Jim's 60 Gallon High-tech Planted Journal

jimboliana said:

Also gf225 or anyone else for that matter, how long should you have your fast growing plants in to get an 'established' tank b4 you can change your aquascaping for different plants?

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great question jimboliana!

jimboliana said:

Also gf225 or anyone else for that matter, how long should you have your fast growing plants in to get an 'established' tank b4 you can change your aquascaping for different plants?

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How long is a piece of string?

It all depends on your system i.e. lighting, CO2, nutrients. I would say in a set-up like yours it won't take long at all before you can switch from the "utility" plants i.e. fast-growing, algae beaters to your final, more demanding species. It would be wise to make the transition in stages though (he says as he rips out his entire population of fast growers! Do as I say, not as I do! )

I would give it a good 6 weeks until starting the switch. Obviously you can use some of you final choice plants from the start - depending on what they are. Just ensure at least 50% of the substrate is covered with the fast-growers.

Hope that makes sense - I'm a little tired after an exciting day (see my journal!)

Zig, makes perfect sense, i dont want to rush things but needed an idea, i think also i will use the EI method as i have been reading up on it and taking advice from yourself and George as well as a few others that have recommended it and George what have you been up to now!

Right, i have stuck the overflow box on today so that is setting at the moment and while looking on http/www.reef-eden.com/index.htm I noteiced that i may have a potential flood on my hands down to my great (or not as the case may be) plumbing skills.

Basically if the pump stops working then the head preasure on the tank will start a siphon back into the sump which i knew but i also thought that the flow meter acts as a non-return valve which i have just found out that it does not

As you also know that i am short on the space front so i may have to use a siphon tube to do my water changes which i was trying to incorporate into my system, DOH

Sorry to hear that jimboliana, but is their no way you can incorporate a non return valve? my plumbing ignorence is quite high so its probably a silly question.

There is a very good thread in the DIY section for a PYTHON, this will allow you to do a water change and a refill from the nearest water outlet, its pretty cool and can be done easily with a trip to B&Q, but wont help you if you wanted to use RO water.

Cheers zig,

I'm looking into sticking in a non-return valve somewhere but as i say just limited for space, will check out the DIY section, cheers dude

I have thought of a plan to sort out my flood problem, and i have ordered the parts, so i should be able to do it this weekend, i hope

With all this in mind i will fill the tank with the 1-2mm quatz gravel and i have also bought a 25liter water tank from a caravan shop to transport the water

I am now looking again into the sort of plants i need to get to start my tank as well as getting a few other bits and bobs

Right i have nearly sorted out my little problem so all is well at the moment so i will be adding more to this soon to keep you all updated

Perhaps you could draw a basic diagram to show the whole system i.e. sump, plumbing, overflow etc. It would be very helpful.

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So i have done a basic flow diagram of the sump set-up and where all the water will be flowing

The red line is the water from the tank up top which flows into the sump, up and over the baffles to trap any bubbles and into the main compartment where it is then filtered

The green line then shows the filtered water flowing into the last compartment where it is then pumped up to the tee where the water is divided into two, one goes back into the sump and the other goes through the flow meter.

The reason for the tee is so that the pump is not under any strain if i want to be able to control the flow with the valve and have less flow into the tank, if that makes sence

I have also marked up some of the equipment so you know what is what

I will post some more pics soon

Oh allmost forgot the blue line is for the water changes

Jim, can you give us a total figure on the costs to date?

Will do, no problem just give me a couple of days to sort all the prices out, saying that i will probably shock myself

Mine is ultra low-tech and I think the costs of mine are probably more than I'd be comfortable with if I worked it all out!

wow.........................daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn you have a pretty nice set up for just a small looking tank, is it really 60 gal??!! i swear all tanks appear smaller in picture but bigger in person, well its looking great jim, good luck to ya and i will check in to watch the progress, i recoment some amazon swords, they are easy to take care of and i love em', plus some micro sword grass love those too just ordered a bunch off of ebay, and they grow fast..... hope you get this rollin soon....

@ombomb said:

Jim, can you give us a total figure on the costs to date?

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That's just rubbing it in

Tell me about it, im not looking forward to totaling it all up!