New here... Cool stuff!

[kaaikop]

Hello to all, just found out your forum by doing some research...
GREAT stuff! I've been hooked on it for the last 3 hours LOL

Well like many of you, I have just decided to make my dream come
true, a huge aquarium tank (150 g). Bigger is easier (not cheaper),
and now that I have the space, may as well go for it, I want ONE
nice aquarium, not a dozen small ones...

So, the tank just got delivered, I am still in the planning stage,
some equipment is on order (web), and I am planning to get some
sand for pool filter, aquatic soil underneath, and driftwood & rock
for the decor. My buddy electrician is going to run me an independant
circuit breaker just for my tank equipment, in case something goes
wrong while I am travelling & my girl is freaking out, she can just shut
it down. I've installed a water filter system (from Home Depot) for the
water additions, to remove chlorine & other nasty stuff, and I will install
one of those "in-line" heaters to try to get the water to a decent temp.

The filter is Eheim 2128 with heating, and probably will add a power-head
for water agitation. I think I will try this Carbo-plus thing for CO2, any
experience here? Man, that is a lot of dough, but I am not kidding
myself, I knew exactly what I was getting into, and want to (try) avoid
mistakes which are hard to correct later on...

I want to re-create some amazonian habitat, with a couple of Tetra
species and lots of plants. Lighting is going to be 4 tubes of 30W.
Is that going to be enough? I have read a lot of books on the subject,
that's why I have a good idea on what I am doing, but I have no real-life
experience with such a big tank, only success with a 20G which means
I must be doing something right, but I'm sure I can't avoid mistakes.

So, I must be forgetting something here for sure, right? !!!
I'll post pictures of my progress, I hope to fill it up in the next 3 or 4
weeks, and plant it, and then let it go through the cycle...


Cheers to all!

 

[frog girl]

Welcome to aquarium advice. Sounds like you are on the right track with the substrate but if you want lots of plants you need to get up above 1+ watts per gallon. & if you are going to add CO2 it won't do a lot unless you are closer to 2 wpg (Malkore knows a lot about C02 & lighting so he will be able to give you good advice). My tank has a DIY CO2 system. With a tank that big you will want a pressurized one most likely.

You don't want to ever shut your tank down because then your filter is not filtering & depending on you fish load this can result in quick death. Although in a heavily planted tank this is really not as much of a danger. But your heater would go off to which depending on your fish could be a problem.

You also want to think about your water before you get to far down the road. Amazonian animals usually like really soft water (not many dissolved minerals) & a slightly acidic pH. Your plants will also grow better in softer water. So you need to test your tapwater after all the gases have equilibrated (let it sit overnight open to the air). Just take it to your LFS & ask them to run pH, KH, GH, nitrites & ammonia (if they have nitrates & phosphates that will help to. You want actual numbers don't let them just tell you its fine. Better yet go get a water test kit (there was a poll a while back & Aquarium Pharmacuticals came out on top for the best brand). Anyway if you have high KH or GH you will want to think about if you want to deal with hauling RO water to your tank. Water changes will be less with a heavily planted tank but still need to be done.

Also read up on tank cycling if you haven't already. It is basically the establishment of a colony of bacteria in your filter that will convert toxic ammonia to nitrites (still toxic) & then to nitrates. Your plants will gobble up all these forms of waste & take the bumps out for any livestock you have in a tank while cycling. If I was doing it again I think I might just go with a fishless cycle (you throw in a piece of dead shrimp or fish & let that be your waste source to start the cycle). It eliminates stress on the fish. You will need that test kit so you can monitor your cycle & figure out when it is complete.

CO2 can also affect your pH especially with soft water so you will want to read about that too.

HTH

 

[BrianNY]

Hi kaaikop, and welcome to AA. A very wise move to do the research before taking the plunge into a planted aquarium. Frog girl has given you some excellent advice and is correct.

IME, the cliche " a little information can hurt you alot", comes into play in planted tanks. This is in terms of both money and aggravation. It's very true that many plants require high lighting and pressurized CO2 injection to grow. In such a large tank that can be a very expensive proposition. Fortunately there are many low light plants which can be grown beautifully without the addition of CO2.

If you start your aquarium with plants such as crypts, anubias, java fern and giant val as examples, you will have a great looking tank and avoid both costs and headaches. You will also be gaining some hands on knowledge of plant maintenance and water chemistry. In this way you will be much better equipped if you decide to take the challenge of growing some of the more demanding plants.

BTW, I spent over $800 US on lighting and CO2 injection for my 125g.

 

[kaaikop]

Thanks for the good advice! 8)

Yeah I was just wondering about the lighting... I made a post in the appropriate dept.
If I add another ramp as the one supplied, that gives me 120W FL (4x30), which
based on what I read, is less than half adequate for a well planted tank,
which is my dream... and there is no more space on top of that tank...

 

[mitche8359]

Welcome AA!

I have a south american theme as well. My problem was I love anubias and they aren't native to SA but one got worked in anyway. Then various problems crept up like algae so I bought som Siamese Algae eaters, then ottos, then snails infested so I have loaches to control the snail population. My SA theme isn't pure any more. I looked for native alternatives to the algae and snail controls but didn't find anything.

I didn't find a lot of variety of plants for a SA or Amazon theme either. I haven't looked around for a year maybe somone has a SA collection now. A couple online plant places have themed collections.

 

[mitche8359]

For lighting look into compact flourescents. I bought a kit from AH Supply. I love it. Disclaimer: I have not relationship with AH Supply other than a satisfied customer. A friend saw the lights and ordered some for his 125g tank.

 

[Guest]

A school of various types of tetras sounds interesting. Oh the possibilites of stocking a new tank that big after its been cycled! I think a large (10-15) school of serpae's, rummy nose, and neons or cardinals would look fantastic in a large planted aquarium like that. You'll have to let us know what your going to do with it stocking wise.

 

[kaaikop]

Wow this place is just great, people are actually repying... only problem is I get
hooked (I should be working, LOL).

Okay, for the lighting I found out about Coralife Aqualight. I could get (not cheap)
2 x 36" unit with 4 bulbs each for a total of 384W, that sound enough right?

And for stocking (after cycling of course), Stewie, you're right on the number,
I want Neons, rummy noses, lemon tetras and black tetras or emperors...
I'm still studying which plants actually match and grow in this particular habitat...
Man, that is quite a project.... but how fascinating! all my other hobbies have
been put to sleep for now 8) and speaking of sleep LOL, I go to bed at
night and spend the whole night thinking about all this!

 

[Guest]

If you're going with 350+ watts for a 150 gallon tank, get some java moss and attach it to some rocks, it'll look cool. Also, i'd suggest getting a co2 injection system like others have mentioned if you're going with a heavily planted tank. Glossostigma makes a wonderful "carpet" effect in your tank if you have the proper lighting/ferts/substrate/co2. You might want to check those 2 plants out. Your neons and other tetras will thank you for the glosso and java moss as they totally love it!
Good luck with your project.
-Stewie

 

[TankGirl]

Carbo-Plus is not going to be the best choice, I think BrianNY had a thread about that a while ago, and everyone agreed that pressurized is much preferred.

Check out our sponsor, captivereefs.com, and you will not find better prices on Coralife or USA Current (they are very similar, Current is often cheaper) anywhere. I thought I was getting good prices when I bought mine elsewhere, and I found out I did not! Lesson learned.

You have a great setup here and it sounds like you have really done your homework. Careful planning is going to serve you well, because you could really waste a lot of $$ with a tank that size. That is the size of my next tank, since it has the perfect footprint to replace my 55. Not too wide, but deep and tall.

 

[kaaikop]

Thanks again for all the advice here!
And yes, after reading a lot on here, I convinced myself that I will have
to go with pressurized CO2, much less trouble. That is again, another
expense I had not foreseen when I puchased my tank, but as you say
Tank Girl, better plan it well in advance.

Actually, the more I search & read, the more I postpone my "startup"...
For example, I start to have doubts about using just sand & aquatic
soil... I read a lot of stuff on http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x a forum of really
advanced & experts on planted aquariums. some of it is actually too
"scientific" for me (formulas for fertilizing, etc.) but I am learning a lot
still, and the substrate is the hardest to change later, in case it does not
work. Imagine having to empty that tank completelely and start over again...

 

[SittingDuck]

There's an article here on how to change your substrate:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=27

Actually, all the articles are amazing and worth a read.

One thing to keep in mind is that with a tank that large the cost for Dechlorinizer will increase substantially. It's probably a minor cost when you calculate how much you're spending on C02, lighting, and other costs, but it's something to be aware of.

I just finished cycling my tank and was doing PWC every second day and went through about 16oz's or 480ml of dechlorinizor in 2 weeks. If you get a python they recommend that you add dechlorinizor for the whole tank (the entire 150 Gallons) instead of just the amount of water you are changing. I was doing it by buckets (Yes, my back is killing me ) and only had to put in enough decholorinizer to replace what was new going in the tank. If you're using a python, your costs will increase dramatically.

Of course, this levels out as you go along and you start to do a PWC once a week. It's the initial startup costs that really drains the bank account.

 

[kaaikop]

Man! that's gotta be a lot of buckets!!!
I did order one of those pythons, just sounded like a great idea.
Thanks for the link I will check it out.

For removing chorine, I installed a "Home Depot" filter system, which is
supposed to do exactly that. I will keep you posted if that really works.
It is also supposed to remove all the other nasty stuff that you find in
your city water (I don't want to start a debate, but I dont even drink it!)

Cheers!