Starting a 120 gal planted in Hawaii

[jeremylpn]

First time post so go easy on me here.

I had a 29 gal community no plants & bought a 120 gal to plant. It's an All-glass w/ Mega-flow system & model 4 sump.

Just moved to Oahu, Hawaii so finding (affordable) supplies should be fun.
I have read some threads & tips about cycling no greater than 5 times, need for CO2 and lighting requirements vs plants so I do know a little.

Looking for tips / recommendations (where to purchase/brand) on the following:


1. A water pump for the sump. Not sure how to calculate flow rate w/ head height & having dual intakes/outputs already plumbed in the tank.

2. Heater: Accurate wattage & model (place in sump) around 400-500w?

3. Substrate: think that EcoComplete is the way to go but shipping will kill me. Pet Smart has free shipping but only has Fluorite which I have read isn't too bad but rooting of plants may be an issue. Want to do it right the 1st time.

4. Lighting: Looking to do medium light, seems to be best compromise r/t variety of plants for a beginner.
What about lunar lights?

5. CO2 system: seems DIY projects may be too small for a 120 gal. Going basic right now due to costs (have to trade something off)
Will upgrade later (about 1 year).


And just for kicks here are some water quality items: Ph: 6.7 CaCO3: 75 HCO3: 92 Ca: 26.9 Mg: 24.7 K: 4.17 Na: 67.7

I am told that Oahu has hard water. So will I need a softener system/additive for the water?


And of course a good book for a guide too...

Thanks.

 

[Purrbox]

Sounds like you've been doing a lot of reading and have a fair grasp on the concepts. On to your questions.

1. No idea, will wait for the experts to weigh in on this one.
2. Take the total volume for tank and sump, multiply by 5 to get your minimum wattage. So if you have a total of 150 gallons you would want 750 watts. I'd probably round that up to 800 watts and get a pair of 400 watt heaters for redundancy. I Really like the Visitherm Stealth Heaters right now, although there are lots of other great brands available too.
3. Both are good options, although Eco Complete seems to be preferred at the moment. AquariumPlants currently has a special on it for $22 shipped within the US. Not sure if this would apply to Hawaii or not. For something that's a bit less expensive but still really good, you could also go with Turface MVP. It's got a really good CEC so it will hold nutrients well and is only $10 for 50lbs. If you check with the manufacturer they will tell you if and where you can get it locally. Except when using with really finely rooted plants like HC I've been very pleased with it.
4. Medium Light is a great place to start. Lunar lights while not necessary are totally cool. If you can get them without spending much extra, I'd definately do it.
5. You should be safe skipping on the CO2 with your current lighting plans.

I'm not sure how to translate the numbers that you provided into the GH and KH results that we normally use when talking about water hardness and buffering aquariums. Unless your water is unbelievably hard, you really won't have to worry about it unless you are getting into breeding or keeping discus. No need to mess with it if you don't have too.

A note about the sump. With your current setup, it won't cause any problems. However when you go to upgrade and add more lights and CO2 it could become problematic. Sumps by their nature tend to cause turbulance that will gas off the CO2 that your injecting. There are a few people that have played around with High Light setups and Sumps, you'll want to make sure to pick their brains to minimize the problem when you go to make the switch.

And finally... Welcome to AA!

 

[jeremylpn]

Substrate layering and depth question

Thanks for the tips.

Aquarium Plants has EcoComplete for $22.00 w/ a $21.39 S&H charge.

If I get 10 bags (instructions say 1.5 bags/3 inch depth / 1 sq ft of tank) that only adds $2.14 per bag. Not bad.

I also read something about layering gravel. Wire heater covered w/ 2" sand then 1" Fluorite or EcoComplete and 1-2" of mixed size gravel over it.

What do you use or think of this method?

 

[sherry]

save the shipping $$$ and think amazonian aqua soil.. I have eco and aquasoil and I much prefer the aquasoil. soft, not scratchy and grips plants great. EVerything growing in it amazingly well and shipping is much cheapr because you aren't shipping water

 

[czcz]

Welcome to AA!

1) Most sump pumps have GPH ratings for given head height. As you may know, you'll be measuring distance from the pump to the pipe exit. Here's a handy calc thats fun to mess with: http://reefcentral.com/calc/hlc.php (They also have a handy flow-rate to drain diameter calc, amongst other tools.)

While you have dual inputs, best practice is to not split the pump output. So, you could use two pumps to meet your flow targets if you want. Or maybe convert one of the input lines into a redundant drain.

Here's some experiences with various sump configurrations if you want. I'm very happy with my MagDrive pump, for what it's worth.

I also read something about layering gravel. Wire heater covered w/ 2" sand then 1" Fluorite or EcoComplete and 1-2" of mixed size gravel over it.

What do you use or think of this method?

I think excessive layering is only smart if you're trying to cap soil or some other nutrient rich layer, or are so advanced with layouts you know you won't uproot or change plants often. Otherwise, messing with substrate sloping and stuff will be important when you experiment with layouts, and the layers just get in the way and turn into a mess. Same if you uproot and experiment with plant placement. If your plan is to save coin, one way is to fertilize in the water column instead of worrying about fancy substrates.

Regardless of whether you layer substrate or not, a very popular and successful method is to sprinkle a little peat and mulm (filter and substrate gunk) on the bottom before laying down the substrate(s). This will seed the substrate with bacteria and help keep any nutrients available.

You don't need the substrate heater, and there's a link to a great explanation of why in the substrate sticky. Plus, you can just hide regular heaters in the sump anyway

HTH