A stupidly expensive background so hope it looks good!
cleekdaFish, what problems did you have?
Sophos9 - Planted Tank Journal
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A stupidly expensive background so hope it looks good!
cleekdaFish, what problems did you have?
RadaR
The things we do for our fish..
A stupidly expensive background so hope it looks good!
cleekdaFish, what problems did you have?
Starting a planted tank without few fast growing plants generally means algae algae algae
RadaR
The things we do for our fish..
Ok, big update today....
First thing to do was to put together the stand and get rid of that black box, yey!! Took longer to clean the excess silicon that actually remove it!! Next thing was to attach the rock backing... Now I guess you will either love or hate it, I think it will work well
Oooooohhh
, my CO2 kit turned up! This one comes with a ceramic disc/bubble counter combo and most importantly for me - a solenoid for switching off at night! Put it together and lost some CO2, the thing did not want to seal correctly so after removing the bottle several times, all is good!!
First thing to do was to put together the stand and get rid of that black box, yey!! Took longer to clean the excess silicon that actually remove it!! Next thing was to attach the rock backing... Now I guess you will either love or hate it, I think it will work well
Oooooohhh
, my CO2 kit turned up! This one comes with a ceramic disc/bubble counter combo and most importantly for me - a solenoid for switching off at night! Put it together and lost some CO2, the thing did not want to seal correctly so after removing the bottle several times, all is good!!
This Eheim filter seems superb quality, came with media - bottom layer of ceramic tubes then some bio media which looked so much like breakfast food! Washed everything out and reassembled.
This is where the good stuff lives....
The substrate consists of two layer, the first layer is a mixture of Floropol, Tetraplant complete substrate and laterite. Seconds layer is silver sand an silica grit mixed 2:1
To the right you can see the filter intake, positioned underneath is the CO2 diffuser, CO2 coming out should then go for a nice journey through the filter. I'm going to get bubble counter that sits in the same cupboard as the CO2 system then run the CO2 pipe directly into the filter inlet. Spray bar is pointed across the tank to stimulate water around the tank - not sure how this will work so will wait and see. Above the spraybar is a Eheim 300 Compact Pump to oxygenate through the night.
On order I have an Hydor 300w in-line heater so will not have to see a thermostat in the tank....
I plan to upgrade the lights, not sure what yet either another 2 x 25 or some T5 lighting.
I'm going to have everything on a timer, please feel free to correct the following
6:30 - Oxygenating pump off
7:30 - Lights on, moonlights off and CO2 on
12:30 - Lights off
14:30 - Lights on
10:00 - Moonlights on
11:00 - Lights off, CO2 off
00:00 - Oxygenating pump on
Tomorrow will be out buying plants, wood and stones so expect more pix soon....
Castellop123
Fish Herder
...
cleekdaFish
Fishaholic
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wow great background! I luv it, u r gonna luv ur eheim filter , i have 1 and its worth the money and the solenoid is a great thing to have 
Thanks mate
Thanks again!
wow great background! I luv it, u r gonna luv ur eheim filter , i have 1 and its worth the money and the solenoid is a great thing to have
Great you like the background, I think it will merge well with lots of plants - at the minute its fairly dominant! Yea, the filter looks really great things, enjoyed ripping the standard filter out....
cleekdaFish
Fishaholic
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This is for ur lights if u want to upgrade, its an article
For those of you starting out in the world of planted aquariums, I've picked my top three mistakes I've seen people make when starting an planted aquarium or converting a fish-only aquarium to include live plants. Consider this a crash-course in starting a planted aquarium. Most of these mistakes lead to the plants dying within a few weeks and, for those of us who don't give up easily, the process is repeated until either our patience or pocket is depleted. Often this is compounded by bad advice given by people at pet stores who often don't know a thing about plants, and even sell plants that aren't true aquatic plants. I'm sure many a potential planted aquarium enthusiast has been lost due to bad advice and these three mistakes. Here they are:
1. But it looks bright! - Often people try to grow plants under the light fixtures that come with an aquarium or come standard in a cheap hood. More than likely, this is a single fluorescent bulb, usually no more than 15 or 20 watts (steer WAY clear of incandescent, they just waste energy, heat your aquarium, and grow algae). The most critical element needed to grow live plants is light. Plants need light to photosynthesize, and without it, they may last a few days or a few weeks on their energy reserves, but eventually they will die. Many people are also mislead by bad advice into believing that the light that is sold with aquariums is adequate. The standard lighting that comes with an aquarium will typically only grow Java Moss and maybe Java Ferns and very poorly at that. If you like ugly, lanky, unhealthy plants go ahead and try it. No matter how bright it may look, it is not enough light. Plants only use specific colors of light, usually in the red and blue ranges. Humans perceive green as brightness. Therefore, what appears bright to us may not actually be helpful to plants. Always choose full spectrum lighting or specific plant growing bulbs, and at least 1.5-2 watts per gallon (WPG) is needed to grow the most basic of aquatic plants in an aquarium. Although this is not set in stone and the watts per gallon rule gets distorted with really small (under 10 gallons) or really big (over 75 gallons) aquariums, it is a good rule of thumb. The following breaks down what ranges qualify as different levels of light:
0-1.5 WPG - Extremely low, pretty much nothing will grow
1.5-2 WPG - Low, basic hardy aquatic plants will grow slowly
2-3 WPG - Medium, most aquatic plants will grow fine
3+ WPG - High, almost any aquatic plant can be grown
What must also be taken into account is the related effect of light levels on a plant. This brings me to mistake number two.
2. But I thought high light = a beautiful aquarium! - Say you splurge and buy an expensive high output light fixture for your aquarium. Throw some plants in and sit back and watch it grow, right? Wrong. Light in an aquarium is like the gas pedal in a car, the more you push it the faster you go, but the quicker things get out of hand, and when it does get out of hand it gets ugly. Having high light is not always best, especially for someone who's new to planted aquariums. A basic understanding of a plant's metabolic process is required (don't worry, I won't go into details). It takes a bunch of raw materials and energy and outputs a finished product (new growth). Raw materials are fertilizers, chemicals needed for growth, and energy is light. If it runs out of any one of these inputs, the whole thing shuts down, and more importantly, it can only go so fast. So when you throw a plant under high light, it immediately kicks the internal mechanisms into high gear. The plants just shut down when they run out of any one of the many chemicals needed to grow. If you don't fertilize your tank, you will quickly find that all high light does by itself is grow algae, and lots of it. Fast. Real fast. For this reason, if you're just starting out, my advice is to get a medium or low light setup. You don't have to fertilize as much (if at all with a low light setup) and things won't be moving at such a fast pace (and thus get out of control so quickly). It's very hard to recover from a serious algae bloom because once it's taken hold, some types are impossible to remove. I've heard horror stories of people being forced to totally break down their tank because of algae. You've got to stay on top of it from the start.
For those of you starting out in the world of planted aquariums, I've picked my top three mistakes I've seen people make when starting an planted aquarium or converting a fish-only aquarium to include live plants. Consider this a crash-course in starting a planted aquarium. Most of these mistakes lead to the plants dying within a few weeks and, for those of us who don't give up easily, the process is repeated until either our patience or pocket is depleted. Often this is compounded by bad advice given by people at pet stores who often don't know a thing about plants, and even sell plants that aren't true aquatic plants. I'm sure many a potential planted aquarium enthusiast has been lost due to bad advice and these three mistakes. Here they are:
1. But it looks bright! - Often people try to grow plants under the light fixtures that come with an aquarium or come standard in a cheap hood. More than likely, this is a single fluorescent bulb, usually no more than 15 or 20 watts (steer WAY clear of incandescent, they just waste energy, heat your aquarium, and grow algae). The most critical element needed to grow live plants is light. Plants need light to photosynthesize, and without it, they may last a few days or a few weeks on their energy reserves, but eventually they will die. Many people are also mislead by bad advice into believing that the light that is sold with aquariums is adequate. The standard lighting that comes with an aquarium will typically only grow Java Moss and maybe Java Ferns and very poorly at that. If you like ugly, lanky, unhealthy plants go ahead and try it. No matter how bright it may look, it is not enough light. Plants only use specific colors of light, usually in the red and blue ranges. Humans perceive green as brightness. Therefore, what appears bright to us may not actually be helpful to plants. Always choose full spectrum lighting or specific plant growing bulbs, and at least 1.5-2 watts per gallon (WPG) is needed to grow the most basic of aquatic plants in an aquarium. Although this is not set in stone and the watts per gallon rule gets distorted with really small (under 10 gallons) or really big (over 75 gallons) aquariums, it is a good rule of thumb. The following breaks down what ranges qualify as different levels of light:
0-1.5 WPG - Extremely low, pretty much nothing will grow
1.5-2 WPG - Low, basic hardy aquatic plants will grow slowly
2-3 WPG - Medium, most aquatic plants will grow fine
3+ WPG - High, almost any aquatic plant can be grown
What must also be taken into account is the related effect of light levels on a plant. This brings me to mistake number two.
2. But I thought high light = a beautiful aquarium! - Say you splurge and buy an expensive high output light fixture for your aquarium. Throw some plants in and sit back and watch it grow, right? Wrong. Light in an aquarium is like the gas pedal in a car, the more you push it the faster you go, but the quicker things get out of hand, and when it does get out of hand it gets ugly. Having high light is not always best, especially for someone who's new to planted aquariums. A basic understanding of a plant's metabolic process is required (don't worry, I won't go into details). It takes a bunch of raw materials and energy and outputs a finished product (new growth). Raw materials are fertilizers, chemicals needed for growth, and energy is light. If it runs out of any one of these inputs, the whole thing shuts down, and more importantly, it can only go so fast. So when you throw a plant under high light, it immediately kicks the internal mechanisms into high gear. The plants just shut down when they run out of any one of the many chemicals needed to grow. If you don't fertilize your tank, you will quickly find that all high light does by itself is grow algae, and lots of it. Fast. Real fast. For this reason, if you're just starting out, my advice is to get a medium or low light setup. You don't have to fertilize as much (if at all with a low light setup) and things won't be moving at such a fast pace (and thus get out of control so quickly). It's very hard to recover from a serious algae bloom because once it's taken hold, some types are impossible to remove. I've heard horror stories of people being forced to totally break down their tank because of algae. You've got to stay on top of it from the start.
Dave Spencer
Gort! Klaatu barada nikto.
I have my diffuser at the bottom of my tank beside my filter outlet, blasting CO2 bubbles around the tank. I thought of placing it below the filter intake, and may yet give it a go. Stick with your plan and see what kind of results you get.
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