# My 100g



## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

well i got my 100g empty right now. so I am going to take this opportunity to plant it. as of now i have 3 swords in there behind the middle driftwood. the sword used to be 12 inches until my old severums trimmed it down to the size it is now







the other two really small swords in there are from the big plant.

i should have quite a few plants arriving this week and next week. i have 10 Echinodorus tenellus 10 Bacopa and 3 Large Amazon Swords and dippy eggs (my hero) will send me some misc. plants from his tank so it seems like it will be a nice set up

here are some before pics and once plants start coming in i will post more pics

i want do put the e.tenellus in front of the middle driftwood. want to put the bacopa on 3 sides of the left driftwood or maybe just the left and back of it. and the swords will go to the right of the driftwood piece on the right and when dippy sends me his plants we will see how i can rearrange.









eww sorry just noticed the pics are fuzzy


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Nice decision man!
Keep us posted with the new plants!


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

cover the driftwood in javamoss


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## kingsnar (Nov 17, 2005)

How many WPG and any c02 being used? (im guessing no c02 is being used as the lighting looks low) What type of subtrate are you using? Good luck with it, soon youll catch the "planting bug".


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Im sending you Heteranthera zosterifolia, Hygrophila angustafolia, a couple of small crypts, pieces of Ludwigia repens-rubin, tiger vals..and I think that might be it.. maybe a few others.

(my trimmings from 2 weeks worth of growth..lol)

These plants will obviously do better with higher light, but I would have had to toss most of them anyway. I would say, keep your water column fertilized well, because your gravel is inert, i think (just regular rock gravel?)
the zosterifolia loves light and iron.. if it does not get the iron it wants, it will turn white-ish.
also, these plants were in huge clumps when I trimmed them out, so check them for algea, and cut it out if you find any before planting in your tank.
Fertilize right away after planting









can you post all of your tank specs please? thanks


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

hmm ok i dont have any co2. its basic natural gravel with no fertilizer and the lights is around 100w. i had plants in there for a while and they did just fine under the lighting. if thye dont do well i can always step up the lighting but ive had really good luck with plants so far so we shall see









thanks again dips


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

Glad to see you are getting into planting.
What fish do you have in the tank, doesn't look like any...?


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

BigChuckP said:


> Glad to see you are getting into planting.
> What fish do you have in the tank, doesn't look like any...?


this was the former home of my old 13.75 inch rhom. my nitrates are way out of hand so hopefully the plants will help combat those nitrates and i am going to hook up a couple more cannisters to help out as well. the fish that will be going into the tank are 4 8-10 inch ternetzi


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

33truballa33 said:


> Glad to see you are getting into planting.
> What fish do you have in the tank, doesn't look like any...?


this was the former home of my old 13.75 inch rhom. my nitrates are way out of hand so hopefully the plants will help combat those nitrates and i am going to hook up a couple more cannisters to help out as well. the fish that will be going into the tank are 4 8-10 inch ternetzi








[/quote]
With those fish in your tank, don't get angry when you see plants uprooted, I tried planting my 75 with a cariba over 11" and two natts (~6" and 5") and they would tear that baby apart something fierce sometimes.
*It is better to have higher nitrates (20 - 30ppm) than low ones (5 - 10ppm). A tank with low nitrates is usually when blue green algae makes it's lovely appearance as well as others.


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## Dr Exum (Nov 6, 2004)

looks nice hommie... when you come for the fish you can have the two swords i have in my window if you want. they may not be any good tho..........


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

BigChuckP said:


> Glad to see you are getting into planting.
> What fish do you have in the tank, doesn't look like any...?


this was the former home of my old 13.75 inch rhom. my nitrates are way out of hand so hopefully the plants will help combat those nitrates and i am going to hook up a couple more cannisters to help out as well. the fish that will be going into the tank are 4 8-10 inch ternetzi








[/quote]
With those fish in your tank, don't get angry when you see plants uprooted, I tried planting my 75 with a cariba over 11" and two natts (~6" and 5") and they would tear that baby apart something fierce sometimes.
*It is better to have higher nitrates (20 - 30ppm) than low ones (5 - 10ppm). A tank with low nitrates is usually when blue green algae makes it's lovely appearance as well as others.
[/quote]

i had 2 of them previously and they didnt have problems with plants so ill hope for the best. my nitrates are pretty much burgandy on the test kit. i think when my rhom ate the 3 old tankmates of his it fouled my water







thanks for the advice


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Hope the plants do good in the tank...

I'm also trying to add plants in my tank. I just picked up some flourish and just started using it a few days ago.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

b_ack51 said:


> Hope the plants do good in the tank...
> 
> I'm also trying to add plants in my tank. I just picked up some flourish and just started using it a few days ago.


i dont envy u.. haha its tricky adding plants with a big rhom roaming around trust me haha. but yeah plants should be arriving in these next few days hopefully


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

33truballa33 said:


> Hope the plants do good in the tank...
> 
> I'm also trying to add plants in my tank. I just picked up some flourish and just started using it a few days ago.


i dont envy u.. haha its tricky adding plants with a big rhom roaming around trust me haha. but yeah plants should be arriving in these next few days hopefully
[/quote]

Oh come on, its so nice. You set up the plants on one side of the tank. Then you need to "spook" the fish so he swims to the other side and when he does that, he "swings" his tail twice and moves 8 inches of gravel to the middle of the tank and the plants you just planted, come up.










And the entire time you gotta wonder, is that m**********r gonna try to bite me.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

LOL ^^ I use this stuf called 'eggcrate' to separate the fish from the side of the tank I'm working on.. It works great

I got it at home depot, in the lighting section. I just cut it to fit inside.

Not only does it keep you safe, it gives you peace of mind









Oh and even with low light, the ferts will help a lot, as long as you don't overdose. 
Dosing my low light tank is the reason that I can keep high light plants in it. I have plants that are known for loving high light in there, and they are thriving!
(well, i guess it has something to do with how I set up the substrate too..)


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

do u use liquid ferts dippy?


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## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

hope to see som pics soon!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

black_piranha said:


> hope to see som pics soon!


soon as there is an update to the tank i will post


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> do u use liquid ferts dippy?


absolutely

I use all greg watson ferts. www.gregwatson.com they are not the best, but they are very cost effective!

I have and use the CSM+B, chelated iron, potassium nitrate, mono potassium phosphate, and potassium sulfate

I mix them 1 TBSP/250mls and use a nutrient calculator. IMO, using these ferts properly is a must.

The best ferts IMO are seachems flourish line. but they are $$$$$$

Oh yeah! I also use Flourish Excell in my low light tank.. great stuff

if you want a serious low light tank, get some soilmaster select from your local www.lesco.com store..
the charcoal color looks great, and plants love the stuff--lesco ships products to your local Lesco for free as well

softens water a bit too


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

thanks dips i will look into that next time i get paid and if the plants start to decrease n their appearance


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## Steve-Fox (Nov 28, 2005)

not to great of a set-up


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

Steve-Fox said:


> not to great of a set-up


haha that means a lot coming from you. y dont you go play hide and go seek with junaid


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i really gotta give props to dippy. this guy sent me TONS of plants! basically the lil pigmy chainswords u see in front of the middle driftwood is all i bought. the rest was from him
















now i gotta wait for my other 10 bunched plants and 3 swords to get here .. hopefully monday


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

Looks good, the right side could use some plants, look pretty dark so I'd throw some low lighters over there.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

BigChuckP said:


> Looks good, the right side could use some plants, look pretty dark so I'd throw some low lighters over there.


will probably upgrade lightin after seeing how they do.. the right side will have 3 large swords and im gettin 10 more bunched plants... th0ught theyd be here today but they didnt show up


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## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

nice, i thnk brighter lights will make it better though.


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## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

hell ya RB.







That tank will look bad ass once all the goodies grow in. The terns wont mess with the plants??

Dippy, you are awesome!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

Ex0dus said:


> hell ya RB.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


yea hoping the ternetzi dont mess with them.. id be PISSED... i used to own 2 of the ternetzi and they never messed with the plants. so hoping that stays the same and the other 2 are tolerant as well.

yeah dippy is the MAN


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

glad you dig the plants!

they were growing out of control, I'm glad to get them to someone who will love them










Feed them pronto! (nitrate, phosphate, micro nutrients, iron, potassium) ...and ...more light if you can afford it!

The Stargrass will not do too good without light.. and none without food

Keep us updated, I don't want you to loose your plants! (not that you will or anything, just would love to see another success story that is all)

Hope all works out!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i will look into upgrading lighting soon. and will buy sum food for them mid week when i get paid







hope they hold out till then


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> i will look into upgrading lighting soon. and will buy sum food for them mid week when i get paid
> 
> 
> 
> ...


yep they should.. they are quite resilliant..

10.5-12 hrs of light ..u have timers? they help


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i turn the lights on when i wake up and leave them on till i go to sleep so it comes out to a lil more than 13 hrs


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> i turn the lights on when i wake up and leave them on till i go to sleep so it comes out to a lil more than 13 hrs


12 hrs is all u need, plants do best when lights come on and off at the same time every day.. light and dark is all they know lol

anything over 12 hrs, most likely, does nore harm than good


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

good point


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Look good keep taking pics as you go along.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

Dr.Zoidberg said:


> Look good keep taking pics as you go along.


will do.. hopefully the rest of my plants show up on monday.. i really think they shouldve got here by now but oh well .. i mite have to upgrade my lighting depending on how the plants do so im keeping a close eye on all that


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## Icemann (Dec 21, 2005)

That setup really looks great! Good luck with it. Also where did your Rhom go? Sorry if you already posted it or something. I was just wandering. 
Thanks :laugh:


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

traded the rhom for 4 ternetzi.. i want to *fingers crossed* try to breed em


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> traded the rhom for 4 ternetzi.. i want to *fingers crossed* try to breed em


It would be best if you could let your plants get settled, and growing before introducing your P's..

This would be best, not a must.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

yeah im waiting at least a week


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i need new lights.. the plants dippy gave me arent doing so well








hopefully i can get new lights soon once i get paid again







but anyways my swords and other bunched plants showed up today







i still want to rearrange but this is as far as i got today


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## divine (Jan 3, 2005)

plants look good. great job, keep the picture coming. It is amazing to look at the pictures of the beginning and now, how quickly plants grow. very rewarding!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

thanks.. hopefully this will allow me to figure out how to take pics without them being all blurry and all


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

bro, man.. this tank looks great!

If you can up your lights to 160-180w.. I dunno.. maybe get a shop light or 2 and put T8's in 'em.. you have to think about that for a while.
Gonna look great


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> bro, man.. this tank looks great!
> 
> If you can up your lights to 160-180w.. I dunno.. maybe get a shop light or 2 and put T8's in 'em.. you have to think about that for a while.
> Gonna look great


thanks! i think imma pick up a couple shop lights today.. any idea of the bulbs i should run? just aquarium plant lights?


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## Icemann (Dec 21, 2005)

That looks great RB, nice job, I hope your breeding works out "fingers still crossed"


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

thanks







im hoping for the best as well. still need to buy a few things to make these damn plants happy haha but i cant wait to see when everything starts growing again.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> bro, man.. this tank looks great!
> 
> If you can up your lights to 160-180w.. I dunno.. maybe get a shop light or 2 and put T8's in 'em.. you have to think about that for a while.
> Gonna look great


thanks! i think imma pick up a couple shop lights today.. any idea of the bulbs i should run? just aquarium plant lights?
[/quote]
aquarium lights from the lfs are way too expensive and some are just not good to use..

go over to home depot and get some 5500-10000k T8's (I prefer 6700k-8000k)

Or, pm dr zoidberg, the birthday boy! and ask him about T6's.. they are quite impressive!


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## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> bro, man.. this tank looks great!
> 
> If you can up your lights to 160-180w.. I dunno.. maybe get a shop light or 2 and put T8's in 'em.. you have to think about that for a while.
> Gonna look great


thanks! i think imma pick up a couple shop lights today.. any idea of the bulbs i should run? just aquarium plant lights?
[/quote]
aquarium lights from the lfs are way too expensive and some are just not good to use..

go over to home depot and get some 5500-10000k T8's (I prefer 6700k-8000k)

Or, pm dr zoidberg, the birthday boy! and ask him about T6's.. they are quite impressive!
[/quote]

t6?

Arnt those the lil 15w bulbs that they usually include with 10gal tank hoods?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Ex0dus said:


> bro, man.. this tank looks great!
> 
> If you can up your lights to 160-180w.. I dunno.. maybe get a shop light or 2 and put T8's in 'em.. you have to think about that for a while.
> Gonna look great


thanks! i think imma pick up a couple shop lights today.. any idea of the bulbs i should run? just aquarium plant lights?
[/quote]
aquarium lights from the lfs are way too expensive and some are just not good to use..

go over to home depot and get some 5500-10000k T8's (I prefer 6700k-8000k)

Or, pm dr zoidberg, the birthday boy! and ask him about T6's.. they are quite impressive!
[/quote]

t6?

Arnt those the lil 15w bulbs that they usually include with 10gal tank hoods?
[/quote]

They might be, but you can get them 48" long, and they put out way more light than the T12's

ask dr zoidberg, he just got some!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

k i pm'd him.. do they have t6's at home depot? im about to go there in an hour or two . i guess ill wait for him to pm me back


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> k i pm'd him.. do they have t6's at home depot? im about to go there in an hour or two . i guess ill wait for him to pm me back


you can get T8's in home depot, but i dont know about the T6's..

He bought his online


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

coo im heading out now


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

pics with the new shop light and 2 t8 32 watt bulbs at 6500k


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

The lights make your tank look a lot better and will certainly help your plants out. Did you get a timer for your lights?


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i was about to pick one up tonite but i forgot about it.. was in a rush.. i will be picking one up in the next few days..


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Hey Dippy....

I have a 100 gallon tank too, but its 6 ft long, 17 inches high. I'll have to post pics, but I'm guessing I need to leave the light on longer. I only have it on for 7-8 hours a day. Algae was killing me. I have shoplight, one double bulb one. I can't remember the exact wattage, but should I look into maybe another shop light?

I'll post pics tomorrow with the light on to give you an idea. I know I'm probably not giving enough info, but maybe I should at least up the hours to 10 or so.


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

b_ack51 said:


> Hey Dippy....
> 
> I have a 100 gallon tank too, but its 6 ft long, 17 inches high. I'll have to post pics, but I'm guessing I need to leave the light on longer. I only have it on for 7-8 hours a day. Algae was killing me. I have shoplight, one double bulb one. I can't remember the exact wattage, but should I look into maybe another shop light?
> 
> I'll post pics tomorrow with the light on to give you an idea. I know I'm probably not giving enough info, but maybe I should at least up the hours to 10 or so.


I'd up it to 11 personally, from what I have read at APC most people go with 11, can vary a bit depending on your tank though...


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Cool I will add a few more hours to my lights. I always thought too much light was over 8 hours.


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## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

tank is lookin a lot better. why wont u try and make one of the drifts to stand? instead of layin it on tha ground, it might look better.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

black_piranha said:


> tank is lookin a lot better. why wont u try and make one of the drifts to stand? instead of layin it on tha ground, it might look better.


i have pretty big sized fish going in there and dont want to take away the width of the tank


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

b_ack51 said:


> pics with the new shop light and 2 t8 32 watt bulbs at 6500k


OK, now that you have more light







(way more light)

You need to be checking water params more often until you get a 'feel' for how your plants are taking in nutrients.
Phosphate and nitrate especially, .5-2ppm, and 10-25ppm perspectively.. You will certainly have to feed your plants more now. More light, more food needed.. (the other nutrients as well.

You need to watch your plants for Black brush algea too. if you get it, (you will know what it is, trust me) I recommend flourish excell.

no matter what anyone says, I use excell in my lower light tank, and it is super clean of algea. I was getting green dust, and black brush in it before I used the excell.

A timer will help you out a lot!


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

I just got the Quantum 40 Watt 7K Daylight T6 Lamp-48" from BigAls and it's pretty good.There's a huge difference in light in my tank. I'm did the ballasts in my fixture ODNO style and have my bulbs running @4x overdrive. You can get a ballast at GreyBar ID# RCN4P32SC 
This is from ThePlantedTank
Each F32T8 bulb with its own 4-F32T8 bllast @4x makes 6500 lumens, this translates to well over 250watts of light for a pair of 48" T8 bulbs. That would be like 2.5 wpg in your 100 The T6 tubes are even brighter and you can add reflectors to get even more of the light into your tank.

Here's a pic of my reflector and T6 tube.The camera exposure is set as low as it can to dim photos.










7K T6 on the bottom 5K T8 on top.


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## verypointyteeth (Feb 15, 2005)

nice hardware dr.zoidberg!


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

ya, that is quite a setup, Pete!

I think 33truballa33 is trying to stay clear of CO2, so he will have to cut back his light if he wants to try this..

But hey, CO2 is always an option, and it always helps


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## werdna (Mar 15, 2005)

looks great man... is CO2 necesary for plants?


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

werdna said:


> looks great man... is CO2 necesary for plants?


Not if you are under 2 wpg, if you are over then you definitely will need it. But CO2 will make your plants grow like they are on roids


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## Dr Exum (Nov 6, 2004)

lookin good.......... can you come over and do my tanks?


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

Dr Exum said:


> lookin good.......... can you come over and do my tanks?


thanks







ill check my water and see if and when its ready for the ternetzi. but yeah talk to dippy eggs hes the grand master of plants







he will help you out and once i get the hang of things i can help as well


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## Round Head (Sep 26, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> lookin good.......... can you come over and do my tanks?


thanks







ill check my water and see if and when its ready for the ternetzi. but yeah talk to dippy eggs hes the grand master of plants







he will help you out and once i get the hang of things i can help as well
[/quote]

No kidding, DippyEggs is the best.
Hey bro., I am right behind you with the plant setup.

Good luck.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

most plants are still doing well a few look bad but since i got the new light they are regaining a lil more green.. all of the plants seem to have grown a bit.. now i just need to get more nutrients for them


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

33truballa33 said:


> most plants are still doing well a few look bad but since i got the new light they are regaining a lil more green.. all of the plants seem to have grown a bit.. now i just need to get more nutrients for them


what are you dosing, how much, and what is your exact light setup again?









I want to see this do well for you, sir! Can't wait to see the nice pics! -stay on top of it!


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