Beginner to planted tanks

[jestes]

Hello everyone. I'm obviously new to this site, but so far it seems like there are some knowledgeable people who could help me. Here's what I'm planning on doing:

I'm looking at setting up a 55 gallon planted tank. About the only thing I know for sure is that I'll need about 120 watts of lighting. Beyond that, I'm a little lost. I plan on having a pretty good amount of plants, so I'll need some sort of CO2 injection, but I don't know the best route to go. It seems I've got 3 options:

1: Automated CO2 injection with a controller. This seems like a very hands off setup, once it's up and running, but I don't know if I'm ready to spend the $250+ for a controller, regulator, ect. I do like the fact that the controller will handle the PH balance for me, as I understand.

2: Semi-automatic CO2 seems like a lower cost option, but I'm not sure about the reliability. I'd hate to loose a bunch of plants/fish just to save a few bucks on equipment. I don't mind chasing the right settings during the initial setup, but I don't want to have to constantly do that.

3: Some sort of yeast based fermentation seems like the lowest cost option, but before the year is out, I probably could have bought a top of the line CO2 setup for what the replacement costs of the fermentation system would be.


So, could someone please shed some light on this for me? I really don't know enough about any one method to have a well-informed opinion. Is there a way to make a good do-it-yourself setup that's still reliable? I'm pretty handy, so I don't mind doing a little building/tinkering on my own.

Thanks in advance!!

[joy13]

For a 55 DIY CO2 is nearly impossible. If you go with a more natural tank to start with easy to care for low light plants you can work up to a CO2 system later. The plants will grow slower and you will have less to choose from.

If you can go with T5 lights.

[fort384]

Depending on the type of plants and lighting you want to start with, you could go with no CO2 for awhile, and save up for an automated system.

I have seen people use DIY CO2 on 55 gal tanks... it just might take a few extra bottles running, but it is possible.

Also, the pH controller is very handy -- I use one on my tank - but it is not a necessity. After a few days of tinkering with the solenoid plugged into a timer, I am sure you can get the CO2 balanced at an acceptable level, albeit slightly less accurate than what you would achieve with a controller. I wouldn't worry too much about killing the fish with it - it takes a lot of co2 to make that happen, and as long as you are watching it the first few days, it will be fine.

If you decide to go with the automated system, eseasongear.com has a good price on a bundled Milwaukee SMS122 pH Controller and MA957 Regulator, and they throw in some co2 tubing as well at a pretty good price. Many people use the milwaukee setup, as do I. It has been reliable for me.

[Jnam]

FWIW Milwaukee would be the way I would go as well. Try looking on reef forums. I see the Milwaukee SMS122 pH Controller and MA957 Regulator bundle for sale all the time for very cheap. Reefers use them for calcium reactors to maintain Calcium levels. And for whatever reason they seem to sell them for less even on places like marine depot if they are for a "reef".

I did use DIY on my 55 and was able to keep HM and HC nice and pearly. It just took 2 bottles running tandem and a replacement of the solution 1 every week. Mostly it depends on how you disolve your CO2 into your water column.

[jestes]

Thanks for the advice! I guess the 55 gallon setup is too big for a DIY CO2 setup? I'm trying to have this tank look like something you would find in South America. Typically all of the fish I've kept in the past are from South America, so I'd like to keep the plants the same way. Now for two more questions....

1. What are the T5 lights?

2. Do you have any reccomendations for some plants that will handle no CO2 and fit my biotype?

Thanks again!

[fort384]

T-5 refers to florescent lights commonly used in aquariums. The T Rating simply refers to the diameter of the bulb, in eighths of an inch... a standard florescent is a T-12 (1.5" diameter). Many of the stock aquarium hoods come with a T-8 bulb (1" diameter). A better alternative are T-5 bulbs... specifically for aquariums, HIGH OUTPUT T-5 or more commonly, T-5 HO.

These bulbs run on a different ballast and provide more lumens than a standard florescent bulb (and more than other bulb types like T-8/T-12/incandescent lighting).

PCs (Power Compact florescents) are also popular for aquarium lighting. I have used both, and prefer the T5HO bulbs... they really do wonders for a planted tank.

The other thing you have to pay attention to when you get into planted tank lighting is the color temperature of the bulbs you are using. Plants need light with peaks in the red spectrum to thrive. These peaks are found in bulbs with a color temperature range of ~6500-10000 degrees Kelvin (often written as for example "6700K"). If you go much below or above these ranges, the light gets less and less beneficial for plants. Common bulbs often have a color temperature of 4000K, which is too low. Also, Reef tank keepers use what we call an actinic bulb (I believe they are around 18,000K) which is too high. Either of these would not be good options for a planted tank.

Like I said before (and Jnam said) you can use DIY on a 55. It just might require a little more attention than on a smaller tank.

For a South American biotope, without CO2, you could grow a few species of swords without CO2. Most of the other stem plants and ground cover plants (like Mayaca, lilaeopsis, etc) native to South America would require higher light, CO2, and fertilizers to thrive.

[newfound77951]

I have had a 55 gallon planted tank for almost 4 years. I'm on my third lighting setup. I use EcoComplete substrate. Here's what has worked for me, with a representative pic of the tank at each stage. Your Mileage May Vary:

Lighting setup #1: 2x96 watts PC. Almost 4 wpg. Insanity, particularly before I got the ferts figured out. once I did, plants grew unbelieveably, I could grow anything. I only used DIY CO2 on this tank....it worked for me despite all the "rules" that it shouldn't. But again, YMMV. I used a Red Sea Turbo CO2 kit with 2, 1 liter bottles.


Lighting setup #2: after a year or so of high light insanity I replaced the bulbs with 50:50s, so reduced my useable light to about 2 wpg. I also stopped using CO2 when I found that I really didn't need it. Can still grow nearly everything except really light demanding plants (like the pink Rotala macrandra in the above picture), and carpet (foreground) plants (like the Pearlweed in the above picture).


Lighting setup #3: 2x54 watt T5HO. Just got this two weeks ago. So far it is very nice. The plants seem to be growing better than they did under lighting setup #2. Still no CO2, although I now have a pressurized setup from another tank and am debating putting it on this tank to see what it does. Tank doesn't look its best because this pic was taken the day after I moved the whole thing to my new house, but you get the idea.

[dkpate]

Your tank is awesome newfound!!!