# fluval osaka 320 planted tank help!



## Thanh (Jul 8, 2012)

How is everyone doing? I want to have my tank planted with HC and dwarf hair grass using dirt as a substrate, i have 2x54watts bulbs and 2 fluval 405 for filter that came.with the tank when my cousin moved out of.country and she gave it to me. Can anyone show me a few tips that i can start the process? Thanks


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

hi thanh  . im also new in here but i hope my suggestion can help u. first, we should know that dwarf hair grass and h. cuba are difficult categorized plants. that mean they thrive better with intense light and artificial CO2 injection. im not saying that they can't be kept in an el natural tank because in their nature habitats they are all el natural isn't it . But to keep them in el natural tank there are several factors that need to be considered. First is the ratio of lighting and the size of your tank. The amount of lighting should be around 2-2,5 watt/galon. I succesfully keep glosso in non CO2 injection tank so far with amount of light around 2,2 watt/ galon (u can see it in my thread ‘indonesian non CO2 iwagumi tank’ but I think h. cuba gona needs more than that). So the question is what is the size of your tank? Another important facts is height of ur tank makes big difference. If u have shallow tank the light will penetrate better and give HG and HC advantage since both of them are foreground plants. The second is u gonna have to change 30% of water frequently just after u turn down the lamp. Why just after we turn the light off? Because in the end of lighting period co2 amount in the tank is relatively depleted. Changing water also means repleneshing CO2 amount. As we turn the light off the bacteria in el natural will start builds up CO2. So changing water in this time will give CO2 build up in the tank one step advantage. But changing water also means making water turbulance that will disipate the CO2 partly. We don’t want to dissipate the CO2 when it is plenty (at the beginning of lighting period) but if it is happens at CO2 depleted condition (at the end of lighting period) the effect will be minimal. And u should ensure ur filter does not cause much water turbulance at all time. Third, hairgrass and h.cuba are not the “champions” in CO2 absorbtion “brawl”. Means that if u plant them together with some plants that can absorb CO2 faster and much more than them (for example amazon sword, valisneria, java moss) they will not get the amount of CO2 they need. So if u want to combined them with other plants please study it first. If it is a hardy and high speed growing plant, almost surely it is a fast and big CO2 absorber. If u still want to keep them with h. cuba and hairgrass please be considarate in their amount. About the substrate u will not have much problem. Soil is one of the richest in nutrients (if not the richest) of substrate u can get. Just follow diana walstad instruction how to handle it first. Good luck


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## Thanh (Jul 8, 2012)

Thank you tan, i will need to do more.research on the walstad style. You have writen your points clearly but i dont understand much since i am a newbie at this but helpful info will get me.to.the bottom of this and more research than you.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I think you will be able to grow dwarf hair grass in your tank since you have good lighting (I know from another post) and hair grass is not a difficult plant. HC is delicate and not a plant I would suggest for a beginner, El Natural or not.


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## Thanh (Jul 8, 2012)

the tank haven't set up yet, still doing research, as of the other day i went fishing, found a few big awesome looking driftwood, only god knows how long it has been under the water, pulled it out of the water and chopped the bottom part, the root part and it looks awesome, I will post some pix of the driftwood, and the tank up soon, now got the tank, the driftwood, can't wait to set up the tank.


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## Thanh (Jul 8, 2012)

Can anyone tell me four bulbs of 39 watts T5HO in a 90 gal tank, is that low or medium lights? Thanks.


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanh said:


> Can anyone tell me four bulbs of 39 watts T5HO in a 90 gal tank, is that low or medium lights? Thanks.


i think its still in the category of low light. 1-2 watt/gallon = low light, 2-3 watt/gallon = medium light, above 3 watt/gallon = high light. but it doesnt have to be strict. its only categorization, somebody could give u different cut off points. if ur lighting above 2,5 watt/gallon it is likely u are going to need artificial CO2 injection


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

tantaMD said:


> i think its still in the category of low light. 1-2 watt/gallon = low light, 2-3 watt/gallon = medium light, above 3 watt/gallon = high light. but it doesnt have to be strict. its only categorization, somebody could give u different cut off points. if ur lighting above 2,5 watt/gallon it is likely u are going to need artificial CO2 injection


watts per gallon is not a very good measurement.
you could post your question in the lighting forum, and check out some of the threads on lighting.

Here is another post, with good info on a different forum
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

joshvito said:


> watts per gallon is not a very good measurement.
> you could post your question in the lighting forum, and check out some of the threads on lighting.
> 
> Here is another post, with good info on a different forum
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368


thanks joshvito , those articles are highly informative and helpful for us to understand about lighting in planted tank. but their complexity were somewhat discouraging for beginner in this hobby or for people who doesnt want to go into details. i think it will be more helpful if someone can provide us a practical guidance, of in what conditions that watt/gallon measurements will be quite dependable to represent the PAR as the golden standard. like what is the depth of the tank for the watt/gallon measurements, how far is the lamp from the water surface, etc


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