# Low tech first past advice welcome



## Steve Hatcher (10 Feb 2017)

Hi All,

Noob here looking to set up a low tech planted tank. I would like it to house some danios and guppys, and some workers to keep it clean (algae eaters). This is what I have come up with:

Tank: ADA Cube Garden 60-H
Light: ADA Aquasky 601
Filter: AquaClear 70
Heater: Aquael Unbreakable Easy Heater 75w
Substrate: ADA-Aqua Soil Powder Amazonia

Carpet Plant: Lileopsis brisbanica
Plant: Anubias barteri, bacopa caroliniana, brazilian pennywort, Cryptocoryne wendtii
... or whatever I can find local

I want a piece of driftwood in the middle and some rocks.

I have a few questions:
1. Is the tank and gear combination looking okay?
2. I am very confused as to substrate. Do I just use the amazonia? Or do I put rocks below it? And do I need to put anything on top of it to add nutrients? Do I put sand on top of the amazonia?
3. Once its up and running with fish, what kind of maintenance is required?

Thank you for your time.


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## ian_m (10 Feb 2017)

Looks good.

Couple of points, mainly about the light choice.

- Make sure you have a way of dimming the lights and most LED's can be too bright, especially at startup and you end up turning your plants to algae food.
- Shame the 601 is 110V power. Seems a shame to have to spend yet even more money on a bulky unsightly 230V to 110V transformer.
- Ensure your carpeting plant is suitable for low tech, as quite a few (most ?) carpeting plants are medium to high tech and require CO2 supplement in some form or other.
- We need pictures. 
- Any substrate will do, even sand, if you are dosing ferts into the water. Amazonia is fine, but expensive, is nutrient loaded but will leach loads of ammonia for first couple of weeks, do no fish until tank is cycled. Is a very nice substrate to plant into.
- If low tech (ie low light) then very little maintenance needed. Water changes either small weekly say 10% or a bucket worth for maybe bigger % monthly. See what works for you. I used to change 2 buckets (4 gallons) out of 180l every two weeks or so when low tech. Just vacuumed out 2 buckets worth of water and detritus and replaced. Done. Pre-warmed water by using pouring a kettle load between the two buckets.  Remember dechlorinator.
- Remember to place you tank so viewable from a comfy seat.


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## john dory (10 Feb 2017)

Hi.
Not sure of the properties of your chosen substrate...so can't help there,i'm afraid.
I use tropica soil in one tank and sand in another.
As for maintenance.
I do weekly 20% water changes and clean the filter out about 6 times a year.
Glass is cleaned as and when needed.
Give your plants a swish around at w/c time,and remove any tatty leaves.


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## Steve Hatcher (10 Feb 2017)

Thanks a lot for your replies, I am getting the confidence to order everything now...

I have a question regarding the lighting. I am reading that dimming the 601 is not trivial... Are there any other lights that work well with this tank? (Also here in Melbourne the 601's I am looking at are 110 / 240V).

I read this carpet is good for low tech but have only started research... so will check out some others. But at some point I want to buy some things and just give it a go.

Thanks all!


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## ian_m (10 Feb 2017)

You also might find the filter a tad small and will require frequent cleaning, possibly weekly. It has a high flow rate, but has a really small amount of filter media so will block quite quickly. Though until you try, hard to say.

Did you consider an external filter ? These have (can have) masses of filter media in them, so will only need cleaning monthly or even longer. Ehiem do external filters (at $$$) that include heaters, so you can have one less item in the tank.

Not sure what the lighting solution is, but I would certainly not buy an LED light fixture without the ability do dim it. Though you can of course lower the light level by raising the light up (not always possible) or block some of the LED's off using black tape/foil etc, but then this could look naff on such a sexy light fixture.


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## john dory (10 Feb 2017)

The fluval aqualife led works well.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


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## AlbaAquarist (10 Feb 2017)

Steve Hatcher said:


> I have a question regarding the lighting. I am reading that dimming the 601 is not trivial... Are there any other lights that work well with this tank?



The Chihiros Aquasky is similar in style to the ADA Aquasky but I believe it comes with a built in dimmer. If you not bothered about aesthetics the A-Series is cheaper and also comes with a dimmer. I've never used the Aquasky but I use the A-Series on my own low-techs.


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## Steve Hatcher (13 Feb 2017)

Hey guys, thanks a lot for your replies. Based on the feedback my final setup is:

Tank: ADA Cube Garden 60-P
Light: A160WE Tuna Sun (probably overkill.. but I fell in love with it when I saw it...)
Filter: AquaClear 70
Heater: Eheim Jager 75W
Substrate: ADA-Aqua Soil Powder - Amazonia

@john_dory thanks for the insight, very first tank so any and all advice is welcome. Definitely learning there is no one correct answer, just general techniques to maximize success!

@iam_m, my current setup does not allow for a canister filter to be placed below the tank. I think if I were to use a canister I would want a proper tank + cabinet. My friend has an ADA cabinet cube garden with a eheim canister and it looks fantastic. I also like the 'flow' of the aquaclear. I will watch the filter medium...

Everything will soon be on the way, so I have a question about how to plant.

I will be getting a piece of driftwood and some rocks. I have a rough plan of the setup but would like to run it past you guys.

- Place down the driftwood and rocks.
- Ontop of that a generous coat of Amazonia (at least 5cm deep).
- Fill water a few inches above the top of the soil
- Generously plant the carpet plant, and any other plants.
- Fill up rest of tank, setup light and filter timers, and wait...?

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful!


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## tim (13 Feb 2017)

Hi Steve I would add to your list above, pre soak the driftwood or place large rocks on it or it may float once filled, once planted as your planning to use Amazonia substrate you will need to carry out large water changes for the first few weeks, around 50% every two or three days to remove the ammonia released by the substrate, if the light intensity can be lowered start the scape around 50% intensity and start increasing after week two, enjoy your scape


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## xim (13 Feb 2017)

ian_m said:


> - Shame the 601 is 110V power. Seems a shame to have to spend yet even more money on a bulky unsightly 230V to 110V transformer.



It is actually 100-240V. It's a shame that The Green Machine creates that hassle.

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ada-aquasky-users-what-power-adaptor.37902/




 

Image below is from http://www.flowgrow.de/beleuchtung/ada-aquasky-601-tc420-t43117.html


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## Steve Hatcher (14 Feb 2017)

@tim thanks, will do!

@xim yes seems its fine here too in Australia

Thanks guys.. I think I have one last question!

Once I have planted into the Amazonia and filled up the tank, should the filter be on straight away (8 hours a day?) Or wait a few days before turning it on


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## BexHaystack (14 Feb 2017)

Straight away, the sooner you get it running the sooner it will start to 'mature' and help out with the large amounts of ammonia released by the substrate. Don't forget - lots of water changes for the first few weeks 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk


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## xim (14 Feb 2017)

Steve Hatcher said:


> should the filter be on straight away (8 hours a day?) Or wait a few days before turning it on


What BexHaystack said. And the filter is always on, only turn off to clean it or when doing a water change and the inflow pipe is above the water or when taking photo of the tank.


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## Steve Hatcher (19 Feb 2017)

Hey everyone! So most of the stuff has arrived (forgot the damn ADA garden Mat haha... probably not necessary but would rather have it there.)

I have a few more questions

Do I need to treat tap water (With something like API tap water treatment?)
What sort of lighting routine should I use? 8 hrs a day? 12 hrs a day? The Kessil recommends 50% intensity early on so I will do that.

Thanks all.


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## xim (20 Feb 2017)

If you don't have animals in the tank yet. You can use untreated tap water. But you "should" treat it because no living organism likes chlorine. Plants and good bacteria will do better if you use treated water. For the light, I would start with 6 hours and extend it to 8 hours later.

I think this guide section is well written even though you don't add CO2: http://tropica.com/en/guide/


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## doylecolmdoyle (20 Feb 2017)

I would start with only 5 or 6 hrs light, as others have said the filter needs to run 24/7 and yes treat your tap water with de-chlorinator. You also need to let the tank cycle before adding fish or shrimp, this will take a few weeks up to a few months. ADA soil provides a ammonia source to get the cycle started, you probably will need to buy a API test kit to see when your tank has cycled. Seeing you are also from Australia, you should join our local forum - www.aquariumlife.com.au


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## Steve Hatcher (23 Feb 2017)

Hey Guys,

Fantastic, thanks a lot! Finally got the garden Mat and planning to setup this weekend! 

Is it okay to put the soil in the tank a few days before I have any plants? If I add just the soil, should it be left dry or with some water?

Thanks


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## Steve Hatcher (6 Mar 2017)

Hey everyone, just wanted to post a pic and thank all for their input! Wouldn't have been possible without you guys.

http://i.imgur.com/yUwo8qE.jpg

(and yes, that is a rock holding the driftwood down lol, I soaked it for 1 week and it is still floating so this was my temp solution... hoping within 6 months I can take it off and have it sunk for good!)

Even though its just freshly planted I'm absolutely loving it! The shimmer created by the Kessil is supurb, and the trickling of the aquaclear is so relaxing. Its planted with dwarf hairgrass and I'm putting in Flourish Excel every few days.

I guess I have some questions (more thinking aloud..). I am using the aquaclear 70 filter media which includes activated carbon. I've heard the activated carbon actually is too aggressive leaching out beneficial nutrients for the plants. My plan is to keep it in there for a few weeks while the tank is at its dirtiest, then replace it with seachem purigen. Does anyone have any advice on this matter? In a week or two I will be checking ammonia levels until they are safe for happy fish!


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## doylecolmdoyle (6 Mar 2017)

Steve Hatcher said:


> Hey everyone, just wanted to post a pic and thank all for their input! Wouldn't have been possible without you guys.!



Looks good, keep up with daily or as often as possible water changes, make sure the Kessil light is dimmed right down, they are powerful lights and without much plant mass and fresh aquasoil running the light at full power is asking for some kind of algae break out!

You should look at adding some fast growing plants so soak up excess nutriants from the soil, I would try get hold of floating frogbit, these floaters will also block some light which is a good thing while the tank stabilizes, tho frogbit is out lawed in some states in Australia as it grows like a weed and can get into waterways etc.

also look at adding some moss to your driftwood, that would look really nice!

RE active carbon, some ppl are against it and some for, I have used it in a planted tank without dramas, I wouldnt worry about it to much.


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## Steve Hatcher (6 Mar 2017)

@doyle thanks heaps! I am doing a ~30% water change every few days... Any idea how long I should keep this up for? 

The Kessil is on minimum intensity for 6 hours a day, yeah its quite a lot of light in a small package. I love the thing. 

I am hoping to pick up some ambulia (friend has some, looks amazing) this week and plant that alongside the hairgrass. Definitely moss for the driftwood too.

I have read the carbon pros and cons and it seems there is no real verdict, I will probably leave it in there and add some purigen. 

Thanks again all!


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## Jack Reilly (13 Mar 2017)

Looks great mate.


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## Steve Hatcher (13 Apr 2017)

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to everyone's advice I have the finished product!




 

The ambulia (back plant) was from a friends tank and grows like crazy. The 'carpet' plant is S. Repens. Hasn't done too much but I read they take a while to carpet in low tech. There are two zebra fish, two guppies (male and female), and two otocinclus (dwarf suckers) in there. 

Absolutely stoked with the result!


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