55 Gallon Tank New tank: Possible Ram Centerpiece

[ucdcrew]

I just got a new to me 57g tank. It is 30x18x24. Right now my plans are a neon tetra school from my 20g, some threadfin rainbows, and 2 electric blue or bolivian rams. I read that the rams are intolerant of nitrate, and someone suggested to get some live plants.

I have a 30 inch hood for my current tank, which I am going to take over to my 57g. I am planning to do java fern and anubius to start out. I know it says they are low light plants. Do I need to replace the bulb though because the tank is so tall?

 

[Aquarist]

Congrats on the new aquarium!

I'm sure members will respond before long.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Ken

 

[Sharkdude]

It really depends on how old and what type the light is. If you can get a hold of a single bulb T5 HO I would go for that. Those plants will adjust to the lighting levels as long as you don't go to high to fast.

 

[ucdcrew]

57g tall - low light plants

So after tearing my hair out trying to find a 30" bulb for my 30" hood, I flipped the sucker over. I was overjoyed to find a 24" bulb in my hood. I am going to get a HO bulb for my freshwater plants, because the tank is so deep (24"). They should get enough light right? Oh, and what would happen to the low light plants if they got TOO much light? Death, destruction, and dismemberment?

 

[Coryboy21]

Well,the plants would not die,but the growth might be stunted a little.

 

[Nutter]

Getting a T5HO tube will not help you if you do not already have a T5HO fixture to put it in. In fact, it won't even fit in the fixture, let alone work. You need a T5HO fixture to go with a T5HO tube. If you already have a T5HO fixture then all your doing is swapping to a tube of the same wattage as you already had & there shouldn't be too much difference in light intensity unless your old tube was really old.

Higher light won't do much to low light plants except probably cover them in algae, which if not fixed could choke the plants & stop them being able to perfrom photosynthisis.

 

[snyderju]

t5 HO lighting works wonders with planted aquariums I would recommend going that route.

 

[ucdcrew]

can I put just one HO light in a dual fixture? I might want plants with higher light requirements in the future, and it seems like if I'm gonna drop some cash I should get something to grow into...kinda like buying better skis than you need. At first you don't notice, but then you're glad you dropped the extra cash later?

 

[ucdcrew]

Mod - My thread in aquatic plants is now addressing these questions, making this thread redundant. I tried to delete this, but I think only you can

 

[Sharkdude]

Yeah that's fine. Lots of people do that.

 

[Aquarist]

Good morning,

I have merged your two threads together. (In reference to post #9 above)

Ken