# Newbie question??



## Thekid (Aug 3, 2010)

I'm going to start a 45g planted, I have the tank already, 20lb co2 system, and a eheim 2217 on the way. I just have two questions, the first is that my friend is offering me a dual 24W HOT5 system for 30$ which would give me just over 1W per gallon and the seller assures me that this will enough light and that anymore I'll will have to worry about algae, is he correct about this?. My second question is once I get started up how should I fertilize my tank, I have root tabs and Eco-complete already but I'm assuming I will more than that. Will an ei method work in my case? As I want an easy system to follow with little to no testing.

All the best,
Stefan


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

With CO2, you can use less light. 24x2 with CO2 is plenty of light in a 45 gallon tank. I'm using 24x4 in a 24" deep 100 gallon tank without CO2. If I had CO2, the plants would have exploded in growth.

EI is the simplest method because it is designed around no testing and using a big (50+%) water change to rebalanced the nutrients each week. EI will work in almost all cases. There are some specific exceptions and it's only because the user is trying to achieve something which is a border case that EI has not accounted for, such as reduction of nitrates to bring out more red in some difficult plants.

Edit: BTW, you would get more responses from planted tank folks if you post in the plants/algae/ferts/lighting section instead of FW chat....


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

It is to my understanding that 2-4 watts of lighting is more preferable for planted tanks. However I am no plant expert so its best to wait for the experts to chime in here


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## Thekid (Aug 3, 2010)

Ok thx, where does one find the supplies to the ei method? And is the ei method hard On fish?

All the best,
Stefan


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## Slopster (Mar 14, 2011)

hehehe I running a 40g planted Community with 3,36" 30w T8's each light produces 18,000k now x that by 3

I use no CO2, no fancy smancy products,I use Flourish once a month, lights on for 6hr's off for 2 then on for 4, then off for the night till 7am , and i can not keep up with the growth of my plants, hell I don't even know what types I got in there, I bought some plants off of Tomc last yr and they are going mental right now, also hardley any Algae,..


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

If you want to do the EI method and you need to get the fertilizers including CSM+B, you can contact MyKiss (Canadian Aquatics), one of the sponsor on the site.
Fish are fine with EI.
What are the dimensions of your 45 gal? I believe the dual 24W T5HO is a 2 feet fixture.


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## Thekid (Aug 3, 2010)

Captured Moments said:


> If you want to do the EI method and you need to get the fertilizers including CSM+B, you can contact MyKiss (Canadian Aquatics), one of the sponsor on the site.
> Fish are fine with EI.
> What are the dimensions of your 45 gal? I believe the dual 24W T5HO is a 2 feet fixture.


Someone on another forum mentioned to me that i should be fine on fertilizer with the eco-complete and root tabs, can you guys give me your opinion on that? As for the fixture i haven't seen it in person, but the seller said he was willing to retro fit for me what ever that means, I'm pretty sure the tank is 36 " long.

all the best,
Stefan


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Seems to me your on the right track with your planned planted setup.Just to add to what was said already,Eco complete and all its nutrients will deplete over time but with your root tabs,Co2 unit, and dosing ferts via the water column you should have some success growing just about anything.Retrofiting a lighting unit is done by changing the ballasts on the fixture,allows higher powered bulbs to be added on,fans to dissipate the heat,and or improved reflectors to name a few.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I used to get all my ferts from Solar, but after they closed down I am getting it all from Pat. But any good hydroponics store should have all you need. Jon's should also have what you need if it's closer. Hydroponics Vancouver BC Canada | Canadian Hydroponics | Jons Plant Factory

Just to elaborate, EI can be done with any type of ferts. Most people who do CO2 use bulk ferts from hydroponics stores and buy them by the pound rather than boutique stuff like the Flourish line. I started out with Flourish, but went to bulk ferts since it saved me 10's of dollars per year (dosing 150 gallons of tanks per week).


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## Thekid (Aug 3, 2010)

the only i am scared of buying is the salt peter (potassium nitrate) as i am a teenager. Some people may put me into a the same category as pyromaniac others. is there an alternative?

all the best,
Stefan


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yep, there is an alternative. You can buy the expensive stuff from Flourish. Or you can buy from Pat and pick up from Charles in Vancouver. They know you're not using it for anything else. KNO3 is not for pyros by the way. It's used for making ANFO for blasting, and is very stable. Nothing dangerous about it. They sell gas to teenagers for cars no problem and KNO3 is much safer.


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