Yenko
Fish Addict
I've decided to set up a 70 gallon planted tank. It will be done cheaply; I plan to DIY everything so I can get exactly what I want. The tank will have a 20-50 gallon sump both to increase water volume and act as an easy to service replacement for a canister filter. I mess around with stuff, and a filter I can just stick my hands in and maintain/modify without even turning it off is perfect.
The lighting will be either 120 or 160 watts of flourescent light, provided by 3 or 4 40W tubes. The canopy will be DIY and allow for possible overdriving to reach even higher light output.
I don't have the money for super-expensive substrates, so pretty much anything sold for aquariums other than the plastic stuff at wal-mart is out of my price range. I could afford some real gravel, but why pay for something I can collect by the ton if need be?
I plan to use a mixture of Vermiculite and Profile (No nutrients, high CEC) covered with plain old gravel. I plan to use fairly small gravel (2-3mm), which shall be got from a local beach, or if I want some really cool-looking gravel a not so local beach. I swear, if I use the cool gravel, I will be the first aquarist on the internet to ever put this particular mineral in their tank.
For nutrients I will use either a bit of laterite or flourite or root tab fertilizer - it's super cheap at my hardware store.
Does the general setup sound good? I will be using CO2, but because I have to rely on a DIY setup, the levels will be lower than ideal but should still help.
Edit: And no, I'm not telling what my super-cool, super-secret top gravel might be. I will give you a hint. A place called "Joggins" in Nova Scotia, Canada is famous for interesting formations of this mineral. Oh, and it's completely inert. Unless you subject it to decidedly un-aquariumlike conditions. I'm being too obvious, but I'm sure I'll get a good reaction when someone guesses it. I'm not going to say if anyone is right or wrong, you'll have to come to a consensus yourselves.
The lighting will be either 120 or 160 watts of flourescent light, provided by 3 or 4 40W tubes. The canopy will be DIY and allow for possible overdriving to reach even higher light output.
I don't have the money for super-expensive substrates, so pretty much anything sold for aquariums other than the plastic stuff at wal-mart is out of my price range. I could afford some real gravel, but why pay for something I can collect by the ton if need be?
I plan to use a mixture of Vermiculite and Profile (No nutrients, high CEC) covered with plain old gravel. I plan to use fairly small gravel (2-3mm), which shall be got from a local beach, or if I want some really cool-looking gravel a not so local beach. I swear, if I use the cool gravel, I will be the first aquarist on the internet to ever put this particular mineral in their tank.
For nutrients I will use either a bit of laterite or flourite or root tab fertilizer - it's super cheap at my hardware store.
Does the general setup sound good? I will be using CO2, but because I have to rely on a DIY setup, the levels will be lower than ideal but should still help.
Edit: And no, I'm not telling what my super-cool, super-secret top gravel might be. I will give you a hint. A place called "Joggins" in Nova Scotia, Canada is famous for interesting formations of this mineral. Oh, and it's completely inert. Unless you subject it to decidedly un-aquariumlike conditions. I'm being too obvious, but I'm sure I'll get a good reaction when someone guesses it. I'm not going to say if anyone is right or wrong, you'll have to come to a consensus yourselves.
