Experiment tank, breaking all rules...

[Guest]

Folks who are new to planted tanks, please don't try this, or if you do, it's not my fault.

20 High
HOT Magnum w/biowheel.
PC 65 watt 50/50 (I ordered the wrong thing and was too lazy to send it back) yes that is 50% actinic.
No Co2
No Fertilization (just food and poo) feed once per day, skip a day sometimes.
7 varieties of plants, 3 rooted, 4 stem type.

3 white clouds,
6 rams
2 angels (juvies)

Do not test parameters!!!! CORVUS IS LAZY!!!

50% water change every 2 weeks, very little vacuuming.

Tank going 6 months or so like this. It is a freaking jungle, All fish happy (lost one ram at one point, no apparent reason, happy in morning, dead after work)

Initially, fought a bit of hair algae, now virtually algae-free.

I love this tank, the angels will go to the big tank when they grow out some more, maybe some Rams too.


Take ya' best shot folks!

 

[medge00]

pics?


doesn't sound that experimental... walstad has low light, no co2, and fish poo ferts. of course, i'm not brave enough to try, i like my 3 wpg!

 

[LAGlocker]

almost sounds like my 20 long i have set up, except I do have diy co2 in it. and yeah i trim plants every week just about.

 

[Guest]

Yes, but Ms. Walstad uses soil/potting soil substrates, where the organic compounds in the soil are supposed to provide the Co2. Moon sand has nothing like that. Also, 65 watts on a 20 high, a little over 3 wpg, It's generally accepted that you need co2 over that wpg, or an algae bloom would be in the works. Everybody says Actinic light is a big no no, why is it working here?
The biowheel Accck! driving off the co2?

I'm not actually challenging anyone on this, just sort of saying there are plenty of ways to have a good planted tank.

Someday I will bring up the utter algae disaster my 45 gallon has become since upgrading lights and co2... which, again, goes to show that the "recipies for success/failure" can be many and varied...

Will try for pics soon. so sorry.

 

[gnatster]

Since you are not adding supplemental CO2 the bio-wheel would not out gas it. In fact chances are the bio-wheel is aiding in adding CO2 from the surrounding air.

gnatster

 

[LAGlocker]

I agree with you about the actinic. I have the 50/50 set up on my tanks, and i love them. I dont notice any algae problems, and i love the way it brings the colors in the fish out. And like you my plants are growing great, takes me longer to trim them than it does to change water. I dont have a bio wheel, but I do have a hob filter on my 20 long, mostly keep it for the bacteria to have a good place to grow. between it and the hot magnum i got plenty of filtration and water movement. even my sword plants are growing like weeds, and both of them are puttin out off shoots and new plants growing, fixing to give two baby marble queens away to a friend if he wants them.