FW Planted tank Q?

[Syndicate]

I have a 36gal HEX and I would love to have a FW planted aquarium. I am a huge fan of metal halides and would like to hang a 175w 10K pendant above the tank. Is this to much light -> if so what’s the max watts I should have? If not will the light cause rapid growth requiring me to get a c02 injection system?fficeffice" />>>

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Thanks guys, >>

Syndicate

[Stang69]

I dont think it is too much light. You would be able to keep pretty much any plants ya want. I would also recoment the co2 just to keep things fed with o2. Might wanna ramp the time up from a cpl hours a day to a normal lighting cycle. I wouldnt start out with 8 hours a day you will have the algae bloom from hell.



Good luck give us some pics.



Jeff

[Deborah]

Hi Syndicate:
4 watts per gallon is usually the highest light recommened for fw planted tanks, but aren't hexes a littler deeper than the usual tank? That will probably take care of the extra .86 watts per gallon you'll have. Conventional wisdom is that you would certainly need co2 with that much light, not to mention a fertilization regime.

The more light you have the faster the plants grow and the harder it is to keep nutrients in balance.

Post some pictures when you have it set up!

[Syndicate]

Thanks for the advice - light is in the mail whoopee!

I am kind of piecing this whole thing bit by bit and was wondering if you had any suggestions for a filter. Most successful planted tanks I have seen in person are running the Ehiem 2026 (usually with bio media only) - This might be a little much for my 36g. Do you think something like the AquaClear 70 with their new BioMax instead of a sponge be a good way to go ?

I currently have a penguin Bio-wheel 160 in good working order I salvaged from my last tank before the move. I had a tropical fish only tank so I am not sure if the penguin 160 will be adequate here.

Oh the torment – Pictures on the way !

[Deborah]

I think you'll find that a planted tank needs less filtration than a fish only tank. The plants suck up a lot of gunk.

[Steve-O]

I have a 18" Eclipse Daylight blub in my 29gal FW tank and my plants to great. It stays on from 5:30am to 9:30pm. I add a little fertilizer once a month or so and they grow like crazy. I dont have any unwanted alge either.