My new 200l AquaOak

[Radiant]

Hi all,

I thought I'd start a journal of my new 200l AquaOak tank.

I've had my eye on an AquaOak tank for years as they match my living room furniture When I moved house I decided it was finally time to get one. I essentially went "Ooo pretty" and though it would make moving my existing fish easier.

Maidenhead aquatics in knutsford were great and did me a deal on everything even though the tank was on sale at the time:

AquaOak 200l doors and draws
Aquamantia EFX 1000U filter
Aquamantia CH200 heater
Interpet 75cm triple led lighting


Having had mixed success with plants in sand in my other 100l river reef tank I wanted to get this one right. So I did I bit of research which led me to this site and the aquascaping experience. I came back from the event with some goodies, great advice and loads of ideas (and an overwhelming need to try creating a wabi kusa of my own!).

I'm now not sure about the lighting I bought, but I'm going to see how it goes and upgrade later if needed.

Substrate was my biggest concern. I wanted something good for the plants but also wouldn't be messy or mixed up by my fish. Cost was also a big factor. After reading the below thread I decided to go for a soil base (John Innes no.3) with retainer and capped with sand.

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-soil-substrate-or-dirted-planted-tank-a-how-to-guide.18943/

Photos to follow shortly as I'm having trouble uploading them directly from my iPad.

Thanks for reading. Any advice is very welcome.

Maia

 

[willzs]

The AquaOak tanks are great, I've got the 4x2x2 version. Will be following this thread to see how yours progresses. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My Oak 4x2x2
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/My-Oak-4x2x2.39418/

 

[Radiant]

Here it is


Testing the tank, pump and soaking the wood. My partner decided I needed a fish.


Here's the substrate going down. I tried to create a bit of a mound and solid base for the wood and rock to sit on.


My fish seems to like it


Need to scrub the rocks a bit more before adding them


Need to start getting plants sorted now

 

[alto]

1 x Triple LED Tube, 29.5" (750mm) long. Ideal for aquariums up to 30" (762mm).
45 x 0.2 watt LEDs
Total power consumption: 9 watts

This is likely good for fish viewing but especially given the tank height (estimating 45-50cm height from photo) PAR at substrate will be "Low"
You might try an "Island" type composition placed directly below the light unit, low light plants such as Microsorum & Anubias, some mosses, may do OK ... given the low light levels, easy to avoid CO2 use or add some liquid carbon (eg, Seachem Excel) but expect growth to be slow.

Nice looking tank & cabinet

 

[Jamie McGrath]

Substrate was my biggest concern. I wanted something good for the plants but also wouldn't be messy or mixed up by my fish. Cost was also a big factor. After reading the below thread I decided to go for a soil base (John Innes no.3) with retainer and capped with sand.

Hi there, im planning on using the same substrate as you. I have also read the guide that you have added the link for. one thing in the guide that puzzles me is he reccomends using capping sand with a grain size of 3mm. that seems like awfully big sand too me. can I ask what sand you used and are your grains over 3mm?

 

[Radiant]

Hmm.. I might look at changing the lighting then. I have no idea what the general rule per litre is for LEDs though. Any recommendations that wont cost the earth? Im looking to keep it low tech and easy to maintain. I may go hybrid at a later date.

Any recommendations on carpeting plants or mosses? From what i can see most prefer co2.

As for the substrate, I used a tiny layer of 2-4mm nordic gravel on top of the soil retainer then capped it with tana sand. The tana sand went through my soil retainer, so the 2-4mm gravel was enough to weight it down and prevent the sand going through.

 

[Andy D]

One thing in the guide that puzzles me is he reccomends using capping sand with a grain size of 3mm. that seems like awfully big sand too me.

One of the main benefits of using soil as a base layer is that any detritus (uneaten food, poo etc) that falls to the substrate will work its way to the soil layer and be turned back into soil - rather like a compost heap. If the sand grains are too small this matter will not reach the base layer.

 

[Radiant]

I got told today that using soil was no good and that I essentially had a big rotting layer that will go anaerobic since I'd capped it. Am I right in thinking that this would only be the case if I'd used the wrong soil type and too small a grain to cap it?

 

[Radiant]

Quick update.. I managed to get the tank planted up a couple of weeks back and so far its looking good. Moss and plants are showing slight growth and no sign of algae. I think I need to plant it up a bit more yet. Will pop some pics up later.