ubr0ke

The led's will give a nice shimmer that t5's wont so its all good. It looks well made and one of the nicer diy for led's ive seen. well keep us updated

insane..this tank is going to look awesome. Is your mind made up with those led's?...Those ATI dimmable t5 fixture would be a perfect fit. They are sooo expensive but options are endless.

its tough to find...Aquarium central has it sometimes. Otherwise you may have to order online.

I don't typically dose any fertilizers - only on occasion - would you advise that if using Purigen, you should dose nitrogen to maintain plant growth? Yes..but if your tank is low light with no co2 addition, very little is needed.

it removes organic nitrates. If you add nitrates with kno3 or seachem nitrogen..etc, it will not remove. Those nitrates are inorganic.

Thanks. Ya give it a week or so and the glosso and hc should be filled in. Im pretty happy with the design which doesn't happen very often for me.

15 gallon eheim 2232 ecco...bio balls, and pruigen Aquaticlife t5ho 2x24watt. Pressurized co2. Platinum pro 2 stage regulator, burkert solenoid, Ideal needle valve. diffused with a power head with needle wheel mod. Fluval Plant substrate Hardscape Dragon Stone Flora Glossostigma elatinoides, Eleocharis parvula, Hemianthus callitrichoides,Crypt parva, Rotala najean, Didiplis diandra Fauna 7x Neon tetra 6x Harlequin Rasbora 1x Otto Finished planted but kind of got lazy with the glosso. I could of separated it a lot more but either way it will fill in. My co2 setup.

They work, but I heard were a pain to clean. They also need a higher delivery pressure so if your regulator has a delivery pressure of 40+ psi then your ok but if not don't buy one. Ive used every kind of diffusing method other then the atomizer and every way has its pros and cons. A pvc reactor works well but you need to run a venturi so gas doesn't build up or it can get noisy. A glass diffuser works well in smaller tanks but you need to keep them clean. Soaking in tilex every now and then will keep it clean. A powerhead works well but it wastes co2 but i suggest doing a needle wheel mod if using a powerhead.

its melting. It will bounce back but a lot will die off first..co2 wasn't high enough after flooding.

Yes it will be fine, no safety issues at all. Just centre the remaining bulb over the tank. Another option would be to remove the reflector. That would cut the light quite a bit. Or you could put a window screen over top of the tank. That also cuts the light down quite a bit. You have many options on lowering light. Any of which will help you achieve your goal of low maintenance.

Most stem plants fit the bill. Rotala comes to mind. It will enjoy any amount of light you can throw @ it. The same could be said for hygro. difformis and both will be covered in algae unless co2/nutrients are added.

excellent info.

Interesting... according to the lighting chart in this forum I've got high-lighting. There is too much conflicting info out there... From what I can tell it's super bright and I think it's roasting nearly everything - and there was a big algae outbreak two days ago as well, so that also leads me to think all the more that it's high-light. I've heard bad things about ferts and inverts - and I'd like to keep things as natural as possible; no additives, chemicals, etc. The watts per gallon rule doesn't apply to t5ho lighting. The chart was created using a par meter which is a device that measures useable light. As for nutrients, I can assure you that they will not hurt your lifestock but I can understand if thats not the path you want to go on. Your best bet if you want to keep things as low maintenance as possible is to remove one bulb. Light drives demand for co2 and for nutrients. The less light you have the less you need of the latter.

Try removing one of the bulbs and see if the fixture still works. That should put you at low to Med light. Or raise the fixture 8-10 inches.

oxymoron...but good luck lower your light is my advice.

Trim your hc, its growing on top of itself.

chopsticks will work as well. Just cut a chunk and stuff it in the tube.

Go to all seasons garden center. Pick up a couple sunblaster t5 fixtures. There cheap...Buy 2 for the 20 gallon. and 1 for the 10 gallon. Don't worry about relectors. You will have enough light without them to grow anything.

ya just mow the hc. dont worry it will all grow back. heres an example. http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/3758-Pruning-the-lawn-how-Hc-responds-after

brewers yeast is typically used for making beer. Champagne yeast can be used for wine. Its more tolerant of alcohol and lower temperature. It could be possible, you were using champagne yeast. In my experience tho, champagne yeast worked quite a bit better. It was far more consistent. I used only half a teaspoon of yeast and 3 cups of sugar. I think the 9-10 weeks is a stretch but my mix lasted over a month. With bakers yeast I found after 7-8 days the level would drop considerably.

brewers yeast is not the same as champagne yeast. heres a thread on planted tank about this. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/159348-best-yeast-diy-co2-2.html

use champagne yeast.

spread is better then intensity. So yes distance between bulbs would help create a more uniform light. Also brightness is how we perceive light and not a measure on useful light for plants. Color temp plays a role on what appears brighter to our eyes. For an example. the more green in a light the brighter it becomes to us but not necessarily to plants. Lights that contain less green may be infact less bright in our eyes but more useful in terms of lighting for plants. In other words unless your using a par meter to measure light then your simply guessing based on your own perception.

Ludwigia peruinesis and Ludwigia verticillata var pantanal i believe.

save youself some money on shipping and get 2-24" t5ho sunblasters from a hydroponic shop... you don't need reflectors in a tank that size. co2 is very important with hc...light not so much.