Setting up a planted aquarium

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emmanuelchavez

Superstar Fish
#41
Feb 22, 2008
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#41
I'm with brian. I used to be all about the expensive stuff, particularly substrate. Now I can't wait for my ADA AquaSoil (the "expensive" stuff) to break down and go inert, so that I can replace it with cheap topsoil, capped off by some other type of substrate.

Some of the plants that I had that brian has in his tank are doing much better for him than they were for me as well. Just something to think about. :)
 

tramca

tramca

Large Fish
#43
Mar 10, 2003
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#43
I'm not even certain what lighting we have.......I'll go check the boxes from the tubes if I still have them.......

Ok, we have a 24" Aqua Glo t-8, and a 24" Power Glo t-8. Those any good?

And I might drag OH out this afternoon for some ludwiga :D mise well give it a shot eh?
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#45
Jan 20, 2008
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Corpus Christi, Texas
#45
tramca said:
OH is my other half *laughingc though I might start calling him old husband now *laughingc

When we set up we bought two 3kg tubs of substrate for planted tanks, at £10.99 a tub. And all the plants are on the wood *laughingc
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How much depth is that substrate? if the online converter worked properly thats only roughly 12 pounds of substrate which I cant imagine going very far. You need atleast 5cm of depth for the roots to take hold if you actually plant them in the soil.
 

tramca

tramca

Large Fish
#46
Mar 10, 2003
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#46
We put it thicker at the back, about 2.5 inches, thinning out to nothing at the front, then topped with over an inch of fine gravel all over.

The lights are 20w, I forgot to add that bit earlier!

Brian, they both say they're 18000k.
 

JRB__

JRB__

Large Fish
#47
Oct 24, 2009
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#47
brian1973 said:
Thank you I was wondering the same thing..

Anyway maybe i missed it but a 200L is around 52.8 gallons so DIY is "technically" to small for this type of setup but wouldnt hurt to try.

Now one thing that drives me crazy about these forums is as soon as someone talks about a planted setup it always the same things you NEED. Why do you need that expensive substrate, why do you need bottled ferts, and why do you need CO2? I will tell you why because they read the same thing here and elsewhere and dont think outside of the box or try different things themselves. I am posting a link of my FIRST planted tank, I have done the opposite of everything posted here exept lighting you have to have good lighting but we can discuss that later if you want. My entire setup cost less than $100 including the $60 driftwood and the plants.

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/aquatic-plants/55085-planted-90g-native-tank.html
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I agree, I don't use special substrate etc but I figure for less than 10 bucks to set up a co2 system that will help (even if not very much) then why not?
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#53
Sep 22, 2009
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#53
personally i just launch my CO2 bubbles into the intake of my canister. i let the impeller do the rest. If you have some sort of filter with a separate intake, try to aim the bubbles for the intake. if not, then the powerhead method will work.
are you sure its 18,000K? sounds like a bit too much, but im sure the plants can still use it, heck keep it. but 20W over 52 gal isnt going to get you much light... however it looks bright in there, so im guessing its more than one 20W bulb right?

set up looks cool co far :)
 

tramca

tramca

Large Fish
#54
Mar 10, 2003
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#54
Thanks for the link, i'll take a look.

Yes, the bulbs are both 18,000k and both 20w each. There was nothing in a higher wattage in the size we asked for, the Store said they didnt make them.

We tested the water parameters again yesterday, ammo has gone down to 0.25ppm, Nitrite way up to 50ppm, and nitrate down to 5ppm. We did another water change, were we right in doing this?
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#55
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
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Corpus Christi, Texas
#55
If your using standard T8 lighting you wont find any higher wattage, this is were the hobby gets confusing since the standard rule is 2 WPG (watts per gallon). That WPG rule doesnt take in lumens. Your lights may actually be to many lumens I want to say 6500 to 10000 max but you wont know if you dont try. Try to read thru some much older posts in the planted forum, try typing in lighting in the search block and see what you come up with, about a year to 2 years ago there were some really good discussions on lighting here. I cant remember all the specifics since now I use specialized lighting on my planted tank. If I had more time this morning I would link you to them but today I dont have time to search for them.
 

tramca

tramca

Large Fish
#56
Mar 10, 2003
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#56
It's ok Brian, thanks, I'll hunt around and have a read up on some of the older threads.

So, too many lumens will be bad for the plants? Will they die, or just not grow as well as they could?

I'll head off for a look now........
 

GregBox

GregBox

Small Fish
#60
Nov 10, 2009
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#60
tramca your tank is looking wonderful, and it seems like your doing well with not rushing into things. A mistake that happens a lot in this hobby. Have you considered adding crypts to the tank specifically Red Wendtii Crypt, Cryptocoryne wendtii? They are my favorite plant in my planted setup and grow like crazy. Here is a picture of a group of three of them I bought in august. They are about four to five inches tall now and were only one and a half inches tall when I bought them.
 

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