Back In The Game

[farmerhoggers]

Hi one and all hope your all ok
 
recently joined the forum although i have been lurking as a guest in the background for some time trying to take in some info (not easy theres alot to take in!) as i will hopefully in the next month be getting 'back in the game' and setting up a new tropical planted tank after a few years away from fish, or more importantly, keeping water.
 
My past tanks have all been fairly small in size (max 60x30x30) with internal filters heaters and plastic plants with lairy gravels and air features! please excuse that i was only young haha
 
Any how after purchasing my first house and getting that straight ive now decided that its time to get another tank and do things properly this time. Im looking at a tank size of approx 80 x 40 x 40, sand substrate, naturally planted with co2 external heater and filter. after a few weeks of searching, reading and learning i have come up with list of hardware which includes
 
fluval roma 125
tetratex ex700
hydor 200w external heater
FE co2 diy build.
 
I will be keeping the t8 lighting as im pushing a budget already, however this may be upgraded in the future depending on how things get on.
 
I have many questions about setting this all up as im sure any as you can imagine however i will only ask a few at this stage.
 
here goes
1. will i require a planting substrate like tetraplant etc under the sand in order for the plants to grow?
2. will the plants require feeding? if so how and with what?
3. will the tetratec ex700 be ok for a medium planted/stocked tank?
 
thankyou all in advance for getting this far in the post and hope you havent all now run out of energy to reply haha
 
I will of coarse be keeping a little my tank/blog thread when i get going (inc pics, we all love pics) as i will no doubt have many questions and funny stories along the way a sthese thinks got a habit of happening to me loL
 
Thanks all
Regards dan
 
 

 

[dannyboi91]

Hi and welcome 
 
1. You do not have to have a substrate under the sand however a lot of people do use it and get good results. I personally have not tried it but will be trying out caribsea eco-complete in a tank im setting up at the moment.
2. you could use a liquid fertiliser such as TNC Complete or could go for a Co2 system
3. the ex700 should be ok but I personally would go for the biggest filter I can afford but thats just me I like to over filter everything
 
any questions please ask and remember theres a lot of information on these forums to delve deeper into each aspect.

 

[farmerhoggers]

hi, thanks for the quick reply.
 
I will have a co2 system installed,  i just didnt know if the plants will require a fertiliser as well. i also thought about the bigger tetratec filter but thought it might be overkill maybe on a tank of that size! guess ill see what general opinion is and go from there

 

[farmerhoggers]

would it be possible to get this moved to 'new to hobby q's and a's' as its maybe suited better there?