# i am starting a new (5 feet) planted tank!help please!!



## chris_cotton23 (6 Jul 2014)

hello guys! i am new in forum but also quite new on planted aquarium world!i hope that you can help me!
before i start i do apologies for any mistake about english!it is not my first language and is not my best thing yet!but i will try!
so.. i want to start a new 5 feet planted tank  but already i have got another two at home!35litres and 90 litres!the dimensions of the tank are    5 feet x 15 '' width x almost 2 feet high! 

the plants that i've got at the moment are( i want to transfer them to the big one)

java fern , java moss , bacopa ''australis'' , hygrophilia 'siamensis' , vallissneria ,wisteria , the other one is hornwort or waterfoil(sorry i am not sure) and two more that i don't know the names (i could upload some photos if you want!) 
also i feed them with jbl ferropol once per week do i have to do that?

so now...please i need your advices...
first for the substrate and for lights!

for the substrate already found something but i need your opinion please before buy...
i am thinking to buy jbl aquabasis plus ( 5l for £15  from zooplus) to mix it with dennelre DeponitMix Professional 9 in 1 (9.6kg for £28,  i have read good things) my target is to make substrate to last for long time if possible!
also i was thinking for tetra complete substrate to put it in the small tank just for experiment! 
1. what do you think about tetra? 
2. how many inches  would you  recommend for the substrate?
3. would you put anything on the top of these(gravel,sand or jbl manado) or live it as it is?i was thinking to cover with around 2 inches of  jbl manado(i have got this at the moment in both  fish tanks!) but i have got plenty of sand at home!
4. any opinions for soil?

about lights...

at the beginning i was thinking to go for led light because i wanted to save some money on electricity then  i tried to read to many forums OMG!!!so confused!some people says that ''yes you can save money some others no'' i already know that with my tank is quite difficult as it is very high!what do you thing?are led lights good for planted tanks and if yes which one would you recommend? 
after hours/days/weeks of research i think i will go for t5(HO) lights i 've read that the par is stronger for that high!
i found an english website :i aquatics and i was thinking to buy  t5(HO) lights from them if are good.they have got some tropical tubes and 50:50 tubes!

also i am quite confused how can i find how many pars and micromols i need and how can i find how many pars a tube has and how this is affected from the high of the tank? (my english are not the best and too many different opinions)

http://www.iquaticsonline.co.uk/aqu...-x-54w-t5-complete-aquarium-lighting-kit.html 

1. how many watts i will need?
2. how many tubes?
3. 4feet long or 5feet long?
4. do i need to mix the lights?

i know that i am asking a lot of things i do apologies i was trying to find information on my own and still doing it but i am strangling a lot! 
you can tell me what ever you want i am quite new, i am open to any advice...new recommendations  just i need the best results with less money if possible!

also i have read some people who says that i could go with different brands as philips for example!what do you think? 
i will upload some photos as well if you want and i will keep you posted with my project! this week i will build the stand for the tank!


About co2 i think is too early to talk but is good to know that already have a jbl pressurized system i am planning to use it the future!i need to buy some more parts!

thank you very much in advance  and sorry for all these questions! 
i can't wait for your replies!

Chris


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## Martin in Holland (7 Jul 2014)

I don't think you need to mix substrates...why would you? Most substrate are good for growing plants. 
The best effect for dept perception is to bank up your substrate from the front to the back (from about 1 inch at the front to 5 or 6 or 7 or 10 inch at the back) it all depends on your future scape.

Light? yes...always a big question ...Let me start by saying Watt per Gallon (liter) is useless, so here is a chart for you to study about PAR.
Be aware that you should always start with low light. If you inject CO2 you are able to slowly go to high light, if that's what you want. What brand of T5 is a matter of taste, but most planted tanks have bulbs that are between 6000 to 10000 Kelvin.




 

Maybe you should ask yourself first what kind of tank you want (high tech or low tech....)

I didn't see any information about your filter....bare in mind that you need at least 10x your tank.


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## Edvet (7 Jul 2014)

Martin in China said:


> Maybe you should ask yourself first what kind of tank you want (high tech or low tech....)


 Agrreed

Chris, the first question should be : what do i want. A high energy tank, which needs lots of attention and gives fast growt, or a low energy tank which can be equally beautifull, but has slower growth and doesn't need that much daily attention. Both sorts can look very nice, but need a different approach..
If you made your mind up on that question, then start in the tutorial section here and start to learn. The forum wll give good advice, but you wil have to ask questions.

My basic advice for a first tank is: start low energy, learn and see if you want to go high energy later.


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## chris_cotton23 (7 Jul 2014)

thank you very much guys for your help!

i will follow Edvet and i will go for low tech and will see how will go! do you think 2 x t5 tubes (one 6500k and one 10000k) would be enough?

 my tanks 60 cm high x 39 cm width x 150 cm long! minus at least 7cm form substrate![DOUBLEPOST=1404755271][/DOUBLEPOST]





Martin in China said:


> I don't think you need to mix substrates...why would you? Most substrate are good for growing plants.
> The best effect for dept perception is to bank up your substrate from the front to the back (from about 1 inch at the front to 5 or 6 or 7 or 10 inch at the back) it all depends on your future scape.
> 
> Light? yes...always a big question ...Let me start by saying Watt per Gallon (liter) is useless, so here is a chart for you to study about PAR.
> ...


 
thank you for that martin!is the chart for one tube? so the par at the left is it for one?and if i want to put 2 tubes ?
do i have to multiple by two?
am i correct?[DOUBLEPOST=1404755407][/DOUBLEPOST]another question is is it better to go for 5 feet long or 4 feet long tubes?
i was thinking if i will go for 4 feet long it will a gap at the sides is that a problem?
if i will go for 5 feet long will be spot on!
is any different on par with these two tubes?

thanks again guys![DOUBLEPOST=1404755614][/DOUBLEPOST]oh sorry martin i forgot to tell you about the  filter!

i have got luwel biowflow 6.0 (internal) and another two canister filters
 one is tetratec ex 700 
and the other one is eheim 2217

so i was thinking to put them all for now..is that ok?


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## Martin in Holland (8 Jul 2014)

chris_cotton23 said:


> is the chart for one tube? so the par at the left is it for one?and if i want to put 2 tubes ?
> do i have to multiple by two?


Yes, yes and yes....



chris_cotton23 said:


> another question is is it better to go for 5 feet long or 4 feet long tubes?
> i was thinking if i will go for 4 feet long it will a gap at the sides is that a problem?
> if i will go for 5 feet long will be spot on!
> is any different on par with these two tubes?


It doesn't really matter how long your tubes are, it's the distance from your tube to the plant that matters...the farther away from the bulb the lesser the PAR will be[DOUBLEPOST=1404785518][/DOUBLEPOST]Just make sure your filters aren't working against each other and you should be fine


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