not like now. I guess I really noticed it today, observing the DHG needed trimming again. I compared growth to this picture I took about the day before starting this thread:



I can hardly say it was the new lighting schedule as I lack a lot of raw data to make that judgment, but after seeing solid brown growth a week after un-boxing my Finnex, and then seeing it go away a week after using only it's MAX setting on a lightning schedule, I have a very strong opinion that maybe it looks beautiful, but isn't practical for every day... Night and day...

Whoops! Excuse me, second picture was taken December 23 - good comparison for a week before light schedule versus two weeks after.

Thanks!
-Sil

 

[alink]

Light schedule: 4 on / 4 off / 4 on / 4 off / 4 on / 4 off

You don't need to do 4 on 4 off 4 on 4 off 4 on 4 off.. I do 4 on 4 off 4 on 12 off. I just bring this up because sometimes our tanks are in places of the house where you don't want the light being on in the middle of the night. You could also do 4 on 6 off 4 on 10 off. or 5 on 5 off 5 on 9 off. Just as long as each period is at least 4 hours in length.

 

[NinjaTetra]

I have a 30" planted+ 24/7 on my 37 gallon. It replaced the stock LEDs I had on it. I leave it on 24/7 mode except for occasionally changing it to cloudy for part of some days. For the most part, before I got the 24/7 I fixed my algae problems except for some super slow growing green algae on the back glass, that I can easily scrub off.
I don't have any sort of co2 going, but I'm thinking about dosing excel and changing my lighting schedule and adding ferts in the next two months.
I don't dose ferts, but there's only anubias, crypts, and couple of Amazon swords. The swords have shown zero growth, but they are still healthy looking after a year- they'll probably be removed when I rescape. My anubias have shown great (albeit slow) growth, one of them has had 3 new leaves and the other had 3 new leaves and a flower, and since adding the 24/7 I now see two or three new leaves coming up. When those grow I'll be able to propagate it!
The only "ferts" you could say I use is that I don't use my gravel vacuum under my crypts. Theres sort of a mulm bed around them. I think that actually increased growth. One crypt wenditiI bronze I had for some reason only grew green leaves, but in the last month there's now 2 bronze leaves. Not sure if that's due to the lighting or what.
That was a really long winded way for me to say that the diatoms probably aren't due to the light, but more likely because its a newer tank. My tank's diatoms more or less stopped after being running for 8 months.


~ <-----that's one of those cool squiggly lines you do before a signature.

 

[Vapestarr]

Has anyone used this light consistently for a long time yet? I just got it about 3-4 weeks ago and have only used it set on the 24/7 mode. (Which visually I love - very cool)

Ive watched a few videos and read some articles about the par value but I am just confused at what scale of lighting am I actually getting by keeping it on the 24/7 mode. Supposedly the dawn and dusk periods are at a pretty low par value. It's only on Max for 3 hours, (which is supposed to be mad to high lighting?) plus the "slightly dimmer than max periods" for the 3 hours before and after.. hopefully that made sense. I'm just really curious at the growth experience others are having with it over 6 moths to a year and how others are setting it to its potential.

I am trying to go for medium lighting. I have a 125 gallon tank, 24" tall, with 2 - 36" strips across. I'm even thinking about adding a 48" monster ray (which adds to the par value, but not very much I guess)

I've wanted to grow red plants, so I got a few of the easy to grow reds. I have no co2, so I don't want high lighting and end up with algae problems.. I do use seachem flourish comprehensive, excel, iron, and potassium.

I basically just need to know if I even have enough light using the 24/7 mode - or should I just customize the light settings so they are brighter for longer and shut off at night?

 

[Geoffrey]

Here's a pretty good review on the light. It includes some par values and the percentage of max par throughout the day on the 24/7 mode.


I'd play around with the light. Try out the 24/7 mode first and if you find it's not enough light, use it as a regular light and increase the photo period.

 

[jroe263]

I got my 24/7 last saturday for my 55 gal and planted it the same day. It's been running in 24/7 since. I enjoy not having to turn it on/off especially since I am often out most of the day. So far 9 days its been running, the plants seem to be doing well. I use root tabs flourish, and excel. 1 of 4 crypts is partially melting, the other 3 don't seem to be at this point. My fish, many of which i've had for about a year now, are doing really well and have become more active in the tank in the past week as well.

 

[btnhtillidie]

I got the 24/7 about a month ago for my 10G. My plants are all low light; sword, annubis, and Java moss. They all took off however. I was running it on 24/7 the whole time. There was algae but not massive amounts. It's a Fairly new tank that got diatoms which has now turned into green hair. I've cut back the light. I dimmed the white 50% and use the lowest blue setting for night, so I never really turn it off. We'll see what happens with the green hair.

At 12 and 3pm on the 24/7 mode is the high setting for the 24/7. So you getting a really high PAR value for about 4-5 hours before it how's into "sunset".

 

[Silister Trench]

Hey thanks for the replies guys.

And here is another update; I switched my photo period around a bit. In a few weeks the driftwood and Seiryu Stones closest the surface were covered in green beard algae, which appeared to indicate the 12 hrs of light was a bit too much. Okay... On a tank that's 12" tall if you think about it, it's a pretty crazy amount of light, considering from what I had read this baby has nearly 60 par at 18"... Okay, my bad! The algae gave it a natural look that I accepted but regardless I tuned down that light period to 8 hrs over a period of time which seemed to be the ticket. The brown appearing algae - diatoms, from a new tank we can safely say - gave birth to the green beard algae and now had halted it's spread.

Some time before this I'd fashioned a paintball co2 tank and cranked on the co2 and, honestly, stow weeks ago my tank had never looked better. I also replaced the HOB filters with a cascade 100 canister filter and fashioned an inline reactor out of an old gravel vac tube and some PVC parts ($5 total cost). Even using older filter media I caused myself a mini-cycle and slowly watched the brown return. Lol and stuff! Browns given away to green again, so I guess I stabbed my own back on that one.

Along with shortening the photoperiod I've also been forced to raise my 24/7 several inches to reduce the intensity. Instead of being less than a foot above my substrate I set it to 16 inches.

So here's where we are at -

Raised light, and have reduced photoperiod to 8 hrs a day (might even lower to 6-7)
Running cascade 100 canister filter with inline reactor
24 oz paintball tank with DIY regulator set at 3-4 bps
EI fertilizer dose throughout week as directed.
Still using osmocote root tabs about every 6 inches

I also moved some occupants around after my beloved guppies died during the minI cycle I caused, so there's only 5 neon tetra's and 2 Otocinclus - thanks whomever mentioned this little guys because darn if they aren't great! I guess there's some green fish that magically appeared in there after my wife took our son to the store... How she didn't kill it by adapting it I will never know. I'm planning on getting rid of the Ludwigia Repens. They've become a bother and just outgrow the tank too quickly. I might just get rid of the cardamine lyrata as well and just keep it simple with the carpet and moss. Hopefully in another week or two things will start looking great again and I'll snap another shot.




Thanks!
-Sil

 

[Ap05]

Hey guys I've been running my 24/7 on the 24/7 cycle and I'm not entirely happy with the plant growth. It's my 125 gallon, 24" tall.

I have 2 30" lights, not enough I don't think. So, with the 4 memory settings, there's no way to set 4 different color schemes to change throughout the day with a timer is there? Almost like a 24/7 cycle on a timer? Probably not I'm sure, but yeah. I'm assuming you have to manually change them when you want that way?

My wife and I love the 24/7 feature on these lights but my growth has been nothing like what I had on my regular Planted+. That was on a 55 gallon though also. I'm just trying to decide if I want to lose the awesome feature for the sake of growing my plants.

Otherwise I'm looking to trade these for 36 or 48" 24/7s. Thanks

Or would it be better to keep the 2 30" 24/7s, and add 1 48" regular planted plus with a timer? Or would that be too much light? I can only afford to trade or buy 1 single light. Thanks

 

[I3uckethead]

I would add a big planted+ or other high-output light with the existing lights and set it to run 4-6 hours for an afternoon light cycle.

You could also custom build a bar with some 5000k-6500k floodlights (CFL or LED) to accomplish the same effect.

 

[renegadefish]

I have a 24/7 I been using on my 20g... I love it and has grown my plants to the point where I have to trim them about every 5 days... I run low to medium light plants but they grow so fast. I am setting up a 55 gallon and just ordered a 48" version of the same light. I wish it had the 660 red led but it seems to do fine without it with the plants I run.

 

[Ap05]

My stock to lighting works wonders on my 20 gallon high also. Very frustrating with such a cheap light vs the expensive ones not doing much on the big tank

Wanting to avoid c02, will the 2 30" 24/7s, and one 48" Planted+ be too much light, or just enough to avoid having to do c02?

I'll have the 24/7 cycle and the Planted+ on a timer for 6 to 7 hours.

 

[tokiodreamy]

I'm looking to upgrade my light since my 29H tank is having issues with the amazon swords in its current light. I'm super interested in the finnex planted + 24/7 but its high in price. I have heard good things, but Is it really worth $90-100? Is there anything better for around $50? I don't need the storms, clouds, etc. I liked the idea of it mimicking the actual sun patterns but I guess it's not necessary to have. Thanks!

 

[TexasDomer]

I like the regular Planted Plus, but the Stingray may be a good option for you!

 

[tokiodreamy]

I like the regular Planted Plus, but the Stingray may be a good option for you!

Right now the 24/7 model is 3 dollars cheaper than the regular planted plus on amazon. What's the difference between the stingray and the 24/7? I have a 18" high tank. The only high tech plants I have are the amazon swords and dwarf baby hairgrass. But the hairgrass is pretty much gone. I'd be interested in doing more medium light non co2 plants. I'll need a light that can manage that

 

[TexasDomer]

Right now the 24/7 model is 3 dollars cheaper than the regular planted plus on amazon. What's the difference between the stingray and the 24/7? I have a 18" high tank. The only high tech plants I have are the amazon swords and dwarf baby hairgrass. But the hairgrass is pretty much gone. I'd be interested in doing more medium light non co2 plants. I'll need a light that can manage that

The Stingray is low light while the Planted Plus is low/medium. And the Planted Plus is better for plants than the 24/7 model, that's why I suggested it

Swords aren't high tech, and should do just fine with the Stingray.

For medium light, I'd go with the Planted Plus over the 24/7. The 24/7 doesn't have the best light settings on all of the time, only during a few peak hours; the Planted Plus has great light the whole time it's on.

 

[tokiodreamy]

Interesting. What if I d idn't use the 24/7 mode? Could I select the best light and just keep it on? I'm trying not to kill my budget since I'm upgrading my 10 to a 20L and need to buy more things. But I'm worried of buying a light that is cheaper but not good enough for future plants

 

[glocknug]

I just ordered a vivagrow 24/7 off amazon. It looks like an identical knock off of the finnex at half the price. Ill let ya know how it goes once it arrives

 

[TexasDomer]

I'm not sure, but if you want optimal light for your plants all the time and it's only $3 more to get the Planted Plus, I'd just get the Planted Plus. It will be able to grow all low light plants and some medium light too.

The Stingray is good for low light plants, as mentioned, and it's cheaper.

Beamswork is an off brand LED light, though I think those will still only give you low light.

 

[tokiodreamy]

Hmm okay. I'll do more research and see what my budget can handle. Hopefully I'll be able to afford it since I'm transfering my current light and hood to my new 20L to save money. I bought a new glass lid for my 29H that should be in today. Just need to fix this lighting issue. Someone in another post suggested going to home depot and buying a good florescent light there. Would that be doable because that sounds cheap ha

 

[TexasDomer]

Hmm okay. I'll do more research and see what my budget can handle. Hopefully I'll be able to afford it since I'm transfering my current light and hood to my new 20L to save money. I bought a new glass lid for my 29H that should be in today. Just need to fix this lighting issue. Someone in another post suggested going to home depot and buying a good florescent light there. Would that be doable because that sounds cheap ha

Very doable. Just be sure to get one in the right temp range. And if you're putting it in an existing hood, it should give you low light. If you want higher light, I'd get a fixture with 2-4 bulbs or get T5HO.

It's cheaper upfront, but not in the long run. Fluorescents use more electricity than LEDs and you have to replace the bulbs more often.

 

[Ap05]

Please let us know how the vivagrow works out

 

[tokiodreamy]

It's cheaper upfront, but not in the long run. Fluorescents use more electricity than LEDs and you have to replace the bulbs more often.

What happens when an LED light burns out? You can't replace that can you? All the negative reviews talk about half their LEDs going out.

 

[Greenplant]

I recently bought (2 months ago) a Finnex stingray off the advice of TexasDomer and the tank I bought it for is 20" high and is doing a great job. The Bacopas, the Crypts, Swords. The bacopas which are a little higher light and crypts are growing much faster then I thought they would. I have no intentions of getting into anything difficult in the future so the Finnex Stingray is perfect for me. I also like the look and the options that are given on how you want it set-up.

 

[TexasDomer]

What happens when an LED light burns out? You can't replace that can you? All the negative reviews talk about half their LEDs going out.

I haven't had any LEDs go out yet (other than the Ray 2, but that was because the previous owner got it water damaged - I only had it for a week or two when it stopped working), but as long as you don't get water damage, the lights should last many years.

 

[tokiodreamy]

Hmmm... I'll def look into it then! Greenplant thanks for your input as well. I'm looking to get more stem plants in the future. Right now my swords are all fanned out trying to get as much light as possible and I'm having 1-2 leaves die every week. Its upsetting and my platys have uprooted 70% of my dwarf hairgrass... so that's not good either.

 

[TexasDomer]

Hmmm... I'll def look into it then! @ thanks for your input as well. I'm looking to get more stem plants in the future. Right now my swords are all fanned out trying to get as much light as possible and I'm having 1-2 leaves die every week. Its upsetting and my platys have uprooted 70% of my dwarf hairgrass... so that's not good either.

What ferts are you using?

 

[tokiodreamy]

I have seachem florish tabs, apI leaf zone, and apI co2 booster.
I was looking into getting a few more stem plants and some duck weed or another floating plant.

 

[Greenplant]

I have seachem florish tabs, apI leaf zone, and apI co2 booster.
I was looking into getting a few more stem plants and some duck weed or another floating plant.

I don't know other then the swords what you like but If your like me I like easy. I use leaf zone and think it's a great product once a week I also use Flourish Tabs. I use Flourish twice a week. I like flourish because it has a little of everything and I'll use Iron twice a week and Trace twice a week.
I don't know anything about the API CO2 booster I take it that it's like Excel.


I would use Excel every day but it's not for me at this time. A great product but I'm having success feeling I finally found balance with my plants. Good Luck I feel your pain with the swords I went through the same thing I would kill anubias plants Hence the name GreenPlant or I was going to go with BlackThumb. I read on here take the root tab with the plant root right next to it and then add more around your plants. Far from an expert it was pretty much trial and error . Good Luck.

water wisteria is also a great floater and after a couple of weeks floating I planted 3 bunches in the substrate and there about 4" from growing out of the water in a 24" high tank in about a month if that long.

 

[Neuf88]

I'm looking into getting the dinner planted 24-7 lighting system to help out plants and just generally think 24/7 cycle looks cool. It looks like the tank is wide open up top with this system and seeing as I have a bubbler which causes lots of droplets to shoot up, I'm wondering if there is a recomended cover/hood to go with the lights so it's not so wide open? Thanks

 

[Lchi87]

I'm looking into getting the dinner planted 24-7 lighting system to help out plants and just generally think 24/7 cycle looks cool. It looks like the tank is wide open up top with this system and seeing as I have a bubbler which causes lots of droplets to shoot up, I'm wondering if there is a recomended cover/hood to go with the lights so it's not so wide open? Thanks

I have the same light and just use a standard issue hinged glass top. I place the lights towards the middle of the tank so that it's got some space away from the open section towards the back. You are gonna love that light btw!

 

[Florian Pellet]

Oh I love that light!

 

[Silister Trench]

Love the light. The 24-7 cycle option promotes high algae growth on shallow tanks, and I'm going to assume taller ones too. Do not get this light for that gimmicky light cycle, but for its customizable settings. 24-7 cycle looks awesome, but it's nothing but algae for a lot of people - myself included.

30" over a 20L 14-12"of substrate

 

[Florian Pellet]

I have a 30 gallon tank semI heavily planted, 38cm high, and no algae at all with that light on 24/7 cycle. I do have a drip system, lots of shrimps and co2.

I turn of the light with a timer every day between midnight and 6am.

 

[Neuf88]

Yea I have a timer now on my lights but I feel the 24/7 setting may be better than just the on/off I have going on now. I don't even know what my lights are, they are LEDs that came with an aqueon 29 gal kit but there's really no specs on them.... My job requires me to be gone for 24 hours a day every every 2 days so I just feel that my leg will be good, plus better for my plants. Lchi87 , any chance you could post a pic of yours with the glass top?

 

[Lchi87]

Yea I have a timer now on my lights but I feel the 24/7 setting may be better than just the on/off I have going on now. I don't even know what my lights are, they are LEDs that came with an aqueon 29 gal kit but there's really no specs on them.... My job requires me to be gone for 24 hours a day every every 2 days so I just feel that my leg will be good, plus better for my plants. @ , any chance you could post a pic of yours with the glass top?

I will post a pic once I get home from work!