A fresh start - advice?

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PITT

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 21, 2006
Messages
112
I had 3 tanks going and went down to 1 (long story and not a happy one...dont' ask). It's a 20 gal that has just java moss and java fern...nothing that i'd really say is a "planted tank" since I treat it as a fish only and am donig fine.

I'm ready to jump back into the planted tank again and I want to do it right. I'm going to list a quick snapshot of the plans....I think i'm on the right track but w/ so many experts here I'd be cheating myself if I didn't look for some advice.

Already have
55 Gal tank
2x55 PC lights (don't know the quality of the reflector or name brand of the light fixture)
2x55 shop light at my disposal too but didn't plan to use but could
Eheim filter (I believe 2234, only plan on using the pads, no carbon/media)
power head (don't know the name brand/model)
Greg watson dry ferts (should be good here per previous info on EI dosing)

Buying in the next week
substrate -AquariumPlants.com's own: Freshwater Plant Substrate
CO2 tank
Regulator -Milwaukee MA957 CO2 Regulator - Free Fast Shipping!
PH controller I was going to do w/o.
Drift wood, planned on getting the plants down first then see what "fits" the overall look.



The plan for the substrate is I like the black but don't like the cost of ECO. I've read good and bad on the "red bucket". I don't want this to turn into that debate I've read in a few threads. It's black, seems to be a positive, no sifting on my end...I'll pay the few bucks more than Turface since it isn't locally available.

Regulator seems to have it all? No?

I was going to use the power head to difuse the CO2.

I plan on painting the tank black.

Plants I'm completly up in the air on. Previous attepts I went w/ the jungle look...i'm now looking for the neat trimmed/groomed look. I think I'd have the light to have a lot of options and the set up as well?

OK...let me have it. Where do you think I need to improve the plan. Money is a factor but since I'm looking to do this right...I'd rather spend a little more to do this correctly. I'm ahead of the game w/ the stand, lights, tank, ferts, etc so a little more investment would be acceptable.

Thoughts?

PS - how do you set a link to a word? Like "click here" becomes a link to what i'm trying to show you?
 
If you end up using just the PC fixture then the CO2 won't be strictly necessary, but will definately improve growth and broaden your choice of plants. You may need the second fixture if you decide you want to go for a lawn effect in the forground. The Milwaukee Regulator is descent and many people swear by them. They do have a breaking in period where they can be finicky, so make sure that you have a day (preferably a weekend) set aside where you can be around to work with it and keep an eye on it.

The rest of your plans sound very well thought out and should get you well on your way to a sucessful planted aquarium.

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Two items:

One.... Get your hardscape first. It is very hard to fit it in after a tank is planted, and it sets the foundation for the plants and the scape's look. I use manzanita.com, love their wood, and they'll custom build an order to what you want if you call them. Want twiggy branchy thin pieces? No problem. Want a couple root burls/thick pieces? No problem. They were great to work with, but do take a little time to ship, as they custom build each order to suit you.

Two.... ahh sheesh. Honestly, I don't want to start a debate for you/on you, but substrate choice is huge. My most successful tanks, by far and away, use a substrate method my club taught me. It is called mineralized soil.

You can still use that substrate as a cap - you'll need a cap - or you can look locally for suppliers of 3M's Colorquartz products, which are jet jet black, much darker than what you are going to buy...

I've done Shultz, done Flourite, done Soilmaster, done ADA's Aquasoil. The only one that comes close to comparing to the mineralized soil in my experience is Aquasoil. I don't see myself setting another tanks without the soil, and am seriously considering ripping down my 75g (Flourite) to reset it with the soil.

GWAPA:

It can be a PITA to find all the adders to the topsoil, but if you are really interested, let me know, we'll find a way to get you enough to set your tank - I have two of the three in bulk now, and am finding a source of potash. Dirt preparation itself, you are on your own. ;)

One note of caution: This method is prone to an initial green water phase, especially if the soil hasn't been fully "cycled" in wet and dry periods. It does fade - and can be avoided completely with UV filtration - but I think it is worth it even with the initial "omg, can't see inside my tank!" period... the long term results are simply not to be beleived.
 
Thanks for the advice

Couple things to discuss that you've brought to my attention.

Lights - for looks alone i didn't want the shop light. I guess a DIY hood will be in the works. I like the hood look anyway and deff want the "lawn" in the front. A PC and floresent mix will be fine right?

Wood - I see your point. Plan around instead of "fitting" it in. I'm not the most creative person so was worried about another piece to the initial puzzle. I do see your point and it's very valid...i'm still up in the air though. I still can't shake the idea of it being placed later being easier to fit it into fully grown tank.

Substrait - the one concern i have is rescaping. I'm probably going to be messing around more than I should till i get the look i want. I've tried this before and it caused algae and a mess everytime i rescaped. It didn't call for clay. Does that reduce the mess when replanting? I also see it didn't call for "mineralizing" and so didn't have that benefit. I'm still on the red bucket wagon I think...i'm interested in this though...especially since it seems to be so much better.
 
Scaping principle:

Make your scape first. There are general guidelines... center mound, slope right or left, balanced, concave... the hardscape of rock and wood help define this, and define the flow. Plants are then fit into the definition of the scape - not the other way around.

Make a sketch. Artistic skill can be lousy, but just make a basic sketch. You'll know what the plant'll look like, even if you can't draw them out well. It'll change a little as the tank is set, but it gives you an idea, a plan - and ets you set in all the hardscape, knowing what the tank will grow out to be.

For example, when I started my 180g, I drew this out. We changed it a lot during hard scape, but you can see the basic premise - stem rear left, hygro in center rear, wood reaching across the tank from the right....Following is initial plant, what we intially set up, and what it grew into.



And the tank started out looking like.....

180gweek1003xu4.jpg


And now looks like....

1808june25002yl9.jpg










Substrate:

Vermiculite is a horrid idea, it is floaty.

The clay helps to bind it, yes, as well as adding a source of iron.

Remember, you are doing 1/2" of mineralized soil, then 2-3 inches of an inert substrate cap.... the only time I get any clouds is if I'm ripping out very established crypts. Crypts LOVE this substrate, and form some darn big root systems when they are in love... But even then, pull slowly, steadily, and it isn't a huge mess, and the slight cloud goes away quickly.

Any other stems, it is really quite painless unless you get really sloppy, only with the crypts have I made any clouds (that settled within an hour).
 
You'll be fine mixing different lighting types.

I second the idea of place your hardscape first and then planting around it. Much easier that way and allows the hardscape to act like the backbone of your scape. Trying to fit hardscape in later will just result in having to uproot and change things around to make space for it.
 
I know the answer will be personal preference but how big should a driftwood piece be for a 55 gal? I still have the 20 in this thread so I still have that piece. The tank looks nothing like that now but from the "sart" picure you get the idea. I love it in the 20...I think it will be a little small for the 55 though. It's about 22 inches long and 19 tall @ the hight point. I'm a little worried since it is fairly thin it will be burried fast and I need something more like Ingg's...a little thicker to stand out. Thoughts?
 
In my experiance, you want the largest peice of driftwood to be at least half the height of your aquarium. If your piece isn't large enough on it's own, you could always pick up another larger peice to use with it. Often it's easier to come up with a scape when you've got multiple peices to work with.
 
I had 2x55w pc lighting over a 40gal which is almost the same size (height and depth wise) than a 55g. I could grow some of the common foreground plants such as glosso, elatine tiandra, and hairgrass with some success. However the best growing by far was marselia quadrifolia (4 leaf clover) which in your tank, IMO, would be a perfect fit.

May I also recommend that if you don't know how old the pc bulbs are then replace them with new ones.
 
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