Noob plant help :)

[Sunbird73]

I am moving next week, just bought a cabinet on TM last night so have the green light to order a 100 X 40 X 40 tank from Greg.

I would love to have a beautiful aquascaped tank, and have been reading SamH's project AA thread with interest - but I don't have C02, and worry about all the committment (and cash!!) you need to have with a high tech tank.

I have tried growing plants and have only had success in a tank with no ferts, and just the clay balls, and occasional excel - but that tank was a 2 foot tank. I am very wary of using a soil type under substrate as the last time I tried that when I pulled plants out I think it got in the water column and I had disastrous algae and had to pull the tank apart. Actually also had the same problem with the JBL balls when I took a plant out - so is there a right way to remove a plant without disturbing the substrate?

So - Fertiliser? I don't have much cash, so probably Flourite is out of the question. HOw much $$ is laterite? Or shall I stick with the clay balls?

Filter: eheim 2224. Possibly also a 2010 pickup in there too.

Lights: I have in my possession 1 x 36inch t8 double light (tubes are OLD); 1x 24 inch T5HO with powerglo's; 1 x 24inch double t8 with powerglo's. How much light to grow rotala rotundafolia and ludwigia arcuata (my two fave plants) in the new tank?

Plants: Any recommendations? I have some java fern, a *teeeeeny* bit of windelov, xmas moss, small amount of rotalia rotundafolia, few stems ludwigia arcuata, and a few sagittaria subdulata (I think thats what it is). And how much light would I need to grow hairgrass? Tho am worried about hairgrass and BBA... I also don't know what plants look good together so if some gurus could recommend some grouping arrangements for me

Co2: I am not against the idea.... but worry that it might get out of hand both time wise (with ferts etc, maintenance) and cash-wise. And I am afraid of poisoning my fish. My fish are currently living in a fish bin, so I don't have weeks to get the plants right before they go in either!

Also - does anyone know any good beginner aquascaping websites that also discuss low tech?

Thanks in advance Nothing like daydreaming/planning your fish tank to avoid packing the house and cleaning :roll:

[SamH]

I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in my thread :lol:

The first point I'd like to make is that the key to a successful planted tank is balance. This can be achieved by matching high lighting with pressurised CO2 and an extensive liquid fertiliser regime. Or it can be achieved by carefully selecting your equipment to match your budget. If CO2 is not an option, less lighting is used or the lights you have are mounted further away from the aquarium. A low tech tank that has balance can be just as beautiful as a high tech tank, although it will take a little longer to develop.

Lighting. If I were you, I'd use that T8 double unit only on this aquarium. Get some new tubes (perhaps power glos or just 6500k cool daylight tubes if you're on a budget) and mount that directly on top of the aquarium. 5cm each side won't be noticeable and with your tank 40cm deep, it should give you a nice amount of light without being too strong and causing algae. I'd be running the lights for 6hrs initially and seeing how that goes. I'll base the rest of my answers based on that lighting set up.

CO2. With that sort of lighting, it's unlikely you will need CO2 to keep algae in check but it wouldn't hurt to increase plant growth. But seeing as your tank is 160L, a cheap sodastream setup is out of the question and rigs take a bit of cash to set up. Leave it at no CO2 for now.

Fertiliser. Now you've mentioned substrate fertilisers but not liquid ferts. I feel that neither are really needed in low tech tanks but they do help to keep algae at bay (provided you do the right water changes) and increase plant growth. I've have some of my best success with inert substrate so I'd be sticking to that unless you have heavy root feeders such as swords.

Filter. Now this is an interesting one when aquascaping. Aquascaping as a game of aesthetics and having a great big filter pipe through the middle of your scape is really unattractive. Think about this when getting your tank made, I suggest you allow for the pipes to come through the left side of the aquarium so they can be hidden by the natural reflection of the glass. If you were really keen on aesthetics, lily pipes are another option too but again must be mounted on the side, not the back of the aquarium. The issue you may have is lack of flow within the tank, algae is a real issue in any spots that don't get enough water movement so extra pumps may be needed, you won't know until you start the tank though.

I find the Aquascaping World Forums to be the most useful in terms of aquascaping aesthetics, their plant knowledge is good too. May I suggest you have a look through these: 2010, 2011, 2012, to get an idea of what sort of tank you might be after.

Hope this helps!

[Sunbird73]

Thanks Sam! So you would have the inflow and outflow on the left? or one on each end? How would I ask for the bracing to be done as I think he puts glass on each end to brace it ?

The red is where the cutouts in the lids will likely be by default and is where I had the inflow and outflow on the old tank.... the blue is where you are saying the filter pipes should go? Can he cut out bits from the bracing safely there? Or have I completely misunderstood ...

[SamH]

All on the left so the water flows to one end of the tank and is sucked back in the same end, makes for a U shaped flow pattern. Here's how I got my 60x30x30 braced, not sure how well it would scale up to a tank your size but you get the idea.

Blue is the brace, red holds the lids (glass siliconed to the underside of the brace) and the green is the lids.

[Sunbird73]

I would worry that there would be no flow at the other end in a tank 1m long?

[SamH]

A spray bar tend to disperse this flow whereas a straight pipe or lily pipe would create a stronger flow. You can do one end to the other if you like, that's more of a linear flow than circulation though. It really depends how powerful your filter is.

[Sunbird73]

Hmmm. Am in new house now, and thinking about bracing and placement of equipment - both ends of the tanks are open viewing as the end faces the computer/ entranceway and the other end is facing from the couch..... so that means I can't really have inflow/outflow pipes visible at the ends and they really need to go at the back of the tank against the wall.

So I will just have to make do with equipment at the back of the tank and try to hide with plants etc.

Am ordering the tank today :happy2: Turns out the stand is a few cm longer than I thought 103.5 - every cm counts

[Sunbird73]

Ok.. tank ordered :happy1:

I saw some lilaeopsis mauritiana for sale on tm, would this work in a low tech?

[disgustipated]

I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in my thread :lol:

for what it's worth, it was that and your iwagumi thread which inspired me to get back into planted tanks. after several years of rocks and terracotta, i had almost forgotten how much i enjoy them. i now have a nice set up. well, nice by my standards, i still got nothing on most of you aquarium pimps.

cheers bro

[SamH]

Thanks dude! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, tank owner rules so as long as you're happy with it 8)

[randomsam1001]

for what it's worth, it was that and your iwagumi thread which inspired me to get back into planted tanks. after several years of rocks and terracotta, i had almost forgotten how much i enjoy them. i now have a nice set up. well, nice by my standards, i still got nothing on most of you aquarium pimps.

cheers bro

+1