Aquarium Dude Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Thought I would start a thread on this new tank (there have been a few lately) The new tank will be a 450l 65''x22.5''x20'' heavily planted tank with 2 aqua one cf1200 filters, and 2 al 40-d lights (2x 48'' t8 per unit) The tank will also have its very own home made mdf stand. There are a couple of things which I have not decide on and wondered if anyone could help. 1. Co2? Diy or Pressurised? 2. Under gravel heating? I really like scalare's tanks (see http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/scalar ... t4866.html) and look to the above tank for insipation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Changed my mind and ordered aquais 2200 from lfs today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 i also are doing the same as you, reef and penguinleo. i looked into under gravel heating, but gave up as budget was already WAY over and couldnt find anything that i could afford so i just got a normal heater co2: i wouldnt bother with diy, ive been using diy for a while now and its such a pain in the arse and i found that my pressurised setup has much better results and much more accurate. maybe if u carnt afford to get a good system you could use the diy until the buget will yet you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Um ohk where do i start. If i was you and was going to do a 450L planted i would use more than 4 t8 tubes. I would look at using around 6 if you are going to go seriously planted, and have co2 and stuff. As quack said, don't bother about DIY co2, i found it so annoying to mix up new batches, and the margin for error is too much of a risk as you cant control the amount of co2 very accurately. Reef is selling a brand new tunze regulator on trademe ATM that you may be interested in, I just bought one exactly the same off him but it was older. They are quality regs. BOC rent out bottles for $11 a month, and a fill is only $30, and that should last you for over a year. If you are going high tech, and have the extra $$, then sure, use under gravel heating, but IMO, it is just as extra unnecessary cost that you only need if you are VERY serious about having a mint planted tank. I don't have undergravel heating on my 250L planted and i can grow any plant i want 8) HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 yeah i think that 2 250MH would look nice hanging over it :lol: im really happy with my MH and it defintly looks the part 8) dont forget to get some ferts for under your substrate either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Careful with ferts though, lots of light + ferts demands CO2 or it'll go crazy with thread algae (at least mine did, killed most my plants it got that bad). 4 T8's will do a good plant job, I have 2 T8's on one of my planted tanks and with CO2 + Flourish I've noticed solid algae-free happy-plant growth, but certainly not 'super growth' (no pearling). Nothing compares to metal halide though. I wish I had gone for a single 150W MH rather than 5 30W T8's now on my big planted tank. If you use DIY CO2 make sure not to use that spongy soft air line tubing as it seems to leak CO2 like crazy, try to find the thicker more plastic stuff (less bendy, doesn't stretch). I think the SodaStream CO2 setup is the best idea so far, I haven't done this because I'm a cheapass but my life would be a lot easier if I had done it. Big pressurised setups I found too expensive and a hassle. SodaStream I can get filled at my local New World when I get my milk and bread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Whats pearling? and how much would it cost to go to mh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Plants suck up CO2 and absorb the C (carbon) for growth, they then give off O2 (oxygen). When there is lots of light and CO2, they expel so much oxygen that they actually bubble at the leaves. These air bubbles look kind of like pearls all over the plant, and its known as'pearling'. In another post I read it could be done for around $150, but I'll let the MH boys fill you in on the finer details. Price varies depending on what you want it to look like, e.g. you can spend a thousand on a bling bling Arcadia setup, or hang a shop fitting with 150W MH bulb for $150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 pearling is when the plants are photosyntheising so much that the oxygen that the plants release cant disolve into the water and insted release oxgen bubbles. i got my MH for $230 250w with new 5500k bulb and hanging kit. looks realy nice too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 They get really hot dont they, it has to go in a wooden hood so its probably better if the light doesnt get really hot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 yeah my one says not to have it in a light hood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 With t8's how many watts per litre are neccesary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Could you suspend the halide from the roof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Not really I cant go bashing holes in the roof... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 All I have with mine is a small hole for a screw to go into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I really like the closed in, self contained look. In other words I like everything to look perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 yeah same i was i bit worryed because its only going to be in that spot for a few months but it will only leave tiny holes that 2 screws would have made, wouldnt even be able to see them looking from the floor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Fair enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I wish I had gone for a single 150W MH rather than 5 30W T8's now on my big planted tank. Any good quality t5s will be just as good. t5s give a better spread of light vs metal halides which has light mainly in the middle of the bulb and really drops off on the sides of the bulbs. I run 2 x 54w and 2 x 39w t5s and the plants are doing great, still looking to go to metal halides in a few weeks as it does look more natural on a tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 How does mh look better and where can you get t5 fittings, all I can find are t8's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I've got 5 T8's on my big one, and thats plenty bright enough, MH is a lot more intense though. Its a 4 foot 200L tank, and each tube is 30W I think? I can't remember how many watts a 4ft T8 is. They run cool compared to a MH, and I spill stuff on them all the time. So that would be .75W/L, not sure if thats good or bad but the reflection off the tank lights up my kitchen, dining room, and back section at night. If you're making it yourself, try to go for T5 as it produces a lot more light and they are smaller. I assembled mine myself (ballasts, wiring etc) but used T8 because I didn't want to wait (T5 stuff isnt normally stocked). If you're just buying off-the-shelf units, then check out www.sog.co.nz - so far they've had the cheapest lights I've seen. Under electrical items, they stock aquarium light units in single and double up to 4ft. They're T8 though. Good thing about T8's is they're only about $7-9 for a 6500K tube in any length up to 4ft, and the tubes last about a year-ish. http://www.deepblueaquarium.co.nz/ does T5 kits I *think* remember reading it on the site a while ago, might be worth an email, unless anyone knows of a better (a.k.a. cheaper) place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 The new stand is underway, the tank is comming, along with the filter. Looking at prices for proffesional spraying the stand, has anyone out there done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 What do you reakon stock wise? I was thinking a mixture between south-east asian backwater and se a river. Sort of a back water tank stock and mixture of plants. But open to opinions, so waht do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Does this look alright? are they all avalib;e 6x blue gourami 6xGolden blue gourami 6xHoney Gourami 4x Paradise fish 1x Green male betta 3x Female Beta 6x Horas loach 10x Harlequein Rasbora 8x Golden tiger barb 8x Green tiger barb ?x Golden algae eater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Watch the Barbs, kept in large schools they normally keep themselves but there is always a chance other fish could get the odd find nip, especially a betta male with all his fancy finnage Paradise fish can be very aggressive, I would pass up on those, we keep rather a few of them, inside and out, I find they are far more active and aggressive in warmer conditions. And Golden Algae Eaters can be a real pain in the butt when they are older.. very territorial, so just keep that in mind JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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