will my modest set up work?

[ZakTheRipper]

Hey all, I've decided to make my 20 gallon tank planted. It's a 20 gallon with a 65 watt PC, so 3.25 wpg. Right now I've got a HOB filter with a biowheel, the usual. I've read these "agitate" the water, and I assume that refers to the wheel causing gas exhange and subsequent increased CO2 loss. Will I be able to have success with this setup? I am guessing I will need a different filter, at least. One that doesn't use activated charcoal? If I were to do this, could I still forego the CO2? I am on a bit of a budget.

 

[rich311k]

You could try Excel. With that much light you will need some form of carbon supplement. Have you considered DIY?

 

[ZakTheRipper]

I'm sorry, Excel? What is that?

Yeah, I know it's a ton of light. My friend just kicked me down this light from his saltwater setup.

I would consider DIY CO2 injection, but that's for the future.

 

[rich311k]

Seachem makes a product called Flourish Excel it is a carbon supplement. It replaces or enhances CO2.

 

[Hoovercat]

Suggest you read the "the biggest mistake beginners make is " sticky.

 

[Purrbox]

You won't need to replace the filter, you can just remove the biowheel and run it without it.

 

[ZakTheRipper]

Hmmm. Different threads all seem to say that of course having CO2 injection is better than not, but you can get by with good results without it in a smaller tank.

 

[ZakTheRipper]

oh, and do you think I'll need to change my filter media from the charcoal?

 

[rich311k]

Take the charcoal out. You only need to remove meds or some time of chemical that may get in the water. It only works for two weeks or so anyway.

 

[ZakTheRipper]

So, will I need any sort of filter media at all? I'd have to take out the biowheel too. Would the plants keep waste levels low enough?

 

[rich311k]

Put in sponges. Leave the wheel untill the sponges have a chance to seed.

 

[ZakTheRipper]

Last question, I swear. Is Eco-Grow the best substrate, or is First Layer good enough? I think that's all they have at the store near me. Thanks for the quick help guys

 

[CGGorman]

There is another product similar to Excel called "natural aquarium vital" from Marc Weiss. Don't know about pricing, but it never hurts to have options.

The one thing I've learned so far is to have a clear picture of your water quality. That means having beaucoup test kits on hand or having someone available to do it for you (maybe your lfs?). I'm still waiting on some of my test kits to arrive 'cause I can't find them locally.

 

[BlazerFRS]

No, you'll need something. Filter floss, sponge, bio media.... I personally run an aquaclear 20 HOB with a sponge, and 2 bags of biomedia.

If you don't want to run CO2 you're gona want to reduce that lighting somehow-I have 2.6WPG and before CO2 I was having some serious algae issues...
Without CO2 algae is going to take prime advantage of any nutrient imbalance in that much light.

My mistake was also underplanting early, leaving few palnts to compete with the algae. I thin if you plant the hell out of it you may have fewer algae troubles.... with proper fert dosing of course.

What kind of fixture is it? Could you remove a bulb to reduce your lighting to something more managable w/o co2? What kind of bulbs are they? If they're actinic they don't do much for plant growth, so you may be at a lower 'effective' wpg anyway.

 

[travis simonson]

Yes, great advice. You really should consider DIY CO2 for this tank with that much light. It is cheap and easy to do and will save you many headaches in the future, guaranteed.

 

[ZakTheRipper]

hmm, i've got a 65 watt PC light my friend just kicked down to me...there seem to be two bulbs, one blue and another white.

i was trying to find something on this site about what entails a DIY CO2 setup, but was having trouble finding it. anyone know where it might be?

I would also consider just massively planting the tank and fertilizing it accordingly...I dunno, I can't imagine purchasing a big canister of CO2. I'm a college student with limited funds and my room is seriously cramped as it is...I should move the tank to my living room.

 

[ZakTheRipper]

oh, what is a beaucoup test kit? CGGorman mentioned that above.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If there's 2 bulbs, is that a 130W fixture? I believe each bulb is 65W? And if one of the bulbs is actinic, then it's 65W. Could replace the 65W plant bulb with a 50/50 bulb, which will lower the w/g ratio, I do believe, as half will be normal light, and half actinic.

 

[BlazerFRS]

Here's a link to a DIY CO2 instructions.

http://members.myactv.net/~shawmutt/diy_co2.html

Personally I'd forgo the bubble ladder tho, and simply inject directly into the filter input.
Saves the $$ for the ladder and I've gotten better CO2 levels with my filter then with the ladder.

 

[Glenc]

There are stickys at the top of this forum page. The first one is called Need to know about CO2? by BrianNY. It will tell you all you need to know about CO2 injecting. It is well worth the effort. HTH