ksteady
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Well it has been 2 weeks for my stand and hood order to arrive and still waiting. Been using the time to get my brain up to speed on all sorts of info about the setup I wish to acheive.
Brief History - Had a 66 and 130 gal about 5 years ago now. Both were Plain Jane setups.... wierd colored gravel and fake everything, mixed with all sorts of fish that probably should not go together.
New Setup - 90gal. Eheim 2028 filter. 216 watts of t5 lighting. Flourite substrate with a cable heater running undernear. CO2 system. Plans are to turn this into a medium-heavy planted community tank.
Well everything I need is here and sitting in my basement waiting for the stand and hood to arrive, which should be in next 2-3 days. Today is painting a backdrop onto the tank. Now I have a few questions that I either can't find a good answer or am maybe confused on the info I can find.
1 - Do I cycle the tank differently if I am going into a planted aqaurium? Do I get a different answer if I planted right away as opposed to later, and does the amount of plants I want to start with also affect this ? Do I run CO2 from day 1 ? Do I run full lights ? ( so much info out there on fishless cycle and silent cycle, do this or do that that. just can't find one specific routine for a planted CO2 tank )
2 - Where is the line on being drawn on being able to call your tank heavily planted? And about how many is that on a 90 gal? ( 48 x 18 x 24 )
3 - Should I plant everything all in one shot? Or is it better to plant some and wait a time period before adding more?
4 - Do Snails/Shrimp count as fish? IE... how soon can I start to add them into my tank given the above info..
5 - Whats the ideal amount of substrate for a heavy planted tank in inches? The bags are 7kgs each. I bought 6 and setting it out on my floor it doesn't really look like much.
Well thats probably twice as many questions as any one post really needs. Any info or links that may help me would be greatly appriecated and I send my thanks in advance. I can't believe the hours I have spent on this site within the last 2 weeks... really a testoment to the people within it, they make or break a forum community. You guys do a really good job here and I have seen zero talking down to anyone... really a treat and I look forward to being a part of it.
Brief History - Had a 66 and 130 gal about 5 years ago now. Both were Plain Jane setups.... wierd colored gravel and fake everything, mixed with all sorts of fish that probably should not go together.
New Setup - 90gal. Eheim 2028 filter. 216 watts of t5 lighting. Flourite substrate with a cable heater running undernear. CO2 system. Plans are to turn this into a medium-heavy planted community tank.
Well everything I need is here and sitting in my basement waiting for the stand and hood to arrive, which should be in next 2-3 days. Today is painting a backdrop onto the tank. Now I have a few questions that I either can't find a good answer or am maybe confused on the info I can find.
1 - Do I cycle the tank differently if I am going into a planted aqaurium? Do I get a different answer if I planted right away as opposed to later, and does the amount of plants I want to start with also affect this ? Do I run CO2 from day 1 ? Do I run full lights ? ( so much info out there on fishless cycle and silent cycle, do this or do that that. just can't find one specific routine for a planted CO2 tank )
2 - Where is the line on being drawn on being able to call your tank heavily planted? And about how many is that on a 90 gal? ( 48 x 18 x 24 )
3 - Should I plant everything all in one shot? Or is it better to plant some and wait a time period before adding more?
4 - Do Snails/Shrimp count as fish? IE... how soon can I start to add them into my tank given the above info..
5 - Whats the ideal amount of substrate for a heavy planted tank in inches? The bags are 7kgs each. I bought 6 and setting it out on my floor it doesn't really look like much.
Well thats probably twice as many questions as any one post really needs. Any info or links that may help me would be greatly appriecated and I send my thanks in advance. I can't believe the hours I have spent on this site within the last 2 weeks... really a testoment to the people within it, they make or break a forum community. You guys do a really good job here and I have seen zero talking down to anyone... really a treat and I look forward to being a part of it.