Would a 5x2x2.5 be suitable for a planted tank?

[afishinacage]

Hi all this is my first thread!!!

I currently have a 5x2x2.5 (2.5tall) and was going to set it up as a marine tank. Fortunately/Unfortunately (depending on how you guys look at it) I will not be able to afford to stock it as I am moving to a bigger house so I'll be skint!

My question what equipment will I need for a successful planted aquarium.

Here is a list of the equipment that I currently have.

Tank and sump
2 x 400w metal halide lamps with 20k bulbs.
Ocean Runner 6500 return pump.
CO2, gagues and PH meter.
RO Unit.

Will these be suitable, and what other equipment will I need?
What substrate will I need?

Cheers

 

[houndour]

Tank and sump
2 x 400w metal halide lamps with 20k bulbs.
Ocean Runner 6500 return pump.
CO2, gagues and PH meter.
RO Unit.

Will these be suitable, and what other equipment will I need?
What substrate will I need?

How many gallons is your tank? general rule is 3 watts per gallon, but your tank is quite tall isn't it? I don't know how that will affect plants at the bottom.

I'll leave the Ks to someone else cos I havent got the hang of them yet.

CO2...is this DIY? or one of those fancy gas cyclinders?

Substrate is down to personal taste. I don't know how important it is, but you may want to consider an undergravel heater. I was recommended one too late, but now I'm redoing my tank, I'm going to get one this time. It helps to circulate the water in the gravel I think, so helps against compacting. And is good for plants too i think.

I personally have sand. I like the way it looks, altho it is a bugger to keep clean. My plants are doing great in it. I also have laterite mixed in. That or flourite might be something you might want to have.

I don't know about your filtration, but you just need to make sure there is none or very little surface agitation as this minimises the CO2 in the water.

I'm fairly new to this, so guys please correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Nospherith]

That tank can be planted, but you would need to get new full spectrum bulbs (~6500K) and the tank is huge not to mention really tall for a planted tank. The plants at the bottom get much less light than those at the top, which houndour pointed out.

With lights, substrate, plants, driftwood, fertilizers, FW test kits, and various odds and ends you're still looking at a substantial investment. The kicker is mainly the lights. I'm kindof going out of my range here, but the only financially sound investment for the lighting of that tank would be DIY. Check out AH Supply for details. Otherwise it would cost alot. Besides, what you spend on lights probably could go for live rock. The filtration setup would work, but you already have it set up for marine (where you get to have all this other cool stuff like anemones, starfish, coral, crabs ect) so I'd say save up and stay marine.

 

[zig]

Yeah i think as has been said the biggest cost for you is going to be lighting for a tank that size, 3 watts per gallon is a rough guideline, with that amount of light (of the right spectrum of course ) you can grow pretty much everything and you would need to inject co2, you could as an alternative try growing plants that need less light in the range of 1 to 2 watts per gallon.

Either way low or high wattage its going to cost quite a lot to light a tank that size, i think the biggest problem i would have is the height of the tank, at 30 inches its high for a planted tank, i dont know if personally i would even try it at that height because you will have problems lighting the plants lower down in the tank, and therefore they wont grow properly or a lot more slowly than you would like.

Im not saying it cant be done but a tank in the height range of 15 to 24 inches would be much more suitable, and for me 24 would be the max i would go with.

And as has been said allready the expense wont stop when you have the lighting, but this is just my personal ophinion, anyway good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[afishinacage]

Thanks for the replys!

my tank holds (5x2x2.5x6.23) + (3x1.5x1.5x6.23) = 155.75 + 42 = 197 Gallons

197x3 = 591Watts

Looks like I need 2x250w metal halide lamps... I don't think the lights are going to be a problem really. I'm sure someone with a set of 250w lamps will be more than happy to px/swap mine for theirs.

CO2...is this DIY? or one of those fancy gas cyclinders?

Yes it's a fancy one. I've dismantled my calcium reactor which has all the essential parts for what i need apart from a CO2 reactor chamber. The PH meter constantly monitors the PH of the water and if it gets high a valve is opend and CO2 is pumped in. Once is stabalises again the valve shuts off, CO2 stops.

So this is my shopping list...
Flurite (can this be mixed with normal gravel or does it have to be used on its own?)
Undergravel heating
2 x250w lamps with 6500k bulbs.

Heres a picture of my tank...

 

[zig]

Flourite can be used on its own or it can be mixed (but again a question of cost if you decide to go 100% flourite, its expensive)

I havent used flourite myself (cant seem to get it here, id have to import it from the UK, but eventually ill go 100% flourite) but from reading through this forum you can mix it with coarse sand of similar size grain or gravel of similar size grain, i believe you want them similar size because over time, vacuming maintanence etc, they will gradually settle into layers with the larger substrate being on top, so similar size seems to be the way to go, people usually mix it 50/50

Im sure it can be mixed with other mediums also, perhaps other members have more experience.

Very nice setup BTW, nice shot.

EDIT: just a quick edit, have a look for substrate calculators on the internet, dont think there is one on this site, this wil give you a good idea of the amount of substrate you will need and then you can work out the approximate cost, you want to go for 2 to 3 inches depth in the substrate, im useing about 2 1/2 to 3 inches.

 

[jimboliana]

Hi mate,

Also just to mention your pump, what the gph on it a usually you want to slow this down alot for a planted tank. My tank holds about 60 gallons and the pump will turn 60 gph, its to help with the loss of CO2 and algae

Hope this helps

 

[One_Trick_Pony]

persoanll i would go for a dark subsatrte i just feeit looks better but u can work wounders with tank!

 

[Silly me]

It one great lookin tank.. WOW

it should be fine for a planted tank, the MH tubes might just needs to replaced with the 5000K. If you allready have 2x400W MH light just change the tubes.. you would only need a single 400W MH. There is not a lot of plant that wouldnt grow under that..

I have seen nursaries with 5000G pond under 4x 400W MH light growing almost ever plant you could think of.

 

[afishinacage]

Hi all

I've decided that I will try out my 400w metal halide lamps but swap the bulbs for 400w Iwasaki 6,500k. I will let you all know how I get on with this. I will probably be buying the bulbs from http/www.marine-lighting.co.uk/

Where can I buy substrate heating cables from at a decent price?
I did find these... HEATING CABLES

Also couldn't really find anywhere in the UK that sells Seachem Flourite, does anyone know where I can get this from? I did find this... VOLCANIT. Is this as good?

Cheers

Darren

 

[zig]

You will get flourite from the same site as the one you are looking for the heating cable, aquatics online, look under freshwater planted substrate in the index.

 

[afishinacage]

Would I be better not using my sump at all and getting a canister filter instead so I don't get any CO2 loss?

 

[jimboliana]

afishinacage,

Some people will say dont use it, some will say use it. Personelly i say use it, if you are using CO2 then put the CO2 reactor in the tank and not the sump (thats what i plan on doing) so CO2 loss should be minimal