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Scaper Qube 25l (30x30cm) - Have I made a mistake with plants/lighting?

parmsuk

parmsuk

New Member
Joined
5 Feb 2014
Messages
12
Location
Leeds, UK
Hi,

Please help, am I making an obvious mistake here.

I've purchased an superfish qube 25l (30x30x30cm) which came with a light, filter, FloraGrow Plant Fertilser and FloraGrow Carbo (CO2 alternative).
I've received the last batch of plants and will look to plant this evening. I'm now getting worried that the lighting that came with the tank is too powerful (15w - 1800Lm - PAR 269) for the plants that I have. I've ordered the Interpet Eco Max Digital Controller which I hope works with the lighting I have so I can control the brightness, i'll receive this tonight and see if its compatible.

I'm hoping to keep shrimps and some snails in the tank. Possibly move my 3 of my remaining neon tetra into the tank eventually also once cycled properly.,

Should I be worried???, have i made big mistake here???

Tank: Superfish Qube 25l Nano tank (Click here for link)

Substrate:
Fluvel Stratum

Plants:
Front
Micranthemum Monte Carlo
Mid
Cryptocoryne Willisii
Rotala Hra
Background
Ludwigia Mini Super Red
Limnophila sessiliflora

Driftwood & Rocks
Anubias barteri nana
Christmas moss


PXL_20250301_221534895.jpg
PXL_20250301_221544547.jpg

PXL_20250304_143640542.jpg
 
if you're worried about excess light, you can moderate your photoperiod and also buy some floating plants to provide shade. I recommend salvinia as its easily removeable (unlike duckweed) and since its a thick floating plant, its better at blocking light.
 
Aqua360 said:
if you're worried about excess light, you can moderate your photoperiod and also buy some floating plants to provide shade. I recommend salvinia as its easily removeable (unlike duckweed) and since its a thick floating plant, its better at blocking light.
Click to expand...
Ah yes, I did but some frogbit to add to the tank. Sorry should have specified that!
How do I calculate photoperiod?
 
parmsuk said:
Ah yes, I did but some frogbit to add to the tank. Sorry should have specified that!
How do I calculate photoperiod?
Click to expand...
In the absence of PAR meters etc, a lot of people tend to run lights either at reduced intensity at the start, or for a shorter period of time, then find what works as time progresses, i.e. how the plants respond, algae levels etc.

In this case I have no experience with the light you're using, but personally I would start off at 6-8 hours a day, then gradually increase length of time (if so wished), if the plants respond well, with a manageable level of algae.

This is assuming your light controller doesn't work. If it does work, you can play around with light intensity and photoperiod, I think its better to have adequate light intensity for a shorter time, versus not enough light intensity for a longer time, if that makes sense.
 
Yes, this is really helpful. Thank you @Aqua360
Less worried now, i'll start on 6 hours a day and see how that transpires.
Just need to know frequency and dosage to provide ferts and Co2 (liquid) once I setup the tank tonight. Any tips?
 
parmsuk said:
Yes, this is really helpful. Thank you @Aqua360
Less worried now, i'll start on 6 hours a day and see how that transpires.
Just need to know frequency and dosage to provide ferts and Co2 (liquid) once I setup the tank tonight. Any tips?
Click to expand...
I haven't used Floragrow, but chances are you won't have to use ferts too heavily for the first few weeks if using Fluval stratum.

You may, may not want to use a smaller volume than recommended on the bottle, if you do decide to get the floating plants, so they can draw from the water column.
 
The Superfish scapers all come with two bottles of ‘stuff’. One is a trace nutrient fertiliser which is okay but you will need some macro nutrients too. The other bottle is gluteraldehyde which is a good biocide but doesn’t actually add any measurable amount of CO2 to the water. I would use the trace ferts bottle until it’s empty then get something else. I would throw the gluteraldehyde away but I don’t think it will hurt if you use it as the label describes.

The light is an impressive beast. I ran mine at full strength and plant growth was very quick. Once the tank matures you won’t have algae problems but with that light at start up you may find algae grows quickly. Floating plants are your friend here. I ran mine for 10 hours a day and all plants happy once established. Starting at 6 is a good idea. Unfortunately the light broke and it’s taken an age to get a replacement under warranty.
 
parmsuk said:
Thank you @simon_the_plant_nerd. Just for info, here is the setup. Got it up and running late last night.

@Aqua360 Just for info, the controller from Interpet worked. Allows me to dim and set timing schedule. However thinking should I dim or just start full lights for 6 hours a day and gradually increase?

View attachment 227898

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Click to expand...

First off, great scape! Looks really promising, the Superfish line are really smart looking.

Personally, since the dimming function works, i'd be aiming to keep the light at about 8 hours, and play around with the intensity. It's hard to make recommendations, nor would I want to as there are many more experienced members on this site. I know that doesn't really help much, if I absolutely had to say what i'd set the light to, i'd probably go 8 hours at 50% to start off, and see how things go. I'd also be doing large water changes every 2nd day or so for the first couple of weeks.
 
Aqua360 said:
First off, great scape! Looks really promising, the Superfish line are really smart looking.

Personally, since the dimming function works, i'd be aiming to keep the light at about 8 hours, and play around with the intensity. It's hard to make recommendations, nor would I want to as there are many more experienced members on this site. I know that doesn't really help much, if I absolutely had to say what i'd set the light to, i'd probably go 8 hours at 50% to start off, and see how things go. I'd also be doing large water changes every 2nd day or so for the first couple of weeks.
Click to expand...
Okay, i'll look to do this. Today light was on for 6 hours, tomorrow i'll adjust so its on auto and 50% approx for 8 hours and take it from there.

In terms of large water changes, are we talking 50%??? or more?
 
parmsuk said:
Okay, i'll look to do this. Today light was on for 6 hours, tomorrow i'll adjust so its on auto and 50% approx for 8 hours and take it from there.

In terms of large water changes, are we talking 50%??? or more?
Click to expand...
I like to do 50% water changes, the good thing is, since you don't have fish or shrimp added, you won't need to worry too much about temperature straight out of the tap, or dechlorinating the water, so should be quick and easy to do.

P.S not sure if others dechlorinate for plants, I haven't had any issues before, but maybe others will chime in
 
i'll do the water changes as suggested. I do have in an old tank with 3 neon tetras, 2 x amano shrimps and a Zebra Nerite snail but holding off putting them into this new tank at the moment. Do you think any issues in me adding some of my filter media from the old tank?
 
Add the filter media. Will be the best way to get the bacteria colony established.

It looks great and I agree with @Aqua360, if you have got a dimmer you should use it. I think that will give you best results. You may find you never need it on full power.
 
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