Hi
My father has decided to get rid of his cichlids after many years. He was fed up with them digging up everything. I was able to convince him getting a planted, non co2 tank.
The tank is 150x50x55cm which is about 500 liter. It has an internal filter with a 1000 liter pump. I'd like to use George Farmer's "The Shade" as inspiration for the scape, so mainly java ferns, vallisneria, cryptocoryne, bolbitis, ... low light plants that are relatively easy to keep.
The pump will be replaced by a bigger one, I'm leaning towards 2500l/h. I was also thinking of adding an extra filter for mechanical filtration, like a second-hand JBL, to have 5000l/h in total. The problem however is that I do now know where to place the inlet and outlet. The actual filter goes from right to left so in order to create good flow I should respect this. I cannot move the internal filter because I cannot cut in glass. What would you recommend?
What about soil? At the moment there's 75kg of sand in there and I really love the effect of it creates. But sand has a low CEC rate. How will the plants grow on this?
The plan is to grow these plants without CO2 injection. I do have a spare regulator lying somewhere. Is it a good idea to inject a little CO2 under low light? Or will this increase plant waste without noticeable better growth? I want the plants to grow well without having too much work pruning, ... I have limited experience with non-CO2 tanks though.
And what would be the best way to create depth? I read in an ADA journal that you should place one piece of wood closer to front glass and one more towards the back. Any other tips?
Last but not least: which lighting for a non-CO2 tank? At the moment there's 2x36w of T8 but I think LED would look great with the sand. But I assume LED for such a large tank will be expensive?
Thanks for the help.
Best,
Gilles
My father has decided to get rid of his cichlids after many years. He was fed up with them digging up everything. I was able to convince him getting a planted, non co2 tank.
The tank is 150x50x55cm which is about 500 liter. It has an internal filter with a 1000 liter pump. I'd like to use George Farmer's "The Shade" as inspiration for the scape, so mainly java ferns, vallisneria, cryptocoryne, bolbitis, ... low light plants that are relatively easy to keep.
The pump will be replaced by a bigger one, I'm leaning towards 2500l/h. I was also thinking of adding an extra filter for mechanical filtration, like a second-hand JBL, to have 5000l/h in total. The problem however is that I do now know where to place the inlet and outlet. The actual filter goes from right to left so in order to create good flow I should respect this. I cannot move the internal filter because I cannot cut in glass. What would you recommend?
What about soil? At the moment there's 75kg of sand in there and I really love the effect of it creates. But sand has a low CEC rate. How will the plants grow on this?
The plan is to grow these plants without CO2 injection. I do have a spare regulator lying somewhere. Is it a good idea to inject a little CO2 under low light? Or will this increase plant waste without noticeable better growth? I want the plants to grow well without having too much work pruning, ... I have limited experience with non-CO2 tanks though.
And what would be the best way to create depth? I read in an ADA journal that you should place one piece of wood closer to front glass and one more towards the back. Any other tips?
Last but not least: which lighting for a non-CO2 tank? At the moment there's 2x36w of T8 but I think LED would look great with the sand. But I assume LED for such a large tank will be expensive?
Thanks for the help.
Best,
Gilles