65 gallon build

[fort384]

ah ok... really looked like an SAE... even has the black going all the way to the tip of the tail. I was excited

 

[zach_1_6]

lol i could tell this is the guy you were looking at

 

[fort384]

yup ok, I was way off. It really looked like an SAE in that other photo though

 

[zach_1_6]

haha yea i took another look at it and i could tell where you are coming from, i wouldnt mind a few SAE in there but there i havent found any around here.

 

[fort384]

they can be tricky to find... but I would highly recommend 'em if you see them (as if you couldn't tell). Just make sure you are getting true SAEs... there are about 3 species that all look similar. The tell tale sign of a true SAE is the black strip goes all the way to the tip of the tail... it doesn't stop at the fin.

 

[zach_1_6]

yea the flying fox is one of those nock offs correct?

 

[fort384]

yup.

 

[zach_1_6]

allright, i will have a look for these guys when im at the store. also what kinds of ferts do you recommend im starting to think with all this light i will have to be dosing some...

 

[fort384]

oh yeah... you have like 200W or close to it dont you?

for a 65gal I think you should just start off with dry ferts. I am on a PPS Pro dosing regime kick at the moment. Do you have any cash available? You could buy 20 dollars worth of ferts, and build some autodosers for about $80 MAX (I coulda probably done it cheaper).

I think with your light, you are going to have to dose:
N
P
K
Trace

I also think you need to get some CO2 going. Otherwise with that light, it isn't going to take long for algae to get the upper hand....

 

[zach_1_6]

yes the algea isnt bad but it was before i got my pleco he is very busy lol, i have a small diy co2 on there now i dont know how much good it is doing, i could build bigger diy i have the materials and i will be setting up a canister filter with the co2 going into that i heard that is a good way to diffuse the bubbles, i have some cash and dont mind spending a bit on dry ferts, but im thinking of putting some away for pressurized co2 down the road.

 

[fort384]

DIY on that big of a tank could be trouble. IMO it is better to have no CO2 injection rather than low levels of unstable CO2 injection. I think unstable levels between say 10-20ppm can really encourage and lead to the growth of the dreaded BBA... which can be a major pain to treat once it is there (in my experience). I would look at dry ferts now and manually dose either target dosing or EI (or pps pro if you think you can make it a point to dose every day). The pressurized CO2 is more important than the autodosers at this point.

 

[zach_1_6]

yes that has been my main concern since i baught my lights, hmm il go have another look at co2.

 

[zach_1_6]

could i use flourish excel?

 

[fort384]

what is your plant list again? It depends on your plants...

 

[zach_1_6]

crypts, cobamba, swords, vals, that one plant i cant get the name of.

Then i want to add java moss, anubias, and then a few forground plants not sure yet.

 

[fort384]

excel is out unfortunately, unless you take out the vals. It would be fine with everything else... including pretty much any foreground plant you choose. But I would wait on CO2 before you attempt any high light foregrounds... microsword, HC, glosso, hairgrass, etc. You could give em' a try... but I would worry about algae on the small foreground leaves without some serious co2 crankin.

 

[zach_1_6]

allright, im looking online for a co2 set up that could use paintball cylinders any ones you have seen that would work?

 

[fort384]

ugggh... would recommend against those. It costs the same to fill a 5lb co2 tank as a 20 oz paintball co2 tank. And you will have to change it much more frequently... I would say once a month or more on a 65. It is almost the same price to just go large... my 2 cents.

 

[zach_1_6]

hmm allright i will have to go looking around thanks for the help fort!

 

[zach_1_6]

algea question. so with all my light i used to have to clean algea every water change (bout once a week) so now i have a little bit of co2 in there and a small pleco and i have barely any algea, any thoughts? havent cleaned algea in 2 weeks and i only have a few tiny spots here and there.