dan_from_nz Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 I am currently setting up an Aqua One UFO 880 corner tank as a planted discus tank. I have a few questions and would appreciate your advice. For thoes that don't know what the ufo 880 is it is a 300 litre corner tank that is 1210mm across the front 765mm along the back two sides and 650mm high. It comes with an over head power filter, and built in light hood (Two 30W lights and One 20w light) As it is quite high I am wanting to know weather I need to re-design the hood to fit in some ho t5 lights if so does anyone know how to do this or have any advice. Also I am after some nice High growing plants, I have plenty of shorter plants and a few middle sized plants but dont have any plants taht are nice and long can anyone reccommend a type of plant that would be good? is it better to inject co2 straight off a bottle or use a yeast mixture? Thanks Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Caboomba and Ambulia are fast growing tall plants. Rotala indica grows tall too. These are pretty common in pet shops. I'm not sure what you mean injecting CO2 straight from the bottle? What you want is a constant supply to keep conditions more stable, yeast mix is fine. I would increase your lighting, those units aren't sufficient IMO. I have 2X that on my 300L and would still like more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted March 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 cheers, guess I'll have to get an arcadia t5 unit, does anyone else sell t5's in New Zealand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 t5s are fairly common ask in the Marine forum for where to buy them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 CO2 from the bottle is far better if your will to pay the price for a setup. More stable/constant and far less mucking around. You can also get units with PH sensors and cut off valves so you know you are getting just the right amount of CO2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted March 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Cheers, I am about to go down to rexcell to see what ho t5 units they have and I'll adapt the hood fit off memory it is about 1 watt per litre for plants isn't it (rule of thumb) soo 300 - 400 W should be fine for me, if this is the case then should I take the whole hood off and have fans aimed at the surface? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Yeah 1W/litre would be excellent for a fast growing aquarium. Yes if you're referring to pressurised CO2 (as opposed to CO2 out of a soda stream bottle) then that's way better than DIY yeast, have just upgraded myself, way easier to get a consistent dose of CO2. Yeast builds up to a peak then starts to die down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted March 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 goody time to spend more money In terms of planting the plants does anyone have any tips in getting the placing right first time? Is it better to start with large plants at the back and work forward getting smaller each time or start with small plants at the front and work your way back getting bigger every time Will try post some pics after easter when it is all looking a little beter Regards and thanks for your help so far, Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 do some before and after pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted March 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 I would plant your main/specimen plants first i.e. Amazon Swords etc and leave plenty of space around them so they get maximum light and room to grow, then start at the back and work your way forward. I wouldn't worry about completely filling every space in the tank with plants at first, let them grow and then see what it looks like, as they will take off with the Co2 and your light levels. Good luck Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabfod Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 i'm also trying to setup a ar-880 aqua one tank discus/plant tank and would like some advise from an expert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Hi I have a couple of AR tanks with Discus. First replace carbon with noodles in filter tray and place floss over top of tray. when doing water changes just wash the floss in bucket of tank water. Easy to keep keen this way. The rest is up to you. Depending on your local pH level u could add some peat to the filter as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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