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Radion fresh water

Rabbit229

Member
Joined
18 Feb 2015
Messages
263
just set up my ecosmart live for my radion lights what a cool light system. Very high tech, well it's a bit to complicated for me as I don't know what spectrum to have set up for plant growth
Is they any one here that has a schedule to shear
Awesome system. The thunder storm has a cool affect :) feels like xmas
 
It's an awesome light, but it takes some getting used to, there are so many variables. Maybe PM Mr. Tea Pot I'm sure he can help...I'm still trying to get the hang of mine too.
 
Well...I still haven't filled my tank up yet http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/new-shallow-scape.37490/ but I plan to have the light on for 6hrs @ around 6500K at 70% ish power until the tank becomes biologically stable, with a 30min ramp up and down...but I don't really know what I'm doing yet, so I'll be paying close attention and tweaking as I go...best ask someone with much more experience really...
 
Come on radion ppl! You know who you are :)
 
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I don't know what spectrum to have set up for plant growth
Plants largely don't care about spectrum they use light. Marketeers care about spectrum as it is another tick point in rather useless marketing gimmicks.

Choose your spectrum that makes the plants look good, probably more red/green than blue, what ever makes the plants look good. Too much blue and will look washed out. Plants will adapt to what ever you provide. Remember to keep starting light very very low and short time (maybe 20% for 4 hours) or else the plants will not have time to adapt to their new conditions and melt and feed the algae.

If you really want to maximise growth per watt of light then sodium street lights are perfect (ask the pot growers) plants will grow like crazy but look like sh*te.
 
yes I new a guy who grew under high pressure sodium lamps,

Ian am glad you replied to this thread, ive got them set at 100% for 12 h per day' over £100 worth of plants down the drain!
When is a good time to turn them up? Once I see growth
 
When is a good time to turn them up? Once I see growth
Probably after about a month, or if you start seeing growth. I suffered diatoms couple of weeks in, despite having lowly T8 tubes and reflectors turned around to deflect light the light level was clearly too high. Ottos scoffed all the diatoms. Then over period of weeks turned reflectors around and increased lighting period. No further problems, completely algae free.

Also a lot of aquatic plants are grown emmersed (out of water, so no algae, no snails etc) and do often start melting when plonked in water as they adjust from 400ppm CO2 in air to 30ppm Co2 in water. So when I get new plants that have been grown emmersed I turn the light period down for a week or two.

If plants are grown underwater (as indicated on their label for respectable suppliers) I just plonk in and leave light alone. They often start growing in a week or two.

Oh, before you turn your lights up you must make sure you CO2 levels are spot on all over the tank and ferts dosed appropriately or else plants will die and algae will flourish...

If you have no fish, you can crank that CO2 way way up whilst fiddling with drop checkers.
 
I've got about 3bubbles per second feeding into 2 bubble counters but the drop checker is still blue
19CCF7BA-026C-4643-8B53-CA020D9B6EA9.jpg
 
Should be like this....oops....
8267e0b6-3643-41e1-9177-2a535b2c801b_zpsa7d34f0f.jpg
 
That's what I have got. I've got my bubbles running a constant stream now.
CEF767AA-1C2D-4F88-B483-6DA71111B865.jpg
 
Test if you can by catching CO2 bubbles in the bubble counter to see if it does change colour. I did this when having issues put the output of bubble counter into the tank so bubbled under drop checker and it went yellow in a very short time. Proved checker was working and my dissolving method and/or distribution was cwap.

Sorted with in line diffuser and a power head and drop checker goes green where ever it is placed in the tank.
 
No life stock yet but I've been told my water is cycled due to the environment substrait. Soon is my co2 is right I'll ad some shrimps :)
 
No life stock yet but I've been told my water is cycled due to the environment substrait
Errr no. Will take 4-8 weeks to mature a filter. If you add fish/shrimps right now they will all suffer a painful death due to ammonia. Don't bother with all the fishless cycling lark, more often than not the additional ammonia just kills the maturing bacteria in your filter and the tank never cycles.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/nitrogen-cycle
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/fishless-cycling

Well done on drop checker. Tomorrow move it somewhere else, eg down bottom back left etc in the tank and verify it is just as green.
 
Errr no. Will take 4-8 weeks to mature a filter. If you add fish/shrimps right now they will all suffer a painful death due to ammonia. Don't bother with all the fishless cycling lark, more often than not the additional ammonia just kills the maturing bacteria in your filter and the tank never cycles.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/nitrogen-cycle
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/fishless-cycling

Well done on drop checker. Tomorrow move it somewhere else, eg down bottom back left etc in the tank and verify it is just as green.
I spoke to a sponser from here who sells shrimp, I called there shop on Friday and they said if I'm using environment soil then the tank is ready to put shrimp in immediately soon as it cleared up. I was quite supprized about what I was told and was ready to buy right away! Thought I'd get some other advice on here before I did
 
water is cycled due to the environment substrate
What exactly is it and how does it get your filters instantly mature ?

If you are in an emergency (which I have been before) you can (if lucky) get away using daily large water changes (50% ?) and/or using Kordon Amquel and/or Prime which will remove ammonia. However removing the ammonia can make the filters take even longer to mature as ammonia is foodstuff for the ammonia to nitrite feeding flora.

Or you can borrow someone else's filter sponges. I seeded (oh err missus...) my mates tank by giving him the water contents + yuck from my external filter in a bucket which he then circulated round his new filter filling the sponges and floss with suitable nitrifying flora.
 
Environment Aquarium Soil is an active substrate consisting of various fired and sterilised earths that was especially developed for aquarium use. It naturally lowers and stabilises the pH (depending on the parameters of the water you use, the pH will be lowered to 5.5 to 6.5) as well as water hardness and thus creates optimal conditions for softwater plants and animals in your tank.

The special properties of Environment Aquarium Soil make your water crystal clear. This soil is rich in natural nutrients providing your plants and mosses with everything they need to grow healthily and to develop lush colours. The fulvic acids contained in this substrate help create an optimal environment for plants, animals and microorganisms from day one.


Instructions of use
• Do not rinse before use
• Spread the substrate evenly, or create your individual layout
• Fill in water carefully and slowly

Recommended soil height: 4 cm
Content: available in 4 and 9 Liter - Bags
Colour: black-brown
Grain size: Normal-Type 2 - 4 mm
 
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