First Attempt at planted tank... Do I have it right?

[kbreaker]

Hello all,

I'm setting up my first planted tank after many years of reefkeeping. I'd like to make sure I get the fundamentals down before I proceed, as it's always much easier to do it right the first time rather than fix something later.

Here's my plan:

29 Gal tank
110 Watts of 10K PCs (from AH Supply)
Fluval 204 with ceramic rings & peat granules
Nutrafin CO2 system
Carib-Sea Eco Complete substrate (Is Flourite better?)

Planned Plants: ?

Planned Fish: Tetras (To be determined)

Wife would like a nice school of neons. I'd be inclined to have 2 schools of different types. Probably Ottos for algae control.

Am I missing anything so far? Any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

A couple of things here. You would be better off with some lower K bulbs. Either the 5300k or 6700k, or if you really want to get awesome plant growth then look around and find the 9325k bulbs like those used in the All-Glass fixtures. They are a tri-chromatic bulb and give some of the best plant growth I have ever seen.

Why are you going to use peat in the filter? Doing so is going to make determining how much CO2 you have in the water impossible. Unless you are going to try and breed some of the blackwater species then leave out the peat. If you are concerned about your tap water parameters then you may have false concerns. What are your tap water parameters? pH, kH, gH, nitrates?

With 110 watts over a 29 gallon tank the Nutrafin CO2 system isn't going to cut it. You will need a pressurized system. The inherent disability of a DIY system to maintain constant CO2 levels coupled with a light level over 3 wpg is going to cause you massive headaches due to algae problems.

I have not yet had a chance to use the Eco-Complete substrate but on the two dedicated plant forums I'm on it's getting some awesome reviews. You will need at least two bags from what I hear but then again you would need two bags of Flourite at a minimum.

Also at your high light levels you want to make sure you are up to speed on fertilizing the plants and have both nitrate and phosphate test kits. You will need a cheap source of macro nutrients like nitrate, phosphate, potassium, as well as traces and iron.

 

[Guest]

One other thing. Before you set up the tank be sure to check out the silent cycle method of starting a planted tank. I have used this method on several tanks and it works like a champ. It also helps control the algae on a high light tank that one would normally get while trying other methods of cycling the tank. Here's a link to some pretty good info on silent cycling a tank.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm

 

[talenzmeier]

Veriditas

The replies received so far sound pretty good, although they are in conflict with what my lfs has been telling me.

So my setup is as follows: Oceanic 58 Gallon Show, 48 inch Coralife Aqualight (2 65 watt actinic bulbs and 2 65 watt 10,000K bulbs), Fluval 304, UGF, 2 Penguin PH, and 60 lbs. of Red Sea Flora Base substrate. For plants, I was told to start out with about a half-dozen or so and then add to it weekly depending upon how my water chemistry is going. Right now I've got an Amazon Sword Plant, some Wisteria, and about three other plants (sorry I don't recall their names). I have 8 Leopard Danios, 8 Tiger Barbs, 2 Angelfish, and 2 Gouramis. The tank has been up for about two weeks. The plants are doing quite well. I see new growth.

Now I'm wondering about the cycling process. I went out to the website referenced in one of the replies and it seemed to suggest that the plants absorb a goodly amount of NH3 . I tested my water last evening and this is what I got: NH3 (Ammonia) = somewhat elevated -- light teal blue on the Tetra Test color scale, NO2 (Nitrite) = 0.3, pH = 6.75

The fish all look reasonably healthy. Now I am wondering how the cycling process is going to go since the plants are competing with the nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Guest]

You don't have enough FAST GROWING STEM PLANTS. For the silent cycle to work you need to have a lot of fast growers in there. Say at least 10-20 bunches.

And I have to say I'm not a big fan of UGF filters in planted tanks.

 

[tkos]

You will hate having a UGF in a planted tank. It won't take long for the roots to grow into it and things will come crashing. You might as well just turn it off. Will the plants slow the cycle? Yes, because as you mentioned they are competing with the bacteria. But since you have such a high load of fish already in the uncycled tank the plants and water changes are going to be needed to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels as low as possible or you will just end up hurting the fish.

 

[talenzmeier]

UGF Reply

When you say fast growers, can you be more specific?

Regarding the UGF, the only reason I have it is to draw water through the substrate. The Red Sea Flora Life is optimized when water is being pulled through it. For biological filtration, I'm relying on the Fluval cansister system.

 

[Guest]

Regarding the UGF, the only reason I have it is to draw water through the substrate.

The roots of plants will clog the ugf in no time flat, killing the waterflow you are trying to get, creating anearobic conditions in some areas, leading to all sorts of water quality issues. We are tellin' ya, you don't want a ugf in a planted tank, period. I tried it so i know what I'm talking about. The Fluval will be plenty of biofiltration, as the plants do most of that for you, they feed off all nitrogeous waste products, creating far less need for nitrifying bacteria. Never used Red Sea substrate, but heard good things. You don't need the water flow through fluorit, don't see why you would need it with yours.

Fast growing stem plants. various plants you can get that come in bunches at the lfs, not swords, crypts, or bulbs. Anacharis, Cabomba, many, many, others listed as stem/bunch plants on any website that sells aq plants.

Sorry if I'm coming off harsh, but you asked if you were doing it right, so we said "no you aren't" to some one the things.

 

[Guest]

Like corvus said fast growers are bunched plants like Myriophyllum, Cabomba, Hygro, Ludwigia, Wisteria, Egeria, Hornwort and other stem plants.

 

[justDIY]

Regarding the UGF, the only reason I have it is to draw water through the substrate. The Red Sea Flora Life is optimized when water is being pulled through it.

although their direct benefits to plants are debated, UG heating cables will cause water to flow through your substrate.

but from what I've read, it's not as important to reduce anaerboic conditions as it is to reduce alleopathic buildup in your substrate... and substrate alleopathy isn't fully understood either!

they are pricey however, unless you build your own.

 

[Guest]

How did we get from under gravel filters to heating cables is beyond me. But I can tell you that unless you go with the pricey cables the chance of failure is quite high. Also the cables have the same problem as UGF plates. The plant roots get tangled in them and if you start moving plants you can pull the cables right off the bottom.

 

[justDIY]

sorry for the confusion, I revised my post to indicate where I got started on heating cables, in response to a quote regarding the 'need' to circulate water through the substrate.