[HI From Marietta, GA!]

Wrong on all counts! 

Dear Husband! ya gotta know he loves me - just bought me a 90G tank and tolerates fish stuff all over the house...

[Fluval Plant 3.0 Scheduling and Programming]

Hi! I hope it isn't too late to post here. If I need to start my own topic, let me know. @Streetwise suggested I take a look at this thread. I would like your opinion on my lighting schedule.

Fluval 3.0, 90 Gallon, NilCog root tabs with Easy Green after weekly water change. Sometimes I add Easy Carbon. The tank has been running for about  3 weeks, seeded with "Seed".

Problem #1: Of all things, my Cabomba won't show new growth after pruning. Other plants  with good growth include: ludwigia, swords, pogostemon stellatus, lotus. I am also having a little bit of diatoms. Opinions on light schedule (or anything else) are appreciated!

Problem #2: The water consistently shows a yellow cast. I like a clear bright light with no yellow. I have turned all my warm light to zero in an attempt to replicate the light from my Finnex stingrays. Should I continue to do water changes or is it something with my light settings?

Thank you so much- If you need more info or I need to start my own thread let me know! Syndi

[HI From Marietta, GA!]

Hi Everyone!

I'm so happy to be on this forum! As a teen I kept several 30 G Fancy goldfish tanks with undergravel filters. I knew nothing about water changes or the nitrogen cycle. I only knew that once you get  a tank going, you can use the gravel to "seed" another tank. 

Fast forward 25 years and I have jumped back into the hobby - and things sure have changed! I currently have three tanks: 90G, 20G long, and a 29G bow front. All tanks are planted. I have the Fluval 3.0 on the 90G and Finnex stingrays on the other two tanks. I've been at it for about 2 years and have learned so much from other forums as members have generously shared their knowledge and experience. I hope to be able to share some of my experience with others, too, though admittedly I'm kinda knowledge-heavy on beginner mistakes. For instance: I thought the Walstead method sounded really cool so I decided to try it out in my 75 G. Beginner mistake #1: Don't bother to listen to your DH and do a big goopy experiment on your biggest tank. **Sigh** live and learn.

Anyway, I'm glad to be here. I'm a little nervous about posting 'cause every forum has its own culture, but I've been pursuing, and I think this is going to be a good fit! 

And it's nice to have more than one Happy Place :-)

Syndi

 

[Hi from McDonough, GA USA]

What??? The Holy Grail!!! 

[Hi from McDonough, GA USA]

This is my very first post in this forum, but i had to pop in and say hi to a fellow GA girl! 

While we wait for the lighting experts to chime in, I will give my experience with those lights. I had a Fluval 3.0 on my 75 g and then I moved it to my 90g. It’s been running about 3 weeks. It’s stuffed full of mature plants, so I am only just now getting a tiny bit of brown algae (diatoms maybe?). I do water changes and judicious application of Easy Carbon (along with Ferts) bottom line- it’s a great light but sometimes it leans toward yellow (could be the diatoms) and I haven’t been able to find a guide that tells me EXACTLY how to set it. It’s customizable which is good - but a newbie will have to do a lot of experimentation. 

I also have several Finnex stingray lights that Cory also sells. I really like the clean light they give off - I have not been able to replicate this look with the Fluval 3.0. (I’m sure this is user error) and they grow my plants beautifully. The issue is, for your 55 G you may need 2 StingRays which may equal the cost of one Fluval 3.0. 

IMHO, You can’t go ”wrong” with either set-up and Once you say yes to plants, you’ll never go back to plastic. I say go all in and give your plants the lights they need to thrive! 😊 

I hope this helps!