peaches
Member
I have always started my tanks off with mature filter media either from my other tanks or from a fishkeeping buddy at my local club, as I didnt believe in dumping cleaning product ammonia in. I have had a years break from fishkeeping, and just set up a brand new planted tank as follows:
125 litre fluval roma LED with additional 32watt plant and grow LED. I used tropica soil on the base, made a carpet of dwarf hair grass from 3 tropica pots I divided and which I did dry start for 5 days until my other plants, lights and bogwood were available. Today I added wood and stones and these additional tropica plants
4 x java fern plant packs
3 anubias nana
3 crypt willsei
What I will be doing differently this time is using tropica soil, higher powered LEDs and CO2 to establish this dwarf hair grass carpet. I am aware that the other plants probably dont need CO2, but I think it will be better to get a carpet using CO2. However, the CO2 equipment hasnt arrived, it may take 2 weeks to come. I have a friend with a mature sponge filter standing by ready for when I get fish. My pH measures 7.4 with my API kit, and this is in line with my previous tanks. I havent got a kit for GH or anything like that as I have heard they can be inaccurate and I dont plan to keep testing it anyway, our water board calls our water moderately hard.
Until my CO2 kit arrives I will be using easycarbo and tropica plant growth premium fert. I have ordered some dry salts and will follow an estimative index when it and the C02 arrive.
What I would like to know is, how will I know what is the correct rate to set my CO2 on?
and
Will ammonia leach from the tropica soil, and is there any point in me measuring it?
I have read such a lot recently that indicates the test kits we buy are inaccurate anyway but I will measure it today using the api master test kit just as a baseline. Today I filled my tank and turned on the filter, so I am regarding today as day 1 and ignoring the last 5 days when my hair grass was in dry start.
Is it a good idea to get the CO2 going before I put any fish in? How will I know how long a photoperiod to use?
125 litre fluval roma LED with additional 32watt plant and grow LED. I used tropica soil on the base, made a carpet of dwarf hair grass from 3 tropica pots I divided and which I did dry start for 5 days until my other plants, lights and bogwood were available. Today I added wood and stones and these additional tropica plants
4 x java fern plant packs
3 anubias nana
3 crypt willsei
What I will be doing differently this time is using tropica soil, higher powered LEDs and CO2 to establish this dwarf hair grass carpet. I am aware that the other plants probably dont need CO2, but I think it will be better to get a carpet using CO2. However, the CO2 equipment hasnt arrived, it may take 2 weeks to come. I have a friend with a mature sponge filter standing by ready for when I get fish. My pH measures 7.4 with my API kit, and this is in line with my previous tanks. I havent got a kit for GH or anything like that as I have heard they can be inaccurate and I dont plan to keep testing it anyway, our water board calls our water moderately hard.
Until my CO2 kit arrives I will be using easycarbo and tropica plant growth premium fert. I have ordered some dry salts and will follow an estimative index when it and the C02 arrive.
What I would like to know is, how will I know what is the correct rate to set my CO2 on?
and
Will ammonia leach from the tropica soil, and is there any point in me measuring it?
I have read such a lot recently that indicates the test kits we buy are inaccurate anyway but I will measure it today using the api master test kit just as a baseline. Today I filled my tank and turned on the filter, so I am regarding today as day 1 and ignoring the last 5 days when my hair grass was in dry start.
Is it a good idea to get the CO2 going before I put any fish in? How will I know how long a photoperiod to use?
