I've settled on a light. Now to CO2 or not to CO2

After deep internet searching I have finally found the light for the 45 I'm putting together. Its 78W (so about 1.75 per gallon) T5 HO. One 39W 10000K T5HO and one 39W "freshwater" pink T5HO. Well heres the link


Here are the plants I'm considering.

Cryptocoryne undulata
Anubias barterI caladifolia
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila difformis

Is that light gonna be enough and will this setup need CO2 with 2 Gold Gouramis in the tank? If it's not enough light what do you suggest to get higher wattage?

 

The chain sword might disappear due to lack of light. They need quite a bit of light. The only tank of mine that chain sword will grow in gets a decent amount of indirect sunlight (unfortunately, this is my goldfish/koi tank, and they love eating the stuff)

Personally, I think that CO2 is a bigger pain than it's worth. My plants do fine without it. I even have one tank that has a field of wysteria growing in about a third of the tank, and only one fish to produce CO2, and the wysteria is growing beautifully.

 

and one 39W "freshwater" pink T5HO.

Looks purdy in pink , but, why is the color relevant and why pink? (serious question)

The only tank of mine that chain sword will grow in gets a decent amount of indirect sunlight.

Do you have any algal troubles with the tank getting any kind of sunlight?

 

Nope. In fact, the brighter of the two tanks has such clear water that it's hard to believe I haven't changed the filter in about two months. (probably has to do with the healthy wysteria).
The chain sword is sitting in a bright spot, at the front of the tank where it can get some indirect sunlight as well as the light from the tank, but it's still not enough. The light, however, adds up to be about 2wpg, which isn't all that bright.

 

All of you freshies are so lucky to have such an abundant choice of flora to help out with all these issues!

 

You've got access to similar stuff, it's just not as pretty. Live rock and live sand is very similar in saltwater. It's just a bunch of little things that help keep stuff under control, whereas freshwater has big, green things.

And don't forget mangroves. You can plant one of these in a refugium and turn it into semi-aquatic bonsai.

 

Yeah, I know. I just wish I could mix more green into it. I'm hoping for Turtle weed, aka Maiden's Hair and Shaving Brush. In a refugium I would like to have Lettuce and Chaetomorpha Algae. If I end up using the 145 as a refugium, I suppose I could use the mangrove in it too. How does the mangrove help out? I'll have to read up on it.

 

The same way other plants do. They soak up nitrates, nitrites, and various forms of phosphorous to use as food.
I've seen mangroves in the "hang on tank" refugiums before. You've just got to trim the branches (and probably the roots, too) periodically to keep the tree small.
Otherwise, if you live near the Gulf of Mexico, you could probably hook up with an organization that's trying to reinforce the coastal wetlands, and grow the trees and plant them once they're too large for your refugium. They'd probably be willing to get you cheap or free saplings for a project like that.

 

Wow! No, no where near. I live in north west Arizona. However, that would be AWESOME to do! I wonder how feasible it is to try it from here lol

 

That would be pretty cool. I'd actually like to do something like that, but I live as far away from the coast as you do (I'm up in MN).

 

I know, lucky they who have water near by.

 

Looks purdy in pink , but, why is the color relevant and why pink? (serious question)

Light toward the red side of the spectrum is best for vegative growth. I believe the color shift in light through the growing season is what signals some plants to flower and bear fruit. I'm no botanist though so don't take my word for it.

 

The chain sword might disappear due to lack of light. They need quite a bit of light. The only tank of mine that chain sword will grow in gets a decent amount of indirect sunlight (unfortunately, this is my goldfish/koi tank, and they love eating the stuff)

Is their something you can recommend instead of the chain sword or would bumping the light up to 2.5W per Gal be enough.

Honestly the more I get into this, the more light I want. I'm considering just getting it over with and going with 2 of the aforementioned lights. About 3.5W per Gal. Seems like more light opens more possibilities. Don't want to get to caried away though. I'd really rather keep it at about 2.5WPG lol

 

2.5 might do it, especially if it's a shallow tank.
I'm not sure, though.
Looks like pygmy crypt is a grass-like plant that can deal with lower lights. Other than not liking to be moved, the stuff seems to be pretty hardy.

 

Ok, I won't lol. Still, something to look into.

 

Off-topic, but I'm pretty sure that Arizona has one of the highest boat-per-capita levels in the nation. And I'm sure, despite the distance, if you wanted to participate in the mangrove operations, they could be shipped. The organization might even pay for shipping(?).

I live like 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, but its all stinky down there :/ ****ed condominiums and whatnot.

 

There ARE a lot of boats. Here in the area I live next to the Colorado River, however, most boat owners in AZ travel to water. Since our river is no longer connected to anything else, its not like those boats will actually ship there. But, still, worth looking into.

 

I live like 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, but its all stinky down there :/ ****ed condominiums and whatnot.

See, that's what I'm talking about. Those condos, with their artificial beaches and green lawns, have opened the path for massive erosion. So we sneak onto their property in the middle of the night, put down a bunch of fertile soil, a bunch of mangrove trees, and a bit of nuclear waste to speed the growing

 

See, that's what I'm talking about. Those condos, with their artificial beaches and green lawns, have opened the path for massive erosion. So we sneak onto their property in the middle of the night, put down a bunch of fertile soil, a bunch of mangrove trees, and a bit of nuclear waste to speed the growing

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

Except, I would go with just fertilizers. I wouldn't want to hurt the plants lol

 

2.5 might do it, especially if it's a shallow tank.
I'm not sure, though.
Looks like pygmy crypt is a grass-like plant that can deal with lower lights. Other than not liking to be moved, the stuff seems to be pretty hardy.

The tank is actually kinda tall. It's a 45 tall. With that in mind I'm thiking of the 2 light idea. I can remove one tube or put them on timers so only a portion of the day gets full light. Funny thing is I started out wanting an easy low light setup but as I started reading I realised my options were gonna be way too limited. Now here I am asking about CO2 and talking pushing into the High light side (3.5wpg). There must be some sort of addictive nature to the planted tank hooby as well. ;D

 

hehe yes c02, highlight and plants in general are a drug for sure, once you get a taste its hard to cut it off hehe.

But that being said you can do a very nice planted tank in low light with no c02, you just have to choose your plants carefully, and give it lots of time to fill out.

In a high light c02 tank you can plant it and 15 days later its a jungle. Just to be forewarned to a high light c02 tank adds about half an hour a week per tank in ferts and trimming beyond water changes. I have some stem plants that you can replant a 2 inch spike from the top and replant and its grown to the surface by the next week. For me its worth it though, I love the lush ever changing growth and it keeps the fish amused to as there world is ever changing.

 

I think I'm going to settle on one light. My reef takes up enough time I don't think I should jump into more "chores" just yet. It's just the options are so much more limited it seems. I'm gonna give my plant selection a try except for the chain sword. Gonna find something else for foreground. I don't know I have a descent bit of time before I'm planting so I guess I'll just keep .

 

Well I just found a little thing on aquarium plants I think I'm going to try. Sounds like a great deal. For 20 bucks and a run down of your system they will plan your tank for you. They plan the plants and even give you a "blueprint" of where to plant the plants. It's all based on your particular setup and plans. Sounds awesome. Now if I could just finish that freakin stand and get the tank setup I'll be on a roll lol. Heres a link to the custom design page.