hi all, new to the site.. cant tell you how glad i am to have found what seems to be a good uk based site.
anyways...
Im currently in the process of upgrading from an aquaone AR850 165litre tank which is stocked as follows:
1 x african bush fish
4 x Rainbow cichlids
5 x Polka Dot loaches
1 x Leopard Frog pleco
The only plants ive every had any luck with in my tanks are Anubias Barteri and Crystalwort (oh and the freebie duckweed) but ive only every used straight fine gravel with pets at home ferilizer and those plants are pretty bombproof.
Now..
Im upgrading my tank, ive just got a Juwel Rio 400 (400litres) which once its ready ill be adding my current stock plus a few additional Clown loaches and perhaps Gouramis or other mild tempered fish with a small shoal of denison barbs or similar sized shoalers.. (open to stocking suggestions there)
I want to go for a heavily planted tank with a few nice pieces of wood in there, ive only just moved the tank into the living room and its still empty but im keen to get it filled and cycling ASAP
I could do with some advice on substrate ive heard good things about john innes soil capped with sand or gravel but i heard it raises hardness and ph and also has alot of lime. We live in a very hard water area and my tank currently has a PH of 8 which id like to lower in the new tank if possible, ive also heard peat is good for lowering PH but causes blackwater which im not to keen on (unless it will settle eventually)
I like the idea of sand but have also heard about anerobic gas pockets if i lay it too deep which worries me,
Sorry to ramble but i really want to get everything right this time round, unfortunatley ive spent alot of time learning from mistakes and im hoping that plenty of research and a point in the right direction will help me avoid daft mistakes.
Unfortunatley money is an object and im gonna have to try and get substrate sorted at the best possible price along with more filtration and hopefully some lighting upgrades and a Co2 setup in the near future (again Co2 is something ive got NO IDEA!! about so any advice is appreciated)
i have looked online for advice in the various subjects mentioned but i find alot of american based websites and products that i cant find anywhere, im not willing to pay £25 for a kg of aquarium soil from the local fish shop and the missus would throw a fit if she caught me baking soil in the oven.
Anyways again im sorry for rambling on but if theres any need to know info on methods, products etc then im all ears and extremely greatful
thanks for takin the time to read
Dean
(edit)
also wanted to ask about sand and recommended filtration. ive been looking into getting about 5000lph turnover with 1x 2000litre filter and 1x 2000lph filter/uv sterilizer. I will be adding one filter at a time and but to start with ill be running the internal filter (1000lph) that is supplied with the tank and adding one filter every month untill all 3 are running, but wont heavy filtration disturb and suck up a sand/soil based substrate? Thanks
anyways...
Im currently in the process of upgrading from an aquaone AR850 165litre tank which is stocked as follows:
1 x african bush fish
4 x Rainbow cichlids
5 x Polka Dot loaches
1 x Leopard Frog pleco
The only plants ive every had any luck with in my tanks are Anubias Barteri and Crystalwort (oh and the freebie duckweed) but ive only every used straight fine gravel with pets at home ferilizer and those plants are pretty bombproof.
Now..
Im upgrading my tank, ive just got a Juwel Rio 400 (400litres) which once its ready ill be adding my current stock plus a few additional Clown loaches and perhaps Gouramis or other mild tempered fish with a small shoal of denison barbs or similar sized shoalers.. (open to stocking suggestions there)
I want to go for a heavily planted tank with a few nice pieces of wood in there, ive only just moved the tank into the living room and its still empty but im keen to get it filled and cycling ASAP
I could do with some advice on substrate ive heard good things about john innes soil capped with sand or gravel but i heard it raises hardness and ph and also has alot of lime. We live in a very hard water area and my tank currently has a PH of 8 which id like to lower in the new tank if possible, ive also heard peat is good for lowering PH but causes blackwater which im not to keen on (unless it will settle eventually)
I like the idea of sand but have also heard about anerobic gas pockets if i lay it too deep which worries me,
Sorry to ramble but i really want to get everything right this time round, unfortunatley ive spent alot of time learning from mistakes and im hoping that plenty of research and a point in the right direction will help me avoid daft mistakes.
Unfortunatley money is an object and im gonna have to try and get substrate sorted at the best possible price along with more filtration and hopefully some lighting upgrades and a Co2 setup in the near future (again Co2 is something ive got NO IDEA!! about so any advice is appreciated)
i have looked online for advice in the various subjects mentioned but i find alot of american based websites and products that i cant find anywhere, im not willing to pay £25 for a kg of aquarium soil from the local fish shop and the missus would throw a fit if she caught me baking soil in the oven.
Anyways again im sorry for rambling on but if theres any need to know info on methods, products etc then im all ears and extremely greatful
thanks for takin the time to read
Dean
(edit)
also wanted to ask about sand and recommended filtration. ive been looking into getting about 5000lph turnover with 1x 2000litre filter and 1x 2000lph filter/uv sterilizer. I will be adding one filter at a time and but to start with ill be running the internal filter (1000lph) that is supplied with the tank and adding one filter every month untill all 3 are running, but wont heavy filtration disturb and suck up a sand/soil based substrate? Thanks