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PLANTED TANK ADVICE PLEASE

aquaticjedi

Seedling
Joined
24 Feb 2011
Messages
11
Location
Plymouth
HELLO GUYS I AM NEW TO THIS FORUM PLEASE HELP .
I AM PLANNING TO SET UP A PLANTED TANK .I WHOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF I HAVE THE CORRECT AND NESSARRY EQUIPMENT I CURRENTLY HAVE
55GAL TANK
EHIEM 2235 EXTERNAL
CO2
HEAT CABLE
HEATER
FLUVAL U SERIES INTERNAL FILTER
AIR PUMP
SUBSTRATE:HALF INCH OF SAND,TWO INCHES OF BLACK FLORITE,TOPED OFF WITH BLACK QUARTZ GRAVEL
X3 T8 LIGHTS
SAMATRA WOOD
ARE THE ABOVE GOOD ENOUGH TO RUN A WELL PLANTED TANK,IF NOT PLEASE LET ME KNOWOR IF I NEED MORE EQUIPMENT
ANY ADDITONAL INFORMATION AND GUIDENCE WHOULD BE GREAT ALSO
THANKYOU
 
Hello. It might be easier to read your post if it wasn't all in capital letters.
From what I can see, you have almost enough to get you going for a nice low light setup. What CO2 do you have? Is it a pressurised canister, or a yeast-based DIY type? Have you planned any type of fertilizer for you plants?

You don't really need to have gravel on top of your fluorite, but it doesn't matter if you have. You also won't need the heater cable, they do nothing to help your plants. You won't need the air pump either.

Good luck,
Tom
 
Thank you tom for quick reply sorry about the caps I have a pressurised co2,bit stuck on the ferts as there is so much on the market i get a bit confused .At the moment i have one bottle of florish and one box of florish root tabs.What whould you recommed and how often to dose? I was planing to use the air pump at night when the co2 goes off,why no heat cable when lots of books and magazines recommend them?
thanks jedi
 
The Flourish fert will be good for Micro nutrients, but you will probably need something for Macros (NPK). Have a look here for one method that a lot of people find good and cheap! http://www.ukaps.org/EI.htm

It might be worth getting a drop checker so you can decide how much CO2 to add to the tank. They are an approximate but useful way of seeing how much CO2 you have. They go green/yellow when there's enough/too much, or blue when you need to increase CO2.

Heater cables have long since been regarded as useless in planted tanks. I don't know all the details myself, but lots of people seem to flinch at the mention of them now. Maybe someone can give you a more specific answer....

The vast majority of people don't aerate their tanks at night - Does your CO2 system have a solenoid shut-off valve so you can turn off the supply at night? If so I doubt you'll build up enough CO2 to worry about aerating.

Tom
 
Thanks for reply again tom,
I will have a good look at the link you left thanks.
as for the drop cheaker i have got a glass one on order should be here any day,i've seen them on lots of pictures on this forum,are they straight forward to use?
I have now removed the heater cable as you have said they are useless,thanks for advice tom.
my co2 system has a solenoid shut off,so i won't bother useing the pump at night.
Could you advise me on what type of plants i should start with as a beginer?

Thanks jedi
 
Drop checkers are easy to use - just add some 4DKH water (not tank water), then your pH solution. You can also get a ready mixed solution.

Try some plants such as Swords (Echinodorus spp.), Crypts (Cryptocoryne spp.), Java Ferns (Microsorum pteropus), Vallisneria spp, Anubias, Hygrophila polysperma, Java Moss etc. They should all be pretty tough
 
Thanks for all your help and advice tom,

jedi

Are there any photos of you set ups on this forum,whould be great to have a look?
 
Yes, but most are quite different from what you're after. Here's one, but I can't find a shot of the tank when it was mature unfortunately. I had it up for a couple of years. This was only a few weeks in
IMG_4023-1.jpg


The tall grass is Vallisneria, the midground is Crypts, and the foreground is Dwarf Sagittaria.
 
It looks awesome tom ,i hope i will be able to create something as eye catching as that one day .
Are you useing an internal filter with that setup?And what sort of sand is that?And how do you return the water from external.Im thinking of useing a spraybar 4''below waterline,whould this be good practice?
 
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