light requirements for a 20X
 

Couldn't wait any longer, so I went out and got a 20XH and would like
to plant it. Want to start out low tech (read: no CO2) and wonder if
anyone has a suggestion as to how much light I should put over it for
that. The hitch is the depth, about 24" from the bottom to the glass
hood. With 4" gravel, I'm looking at 20" of water, and don't know how
the depth factors into the light requirement.

Any suggestions?
thanks-

James

light requirements for a 20X
 

The deeper the tank, less light penetrates the water to make it to the
bottom, so are you asking how much light or how to plant without CO2?

How much light? just a guesstimate
40W minimum without CO2
60W with CO2

Deeper tanks lend themselves to rocks for backgrounds, maybe a shelf with
plants on top, maybe the top 1/3 of the tank could allow a 6-10" planting???
just a thought....
________________
| |
|___plants _______|
| X X |
| x |
| X X |
| |
|__X X X X _|

atleast that would be different... I dont' know what I'm thinking, just a
brain fart or something....







"JEB" wrote in message
om...
Couldn't wait any longer, so I went out and got a 20XH and would like
to plant it. Want to start out low tech (read: no CO2) and wonder if
anyone has a suggestion as to how much light I should put over it for
that. The hitch is the depth, about 24" from the bottom to the glass
hood. With 4" gravel, I'm looking at 20" of water, and don't know how
the depth factors into the light requirement.

Any suggestions?
thanks-

James

light requirements for a 20X
 

"350X_Rider" wrote in message ...
The deeper the tank, less light penetrates the water to make it to the
bottom, so are you asking how much light or how to plant without CO2?
I was asking the second one, but can use answers to both.

How much light? just a guesstimate
40W minimum without CO2
60W with CO2

Deeper tanks lend themselves to rocks for backgrounds, maybe a shelf with
plants on top, maybe the top 1/3 of the tank could allow a 6-10" planting???
just a thought....
________________
| |
|___plants _______|
| X X |
| x |
| X X |
| |
|__X X X X _|

atleast that would be different... I dont' know what I'm thinking, just a
brain fart or something....
Actually, I've been scouring the countryside for the last week looking
for really thin shards of slate or shale to goo to the back of the
tank. I have an idea in my mind of creating a labyrinth look with a
thin rock wall. Onyx and black sand on the bottom, a frame that
covers the bottom of the tank so you can't see the substrate, you get
what I mean? Problem is, so far can't find the right rock. What
little I did find is too thick and heavy to go on the back glass.
Maybe if I could find a way to split it thin enough...

James

light requirements for a 20X
 

Actually, I've been scouring the countryside for the last week looking
for really thin shards of slate or shale to goo to the back of the
tank. I have an idea in my mind of creating a labyrinth look with a
thin rock wall. Onyx and black sand on the bottom, a frame that
covers the bottom of the tank so you can't see the substrate, you get
what I mean? Problem is, so far can't find the right rock. What
little I did find is too thick and heavy to go on the back glass.
Maybe if I could find a way to split it thin enough...

I know you're idea, and NetMax probably has your solution, cheap,
lightweight and pretty fun if you like the DIY route....
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_o...tmax_styro.htm

another guy in the newsgroup, just shared pics of his tank, Mike Noren, very
nice looking background that you may be interested in too....
http://hem.bredband.net/micnor/mitt_akvarium.htm

Advantage to this route, weight... your tank will not suffer from the rock
weight, styro wont' affect your pH, and man does it look great... you can
do whatever YOU want to do....

But the idea of caves, I know what you mean, around here slate is 5.99 a
lb.... pretty pricey for me.. so I opted another route... but will be
revisiting this soon....

light requirements for a 20X
 

"350X_Rider" wrote in message
...
Actually, I've been scouring the countryside for the last looking
for really thin shards of slate or shale to goo to the back of the
tank. I have an idea in my mind of creating a labyrinth look with a
thin rock wall. Onyx and black sand on the bottom, a frame that
covers the bottom of the tank so you can't see the substrate, you get
what I mean? Problem is, so far can't find the right rock. What
little I did find is too thick and heavy to go on the back glass.
Maybe if I could find a way to split it thin enough...

I know you're idea, and NetMax probably has your solution, cheap,
lightweight and pretty fun if you like the DIY route....
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_o...tmax_styro.htm

another guy in the newsgroup, just shared pics of his tank, Mike Noren,
very
nice looking background that you may be interested in too....
http://hem.bredband.net/micnor/mitt_akvarium.htm

Advan to this route, weight... your tank will not suffer from the rock
weight, styro wont' affect your pH, and man does it look great... you can
do whatever YOU want to do....

But the idea of caves, I know what you mean, around here slate is 5.99 a
lb.... pretty pricey for me.. so I opted another route... but will be
revisiting this soon....




Does Mike Noren by any chance explain and detail how he made that
background, it looks really nice?

Thanks,
Harry




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light requirements for a 20X
 

"Harry Muscle" wrote in message
...
Does Mike Noren by any chance explain and detail how he made that
background, it looks really nice?

Thanks,
Harry


If you want to make backgrounds you might be interested in this :-

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M38A22564

and this :-

http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/janne.html

HTH.

--
Don`t Worry, Be Happy

Sandy
--

E-Mail:-
Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
#Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
ICQ : 41266150

light requirements for a 20X
 

Not to my knowledge, but ask, he probably will... seems like a nice guy....

Does Mike Noren by any chance explain and detail how he made that
background, it looks really nice?

Thanks,
Harry




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

light requirements for a 20X
 

"JEB" wrote in message
om...
SNIP
Actually, I've been scouring the countryside for the last week looking
for really thin shards of slate or shale to goo to the back of the
tank. I have an idea in my mind of creating a labyrinth look with a
thin rock wall. Onyx and black sand on the bottom, a frame that
covers the bottom of the tank so you can't see the substrate, you get
what I mean? Problem is, so far can't find the right rock. What
little I did find is too thick and heavy to go on the back glass.
Maybe if I could find a way to split it thin enough...

James
Check you garden supply or local rockery... "Oakley Stone" is a nice thin
quartz.mica gneiss that has worked for me. Of course at the time I lived in
southern Idaho where it is found. However, I see it here in California and
have seen it in El Paso Texas.

Bob

light requirements for a 20X
 

Mike Noren's tank is simply stunning. Unbelieveable! Thanks for
those links, I don't know if I can aspire to anything that nice that
isn't real rock. Maybe I'll look around for some styrofoam and put my
Dremel to some use...

Funny this page comes up in a different language from the one it links
from.

James

light requirements for a 20X
 

Robert Flory wrote:

Check you garden supply or local rockery... "Oakley Stone" is a nice thin
quartz.mica gneiss that has worked for me. Of course at the time I lived in
southern Idaho where it is found. However, I see it here in California and
have seen it in El Paso Texas.

Bob

Thanks for the suggestions, Bob. Going about to garden supplies now,
there are two quarries here that I know of. Will keep Oakley stone in
mind. Around here, bluestone is the commonest rock. Don't know if it
is calciferous or not (my tap water is pretty much without buffer, pH
7.0, GH 2 deg. KH maybe 1 deg.), but it may not be thin enough. At
this point, folks here have given me plenty to think about and explore.

James

light requirements for a 20X
 

"Sandy" wrote in message
...

"Harry Muscle" wrote in message
...
Does Mike Noren by any chance explain and detail how he made that
background, it looks really nice?

Thanks,
Harry


If you want to make backgrounds you might be interested in this :-

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M38A22564


Sorry, the above link doesn't seem to work try the one below.

http://www.african.uklinux.net/phpBB...6&forum=25&166

--
Don`t Worry, Be Happy

Sandy
--

E-Mail:-
Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
#Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
ICQ : 41266150

light requirements for a 20X
 

"Harry Muscle" wrote in message ...

Does Mike Noren by any chance explain and detail how he made that
background, it looks really nice?

Not on the site, but I can do so he the background is made from
high-density PUR foam, by a company called Back To Nature. It is
extremely natural looking (even close up and in broad daylight one can
not tell that it's not real rock; I have some closeups I could post if
anyone's interested) but pricy, that background set me back $150.

I did experiment with doing my own PUR foam background, but since I
couldn't get hold of high density foam, only the standard bubbly foam,
the result was less than perfect. Also, painting obviously takes
artistic skill, which I do not have.

One advantage of a background such as this is that one can use the
space behind the background for a filter and to hide e.g. the heater.