My 6x2x2

[niknaksky]

Hi all,
First off sorry for the bad picture but I cannot seem to get the whole tank in on my phone.
Will try and get hold of a half decent camera to try again.
So the tank is a 6x2x2 with 42x18x15 sump with a eheim compact 5000+ return pump
I will probably get a koralia or tunze nano pump for the other side of the tank for added flow.
Substrate is unipac congo and limpopo sand mixed( they ran out of congo) this has osmocote under the sand.
At the moment the tank only has 1 x Arcadia Eco Aqua Daylight 32W which was what I used with my frontosa.The lighting will be increased with 2 x 54w t5's when the bulbs arrive(I may add more if need be at a later date)
Plant wise at the moment is
anubias coffeefolia
Anubias ???
Neddle leaf Java fern
fissidens fontanus
Crypt Wentii brown which is cuttings from a 3-4 yr old plant
Tropica 1-2 Grow Staurogyne repens( Hoping I have enough light )
Couple of p helferi cuttings
amazon sword unknown
Rotala(not sure which one if you could temm me that would be great) cuttings from my dads tank
Hygrophila I think to the left of the rotala (again if you know please tell me)
Then I have had a bit of a spending frenzy with plantedtanks which should arrive end of next week.
I have the feeling that some of these will not be to suited to my tank and were probably a bit of an impulse buy but I can try and make them work.
List below
Vallisneria Rubra / Red Valis / Torta Red
Cryptocoryne parva
Limnophila Aromatica / Rice Paddy Herb ( had this once in a low light tank and grew really well stayed green but was nice. have been tempted to try eating a bit lol)
Echinodorous Tenellus / pygmy chain sword / mudbabies ( normaly do ok for me in low light)
Echinodorous x Barthii / Red melon sword
Hygrophila Salicifolia / Willow leaf hygro
Nymphaea Lotus Zenkeri 'Red' / Tiger Lotus (love these)
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala / Pennywort
Heteranthera Zosterifolia / Sea Grass
Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
Fauna
about 40 baby cherry shrimp as I got hundreds in with the brisstlenose pair and there babies I am hoping that they can get a sustainable population before I add the fish.
Which I am thinking of discus and apisto but not decided yet.
Here is some pics

I am thinking of trying pressurised co2 on this to help the plants but am unsure.
I use TFF aquarium plant nutrition from aquarium plant food and easy carbo at the moment.

 

[niknaksky]

Well lights arrived from lapspecs today in 2 halfs lol just my luck so off i fired an email and see what they say tomorrow *???*

 

[Alastair]

thats a big tank lol, id try to add some more plants and maybe some wood, redmorr etc to help fill it in. shame about the lights though

 

[niknaksky]

got nearly £60 worth of extra plants coming at the end of the week

Got another couple pf bits of redmoor will wait and see what it looks like witht he extra plants

 

[JamesD]

In regards to CO2 and ferts it all depends on what you want to achieve. There are both end of the scales. It is going to take a lot of CO2 to reach 30ppm in a tank of that size, and a lot of ferts.

is it 680litres?

When the stem plants start thriving make sure you chop them in half and replant the upper section. It won't take long before you start filling out the tank.

 

[niknaksky]

680 + sump which is 42x18x15

got a load of plants comming soon so should fill out the tank i hope will do the stem thing though as well :O)

 

[Alastair]

How you planning on getting co2 in mate. Are you going to try and temporarily seal the sump?

 

[niknaksky]

was thinking of sealing the sump but there is not much movement in the sump I have the waste pipes under water and the return is under an inch so might be enough just thinking what size co2 bottle to go for.
Was looking at running the co2 low and see how it goes

 

[Alastair]

You'd probably have to run it a little higher on a sump though. Bottle wise, if you have the space go for biggest you can get. I have a 4 foot cylinder which 4 months down the line still hasn't needed changing and I run two diffusers and at 7 bubbles a second. Only 7 pound to refill too. The cylinder cost me 20 pound to buy from them. It's worth having a look around for companies local to you that can do that. No point buying an expensive kit