Should my tank hum??

[phishrcute]

I am a VERY new tank keeper - I only set it up yesterday! All seems ok, but it hums! Is it meant to or have I done something wrong? I have a Rio 180 setup and have added gravel, rocks and plants, plus a CO2 thingy for the plants!

Also, how many hours a day should I leave the lights on for?

Many thanks in advance!!

 

[revfred]

You can leave them on anywhere between 8-12 hours per day. See what works best for algae control. Where is the humming coming from? Sometimes the filter ... or if you have a pump are in contact with a wall or the stand ... and it acts like a sounding board. Not familiar with your filter but perhaps it is coming from that and that is just normal for that filter.

 

[Balloon Fish]

rio 180 is a power head.... make sure its not hitting something or it'll make noises... what size is the tank? and also are you using the normal light that came with the tank? if so then it isn't fit for good plant growth but it will sustain the plants for a while.

 

[phishrcute]

Thanks guys - that has put my mind at ease! I am using the bulbs that came with the set-up at the moment, because we bought two other ones that we managed to leave in the shop! So that will be changed in a couple of days.

Thanks again.

 

[Balloon Fish]

that stinks lol, what kind of bulbs did you get? how many watts were they? how big is your tank? can't wait to see some pics

 

[phishrcute]

Mmm, I got what the guy recommended!! One white and one blue, more powerful than are supplied and better for the plants apparently! The tank is 180l. I have just visited your page and see you have a frog in one of your tanks - is it a freshwater tank, and if so, what can they live with?? I LOVE frogs and toads - have loads of frogs in my garden pond, but assumed I couldn't keep them in a tank!

 

[Balloon Fish]

the ones in your pond aren't fully aquatic and can't live in the water full time. The frog i have is an African Dwarf frog. Before buying make sure you read up on the differneces between an African Dwarf frog compared to an African CLAWED Frog cause there is a big difference and sometimes they look the same at a young age. The blue light is called actinic but i'm not too sure if it is benifical to plants but lots of people use them so i think it should be fine. Do you know how many watts is in both lights? or tell me about long long it is and i can probably give you a good estmate on what kind of light it is and how many watts it has. But it sounds to me like your off to a good start the only thing is i dont think the powerhead is going to supply you with good filtration for a while, you should probably invest in an internal filter that fits a 50 gallon (someone do the math but when i did it i got 50 gallons). Don't get a hang on back filter cause it causes lots of surface agititation (which lets out all the co2 you put into the tank) and since you got the co2 system why put it to waste? if you got any more questions go ahead and ask cause i dont think i explained everything good enough but it should help a little

 

[discus4everGrl]

Some cheap florescent bulbs hum too - the one I have on my quarentine tank does.

 

[ecotank]

Mmm, I got what the guy recommended!! One white and one blue, more powerful than are supplied and better for the plants apparently!

This is a freshwater tank? If so you need to find a new guy to recommend stuff for you! Bulbs don't create the power...the ballast does, so unless your ballast is capable of a higher output than your current bulbs, you won't really get a power increase. What you will get will be a different spectrum of light depending on the bulbs...and the blue light is probably an actinic...a great bulb for a saltwater tank and completely useless for a freshwater planted tank. Try to get bulbs in the 6500K range for your plants.

I'm also making an assumption here that this fixture is flourescent and not an incandescent hood.

 

[wayne]

It will be the powerhead in the filter, but normally they quieten a little as they run in.

Yes Juwel 180's have a magentic ballast driving 2 30 watt fluorescents in the hood.

 

[phishrcute]

[/QUOTE]Yes Juwel 180's have a magentic ballast driving 2 30 watt fluorescents in the hood

Mmmm, is that good or bad? Do I need different lights?

 

[wayne]

Well it's not amazing, but it's not bad. I have a 'feeling' the bulbs are maybe a 5K lik a grolux, and a 6500K daylight white, a reasonable setup fro freshwater.

 

[discus4everGrl]

Typically those blue actinic bulbs are used by invertabrates in a saltwater tank, but they can be expensive - maybe why your sales guy talked you into buying one. If thats the case find a new guy or lfs.