Ready To Get Started Advice Needed

[SuperColey1]

Mine drips from one of the joints at the bottom (not the hose connector its above that on the main unit) although I did buy it second hand off ebay. about half a cup a day!!!

Andy

 

[lljdma06]

Congratulations on the new tank, John! Have you thought about fish and plants yet? I'd love to see another high-tech tank, especially a large one.

 

[john starkey]

Mine drips from one of the joints at the bottom (not the hose connector its above that on the main unit) although I did buy it second hand off ebay. about half a cup a day!!!

Andy

HI Andy thanks for that maybe that was the prob with them.

 

[john starkey]

Congratulations on the new tank, John! Have you thought about fish and plants yet? I'd love to see another high-tech tank, especially a large one.

Hi lljdma06 i have thought of a concave theme with 95 % planted substrate, The fish i am thinking of going with are Cardinal tetras, Bleeding heart tetras,rummy nose teras, and for my large fish Angels ,(not decided on strain yet) ALGAE EATERS , Flying foxes,otos,cherry shrimp (Amano), if you can suggest any that would help this layout feel free to offer advice.
PS THe plants will take longer for me to choose but my fav plant which i want to include some where is EUSTERALIS STELLATA.
CHEERS JOHN.

 

[Dave Spencer]

I have a shoal of Cardinals in my heavily planted tank, but I rarely see them. They only tend to show themselves to any great effect at feeding time, which is a shame as they are one of my favourite fish. Whether loitering in amongst the plants is normal behaviour I can`t say, but they are certainly very healthy, so they do it by choice. I am considering moving them in to my Iwagumi where they will be on show all the time, but i suspect they will be too big.

I would definitely recommend Corys, which are great little fish, plus a small group of Otos which will always have little pot bellies from eating algae.

Dave.

 

[afroturf]

Sounds like quite it gonna be quite a tank for the first attempt at a planted tank.

From my opinions and small amount of experience I think that with planted tanks it is defiantly a case of less is more, for me the most successful scapes in aqua journals and the nature aquarium world books are the ones that are more simple. I think it is key especially if its your fist tank to try and limit your choice of plants to as few as possible, its always tempting to buy all the plants you like. But usually this would just cause the tank to look a bit messy or too busy. The same can be said for fish to.

In terms of the fish the South American fish are always a good option, a couple of types of tetra a few corys and some angels I’m sure would look great. In terms of the pattern of the angle I would stick to the standard ones not the specially breed stains, marbled or all black/silver ones. If you can find wild ones get them, I saw some at a lfs recently bit pricey at £25 though. There is also the Asian type fish you could go for Barbs, Rasboras etc.

Have you had any more thought on the layout? Are you going to use any hardscaping?

Looking forward to the tanks developments if its gonna cost £2000.

 

[JamesC]

Rather than try and scape from the start I'd take the opportunity to learn about loads of different plants. This is good as not only does it help battle early setup algae problems but also allows you to see which plants you like and which ones grow well with your setup. Places like Greenline sell a large quantity at a reasonable price.

Regarding CO2, if you can try and get a pub CO2 bottle from your local soft drink/beer distributer as a 2KG bottle on your tank probably won't last too long. On my 46 UK gallon tank a 2KG bottle lasted just under 2 months. A pub bottle last 6 months and cost £15 + vat for a refill.

James

 

[cheesy feet]

Is this of any help? http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...hlink:middle:uk

 

[john starkey]

I have a shoal of Cardinals in my heavily planted tank, but I rarely see them. They only tend to show themselves to any great effect at feeding time, which is a shame as they are one of my favourite fish. Whether loitering in amongst the plants is normal behaviour I can`t say, but they are certainly very healthy, so they do it by choice. I am considering moving them in to my Iwagumi where they will be on show all the time, but i suspect they will be too big.

I would definitely recommend Corys, which are great little fish, plus a small group of Otos which will always have little pot bellies from eating algae.

Dave.

HI DAVE i love cardinals too as i do most fish from the tetra family, I am sure yours would look lovely in your iwagumi (which i think is a cool set up by the way) and you would get more viewing pleasure from them. CHEERS JOHN KEEP LOOKING IN.

 

[john starkey]

Sounds like quite it gonna be quite a tank for the first attempt at a planted tank.

From my opinions and small amount of experience I think that with planted tanks it is defiantly a case of less is more, for me the most successful scapes in aqua journals and the nature aquarium world books are the ones that are more simple. I think it is key especially if its your fist tank to try and limit your choice of plants to as few as possible, its always tempting to buy all the plants you like. But usually this would just cause the tank to look a bit messy or too busy. The same can be said for fish to.

In terms of the fish the South American fish are always a good option, a couple of types of tetra a few corys and some angels I’m sure would look great. In terms of the pattern of the angle I would stick to the standard ones not the specially breed stains, marbled or all black/silver ones. If you can find wild ones get them, I saw some at a lfs recently bit pricey at £25 though. There is also the Asian type fish you could go for Barbs, Rasboras etc.

Have you had any more thought on the layout? Are you going to use any hardscaping?

Looking forward to the tanks developments if its gonna cost £2000.

Hi Afroturf i agree with you about less is more, i will plant fast growing plants initially then when it has established i will gradually try to add more demanding plants (hopefully) ,As for the fish i would like to source some wild angels but that will depend on price and remaining funds. CHEERS JOHN KEEP LOOKING IN AND GIVE YOUR ADVICE .

Is this of any help? http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...hlink:middle:uk

HI CHEESY FEET ,Thanks for the link i can buy locally for tenner more but works out the same (no postage). CHEERS JOHN KEEP LOOKING IN

 

[mlawson]

This is going to ba a magnificent tank whenit's setup, if only I had £2000 to spend on a planted tank. I like the idea of a concave design, I saw an excelent aquascape once using it, but it is a shame that it's not normally used.

I also agree with JamesC that it's good to get a lot of plants at the start and experiment with them, your tank can progress while you learn, that's certainly what's happening with my nano at the moment, although in a larger tank it'll be harder to change things around.

I think your fish selection seems good and to my taste, an Amazonian theme could suit this tank. Definitely go for the Tetras, if you get Rummynoses try to get them from a good source, the colour can vary tremendously. Also for Angels, I would choose Altums which are more deeper bodied than the more common Scalare, also they look more natural. Otos and cories would be good too.

I can't wait to see this tank up and running, should be brill,
Mike

 

[john starkey]

This is going to ba a magnificent tank whenit's setup, if only I had £2000 to spend on a planted tank. I like the idea of a concave design, I saw an excelent aquascape once using it, but it is a shame that it's not normally used.

I also agree with JamesC that it's good to get a lot of plants at the start and experiment with them, your tank can progress while you learn, that's certainly what's happening with my nano at the moment, although in a larger tank it'll be harder to change things around.

I think your fish selection seems good and to my taste, an Amazonian theme could suit this tank. Definitely go for the Tetras, if you get Rummynoses try to get them from a good source, the colour can vary tremendously. Also for Angels, I would choose Altums which are more deeper bodied than the more common Scalare, also they look more natural. Otos and cories would be good too.

I can't wait to see this tank up and running, should be brill,
Mike

HI MIKE, I am going up to WHARF AQUATICS this sunday to discuss my custom made tank and cabinet, i will be going for open top set up with arcadia luminaire.

 

[Dave Spencer]

John,

I am still a new newbie myself which, in a way, makes me pretty qualified to give some advice. What you want is a tank, roughly three months down the line, that will enable you to cause a big upheaval on it to plant and scape to get it how you want, but will be stable enough to not let algae in through the backdoor. WHAT YOU WILL NEED FROM DAY ONE IS A TANK FULL OF FAST GROWING, PEARLING WEEDS. There are various ways of combatting algae, but for the beginner, this is King. Don`t worry if it looks a jungly mess at the start, because I for one will always compliment a natural looking jungle (look at TA`s earlier tanks). My 3.4WPG EI has been a jungle from the start, and considering the light levels, I know what has made this tank a success regarding algae.

I am always spouting off about this plant, but Rotala rotundifolia is a fantastic algae buster plus, IMO, a wonderfully varied plant during its growth and pruning periods. With your lights, the red at the height of growth will look amazing. It is dead easy to grow and looks the canine`s testicles in a huge shrubbery of its own. Micranthemum umbrosum is also another superb fast growing stem, and the pot I got from Tropica deserves 10/10 for quality. Having said that, your cheapest option at the start might be to go for Greenline stems to fill your tank from day one, and then go to Tropica for your preferred plants further down the line.

The bottom line John as a newbie is IMO, spend the first three months without your first choice tank to beat algae, stick to the EI principles which are about your plants and not algae, let what your tank, experience and imagination tells you for the final layout and enjoy the hobby.

Dave.

 

[john starkey]

HI DAVE ,some sound advice there , and i totally agree with what you say , My first initial plan is to plant fast growing weeds, which will include the two you mentioned, My first priority is to source all my co2 stuff first, find a convenient supplier of fire extinquishers and refill them. This sunday i am going up to wharf aquatics to order the tank and cabinet, I have settled on this size 150 x 50 x 60 CM . Do you think my choice of substrate is ok ECO COMPLETE? I would have liked to use ADA AMAZON SOIL but from what i have read it can be problomatic in large tanks. I am still not 100% decided to have arcadia luminaire or have a hood made with lighting for about 2 to 3 wpg (sugestions). I have to decide by sunday. Thanks for looking in keep the sugestion coming. CHEERS JOHN

 

[Neo8223]

WOW! Nice tank man. If only my father would allow me to plough that much cash into our 72 Gallon one. 1 thing though, neons in ther natural habitat are prey to angel fish (i read it smewhere) After telling my dad last week to not buy them, he ignored me saying that the angels are sooo dosile,they wouldnt hurt a fly. (He was right about the dosile bit...... till he added them) They have been in my tank for 3 days and from an origonal 12 in there, 5 are remaining Not too sure if cardinals would be given the same treatment, although seeing your tank is gonna b heavily planted, u might get away with it anyhow