# First planted (semi-low tech) tank journal



## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Got some extra money and decided to remove all plastic plants from my tank, add a higher "k" light bulb (1 Ocean Sun Zoo Med 10,000k and 1 basic Marineland bulb), fertilizer, a "natural C02" kit and more live plants.
I have NEVER attempted to go completely natural before so this may flop very badly but I wanna give it a go.
I will be taking pictures weekly to document the progress (or lack thereof)

Week 1, Day 1:

Tank with pothos coming out the top. Note the C02 canister on the mantel and the bubble counter on the back wall.










Closer shot of the tank.










Feel free to follow along with comments, concerns or suggestions!


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

Don't really need the CO2 for that much of plants. The terrestrial get their CO2 in the air. Why did you get a higher K rating bulb?


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

I was under the impression that higher K was good for plants (?).
Also, the hair grass I had in there for about two weeks seemed to be dying so I thought I'd go for it (more light and C02).
If I don't need the bulb, let me know, I'll return it and spend my money on something else!

Thanks!


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Oh, and I am planning on adding more plants as I go, that is what the C02 is mostly for


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## Evan805 (Apr 19, 2010)

10,000K is good.

6700K is ideal.


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Ok, here is the deal, I am limited to what I can get at the local chain store (tired of paying shipping fees) and the fact that I have an Eclipse system which can take only T8s and no more than 18 watt a piece. 
These are the options at local chain store:

1.) Zoo Med Reef Sun 50/50 Bulbs
* 6500K trichromatic daylight phosphor and actinic 420 phosphor in the same long-lasting lamp
* Ideal for all marine aquariums, reef aquariums, African cichlids, and discus fish
* Long Lasting - effective for up to 10,000 hours

2.) Zoo Med Tropicsun 5500K Daylight Bulb for Aquariums
* 5500k Standard intensity daylight
* Ideal for freshwater fishes and live plants
* Balanced full spectrum daylight lamp, which simulates natural sunlight
* Brings out the natural beauty of aquarium fish and plants while enhancing clarity
* Long lasting: Effective for up to 10,000 hours

3.) Zoo Med Ocean Sun 10,000K Bulbs
* 10,000K high-intensity lamp
* Ideal for all marine aquariums, reef aquariums, and fresh water aquariums where a deep water effect is desired
* Strong emissions in the blue spectrum simulate deeper ocean environments

#3 is what I currently have
Keep in mind, whichever one I get, I will only be getting one and pairing it with the standard Marineland bulb (5500Ã‚Â°K).

I am really new to the planted tank thing so please advise!

Thanks in advance!


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

BUMP (sorry if that is annoying but I'd really like some opinions)

:fish:


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Since you are limited in the number of bulbs you can have, I would go with the higher K rating. The lumens rating is more important than watts, especially since it is a deeper tank. Though since you can have two bulbs, the 10K and a 6700/6600 bulb would be the best to go with.


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Hey Dwarf Pike, haven't seen you around in awhile  
Ok, so how about #3 and #1? 
After doing some reading I realized that I need to replace the Marineland bulb(s) anyway because they are going on 1 1/2 years now.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Mrs. Mom... Kelvin rating tells you nothing about a bulb. It is nothing more than the sum of all it's parts and as you know, there are many ways to arrive at a numeric value...

1000 plus 5000 plus 4000 = 10,000
100 plus 900 plus 9000 = 10,000

I've had 6500K bulbs that were junk... all green light, and I've had 10,000K bulbs that were just as bad. I've also had 5000K, 6500K and 10,000K bulbs that were phenomenal!

What you MUST know when you are buying a bulb and you are not maximizing light over the plants is what the amount of usable light those bulbs produce.

Fortunately, Zoomed actually gives you the spectral graphs and you can even see them online on many sites. For the three bulbs you list, Tropicsun has a wide range in the reds, with a green spike (not so good) and a blue spike (good) and would be my choice given the plants you went with. My second choice would be the reefsun. Just look at the yellow-green spike!

The Zoomed Ocean sun would be my last choice and NOT because it's in the 10,000K range. Typically I find that 10,000K bulbs often have the best spectral graphs, but this is one of those exceptions I mention above.

Personally I would try to find a zoomed Ultrasun. If you look at the graph then I think you'll see why! :thumb:


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Number6, thank you very much for the extremely detailed response!
I am going to call the store first and see if they have the Ultra Sun before before driving over there again. 
Thanks for the input!


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Ok, so I called around to all the chain stores in the area and none of them had the Ultra Sun or the Flora Sun (specifically meant for plants). So, I settled on two of the Tropic Sun (5500k).
It looks good but definitely more of a green/yellow hue, which I suppose is more natural than blue.

Week 1 Day 3:


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

Looks much better IMO :thumb: .


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Yeah, I think so too Boost.
Come to find out too that the Ocean Sun bulb I had there in the first pic wasn't even an Ocean Sun bulb, someone had taken a regular All Glass bulb, stuck it in the Ocean Sun package and returned it to the store (!) Talk about dishonesty!
Anyway, both my hubby and I are happy with how it looks now and just waiting for the plants to fill out


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

LOL! I once bought a api ammonia test kit at the LFS and it didn't come with the chemical bottles. I knew I should have checked it when it felt a little light. :lol:

BTW you should help me bump this thread :wink: It's dying


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Looking good!



mrs.som said:


> It looks good but definitely more of a green/yellow hue, which I suppose is more natural than blue.


 and now you learn how to read Kelvin and spectral graphs... 
the spikes end up (usually) as what your eyes "see" and what the rating person saw as well when they picked out the Kelvin number. So the K rating of the bulb should only really be used to warn you what color the tank will sort of be colored with...


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Number6,
Thanks again for the lesson, I was very "in the dark" pardon the pun about the whole thing.

To everyone reading this thread, I will be posting new photo(s) every week.
The next photo will be next Thursday 

Cheers!


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Sorry it has been awhile, got busy with school and neglected this thread.
I got tired of the constant evap from the lid being open so I decided to submerge the pothos and close the lid. Yes, yes, I realize pothos aren't aquatic but I figure with the co2 it'll at least be a good experiment!
I also added some ludwiga and mondo grass yesterday.



















And for fun...



















Thanks for looking!


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

:thumb:


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