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New Beginnings-Moss only 35L?

Dural

Seedling
Joined
26 Jun 2008
Messages
11
Hi guys, i've had my current set-up for about 2 years and i'm bored of it tbh. A lot of HC has come loose and i don't want to replace it. So i've decided that I'd like a low-tech set up and thought mosses would be the way to go.

I have a 35l tank, an eden 501 external filter, 24w lighting (although this needs replacing), currently housing 7 ember tetras, 4 pygmy corys and a number of cherry shrimp.

I have a nice piece of redmore wood and some slate rocks (not currently in the tank). I'd like to use the redmore and cover with moss, although i'm not sure that the branches are thick enough (does it matter what thickness?).

As i need a new light what wattage would you suggest for my tank while keeping mosses? Will I need to add fertilizer or CO2? I have been using TPN+ and Easycarbo. The tank needs totally stripping back and needs new substrate, which would you recommend, i read in a PFK mag that soil would be best for a low-tech set-up? I'd like to add a grid of moss on part if not all of the substrate so would this influence which substrate i'd use?

I'd probably keep the current inhabitants, or may only have shrimp or only fish, not sure really, the cherry's have multiplied endlessly with varying degrees of success in terms of colour and are a joy to watch, but can be a lot of work and demoralising having lots of poorly coloured shrimp. But on the other hand neither the tetras or corys are very active (I hardly see the corys, i think they're scared of me when i enter the room).

So any advice would be great,

Cheers

Daryl
 
I think a moss only tank would be nice. Check out the early stages of LondonDragon's shrimp tank.

As far as the wood is concerned, I think you'll be alright in terms of thinckness as long as the branches aren't ridiculously thin.

If you're just using moss, you won't need a nutritious substrate because the moss won't necessariloy benefit from it, so you can use sand, gravel - anything unless you're planning to add some Crypts or something that would prefer a nutritious substrate such as one of the soils that are available.

I have 14w over my 35l low-light tank and this is sufficient at around 1.5wpg or thereabouts. Aim for something similar to that wattage per gallon.

If you want to go low-tech then you don't necessarily have to add fertilisers or CO2 unless you specifically want to. Moss will cope fine without any addition of either.

Hope this helps. ;)
 
The Green Machine are selling some unusual mosses at the moment, all rare Tropica strains, and they are very cool.

As for tankmates, maybe worth checking out some of the microrasboras at your LFS.
 
Well if i had nutritious substrate would it cause me algae problems, I would like just a moss tank, but may add the odd one of 2 other plants and don't want to be restricted.

Could you recommend a light that would be suitable for my tank, i can't seem to find anything?
 
You could use a nutritious substrate if you wanted such as ADA Aquasoil or Oliver Knott's Nauresoil, or alternatively go for sand or gravel or something and add capsules to benefit plants rooted in the substrate.

An 11w Arcpod would suffice from The Green Machine or Aqua Essentials. You could also get a cheap 11w from eBay for about a tenner which would probably be alright light for the plants you want to keep.
 
I've read that while 1.5wpg is enough for a moss tank, i'd need at least 2 wpg if i want the moss to look its best, so that'd be an 14/18w light. The only 18w i've found is the wave solaris, can you replace the bulb in this light? Thats the problem with my current light the (24w HaiYang). Is the wave solaris any good, or could you suggest anything else? I had a arcpod with my acra tank and i didn't like the colour and not think it provided enough light to cover the whole tank.
 
I think you can get arcadia 14/15/18w units from TGM but you'd have to check that yourself. Alternatively, the only other thing I know is to use two 9w arcpods.
 
So i should be able to replace the bulb with a Interpet T5 Compact Daylight Plus (the only replacement bulbs i can seem to find online) when it runs out? If anyone has any experience then please let me know.
 
Dural said:
I've read that while 1.5wpg is enough for a moss tank, i'd need at least 2 wpg if i want the moss to look its best, so that'd be an 14/18w light. The only 18w i've found is the wave solaris, can you replace the bulb in this light? Thats the problem with my current light the (24w HaiYang). Is the wave solaris any good, or could you suggest anything else? I had a arcpod with my acra tank and i didn't like the colour and not think it provided enough light to cover the whole tank.

Do youreally want a higher light tank? If you want to follow what you've read, couldn't you technically just have the same setup you had before with the HC and now just grow moss? It would save yourself some money to just do it that way.

llj
 
Do youreally want a higher light tank? If you want to follow what you've read, couldn't you technically just have the same setup you had before with the HC and now just grow moss? It would save yourself some money to just do it that way.

llj[/quote]

I've got higher light than this now, i've got a 24w light, but i've had this for a year now and its one of those that you can't replace the bulb. Its recommended to change the bulb every year, so it is due. This is why i want a new light, and one that i can change the bulb in. The reason i'd go for a weaker light is that i'm only looking to grow medium to low demanding plants, also if i had a stronger light while growing these plants theres a greater risk of algae.
 
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