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Am i being to cautious

D

danmil3s

Member
Joined
11 Jan 2010
Messages
756
Hi guys, I started up my 120l tank 2 weeks ago using the high tec method. this will be the last time i try before i cancel my BOC account. I'm trying to do it right this time, by the book with patiences. the set up is I'm using normal sand as substrate, with 6 MTS to turn it over. Ive got co2 on 2 hours before lights on, and off 1 hour before lights off. my DC is green throughout the light cycle. diffusion is simple this time just straight in to one of 2 Fluval 205 that filter the tank, and provide flow through diy spray bars. Fert levels should be the same a EI levels. The lights are hagen glo twin 24w t5s on for 6 hours a day. They are 500mm above the surface of the water. I currently have no algae, but not much growth. Would you guys recommend moving them closer, or should a play it safe and leave them where they are. if i leave them for how long or if i lower them whats the best procedure. My Mrs says i should leave well enough alone and stop fiddling. any input very welcome. :D
 
What plants are you trying to grow? and when you say your using sand as substrate, is it simply just sand alone?
sand has no CEC so your plants will struggle to feed through their roots.
 
yep just sand, i was under the impression that sand was ok as long as water column dosing was good.
plants are
pogostemon
glossostigma elatinoides
myriophyllum mattogrossense
marsilea hirsuta
staurogyne repens
Vallisneria Americana
no scape just spread evenly to see what grows.
 
Hi mate, I'd leave well alone for now as with it being a new set up everything needs to settle. Plants will start to show signs of growth. When I set my high tech up originally it took about 3 weeks before I saw an improvement in growth and then it took off. Sand should be fine as long as its regularly tired over by the snails or yourself. As long as your co2 is at good levels and your dosing ferts to recommended levels then just leave it to do its thing.
 
danmil3s said:
yep just sand, i was under the impression that sand was ok as long as water column dosing was good.
plants are
pogostemon
glossostigma elatinoides
myriophyllum mattogrossense
marsilea hirsuta
staurogyne repens
Vallisneria Americana
no scape just spread evenly to see what grows.
Click to expand...
Sand alone CAN work, but i believe alot of plants prefer to feed through their roots, if you look at the example of using aquatic soil, no dosing ferts or any root tabs, and the plants thrive due to the goodness inside the soil.
as Alastair said, keep dosing correctly and running c02 and see what happens.
is there a reason you didnt use something under the sand? like soil/akadama/eco complete, things that have high CEC???
 
I'll just leave it alone then. I wasn't sure if 500mm away for the lights was a bit extreme thats all. If its still done nothing much by Christmas maybe ill start lowering them a bit. thanks Alastair
is there a reason you didnt use something under the sand? like soil/akadama/eco complete, things that have high CEC???
Click to expand...

moneys mainly the reason i didn't buy a designer substrate. i tried cat litter last time i couldn't get on with it, found it too light. With this attempt i just wanted to keep thinks as simple as possible so there was nothing to blame if it all went wrong. plus if it does go wrong I'm throwing in the towel for good.
 
danmil3s said:
I'll just leave it alone then. I wasn't sure if 500mm away for the lights was a bit extreme thats all. If its still done nothing much by Christmas maybe ill start lowering them a bit. thanks Alastair
is there a reason you didnt use something under the sand? like soil/akadama/eco complete, things that have high CEC???
Click to expand...

moneys mainly the reason i didn't buy a designer substrate. i tried cat litter last time i couldn't get on with it, found it too light. With this attempt i just wanted to keep thinks as simple as possible so there was nothing to blame if it all went wrong. plus if it does go wrong I'm throwing in the towel for good.
Click to expand...
that saying is not allowed on this forum :woot:
im only kidding, but alot of people are on a budget when it comes to substrate, but their are lots of others you could try.
akadama is another good 1 which alot of people are using these days. its got high CEC
 
LOL i thought akadama "sounds Japanese must be expensive" so thats as far as i went with it. Maybe I'll give it a go next time after a bit of a read up on it. i do like sand though i like the colour and the fact it super easy to plant in.
 
well just had a quick read, looks like getting the stuff will be harder due to recent events, maybe.
 
It can be abit tricky to get hold of, but alot of garden centres or bonsai shops still sell it.
its even for sale on ebay, but not sure how much you'd be after.
 
well to be honest the 120 ltr tank is just an experiment, if i can get it to work I'll be doing a whole strip and rebuild on my 7' X 2' X 2' new stand new light lay out, filters, and plant layout. the whole things a bit sorry for itself since i got the hump with wasting time, money, and pulling out dead plants. with that in mind i plan on transferring what i learn in 120 to the main tank. its a large tank and due to the money I've laid out/wasted already i plan on doing it cheapish (tank size accounted for). That said I've calculated ill need 80 odd quids worth of akadama so in the scheme of things not to bad. but i do like the sand. and don't get to excited the re build wont be fore a while.
 
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