Paul's 6X2X2

[BackToTheFishes]

I'm in the early planning stages for this right now,so any advice will be greatly appreciated.
My tank is 6x2x2 as the title says.
My filtration will be 2 x http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/aquarium-external-filter-1000-l-h-1212-0.html
CO2 will be 2 x homemade pop bottles fed directly into filter intake
Lighting will be 2 x http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/400w-GROW-LIGHT-KIT-BALLAST-SHADE-AND-BULB-/230469476293?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item35a90d1fc5 experimenting with this,so wish me luck.They will have separate enclosures built and hung from the ceiling so I can fiddle with the height from the tank to get it right.
And substrate will be play sand with possibly cat litter below,but I only just found out about this in the forum,so still have more reading to do.
Like I said,any advice or tips anyone here can offer will be gladly taken.Thanks for reading.

 

[Jenste]

excellent! a new thread for us to read, and another envy for all of us with no room for a large tank!!!
what are you planning for stock?


oh . . . . and WELCOME!!!

you will find we are a group who LOVE hearing about other's tanks and will offer whatever advice we possibly can!

 

[BackToTheFishes]

The only definite inhabitants are going to be boeseman rainbows so I'll work the rest out around them.
And thanks for the welcome

 

[kaivalagi]

Hi and welcome
Interesting filter, they look the business and are cheap too...I've not seen them in use before, are they reliable and have a track record? They look similar to my Tetratec ex1200's, just one less tray which I can't see a problem with and a good flow rate.

Your electricity bill will be high with those lights though right? and will the heat be a problem with plants? I'd be tempted to go a safer tried and tested route and get t5 ballasts (hagen twin ballasts seem good and cheap enough) and tubes can be gotten from lampspecs cheap too. Interesting choice though, it will be interesting if you go with it.

For the substrate will you be putting a floss layer between the cat litter and sand? I saw that approach somewhere and it looked like a good idea to stop any mixing of the 2 materials...

What sort of planting are you intending to put in there?

 

[BackToTheFishes]

As I said I have alot of reading to do yet.I've seen talk about the filters here,and seem good,I'll be giving more info when I'm up and running.

As far as the lights go,I was hoping that someone here may have used them before,so am going to leave that as the very last buy before setup to wait for comments,if heat is an issue I will install a fan over the tank,I will have space on the sides for it.I already have plans for a cheap luminaire home build if needed for t5's.Any advice on number of tubes?

I will look for more on your idea on the floss and await any comments on the subject here.

And plants at first will just be cuttings from my smaller tank,cabomba,valis,swords etc for the start until I get all the equipment spot on

 

[kaivalagi]

I'm not the worlds best planted tank expert whatsoever, just interested right now, I'm asking questions that I would would ask for myself more than anything

If it were me I'd be thinking that although those 400W lamps might be cheap upfront the electricity bill will soon make up for the difference and then some...worth considering other options I would say.

The t5 wattage requirements would be dependant on what type of planting you want longer term...there seems to be more of an inclination these days to go towards low-tech than CO2 based injection with high lighting. On that basis I myself would go less than 1.5W/g for t5's, but that's just me. In my new 60"x18"x24" tank I'm using 2 x 56W 4ft T5 tubes, one grolux and one 8800 skywhite tube to give a nice colour, but haven't started any planting yet, just put old plants in there from a previous tank for now. Just Vallis, Java Fern and Moneywort...all okay in low-tech light and no CO2

I'm sure some planted experts will come on board to give advice based on a solid experience soon enough...new tank setups, who doesn't love getting involved

 

[lljdma06]

With your size tank, between .5WPG and 1WPG NO T5 will be more than enough. The tank is large, you will need considerably less light to achieve the same effect. Better to go no CO2 than the CO2 you have planned. You will not achieve stability with fermentation CO2, not with such a large tank. Pressurized is the way to go with large tanks, or no CO2 at all.

llj

 

[BackToTheFishes]

Thank you for the info.I have been away from the hobby much too long.When I was last keeping fish the thinking was that powerful spotlights were NEEDED for tanks my size.And the co2 was going to be a stopgap before I upgraded to pressurized,so now I wont bother Thanks alot for the help

 

[BackToTheFishes]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a dark substrate for me?The one I used in my 3ft tank would cost a small fortune (£100+) for the big tank and I'm out of ideas!

 

[kaivalagi]

I'm assuming you want a fine sand type substrate? There are no cheap alternatives for dark sand I don't think, maybe get some of the dark sand and mix it with a darker yellow sand to get something cheaper but still fairly dark. The other alternative is to go with the black gravel options out there I guess? But it isn't exactly cheap either...

If there is a cheaper option I'd love to know also, not seen any worth considering though...

I went with more natural sand, it was a pain to clean, not half as easy as the play sand but I do like the overall effect, just looks like I would imagine it does in nature...

 

[BackToTheFishes]

Sand or fine gravel I am thinking,I was just on ebay lookin,if they don't have cheaper alternatives there not sure anyone will.May be visiting the local garden centre later,I'll have good look to see what the have in decorative garden type of things.and borrow a handfull of anything that looks ok to do the vinegar test at home.I'll keep you posted

 

[BackToTheFishes]

I'm assuming you want a fine sand type substrate? There are no cheap alternatives for dark sand I don't think, maybe get some of the dark sand and mix it with a darker yellow sand to get something cheaper but still fairly dark. The other alternative is to go with the black gravel options out there I guess? But it isn't exactly cheap either...

If there is a cheaper option I'd love to know also, not seen any worth considering though...

I went with more natural sand, it was a pain to clean, not half as easy as the play sand but I do like the overall effect, just looks like I would imagine it does in nature...

Sand or fine gravel I am thinking,I was just on ebay lookin,if they don't have cheaper alternatives there not sure anyone will.May be visiting the local garden centre later,I'll have good look to see what the have in decorative garden type of things.and borrow a handfull of anything that looks ok to do the vinegar test at home.I'll keep you posted

No luck in the garden centre.I'm liking your idea about mixing the sands,even if its enough to take the glare off the play sand,should work.Thanks

 

[kaivalagi]

No luck in the garden centre.I'm liking your idea about mixing the sands,even if its enough to take the glare off the play sand,should work.Thanks

I've always wondered whether you could get away with some dark soil/sand from the edge of a river, if boiled in a big pot with plenty of water I think it would be fine....just a thought....probably too much bother though

 

[BackToTheFishes]

No luck in the garden centre.I'm liking your idea about mixing the sands,even if its enough to take the glare off the play sand,should work.Thanks

I've always wondered whether you could get away with some dark soil/sand from the edge of a river, if boiled in a big pot with plenty of water I think it would be fine....just a thought....probably too much bother though

I would be a little too paranoid about hidden nasties in the water,especially in our rivers!

 

[kaivalagi]

No luck in the garden centre.I'm liking your idea about mixing the sands,even if its enough to take the glare off the play sand,should work.Thanks

I've always wondered whether you could get away with some dark soil/sand from the edge of a river, if boiled in a big pot with plenty of water I think it would be fine....just a thought....probably too much bother though

I would be a little too paranoid about hidden nasties in the water,especially in our rivers!

True, I guess it depends on where in the country...for example I live near the norfolk broads and wouldn't be too concerned using materials from there, the habitat is well looked after...but I do wonder what would be left over still after boiling what I bring home. Maybe I'll try it one day with a small planted tank, if shrimp could live in it then I'd know it would be fine for fish I'm sure. ANother experiment to try later on down the road