65 Gallon Planted Tank Journal

Well, I finally got the two tanks I've been waiting for, two identical 65 gallon .5 inch acrylic tanks. The first one that I plan on getting started up is my Amazon Biotope. I havent figured out exactly what fish I want in it yet, or plants really for that matter. Anyways, I filled it with water yesterday and began the fishless cycle today.

Some stats on my equiptment are:
a Rena Xp3
a Rena Excel 200 Watt heater
lights, whenever find some I like
and a CO2 cannister whenever I find one that looks good for a decent price

My substrate is seachem flourite, which is the only thing around here that I could find, and I didnt want to travel 50+ miles, or pay shipping on something better, so I hope it serves its purpose well.

Ive been reaserching fast growing plants to start off with to battle the algae I hope to avoid mostly, yet its hard to find a website that lists wether the plant grows fast or not, so maybe ya'll could help me out.

Anyways, Ive attached a picture of the tank empty, just to show it.

Thanks!

Looks like a nice tank and the plan sounds good, keep us posted

Sam

Tropica's website notes speed of growth - I think it even allows you to specify in the advanced search.

Hygrophila Polysperma grows quickly.

Thanks for the replies yall. Ive been looking on tropica for a bit today and found some plants, but I'd like to do some further research before I make up my mind on the type Id like to get to begin with.

Ive been searching some websites for CO2 canisters and such, and I found one that sells cannisters and all the equiptment to go with them. All I'd have to do once I get one is find a place to fill it up. However, the only CO2 ive ever used before is a nutrafin system, so I need some help selecting the right size of cannister to purchase for my tank. This website will probably be the website Ill be purchasing from, unless someone here has a better idea for me.

Also, Ive found lighting that I liked. I emailed the owner of Aquariums Guys to find the width of this and figured out that i could fit two, side by side in my hood to give me 2 wpg by my calculations, which are rather simple since I dont know how to do the surface area one.

I sure wish my parents liked Ebay, They dont know how much money they would be saving me since Im 16 and cant start an Ebay account until im 18... Fish are the cheap part of this whole process I believe... Oh well, maybe ill convince them before I start the next tank.

Thanks again for ya'lls help!

The site looks ok, but expensive. And what on earth is bubble counter liquid?!?!?! just use tap water!

As for cylinders, it always pays to get a big one, as that saves on refils both time and money wise.

Sam

Themuleous said:

The site looks ok, but expensive. And what on earth is bubble counter liquid?!?!?! just use tap water!

Click to expand...

Bubble counter liquid!? That's a new one! They'll sell anything now.

That tank has a lot of potential, and it is a nice piece of furniture too. It looks pretty tall. How tall is the tank? A great potential tank to really showcase some taller plant specimens.

llj

The tank is 36" x 24" x 18" so its actually about 67 gallons but I figured that t he gravel took up space and such, and 2 gallons isnt much of a difference.

Okay, so I've been shopping around more for lights and I found this which looks better than the other light I mentioned above, however I dont know the dimensions. I have sent out an email requesting them, but if any of you all know the dimensions, tell me please. The area where the lights will have to go is only 9-10 inches wide and I think 34 inches long. (I'm sick in bed right now, so I dont want to get up and measure at the moment)

I need to know if these lights can be placed over the aquarium in the hood becuase the last thing I want is a fire. I attached a picture of what the top of my tank looks like. Alot of lights Ive seen say do not put over open tanks because of humidity and such, I just want to know if my setup is okay for the lights Ive found before I make a purchase.

Does anyone know where the thread George started about lighting how most of us have low light tanks due to surface area and water depth?

I can't find it and Unspoken has told me as I said I'd find it (which I couldn't) she 'should have it'. Ha ickle one

Check out the link to the Amano lighting in my sig

Sam

Does anyone know about the lights so i can order them and then get my plants?

Cant see the pic at the mo, but most of the lighting I've seen on BigAls is generally good. Would give you 1.5WPG ish, which would be good for most plants, but you'd not be able to get a carpet or grow really demanding plants. Its 20" long according to the site, but you might not be able to fit it under the hood, depends on the hood shape.

Are you going to do EI and/or do you want to inject CO2?

Sam

Im going to do CO2 but as for EI, I dont think Id be that persistant in fertilizing like that and then doing the huge water change ect. I really want to find lights that would give me 2.0+ wpg because I want carpeting plants. Ill figure it out somehow I hope...

Yeh but with high light (and I would call +2WPG high light) you need to dose lots of ferts in order to give the plant sufficient nutrients to grow, otherwise they'll probably be starved and that'll allow the algae in. If you dont want to go EI, then you're getter off staying below 2PWG.

What kind of carpet are you looking for? Sagittaria species will create a grass like lawn in low light.

Sam

would Hemianthus callitrichoides be alright? I do want a carpet and I was thinking of making a sort of pathway type thing if I get creative enough, so id like something to stay pretty short around that area.