David R Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 I'm in the planning stages of a new project, and feeling like it should have a bit of greenery in it! The tank is going to be 120x75x55 (LxWxH) and will be filtered by a sump/trickle filter. I know this is less than ideal for a planted set up, but if I try to minimise the disturbance to the water how much of a hindrance is it likely to be to successfully growing plants? Anything I could do to counter it? I'm not really too keen to go down the track of CO2 injection, just planning on a low-tech set up at this stage with plants that don't require too much light. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Water flow won't have a detrimental effect on most plants (within reason). My goldfish tank is about the lowest tech tank anyone can ever imagine, with the light only ever coming on when I want to see the fish. No ferts at all and the plants do well but grow incredibly slowly. It's got cabomba, a little windelov and lots of xmas and peacock moss in there. Sand at the bottom with lotsa driftwood. Would make a good setup for some apistos or badis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 What sort of flow are you talking about? I try and have constant water movement in my planted tanks. Low is light plants such as crypts can handle a lot of flow - well mine do, the tank they are in is a hillstream loach river setup. Anubias don't seem to mind flow either, but grow horrendously slow in low light. Java fern (any sort) should be ok in low light as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 If you are not going to add co2 to the water then why would a sump not be ideal? If it's about flow I can add that the different swords i have do quite well with flow around them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 One of my sumps is used to grow java ferns and to temporarily house homeless plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 If you are not going to add co2 to the water then why would a sump not be ideal? The problem I was thinking of with the sump is the amount of disturbance/aeration the water will get, reducing the amount od CO2 in the water. The flow won't be a problem, there will be a spray bar directing it and if I'm trying to grow plants I'll try make sure its submerged. I would have thought that having a sump putting all that oxygen into the water would have made adding CO2 more important. Haven't figured out the lighting yet, but I do have a friend with a couple of spate double 4' T5 hoods so I might grab one of them for starters. With that kind of set up, how much of a difference would it make having the tank open topped instead of having the light going through the glass lids? The tank will be euro braced but some of the fish are jumpers so it will need a cover of some sorts, perhaps coarse mesh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Good water movement and surface movement helps to prevent algae problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 You could add flourish excel as a carbon source if you are worried about driving off CO2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Yes that is my concern, I guess the necessity of that is determined by how planted the tank is. Won't dosing with flourish in a tank that size get expensive quickly? (doesn't it need to be dosed daily?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 It is not cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 some of the fish are jumpers Let me guess... Hatchets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan7 Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Let me guess... Hatchets? Bichirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Duncan wins, but he did have an unfair advantage! Not quite sure what else will be in there with them at this stage, perhaps some other mid-sized predators, maybe ctenopoma or nandus, and something too large and fast like Madagascan Rainbows. Unsure if I'll be going just for plants growing on wood or have some planted in the substrate as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 If it were me I'd add enough light to give you the look you want and then add plants that fit the look. With low light and low co2 the plants will grow slowly but should have enough going for them to make use of the nitrates available. Don't overdo the lights and you won't have algae problems. Give any root feeders a root ball or 2 which should last a year+ and you're away. I think it's totally doable with the trickle filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 Let me guess... Hatchets? :facepalm: I was forgetting it's David we are talking about here.. Waaay to small a fish :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 My tank is 150x45x60 and I don't go through excessive amounts of excel. I used to run a sump and the plants still grew well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 I’d say go for it and don’t even worry. I have used sumps with plants before with no worries. Many different types of plants will thrive in those conditions although you may be slightly more likely to get BBA depending on your water change regime so liquid carbon may be a good solution to maintain a constant level of carbon in the water column. Good flow is essential for fast growing plants as it keeps nutrients available at all times. It is good to have the plants moving constantly as if in a gentle breeze (although this is more important for higher tech setups). In addition, surface agitation is not a problem at all for a planted tank. Even with injected CO2, affinity for CO2 in water is high so you don’t lose as much as you might think). There is not much CO2 in the atmosphere compared to oxygen but at aquarium temperatures, the solubility of CO2 in water is about 200 times that of oxygen so a good amount will actually go into the water from the atmosphere if you have a good water turnover rate. That is one reason why the Earth’s surface waters (shallow rivers and streams) contain between 10-20ppm of CO2, very close to what we are trying to achieve with pressurized CO2 injection. That is also why water right out of the tap contains a higher concentration of CO2 causing plants to pearl pearl after a water change (it is also due to higher dissolved O2, but that's another discussion). However, if you have hard water, the CO2 will react with the water to create carbonates and bicarbonates and that will act to reduce the available carbon in the water column, but the pH will of course be more stable too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 my 1000L planted tank running a sump which runs the 3000+L tank as well ..my plants grow like crazy.with out fers or co2.. the plants in there are alternanthera rosaefolia .. ......... lysimachia nummularifolia '''''''''''''''''''''''''' rubra .. .......... '''''''''''''''''''''' aurea bacopa amplexicaulis .. ........ myriophyllum robustum ''''''''''''' monnierii .. ........ '''''''''''''''''''''''''' variifolium cardamine lyrata .. ........ roripa species glossostigma elatinoides .. ...... rotala rotundifolia heteranthera zosteraefolia .. ...... sagittaria dwarf hygrophila angustifolia .. ....... water rose lilaeopsis microsword .. ...... indan fern hygrophila polysperma .. ...... eleocharis acuta hydrocotyle verticillata .. ...... vals ludwigia the only ligts on the planted are a twin five foot ligth with glow lux bulbs... so it can work nicely...and helps on filtering on the big tank as well.. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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