Monochrome5's Planted Cube

[Monochrome5]

Hello everyone! A moderator here has convinced me to come to the dark side and start a freshwater tank... So blame lljdma06 for all of my trolling Lets start with some background, shall we?

My name is Kyle, and I'm a marine biologist (insert group "Hiiiii Kyle" here). I've been building and maintaining aquariums of all sizes and flavors for 17 years now. The last 14 years of my life have been spent with salt water reef aquariums from 2 gallons through 115 gallons. I just got my masters in Marine Biology in May, so I know quite a bit about salt water. Despite all this, I've never had a planted freshwater tank. I just puchased a 29 gallon BioCube HQI tank, which will become my latest reef. As such, my current reef (a customized 8g BioCube) will be moving to the 29g, giving me an open tank just begging to become a planted paradise. I'm going to need a LOT of help here...

So lets go over the tank. It's an 8 gallon Oceanic BioCube tank with a ton of modifications to turn it into a thriving reef. Currently, it looks like this:

First (and most importantly), the lighting has been completely changed. I've removed the stock power compacts and replaced them with a custom LED lighting rig. The rig is 18x CREE LEDs - 12x Royal Blue and 6x Neutral White. The LEDs are fully programmable, with my controller allowing for everything from thunderstorms to moving cloud cover to compensating for the arc of the sun across the sky. Yes, it's that ridiculous. I know 99% of FW tanks have a yellow spectrum light (6k-8k temp range, yeah?). Mine is in the 20k + range... I can tweak it to be more white, but I'm still looking at more of a ~14k spectrum.

Question #1 - Will my light setup be alright for a planted tank?

Further modifications include a custom media rack in the center chamber that houses filter floss, Chemi-Pure Elite, and Purigen.

Question #2 - Will this work for filtration?

I've also removed the stock 106gph return pump and upgraded it with a 163gph Mini-Jet 606. The return is fitted with a rotating Hydor FLO deflector to create a more natural wave motion.

Question #3 - Is this too little/too much flow?

Thanks in advance for all the help! Feel free to call me a noob and point out all of my shortcommings - I can take it haha. I look forward to pestering the hell out of everyone becoming a contributing member of the forums!

 

[SuperColey1]

First (and most importantly), the lighting has been completely changed. I've removed the stock power compacts and replaced them with a custom LED lighting rig. The rig is 18x CREE LEDs - 12x Royal Blue and 6x Neutral White. The LEDs are fully programmable, with my controller allowing for everything from thunderstorms to moving cloud cover to compensating for the arc of the sun across the sky. Yes, it's that ridiculous. I know 99% of FW tanks have a yellow spectrum light (6k-8k temp range, yeah?). Mine is in the 20k + range... I can tweak it to be more white, but I'm still looking at more of a ~14k spectrum.

18 is a lot of light. I use 15 LEDs @ 40cm above a 33USG for low light. I would think just using the 6 whites will do you fine. high for non CO2, 15cm or so for high light. If they are 1W that should be fine being about .75 WPG. Are they lensed? .75WPG is going to match 1.5 of T5HO or more of compacts which is similar to what most people use. I used 3 x 3W on a 12 litre which was a little bit of overkill.

We don't use 'yellow light' that is in the lower end of the range like the 'warm white' household lights. 2700K. We use white to green lighting mainly (some like to use the 4500ish pink/red) which is in the range you speak of 6-8k.

No idea on sumps. Not very fashionable in planted setups. We like to use filters for their turnover more than their filtering abilities however thats a bonus for polishing the water

How much flow is that 163g on an 8g tank? Thats huge Is it definately 163G and not 163ltr? I think it would be too powerful however maybe the sump 'diffuses that power a little. no idea but we use circa 10 - 20x which equates to 80 -160gph. so may be OK

AC

 

[lljdma06]

Well, looky here! I know you. Glad to see you in the dark side, or rather, the green side.

I use about 20x in my planted tank, so it should be ok. The only thing I can see is that my 20x is divided between several different powerheads and filters. But, I still don't see any reason why it wouln't work. Hoonestly, I'd lightly stock, plant very densly, and go filterless, only run the powerhead, if I were setting up this tank.

Have a look at our resource center in the pinned topics when you first enter our section. Called PARC.

What do you want to grow? Have you thought about it? A good thing to do is to have a look at the various journals here.

Liz

 

[Monochrome5]

18 is a lot of light. I use 15 LEDs @ 40cm above a 33USG for low light. I would think just using the 6 whites will do you fine. high for non CO2, 15cm or so for high light. If they are 1W that should be fine being about .75 WPG. Are they lensed? .75WPG is going to match 1.5 of T5HO or more of compacts which is similar to what most people use. I used 3 x 3W on a 12 litre which was a little bit of overkill.

We don't use 'yellow light' that is in the lower end of the range like the 'warm white' household lights. 2700K. We use white to green lighting mainly (some like to use the 4500ish pink/red) which is in the range you speak of 6-8k.

No idea on sumps. Not very fashionable in planted setups. We like to use filters for their turnover more than their filtering abilities however thats a bonus for polishing the water

How much flow is that 163g on an 8g tank? Thats huge Is it definately 163G and not 163ltr? I think it would be too powerful however maybe the sump 'diffuses that power a little. no idea but we use circa 10 - 20x which equates to 80 -160gph. so may be OK

AC

Thanks for the tips! They're 3W CREEs about 4CM from the surface... Luckily I can turn them way, way down thanks to my controller, so hopefully I won't completely nuke anything I put in the tank.

Yeah, my pump is 163 Gallons per hour. It's strange coming from SW because that was considered low for an 8g reef.

I don't actually have a sump. the BioCube has a false wall with three chambers behind it. Chamber one has a top and bottom intake and (currently) my heater. Water then flows into chamber two where I have my media rack and filtration media. It then goes in to chamber three which houses my return pump and a little extra filter floss. It will be interesting to see how this setup translates to FW.

I've decided to go Dutch with this tank after reading the wonderful aquascaping section of this forum. I'm not sure if it's a violation of Dutch "rules" or not, but I also want a bit of wood in there. Plant list will be coming soon, as well as maybe one or two fish.

 

[lljdma06]

I did a "Dutch style" in my own 8g. Wasn't a cube. That Finnex I keep telling you about.

Something came in the mail, btw...

 

[Monochrome5]

So I've spent this evening looking at stock options, and here is what I've come up with. Let me know if I'm an idiot.

Plants
Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)
Anacharis (Egeria densa)
Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana)
Chilensis (Sagittaria platyphylla)
Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides) LOVE THESE!
Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus)
Moss Ball (Chladophora aegagropila)
Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri)
Spiralis (Cryptocoryne spiralis)
Anubias Congensis (Anubias afzelii)
Dwarf Hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma)


Please let me know what plants on this list are a good idea, what are a bad idea, and what are simply missing. I love the Hemianthus callitrichoides and I feel like it would make an excellent filler. Also, the moss ball is just so goofy I can't say no.


Fish
Either a small school of dwarf puffers or a pair of killifish. I haven't decided which yet.


Since this is a Dutch style tank, why not put some Dutch fish in there? The killifish are beautiful, love planted tanks, and they're Dutch. I would just do a pair and maybe try to mate them. Haven't decided which kind, though all the species I've seen so far are really neat. My other idea was a small (4 or so) school of dwarf puffers. My LFS has a few species (Indian, Pea, and Emerald) but I'll have to do some more research on these guys first to ensure I don't end up with a brackish species.


Misc
Wood from Liz (wow that sounds dirty)
Some kind of substrate (advice here please)

 

[lljdma06]

So I've spent this evening looking at stock options, and here is what I've come up with. Let me know if I'm an idiot.

Plants
Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)
Anacharis (Egeria densa)
Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana)
Chilensis (Sagittaria platyphylla)
Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides) LOVE THESE!
Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus)
Moss Ball (Chladophora aegagropila)
Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri)
Spiralis (Cryptocoryne spiralis)
Anubias Congensis (Anubias afzelii)
Dwarf Hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma)


Please let me know what plants on this list are a good idea, what are a bad idea, and what are simply missing. I love the Hemianthus callitrichoides and I feel like it would make an excellent filler. Also, the moss ball is just so goofy I can't say no.


Fish
Either a small school of dwarf puffers or a pair of killifish. I haven't decided which yet.


Since this is a Dutch style tank, why not put some Dutch fish in there? The killifish are beautiful, love planted tanks, and they're Dutch. I would just do a pair and maybe try to mate them. Haven't decided which kind, though all the species I've seen so far are really neat. My other idea was a small (4 or so) school of dwarf puffers. My LFS has a few species (Indian, Pea, and Emerald) but I'll have to do some more research on these guys first to ensure I don't end up with a brackish species.


Misc
Wood from Liz (wow that sounds dirty)
Some kind of substrate (advice here please)

Don't order anything yet. I got a lunch break at 11:30am or 12:30pm, and I can comment better on your plant choices then. There are some "no-no's". Not for ease in keeping, but for their insuitability in a dutch scape. Dutch scapes need leaf and color contrast... These are my two Dutch style tanks.

15g high, my first planted tank.

My 8g.

Your plant selection so far is all very green. I've got splashes of different colors which is more typically Dutch. But, I'll get back to. Was going to PM you about the wood too. I've got something very interesting. But I gotta work now.

Liz

 

[Monochrome5]

Your plant selection so far is all very green. I've got splashes of different colors which is more typically Dutch. But, I'll get back to. Was going to PM you about the wood too. I've got something very interesting. But I gotta work now.

Liz

I'm colorblind, so all green doesn't bother me much at all hahaha.

 

[lljdma06]

Oh no! I'll have to help you then.

A typical plant list for me and Dutch scapes are...

Hemianthus callirichoides
Hemianthus micranthemoides (HC's bigger cousin)
Rotala rotundifolia
Heternantera zosterfolia
Alternantera reineckii
Hygrophila polyspema
Hygrophila diformis
Myriophyllum aquaticum or filigri
Echinodorus tennelus
Bacopa caroliniana or monneri
Egeria najas (Don't use Egeria densa, it's really a coldwater plant)
Fissidens frontalis,
Pelia
Weeping moss

The above provides a contrasting set of leaf shapes and colors. You got some easy reds, pinks, varigated, light greens and dark greens. They also, in general, have smaller leaves, which will create a better sense of scale in your tank. Even if you are colorblind, you can still see how I have some very different leaf combinations?

Liz

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Liz, whats the bushy, green plant in front right on your 8G? Not Didiplis?

 

[lljdma06]

Liz, whats the bushy, green plant in front right on your 8G? Not Didiplis?

Hemianthus micranthemoides. I got it to bunch up a lot in that tank.

Liz

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Cool, might give some of that a go.

 

[Monochrome5]

So I took a trip to the LFS today. They didn't have much for freshwater planted. I need advice on what substrate to buy. They had two different planted kinds. One was a red clay (I think made by Seachem) and the other was a brownish grey something. What's the best?

 

[lljdma06]

So I took a trip to the LFS today. They didn't have much for freshwater planted. I need advice on what substrate to buy. They had two different planted kinds. One was a red clay (I think made by Seachem) and the other was a brownish grey something. What's the best?

I can only tell you what I've used.

The first picture had just plain gravel
The second tank, my 8g, had a layer of laterite capped with a layer of fine grain gravel, like 1-3mm in diameter. Not quite gravel, not quite sand.

Other tanks I've had have just very fine sand

"Refugees" has ADA Amazonia with a fine gravel cap.

So I've run the gamut with regard to substrate. If you plan to dose a fertiliser through the watercolumn then substrate choice is really up to you. I find that it doesn't matter. Others here may differ.

I think you're talking about Flourite? It's messy. I'm not saying avoid it, but I'm just saying that it's extremely messy. Takes hours to clean.

Most of us usually order plants online from vendors. We get what we want and if you get it from a reputable vendor, they are in tiptop shape.

Liz

 

[Monochrome5]

So my substrate needs to wear a hat? That might not blend well with my scape. You're right though -it was flourite I saw. The bag looked filthy, but I just assumed it had been sitting a while and got something spilled on it. Apparently that's just flourite though.

So this is probably a really stupid question, but can I just use my live sand from when the tank was SW? Or will that competely screw things up?