virgojavier
Member
- Joined
- 19 Nov 2012
- Messages
- 99
Hello everybody
I have been following lots of journals on this forum and finally decided to create my own, where I could seek for advice and some useful hints.
I am in possesion of a small tank (55l) which was a gift from a workmate who really wanted to get me involve in aquascaping. Thx Andy!
I started my adventure about 10 months ago, lots of mistakes unfortunatelly, lots of lessons...
Thanks to this forum I've been able to find solutions to almost all problems which I came across.
Without going into details here I am, with an idea for a restart of my tank.
Tank dimensions: 59cm(L)x29cm(W)30cm(H)
Light: Arcadia Twin 15W Lighting Controler (2x15W Tropical Light Arcadia Bulbs)
Heater: TetraTex HT100
Filtration: Aqual VersaMax FZN2 (800l/h), will be replaced with Fluval 105 external filter
CO2 System: Tetra Optimat (which is a pain), will be replaced with DIY CO2 FE unit
I could not find a way to explain it to my wife that I would like to spent aprox 100 quids on a few bags of ADA soil, so decided to go a cheaky way and bought myself a bag (18l) of Akadama from my local bonsai seller. Hope its not radioactive lol
After reading JamesC thread about Akadama I went through some preparations:
- decided to replicate ADA substrate system and sieve through my Akadama to separate large fraction which could potentially became equivalent to Power Sand and the fine fraction as something similiar to Amazonia Powder Soil.
I used two sieves with mesh size 4mm and 2mm
Before using it in the tank I left it flooded for a week with few ingredients (CaCO3, MgSO4, KHPO4):
A bit cloudy but hopefully I will get rid off all the dust during the final washing process.
After a week gave it a proper wash and transfer both fractions to two separate bags.
Like I said I am going to replicate ADA substrate system so I bought some stuff on Ebay:
I am also thinking about spreading some more CaCO3 below the substrate with an activated carbon and granulated peat.
Looking forward for your comments.
To be continued...
Regards
Lucas
I have been following lots of journals on this forum and finally decided to create my own, where I could seek for advice and some useful hints.
I am in possesion of a small tank (55l) which was a gift from a workmate who really wanted to get me involve in aquascaping. Thx Andy!
I started my adventure about 10 months ago, lots of mistakes unfortunatelly, lots of lessons...
Thanks to this forum I've been able to find solutions to almost all problems which I came across.
Without going into details here I am, with an idea for a restart of my tank.
Tank dimensions: 59cm(L)x29cm(W)30cm(H)
Light: Arcadia Twin 15W Lighting Controler (2x15W Tropical Light Arcadia Bulbs)
Heater: TetraTex HT100
Filtration: Aqual VersaMax FZN2 (800l/h), will be replaced with Fluval 105 external filter
CO2 System: Tetra Optimat (which is a pain), will be replaced with DIY CO2 FE unit
I could not find a way to explain it to my wife that I would like to spent aprox 100 quids on a few bags of ADA soil, so decided to go a cheaky way and bought myself a bag (18l) of Akadama from my local bonsai seller. Hope its not radioactive lol
After reading JamesC thread about Akadama I went through some preparations:
- decided to replicate ADA substrate system and sieve through my Akadama to separate large fraction which could potentially became equivalent to Power Sand and the fine fraction as something similiar to Amazonia Powder Soil.
I used two sieves with mesh size 4mm and 2mm
Before using it in the tank I left it flooded for a week with few ingredients (CaCO3, MgSO4, KHPO4):
A bit cloudy but hopefully I will get rid off all the dust during the final washing process.
After a week gave it a proper wash and transfer both fractions to two separate bags.
Like I said I am going to replicate ADA substrate system so I bought some stuff on Ebay:
I am also thinking about spreading some more CaCO3 below the substrate with an activated carbon and granulated peat.
Looking forward for your comments.
To be continued...
Regards
Lucas