PK81 said:
Hi All,
I am converting my 180L to a low CO2 low tech system. I have been reading extensively and am in the process of getting together the 'ingredients'. I do need a bit of advice though and hopefully some of you can help:
1. Substrate: My interest to be honest is the fish and I want a tank to show off their colours etc. I plan to use fluorite black sand but I am recommended ADA Aquasoil by the LFS. My concern about using the latter is longevity. I don't want to be changing substrate after 3 years, moving fish out to cope with new ammonia spikes etc. Any thoughts on how long the ADA will last?
2. Ferts: I cannot get KNO3; it is not allowed to be sold. Anybody used an alternative to the expensive specialist products? What about Miralce Grow or something like that? If I have to go down the specialist route which to choose and how much to dose in a low CO2 set-up. My lighting by the way will be 2x35W T5s.
3. Excel / Easy-Carb: Should I go for a halfway house and use these produsts? How should I change my fert dosing?
I do hope someone can help. Many thanks.
Hi,
There are some inconsistencies in these points that ought to be clarified:
1. In the first place it's not really clear what you mean by "...a low CO2 low tech system..." Planted tank systems are either "low tech" meaning that no supplemental CO2 is added, or, as "high tech" which means that supplemental CO2 is added either
a) via carbon based liquids such as Excel
b) via organic CO2 production such as yeast systems
c) via conventional high pressure gas injection.
So it doesn't matter what level of CO2 or by what method CO2 is being added. It is still a high tech system because CO2 addition by any method accelerates plant growth by a factor of 5X or more when compared to non-CO2 supplemented tanks. Therefore, high or low tech is determined by the
regime of plant growth as modulated by available CO2, not necessarily by the advanced nature of the peripheral systems. Having said that the technological methods shown in items a) through c) above are listed in order of the magnitude of their effectiveness. Regardless, use of any of those three immediately places the tank in the high tech regime. If by "...low CO2..." you mean "ambient CO2" then to avoid confusion it's better to use the conventional expression "Non-CO2" which refers to the fact that
no additional CO2 is added.
1A - Substrate. It is the folly of human beings that we tend to pull the cart before the horse. In natural systems (or any system) infrastructure must be built first. Top models by Chanel prancing down the fashion runway need to have that runway built first before they can prance. A prerequisite of showing off the fish is an environment conducive to fish health. The substrate in a low tech tank must be nutritionally optimized so that the plants can be healthy, so that they can clean pollutants from the water, so that the fish can be healthy, so that those same same fish will then show best colors because they're healthy. AS is the best available substrate for this purpose. It can be capped with a gravel of larger grain size that you fell more attractive if necessary. The ammonia leached by new AS does not affect fish and is only a nuisance because it contributes to algae when exposed to high lighting. If the lighting is kept low enough (which is certainly a requirement of a low tech tank) then the leached ammonia becomes completely irrelevant. AS is made of baked clay so while not as sturdy as hard gravel should be OK. I've not yet heard reports of disintegration after 3 years but this could be possible.
2. - Ferts. AS is high in Nitrogen, that's why it leaches ammonia which is mostly composed of Nitrogen. This means that in a low tech (non-CO2) tank, wherein the plants exhibit a low speed nitrogen uptake and are in the low speed growth regime, it is much less important to dose massive quantities of nitrates, especially if the tap water has nitrates and if the fish urinate and defecate - which they do. One can use supplemental Nitrogen products once a week, such as Seachem, Kent or as previously noted TPN+ which is ideal in this case since it is an all in one product.
3. - Excel.
Well, it should be no mystery by now that either the tank is either non-CO2 which;
a) generates slow growth,
b) requires minimal nutrient dosing,
c) requires low maintenance, and
d) does not require water changes
- or
has CO2 added and is therefore pushed into the high speed high tech growth regime where:
e) high growth demands are generated,
f) requires frequent and consistent dosing,
g) requires high maintenance, and
h) requires frequent water changes
There is no halfway house. Either you are running a low tech non-CO2 tank or a high tech tank. if you decide to start off using Excel to get the plants going after initial submersion you can then later slowly reduce the levels to zero and at that point cease the water changes.
Cheers,