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First Planted Tank, looking for advice!

Joined
7 Sep 2009
Messages
28
This coming w/end I planning on setting up my cube. Its 55cmx55cmx55cm, so 160 litres, 35 US gallons? Im just after some advice on wether my plans sound okay and would work? Im pretty new to this so go easy on me :lol:

-Lighting will be 2 55watt compact lamps, so 3.1wpg, is this too much?
-DIY Yeast Co2, I know its a little large for yeast co2 but I thought I would try it.
-Black sand with a base layer of Tropica Plant Substrate, and one large piece of bogwood as decor.
-Ill be dosing with easycarbo and TPN+ daily.
-Plants, not really sure yet. Suggestions? Im thinking medium lighting and nutrient demands.
-Fish will be some cories, a group of cardinals and some shrimp.


Any suggestions? Would this work? There is probably something I have missed out. Let me know and I will add it. Thanks for any input! :thumbup:
 
jameshughes1989 said:
This coming w/end I planning on setting up my cube. Its 55cmx55cmx55cm, so 160 litres, 35 US gallons? Im just after some advice on wether my plans sound okay and would work? Im pretty new to this so go easy on me :lol:

-Lighting will be 2 55watt compact lamps, so 3.1wpg, is this too much?
-DIY Yeast Co2, I know its a little large for yeast co2 but I thought I would try it.
-Black sand with a base layer of Tropica Plant Substrate, and one large piece of bogwood as decor.
-Ill be dosing with easycarbo and TPN+ daily.
-Plants, not really sure yet. Suggestions? Im thinking medium lighting and nutrient demands.
-Fish will be some cories, a group of cardinals and some shrimp.


Any suggestions? Would this work? There is probably something I have missed out. Let me know and I will add it. Thanks for any input! :thumbup:

James - hi & welcome.

I like your idea but - 3.1wpg and DIY co2 will be a tick time bomb for the dreaded "Algae attack". High lighting which this will require pressurised Co2 inejection and plenty of fertz - you would be better off dosing with E.I - http://www.ukaps.org/EI.htm as i dont thing TPN+ will be enough if you plant reasonable / heavy. Might be ok planting lightly but you are treading a very fine line using that amount of lighting IMO.

Regards
Paul.
 
Hey thanks for getting back to me. That link all seems very confusing to me but I will continue to look into that. If I kept with the TPN+ and only used 1 55 watt bulb, giving me 1.57wpg, would this be okay with the yeast co2. I may in the future look into a pressurized system but Ill try this for now. Would this work better?

Cheers
 
jameshughes1989 said:
Hey thanks for getting back to me. That link all seems very confusing to me but I will continue to look into that. If I kept with the TPN+ and only used 1 55 watt bulb, giving me 1.57wpg, would this be okay with the yeast co2. I may in the future look into a pressurized system but Ill try this for now. Would this work better?

Cheers

Hi

IMO at 1.57wpg and a DIY yeast set up will give you algae issues - you would be better of putting your money into a pressuried system, you can purchased each item seperate rather than buy a complete set up. Have a read at the attached thread shortcut in-relation to parts required for a pressurised set up

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=9716&start=0

Another cheaper option for co2 gas is a Co2 fire extingusher

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=7696

There a lot of reading but it might help you in your quest.
Regards
Paul.
 
hey, I had looked into the FE co2 setup but was worried about issues of it, mainly safety. I read they were dangerous, as in going off, or exploding, and im being paranoid. I think I'd be worried about setting one up.

What kind of wpg would you consider to be okay with a co2 yeast setup?

James
 
Don't be pressurised into going high tech to start with! You can start off lower light and still make an amazing tank, things just go a bit slower! I know it's been said several times but it really is all or nothing - if you put loads of light over a larger tank, you NEED pressurised CO2 and EI, otherwise you'll grow a beautiful algae display! If you choose lower tech for now, you can still make a great tank, but you have much greater margin for error!
Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum!
Matt
 
Hey, thanks for the welcome and advice. I think I will go with the low tech route. How does my plan sound other than the lighting? and what lighting do you think will go well, considering the other specs>? thanks
 
Hi James
Welcome to the forum also.
What about a overhead light fitting this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UP-PL-36W-x2-Aqua ... 25575f96a1
It as a double switch so you can just use 36w until you get pressurised Co2.
I have the 27w version nice little overhead the seller is trustworthy.
Regards
hoggie
 
Thanks, ill look into into. how does the rest of my plan sound though?

Do you not think I would get away with just one 55 watt and the yeast co2 or will it be algea galore?
Has anyone had success with this amount of light and yeast co2?

That is what I was hoping for!
 
Yeast CO2 is simply too unstable for larger volumes of water, and co2 instability=algae
Some users have had success with yeast but mainly on smaller volume tanks. The other thing is, by the time you've bought/made enough yeast set ups to gas up a tank this size you'd be well on your way to the cost of an FE system anyway. As with all pressurised gases CO2 systems have to be treated sensibly ad with respect, and if you do that they're almost totally safe. I wouldn't have anything dodgy in the house with my family, and i'm happy running an FE system.
I'd go with Hoggie's light suggestion, or if you don't want to invest in new lights think about using one of your present lights on a shorter photoperiod, or artificially reducing the output by increasing the distance from light to water.
Seriously, don't bther with TPN+ as, whilst it's a great product, it's also REALLY expensive compared to EI dosing with dry powders. SImilarly Easycarbo is great, but could work out expensive. If you pick your plants sensibly you shouldn't really need it.
Cheers,
Matt
 
bigmatt said:
Yeast CO2 is simply too unstable for larger volumes of water, and co2 instability=algae
Some users have had success with yeast but mainly on smaller volume tanks. The other thing is, by the time you've bought/made enough yeast set ups to gas up a tank this size you'd be well on your way to the cost of an FE system anyway. As with all pressurised gases CO2 systems have to be treated sensibly ad with respect, and if you do that they're almost totally safe. I wouldn't have anything dodgy in the house with my family, and i'm happy running an FE system.
I'd go with Hoggie's light suggestion, or if you don't want to invest in new lights think about using one of your present lights on a shorter photoperiod, or artificially reducing the output by increasing the distance from light to water.
Seriously, don't bther with TPN+ as, whilst it's a great product, it's also REALLY expensive compared to EI dosing with dry powders. SImilarly Easycarbo is great, but could work out expensive. If you pick your plants sensibly you shouldn't really need it.
Cheers,
Matt

Thanks you for the post.
 
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