# Questions about new tank



## Paul195 (4 Jan 2018)

Hi

I have a few questions about various topics for my new tank so thought I'd post them in the general discussion.

1. *Lighting*. Two T5 bulbs (1x Osram 865 daylight and 1x Sylvania growlux) mounted at the height shown below. Would this be considered medium, med-high or high light ? I'm shooting for medium tech as don't want to be pruning too often and looking to water change 25% (RO) once per week. If this is med-high light for example, how much higher would I need to raise the light to make it medium ? tank is 19" tall.







2. *Testing*. How often do you test your water ? I know that this is more important in the initial few weeks and months of the tank, but once things balance out, whats your normal regime for testing to avoid issues ? What are the most accurate tests available (currently have API master kit and JBL proscan but not convinced on accuracy) and is it necessary to test for phosphates regularly?

3. *Selection of plants for start up*. Read in several articles that its good to start with easy fast growing stems and root feeders to help stabilize the tank faster. Should I choose plants that will serve this purpose initially over choosing what I want to keep long term ?

4. *Ferts*. Substrate will be small number of osmocote ferts with a sprinkling of peat, covered by inert 1-2mm gravel. Got some dry ferts (KN03, KH2P04 and K2SO4). Can anybody suggest as to how to mix / dose them for medium light to avoid an excess (suitable for a 25% WC per week). 

Many thanks for any help 

Paul


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## dw1305 (4 Jan 2018)

Hi all,





Paul195 said:


> *Testing*. How often do you test your water ? I know that this is more important in the initial few weeks and months of the tank, but once things balance out, whats your normal regime for testing to avoid issues ? What are the most accurate tests available (currently have API master kit and JBL proscan but not convinced on accuracy) and is it necessary to test for phosphates regularly?


Your best bet for asking about test kits is @alto. Have a look at <"Testing strips vs liquid test">.

Personally I don't test anything, other than conductivity occasionally. I have access to analytical equipment, but even then not all tests are straight forward or quick to run. It was partially the difficulties in getting accurate and repeatable results, across a range of water types, that led me to use the health and growth of a floating plant (<"Duckweed Index">) to give me an approximation of nutrient content.

cheers Darrel


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## Paul195 (4 Jan 2018)

Many thanks Darrel, I was thinking about using some floating plants this time, is there ever a concern that they will restrict enough light reaching the plants beneath ? I suppose its just a question of not letting them get too dense and removing some when necessary ? 

P


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## ceg4048 (5 Jan 2018)

Paul195 said:


> Two T5 bulbs (1x Osram 865 daylight and 1x Sylvania growlux) mounted at the height shown below. Would this be considered medium, med-high or high light ? I'm shooting for medium tech as don't want to be pruning too often and looking to water change 25% (RO) once per week. If this is med-high light for example, how much higher would I need to raise the light to make it medium ? tank is 19" tall.


Hello,
        There is no such thing as "medium tech". Definitions such as this are an illusion which often lead to poor assumptions and subsequent errors in judgement.
It would be better if you consider the two categories as being defined as Carbon enriched versus non-Carbon enriched. These two categories as the difference between driving at high speed on the Motorway versus driving on a rural "C" road. It is easier then, to imagine that your approach to tank management would be vastly different. Carbon enrichment typically demands more attention to detail, greater effort in water changes and maintenance, as well as greater levels of nutrition. Small errors or inattention can lead to large problems. Low tech tanks, while not free of problems, do not require as much effort and attention. So the category of which "tech" the tank is pertains more to the carbon enrichment and not the amount of light. Having said that however, since low tech tanks are Carbon limited, then by default, one must also limit the amount of light because the two are coupled quite closely. In high tech tanks the restrictions of how much light to use is very loose, primarily because the amount of Carbon being added can be adjusted to suit the amount of light and vice versa.

In order to reduce stress due to excessive lighting and to therefore reduce the need for high levels of CO2, which can damage the fauna, we can refer to this chart.
The chart can be used for either high or low tech, however, as mentioned, if the tank is not enriched with Carbon, then it would be more important to stay within the blue region.
If the tank is Carbon enriched, then although it is suggested to stay in the blue, if CO2/flow/distribution are adjustable then any of the regions can be applied.
The way to apply the chart is to measure the distance from the bulb to the substrate and find where that distance intersects the curve that applies to your bulb type.


 



Paul195 said:


> 2. *Testing*. How often do you test your water ? I know that this is more important in the initial few weeks and months of the tank, but once things balance out, whats your normal regime for testing to avoid issues ? What are the most accurate tests available (currently have API master kit and JBL proscan but not convinced on accuracy) and is it necessary to test for phosphates regularly?


Testing often leads to more problems than it solves. The only instrument you need, if the tank is CO2 gas injected, is a good quality pH probe which helps you to determine the CO2 level.



Paul195 said:


> 3. *Selection of plants for start up*. Read in several articles that its good to start with easy fast growing stems and root feeders to help stabilize the tank faster. Should I choose plants that will serve this purpose initially over choosing what I want to keep long term ?


There is no need to choose between the two. Use both and throw, sell or give away the stems that you do not want after the tank is stabilized and mature.



Paul195 said:


> 4. *Ferts*. Substrate will be small number of osmocote ferts with a sprinkling of peat, covered by inert 1-2mm gravel. Got some dry ferts (KN03, KH2P04 and K2SO4). Can anybody suggest as to how to mix / dose them for medium light to avoid an excess (suitable for a 25% WC per week).


Please review the EI dosing article in the Tutorial section of the forum.

Cheers,


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## dw1305 (5 Jan 2018)

Hi all,





Paul195 said:


> Many thanks Darrel, I was thinking about using some floating plants this time, is there ever a concern that they will restrict enough light reaching the plants beneath ? I suppose its just a question of not letting them get too dense and removing some when necessary?


Pretty much. Because my tanks receive some ambient light I tend to thin the floaters out as light levels drop in the autumn.

I don't do carpets, aesthetics or aquascaping, I just add easy (low light) plants to the tanks until they've used the available PAR. Originally I was interested in plant/microbe filtration for <"phytoremediation">, using plants (& associated microbes) to clean up of grossly polluted "water", and from there it is a short leap to using the same approach to improve the quality of much less polluted (aquarium) water.

In waste water treatment you want plants with fast growth rates (like Duckweed, _Lemna minor_) to process as much bioload as possible. In clean soft water you want plants that can grow very slowly under very small nutrient loadings, so my tanks have ended up over time mainly full of Moss, <"_Anubias barteri">_, <"_Bolbitis heudelotii">, <"Cryptocoryne x willisii">, <"C. wendtii">, <"C. pontederiifolia"> etc. _and I only feed the plants when they show deficiency symptoms.

Because CO2 is limiting for growth for aquatic plants I choose a floating plant as my nutrient canary, as well as discounting CO2 it also discounts light intensity, as it sits immediately under the lamp. I started with Duckweed <"(_Lemna minor_)">, but it doesn't like soft, nutrient poor water. 

After a bit of trial and error I found that Amazon Frogbit (_Limnobium laevigatum_)  is a <"perfect Duckweed">, it is a good green and will grow even in very nutrient poor water.

cheers Darrel


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## Paul195 (5 Jan 2018)

Thanks for answering my questions, I think I'm about ready to start the tank next weekend. 

Cheers !

P


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