• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Need New Tank Advice

dave_arnett

Seedling
Joined
16 Mar 2018
Messages
5
Location
Hull, UK
Hi, everyone I am new here and I'm currently building a new tank, been in the hobby for years but need advice for this specific tank because I don't know that much about planted tanks.

Aquarium size 50cm x 50cm x 50cm
125 litres
Tidal 55 filter
Kessil A80 Tuna Sun

I haven't bought substrate or ferts yet but I have considered TNC Complete and TNC Carbon.
I don't want to run Co2 on this aquarium.

I aren't bothered about having any really advanced plants, I really like anubias and moss anyway. I understand I would be expecting slow growth which I am fine with.

So my questions are which substrate would work fine for this setup?, Are the previously mentioned ferts suitable? and what plants would do well?
 
If you literally only want to grow stuff that you can attach to rocks and driftwood like anubias, java fern, bolbitis, bucephalandra, hygrophila pinnatifida and mosses, you can use pretty much any substrate you like, even an inert one, it's more important to dose the water column with that type of tank, but having some areas of an aquasoil (lots of brands) wouldn't hurt for future planting ideas.
 
I'm open to more plants of any type because I know it's important to have a good bioload so i don't want to limit myself. I'm just going for plants that don't grow too high. Thank you for the suggestions, I'll make note of them.
 
If you do consider an aquasoil take a look at brands such as Tropica & ADA who produce some very popular soils, though they are quite pricey. Alternatively you could use something like a clay with a high CEC, possibly seachem's flourite which is quite popular but very messy, this high CEC means it'll 'absorb' some of the ferts you dose into the water column and make it available to roots. You could also use an inert substrate and add some root capsules should you need them in the future.

As far as the nutrients go you could go with something like TNC - I've heard they are good ferts, I have experience with the aquascapers complete liquid plant food made by Evolution Aqua and have seen so far very steady growth in my non CO2 tank, it also lasts ages on smaller aquariums so it's worth a look as well. I personally use seachem excel but you could also use TNC carbon as your liquid carbon supplement, it's for the most part the same stuff.
 
Thanks a lot for the reply. I'll look into those substrates, I'm still considering what look to go for so I'm glad of the suggestions. I know I will mostly be dosing the water column so I'll compare prices of those ferts.
I just need to decide on plants, I'd like mostly anubias but it'll cost a lot haha
 
Thanks a lot for the reply. I'll look into those substrates, I'm still considering what look to go for so I'm glad of the suggestions. I know I will mostly be dosing the water column so I'll compare prices of those ferts.
I just need to decide on plants, I'd like mostly anubias but it'll cost a lot haha

Yeah, quality plants can sometimes be quite expensive but definitely worth it in the long-run. As mentioned by Angus check out Bucephalandra, some beautiful species which are actually quite easy to grow with your proposed dosing. Some varieties are readily available such as Bucephalandra wavy green and brownie sp. however there are a few sellers on eBay selling some of the more hard to find varieties so check them out. They are also very similar to Anubias - slow growing and best suited to being attached to hardscape.

Whatever you go with i'm excited to see your new tank taking shape in the next few months!
 
Found a few good sellers on ebay for buce and anubias. It shouldn't be too hard to pack out the tank straight away. I'll be post pics of the first setup for sure.
 
Found a few good sellers on ebay for buce and anubias. It shouldn't be too hard to pack out the tank straight away. I'll be post pics of the first setup for sure.

Glad you've gone on well, I'm sure you might have seen a seller by the name of robin.solitude, I've recently purchased a few buce plants from him and they were excellent so would definitely recommend him, a great selection as well.
 
That's a good idea. Anubias is really expensive in the UK too. I'll be looking at German companies if I need any more.
 
Back
Top