# Planted Bare Bottom Tank... Pic Added



## NakedSavage

Im starting a 29 gallon tank and decided to try bare bottom. So i painted the back black, and i painted the bottom of the tank with a textured stone paint that gives it a black sandy look. I plan to keep this tank very simple and low tech, my idea is to have the bulk of my decor be malaysian drift wood and plant the tank by attaching java fern and maybe anubus nana to the wood and maybe a couple river rocks.

This is the 29 kit i got
http://www.tetra-fish.com/Products/fish-tank-aquarium-kits/led-aquarium-kits.aspx

My question is, will this simple LED setup be enough light to keep java fern and anubus healthy without any ferts? Once the plants are rooted i would like to just be able to do regular water changes like i would with any other tank and not do anything special for the plants, will this work?

UPDATE! Added another strip of LEDs labeled 6500k, my originals are sposdd to be 6000, so here it is with wood and some anubius nana, also a moss ball who rolls around in the current all day lol... fingers crossed, its brighter than my 20w fluorescent...


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## NakedSavage

Oh cmon guys over 160 views and nobodys got experiance with java fern and anubius? I set the tank up today and put water in it, the lights seem brighter than or just as bright as your basic hood fixture that normally would come with one of these kits, i just want to root them to the wood and be done with my lights and fish doing the fertalization.


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## Ægir

The problem is the link says nothing about the type of LED, spectrum, number of LEDS, watts per led, par rating, lumens per watt etc.... Therefore its not possible to compare them to a "standard" hood or any other type of light for that matter. There are lots of low grade LED fixtures, that dont come close to touching quality LEDs (Cree for example)

Its going to be an experiment on your part, I would say the anubis will be fine but the java fern might be questionable.

The LEDs could be the wrong spectrum and grow nothing but algae with the amount of time you need them on.


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## NakedSavage

Ahh tahnks, i would have thought java fern would do better... I guess i was hoping someone would have experiance with the lights cause i cant find any of that info... i can tell you it is not cree or any kjnd of high quality and the light is very clear/ white


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## Ægir

Well man, it is so hit and miss with LEDs that you are kinda venturing into an unknown... document what you find.

And keep posting pics or asking questions as things develop, it might be possible to upgrade the fixtures to a known and reliable LED.

on second thought, I am supposed to upgrade 6 AI SOL fixtures (using Cree XrE and XpE leds) to the new VEGA config in the next few months... if i have extra pucks I might consider sending you some if you cover the shipping costs and want to do a DIY fixture


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## NakedSavage

Really appreciate the offer but i wouldnt know where to start.... however i have been reading around and got an idea... i found that my hood has a total of 18 LEDs, from most of my reading i think ill have trouble with the plants. My idea was this... i have an old basic hood with the fluorescent bulb, my current LED hood has 6 pods of three LEDs that just snap into plastic fixtures, its all linked by a cord and is water proof... so im just gonna use aquarium sealer to stick the pods inside my old hood and use both. Should be easy enough to remove them if it doesnt work out... Thoughts?


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## SVnzll

NakedSavage said:


> Really appreciate the offer but i wouldnt know where to start.... however i have been reading around and got an idea... i found that my hood has a total of 18 LEDs, from most of my reading i think ill have trouble with the plants. My idea was this... i have an old basic hood with the fluorescent bulb, my current LED hood has 6 pods of three LEDs that just snap into plastic fixtures, its all linked by a cord and is water proof... so im just gonna use aquarium sealer to stick the pods inside my old hood and use both. Should be easy enough to remove them if it doesnt work out... Thoughts?


Any update on whether these LEDs worked for growing plants? I have the same setup with my 90 gal and figured I'd try live plants. Here's hoping I'm successful.


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