doublenerds
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Messages
- 79
After a false start a couple of weeks ago, I finally have assembled enough bits and pieces to start my very first planted tank!
I really want this to be as low tech as possible, so I am adhering to Diana Walstad's recommendations as printed in Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, with minor modifications.
My tank:
* 28 gallon bowfront (24x15x18)
* Rena Filstar xp1 canister filter
* heater
* Zoomed Aquasun T5HO with 2 Flora Sun plant bulbs
My substrate:
* very thin layer of peat moss on bottom of tank. Walstad recommends against this but I am hoping to adjust my pH of 7.6 slightly downward
* 1" of Miracle Gro organic potting soil
* 1" of Leslie's pool filter sand
Plants ordered from aquariumplants.com:
* Limnophila indica
* Camboba carolina
* Anubius barteri
* Hygrophila corymbosa
* Ludwiga repens
* Echinorodus bleheri
* Hemianthus callitrichoides
I suspect I have too many plants, and I suspect that some of these will struggle a bit without CO2. I do plan to supplement with Flourish Excel, but I'm a bit lost on dosing and I would love to hear from more experienced plant people.
Today I laid the substrate and preliminary hardscape. In the photo below the tank is all grungy from my sloppy sand distribution, I'm not the most coordinated of newbies
I will not be adding water until the plants arrive, and then I will fill as per Walstad's recommendations.
I'm kinda psyched!
I really want this to be as low tech as possible, so I am adhering to Diana Walstad's recommendations as printed in Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, with minor modifications.
My tank:
* 28 gallon bowfront (24x15x18)
* Rena Filstar xp1 canister filter
* heater
* Zoomed Aquasun T5HO with 2 Flora Sun plant bulbs
My substrate:
* very thin layer of peat moss on bottom of tank. Walstad recommends against this but I am hoping to adjust my pH of 7.6 slightly downward
* 1" of Miracle Gro organic potting soil
* 1" of Leslie's pool filter sand
Plants ordered from aquariumplants.com:
* Limnophila indica
* Camboba carolina
* Anubius barteri
* Hygrophila corymbosa
* Ludwiga repens
* Echinorodus bleheri
* Hemianthus callitrichoides
I suspect I have too many plants, and I suspect that some of these will struggle a bit without CO2. I do plan to supplement with Flourish Excel, but I'm a bit lost on dosing and I would love to hear from more experienced plant people.
Today I laid the substrate and preliminary hardscape. In the photo below the tank is all grungy from my sloppy sand distribution, I'm not the most coordinated of newbies
I will not be adding water until the plants arrive, and then I will fill as per Walstad's recommendations.
I'm kinda psyched!