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Hi, Marine to planted

mark86

Seedling
Joined
24 Dec 2013
Messages
18
Location
Holbeach
Hi,
im Currently breaking down my marine tank and am considering trying a planted tank instead.
I want something that is a little easier on the maintenance side of things so the time I get can actually be spent enjoying a tank rather than constantly working on it.

So where is the best place to start asking questions?
I have no planted experience an only know marines, so would like to know what methods/equipment can cross over to a planted tank, and what I need to do different.

If someone can point me in the right section to be in then i'll post some more information.

Thanks

Mark
 
Hi Mark,my son runs a marine set up and he thinks that his is easier to maintain than my planted tank,not sure about that one;)
Anyway planted tanks IMO are challenging and rewarding once you' ve done a bit of research,plenty of help and info on this site,and will keep you engrossed for hours on end.
Good luck with your journey and don't forget to do a journal,it will help you learn and it's great sharing the results.

Cheers
Martin
 
first thing I'd say is forget everything you know about marines,planted tanks are a completely different ball game.

I keep both marines and a planted tank and the running of each couldn't be more different.

the biggest difference between the 2 are nutrients and light,marines want low nutrients and strong light whereas plants need nutrients and strong lighting can cause major issues.

if you ran a reef using baling or a calcium reactor you'll understand how tricky it is to get the perfect balance,with plants co2 and flow are just as if not more tricky to get right.

cheers dave
 
Thanks for the replies.

Martin, thanks for the warning, its just an idea at the moment and I want to research about the upkeep before diving in.
The marine setup was a full SPS system so pretty maintenance heavy. Constant testing of salinity, alkalinity, magnesium and calcium and altering the dosing of each. From what ive read a planted tank is a case of getting the balance of lighting, flow and co2 right? Maybe im being a little naïve but surely once you've got that balance correct then maintenance would be 'lighter'?

Thanks,
Mark
 
first thing I'd say is forget everything you know about marines,planted tanks are a completely different ball game.

I keep both marines and a planted tank and the running of each couldn't be more different.

the biggest difference between the 2 are nutrients and light,marines want low nutrients and strong light whereas plants need nutrients and strong lighting can cause major issues.

if you ran a reef using baling or a calcium reactor you'll understand how tricky it is to get the perfect balance,with plants co2 and flow are just as if not more tricky to get right.

cheers dave

Thanks Dave,
I used the baling method, an yes its tricky as I found the requirements were always changing, so things were never as stable as I wanted.

Im considering at the moment keeping my tank (350L sumped setup). Now I guess the benefits of having a sump are the same? Hiding equipment, extra volume etc... One question I wanted to ask is can I utilise the sump as a filter and not actually have an external filter? Its a three section sump, so could I use different medias/sponges in the sections. Would this be sufficient for filtration?

Is a return pump usually enough for flow or would I benfit in keeping some of the powerheads ive used in marines to add flow?

Thanks again
 
The first thing you need to decide is hi or low tech and the go from there low tech means alot less work.
Could you add a trickle tower to your sump? This would make an ideal filter from a fresh water point of view. The only but is if you use co2 the you need to seal things up and minimise splashing or you will burn through co2 at a great rate. Have a look at plantbrain's 120gal dutch somthing or other in the featured journals it is a sumped hi tech setup.
 
The first thing you need to decide is hi or low tech and the go from there low tech means alot less work.
Could you add a trickle tower to your sump? This would make an ideal filter from a fresh water point of view. The only but is if you use co2 the you need to seal things up and minimise splashing or you will burn through co2 at a great rate. Have a look at plantbrain's 120gal dutch somthing or other in the featured journals it is a sumped hi tech setup.

Well I have an ecotech radion led unit over a frag tank at the moment which will also be blahblahblahblah down. I noticed on setting this up that it had a "planted tank" mode, so wondering if I would be able to use it over my display tank.

Its maximum watts is 140 and the tank is approx. 300L which I think makes it 1.75 wpg
Need to look more into it though as I guess it wouldn't be using 140w all the time so the WPG could end up lower? Not really sure as this is a little new to me at the moment
 
Well I have an ecotech radion led unit over a frag tank at the moment which will also be blahblahblahblah down. I noticed on setting this up that it had a "planted tank" mode, so wondering if I would be able to use it over my display tank.

Its maximum watts is 140 and the tank is approx. 300L which I think makes it 1.75 wpg
Need to look more into it though as I guess it wouldn't be using 140w all the time so the WPG could end up lower? Not really sure as this is a little new to me at the moment
The lower the light intensity the easier things are. I have 1x 54w t5 over a 4x1.5x1.5ft tank and it sits nearly 1ft off the top of the tank . Im not familiar with your unit but if its dimmable then youre off to a good start. Start low and slowly ramp it up untill you see issues caused by to much light the back off a touch. Are you familiar with par as a measurement of light intensity?
 
The lower the light intensity the easier things are. I have 1x 54w t5 over a 4x1.5x1.5ft tank and it sits nearly 1ft off the top of the tank . Im not familiar with your unit but if its dimmable then youre off to a good start. Start low and slowly ramp it up untill you see issues caused by to much light the back off a touch. Are you familiar with par as a measurement of light intensity?

It has loads of options an you can ramp it up from 0% to 100% (or less) so as not to shock the fish. Should be more than adequate im hoping...
Ive read a little about par but its a bit over my head to be honest. I guess it will be like corals in that some like lower strength par and some need higher so that dictates where you place the plants?
 
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