# Newb advice needed please



## glenn farrar (31 Aug 2014)

Hi guys I have decided to set up a low tech tank this being my first aquarium of any kind and would be grateful for some advice. I was given a 65 litre 60x30x36 tank with a stingray elite filter which I surmised to be pretty pants and have invested in a JBL i100, due to space issues and 2 sets of young hands in the house I had to opt for internal. The lighting at the moment is a single 15w T5 giving me just 1 per gallon. I have opted for the EL route and have bought the starter set from aquarium plant food. Co.uk. My substrate is JBL Manado.

My questions are what is the best setup for the filter? Do I use the power bar or Not? 

Which plants am I better to start off with? (I would like a carpeted area)

How often will I need to Feed?

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I am sure I will need to ask more later

Thanks in advance


----------



## Tim Harrison (31 Aug 2014)

Hi and welcome. Check out the Tutorial section; you will find the answers you need there.


----------



## glenn farrar (5 Sep 2014)

Thanks for the welcome and the reply Troi.  I have been reading extensively and I am a little confused to say the Least!  Some threads and articles recommend feeding plants once a week with no water change, others are every day with weekly 50% change for the filter placement and use the instructions state to not use the power bar as it is not good for planted aquariums yet some people swear by their Use! Very confusing.
so I am setting up my tank this weekend and basically for now just going to add substrate and get the filter running, I have decided to over plant with a few different species and see which plants grow best, most of the articles and threads recommend 25-50% water change every other day to start cycling is this the way forward? Also will I need to treat my water from my tap before using it in the Tank? I live in Buckinghamshire and the water is very hard

Thank you to anyone for any advice


----------



## Tim Harrison (5 Sep 2014)

Not sure what a power bar is but if it's the same as a spray bar you can't really go too far wrong since it should give you an even flow and distribution; that is if it stretches the length of the tank, more or less...Either way if this and your additional JBL give you a turn over of x5-10/hr I'm sure it'll be fine.
! watt per gallon of T5 is OK but stick to 6 hrs photoperiod for the initial start up period, until the tank has settled in.
I'd also advocate 25-50% water change every other day for the first 2 weeks or so.
If you're going to use EI then more frequent water changes maybe required or simply missing a dose every now and then will probably suffice. If you follow the link below it will take you to my tutorial on setting up a low-energy tank, where you can find further details on water changes and the use of dry fertz, but 1/5 - 1/10 EI is usual.
I personally tend to treat my low-energy tanks the same as my injected tanks, the only difference is they don't get any additional carbon. That said there are many routes to achieving success the low-energy way (perhaps accounting for the confusion) so use my tutorial as a guide to get you started and have fun experimenting and finding what works best for you.

P.S. You don't need to treat the water, it'll be fine as is - I live in Bucks too - that is unless you intend to keep species with exacting environmental requirements.


----------



## Tim Harrison (5 Sep 2014)

P.P.S...I dose fertz once a week after water change.


----------



## glenn farrar (6 Sep 2014)

Thanks again Troi I am going to just go for it and learn as I go I think (Probably be more questions as I go) 
By the way your article is beautifully written really helpful for a newb like myself

Thanks again


----------



## dw1305 (6 Sep 2014)

Hi all, 





Troi said:


> If you follow the link below it will take you to my tutorial on setting up a low-energy tank, where you can find further details on water changes and the use of dry fertz, but 1/5 - 1/10 EI is usual.


 I think that is a good approach and it certainly works.

Unless you add CO2 aquatic plants will always be CO2 limited. EI was specifically developed for CO2 injected tanks.

In the end it all comes down to how quickly you want your plants to grow. If you want a lot of plant growth you need to feed them. Personally I like my plants to grow fairly slowly, so I use a much leaner feeding regime.

cheers Darrel


----------



## glenn farrar (6 Sep 2014)

Hi Darrel thanks for your input,
I would rather my plants did grow slowly for starters in the hope that I can keep on top of everything and observe what is happening.  What your saying about the feeding regime makes complete sense, when Troi stated 1/5 to 1/10 Ei I am presuming that means 1/5 of the normal dosing regime stated on the instructions? Or am I completely Wrong? 

Thanks again

Glenn


----------



## stu_ (6 Sep 2014)

Yep


----------



## Tim Harrison (6 Sep 2014)

Yep that's right, and thanks for the compliment Glenn.

Darrel makes a good point; you can take it at your own pace, that's the beauty of the low-energy approach. You can give yourself as much wiggle room as you need (within reason) so you can learn from experience without the whole system imploding if you make a mistake...unlike an injected tank, which is like living on the edge.


----------

