• 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

AquaNano 60 - First attempt at a high tech planted

Thanks Stryder, I appreciate the answers. I’m leaning towards this tank as I like the hidden filtration and heating.
 
Do you find that the light makes a difference? The stock light makes the tank look weird in pictures.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Do you find that the light makes a difference? The stock light makes the tank look weird in pictures.

Initially the stock light was fine, if a little on the dull side it was able to grow my plants just fine including hc cuba etc.. I have found the kessil A LOT brighter and im dosing ferts more and am seeing good growth on my S.Repens for examples which before wasnt growing as healthily.
 
Hi guys,

It's been almost 2 weeks now since I set up my first high tech tank in this same tank. I was speaking to Stryder a few weeks ago in this thread. Regarding the questions, I think I would have answered them exactly the same. I was looking at twinstar lights first of all and due to mine having the lid on as well, I was unsure if the legs of unit would fit, but as stryder had said - you would have to adapt the plastic clips which the glass lid sits in I presume. Anyway, I was looking about and managed to find a brand new sealed Kessil A160we Tuna Sun on eBay for £50 less than the standard price. The light is super bright and gives a natural shimmer effect but on this model in particular you get the luxury of having 2 adjustable knobs where you can adjust intensity (brightness) and also colour (spectrum - 6000k to 9000k). I am still trialling this light obviously but the reviews of Kessil units speak for themselves.

I am also diffusing my CO2 via a bazooka atomiser which is sat in the main tank. I did try running through the inlet of my canister filter as some people have success with that and it also reduces the micro bubbles or 'sprite water' / '7up' effect but my filter ended up constantly trickling which was mildly annoying so I switched back to the main tank. The first method did give me a lime green drop checker a lot easier with a slower bubble per second rate however I didn't feel the trickling noise was going to be sustainable as the tank is in my bedroom! Some anecdotal evidence also suggests it's better to have fully dissolved CO2 as well as CO2 micro bubbles in the water column for overall plant growth.

I am also using a Koralia nano 900 powerhead alongside my filter outlet which is great for overall flow and pushing nutrients and CO2 to all areas of my tank and removing any dead spots.

I think this tank is great to begin with. If I could point out one downside is that it is not made from the high clarity low iron glass which you see a lot of nature aquariums made of on here so you don't get the full on 'Amano style' look but his is purely just me being picky. Other than that the tank is spot on.

I'm half dosing the Aquascaper complete plant food at the minute whilst my tank cycles with the aqua soil and plants and I'm following the ADA recommended water change schedule whilst monitoring ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. I did get a massive ammonia spike at the start which wasn't alarming as this was expected but I dealt with it accordingly allowing some to remain for the cycle. I also got the slimy fungus you get on my redmoor root. It seems to be going down a bit now. This was neither a concern as this was expected too and it will go eventually but all I am doing for now is lightly siphoning it around the spots where I have moss so that it doesn't suffocate the plant.

Other than that it seems to be going well. Plants are beginning to show signs of settling in and getting that lush green CO2 injected look. It's just the waiting game and patience is key. I will keep my eye on the cycle and also watch out for any algae. After this I will add my colony of red cherry shrimp I have in a holding tank from my old setup. Will keep everyone on this thread posted as the weeks go by.

Cheers :thumbup:
 
Here's a few pictures from setup on 27/03/18 to today:

IMG_1641.JPG
IMG_1644.JPG
IMG_1658.JPG
IMG_1676.JPG


I have various stem plants behind the redmoor which are steadily growing each and hopefully should start to busy out a bit when I begin pruning etc.
 
It’s coming on nicely. I’m following with interest. Do you think that the power head and the shrimp would be compatible? I had been thinking along these lines, but wondered if the shrimp would be ok.
 
I think it should be ok. As you can see my powerhead is situated relatively high up on the right so I think the shrimp will spend the majority of their time on the plants and decor. I was originally going to go with a larger filter to increase my turnover and flow rate. This would be better for the shrimps as the inlet is situated in the rear sump to avoid any shrimp casualties and also avoids an extra piece of equipment in the main display. I decided on a small powerhead for now as this was the cheaper option and I hope I can yield similar results.

If you meant regarding the tank being too turbulent for the shrimp - it isn't too much, I feel the Koralia nano 900 is ideal for this tank. It hits the front glass and goes round the tank to the left and then round the back pushing water through and around my stem plants.

I will keep you updated.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, I’m interested to know how it goes. My concern was about the shrimp getting chopped up in the power head.

Having said that I have powerheads in both of my marine tanks and have never had a shrimp casualty. I wasn’t sure if that was down to the large size of the shrimps or due to the way powerheads work.
 
Do you think it would be worth changing the stock light if you do not dose c02? Mine is low tech. I'll send a picture over the weekend.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Do you think it would be worth changing the stock light if you do not dose c02? Mine is low tech. I'll send a picture over the weekend.

@miah431 if you are getting good enough grow and have plants that are too demanding there is a need per say. With the stock light I had I was getting decent growth and growing things like HC Cuba, but was dosing of course.

One thing I never had an issue with was algae, which now with the kessil I am getting - nothing out of control but it was fairly well balanced with the stock light.
 
Your tank was looking great with the stock light ... bright light equals algae, can you turn down the brightness?
Your anubias is going to roast under that light.
The problem with hight intensity lighting, is trying to match the amount of C02 without killing the fish.
I suspect that the algae you are now seeing will just be the tip of an iceberg!
 
Your tank was looking great with the stock light ... bright light equals algae, can you turn down the brightness?
Your anubias is going to roast under that light.
The problem with hight intensity lighting, is trying to match the amount of C02 without killing the fish.
I suspect that the algae you are now seeing will just be the tip of an iceberg!

Unfortunately it's an early model without a dimmer dial, I'm going to adjust the photo period and have just started dosing co2 again - ran out of gas for a couple weeks. So hoping that should sort it!
 
I think I'm going to stick with the stock light for now then. This is my tank. I just feel that the light looks a bit dull.
99664e67145bded3530505ff4977c095.jpg
a3cfa07c7dfcdf78c181726dd8e046fc.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
There are thousands upon thousands of post on this forum based around using too much light & algae issues!
Both of you guys tanks looked great with the standard light, I would concentrate on Co2, flow & tank cleanliness :)
Stryder, perhaps you can raise your light up higher?
 
So my standard light has died. Is there way I can just replace the led bulb thing? Or do I have to buy something completely new? If so what can I buy within a £60 range. The tank dimensions are 60cm X 40cm

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top