I'm looking for knowledge and advice for the planting of my 46 gallon bowfront tank. I'm going to use this thread as a journal so to speak as I progress. I bought my tank back in March (06) and it was a pretty simple setup, some fake resin decor, gravel substrate, hob filter and 30watt single bulb flourescent light strip.
Saved up some more money and now I'm ready to go fully planted and hope that you guys will help me avoid any more mistakes than needed. Here is a list of new hardware.
EHEIM Professionel II Thermofilter 2126 (2 trays)
Orbit Light System 2 x 96w PC bulbs (and moonlights)
10lbs co2 Tank, regulator w/solenoid, bubble counter and glass diffuser (no controller at this point, only a timer for day=on,night=off)
Hagen/Nutrafin Master test kit 10n1 (being shipped, should be here Monday)
Ok right now, I have my light system in place only running 1 bulb(96w), eheim filter has been put in place and has been running for about 3 weeks along side of the original HOB filter. I've been wondering about substrate, I saw a 20lbs bag of flourite at Petsmart which they normally don't have in stock, so I picked it up and mixed it into my existing gravel (probably won't do any good). So I'm hoping to find a way to pull all my existing gravel out and replace with eco-complete while fish are in tank, if possible.
My current test kit does not have gh/kh tests so I have no idea what it is, but some test strips I have say it's 0 for both. I'll get my new test kit in a couple days and will post water parameters at that time. my PH is 7.0-7.4. Last week I wanted to see how some plants would fair without co2, so I went ahead and bought several plants from petsmart, put some Flourish Tabs in, and a week later some of the plants are melting (forget what type they are, Wisteria maybe), the Java Ferns are doing ok, and a red melon sword is still ok but one of the leaves turned dark.
Tank measures 36"wide x 15-18"deep(bow front) x 20"Tall Currently about 2-3" of substrate.
I guess my big questions now are:
- What should my water parameters be before turning on co2 to prevent ph swings?
- How many bubbles per second or minute should it be set to?
- Should I replace substrate before going any further?
- Is it possible to change out substrate on a stocked & cycled tank?
- Should I run 2 x 96w bulbs once co2 is running or stay at 1 x 96w, or if my light system can handle it, 2x65w?
- My co2 is in place (not running though) and I'm putting the diffuser beneath the filter intake, is that standard practice?
- What caused my plants to "melt", lack of light, nutrients, co2, all of the above?
- Are 10K PC bulbs best for freshwater planted?
Look forward to your responses, and I would appreciate any good articles/threads you can link.
Pics Below:
The Before Picture
New Lights and Eheim Installed (1 96w Bulb)
CO2 Ready to be hooked up
CO2 In Place
Diffuser/Counter installed (water cloudy from flourite)
Saved up some more money and now I'm ready to go fully planted and hope that you guys will help me avoid any more mistakes than needed. Here is a list of new hardware.
EHEIM Professionel II Thermofilter 2126 (2 trays)
Orbit Light System 2 x 96w PC bulbs (and moonlights)
10lbs co2 Tank, regulator w/solenoid, bubble counter and glass diffuser (no controller at this point, only a timer for day=on,night=off)
Hagen/Nutrafin Master test kit 10n1 (being shipped, should be here Monday)
Ok right now, I have my light system in place only running 1 bulb(96w), eheim filter has been put in place and has been running for about 3 weeks along side of the original HOB filter. I've been wondering about substrate, I saw a 20lbs bag of flourite at Petsmart which they normally don't have in stock, so I picked it up and mixed it into my existing gravel (probably won't do any good). So I'm hoping to find a way to pull all my existing gravel out and replace with eco-complete while fish are in tank, if possible.
My current test kit does not have gh/kh tests so I have no idea what it is, but some test strips I have say it's 0 for both. I'll get my new test kit in a couple days and will post water parameters at that time. my PH is 7.0-7.4. Last week I wanted to see how some plants would fair without co2, so I went ahead and bought several plants from petsmart, put some Flourish Tabs in, and a week later some of the plants are melting (forget what type they are, Wisteria maybe), the Java Ferns are doing ok, and a red melon sword is still ok but one of the leaves turned dark.
Tank measures 36"wide x 15-18"deep(bow front) x 20"Tall Currently about 2-3" of substrate.
I guess my big questions now are:
- What should my water parameters be before turning on co2 to prevent ph swings?
- How many bubbles per second or minute should it be set to?
- Should I replace substrate before going any further?
- Is it possible to change out substrate on a stocked & cycled tank?
- Should I run 2 x 96w bulbs once co2 is running or stay at 1 x 96w, or if my light system can handle it, 2x65w?
- My co2 is in place (not running though) and I'm putting the diffuser beneath the filter intake, is that standard practice?
- What caused my plants to "melt", lack of light, nutrients, co2, all of the above?
- Are 10K PC bulbs best for freshwater planted?
Look forward to your responses, and I would appreciate any good articles/threads you can link.
Pics Below:
The Before Picture
New Lights and Eheim Installed (1 96w Bulb)
CO2 Ready to be hooked up
CO2 In Place
Diffuser/Counter installed (water cloudy from flourite)