plantbrain
Expert
- Joined
- 2 Aug 2007
- Messages
- 1,938
There seems a few options available but I prefer to be a bit radicle so trickle filters & water changes sound good to me.
Don't tell Ceg but I have mega lighting over the tank at the moment, 4 x T5 1 xT8 & 3 x 11w LED so I have the lighting covered with the T8 & or LEDs.
In fact I have most things I need including mature plants, I just need a re scape & soil.....
I think your personality and the location of the tank seem to be the problem, not the method You want something to mess with, that's the problem. You cannot leave it be.
I have some tanks like this. I redo them if so. The low tech tanks I liked the best I have out in the garage ....or have nice emergent growth I can pick and nip at and add /change easily.
They still look very nice, ADA like etc.........but no CO2 etc.
The other option is to do the gas, but run the lights at 30umol or 35 range.............then use slower growing plants etc.
I did this with my 70 Gallon Buce tank.
The way it is growing, I'm not pleased, so I took out some nice wood and will redo the scape, but stick with the Buce's and scape based on their attributes and have a more branchy hardscape design. Buces I have really come to love.
Sometimes you have to do what looks best and and figure out what works for your own personality. Balancing the human factors/issues we have is 90% of the battle I'd say.
You might ponder that. A nice iwagumi non CO2 is possible however. You'd need to do the DSM, then allow things to progress from there. shrimp, algae eaters will help a great deal, more than a CO2 enriched tank per unit "critter".
I wrestle with the same issues. I have one pesky tank, one medium level care tank, then a reef and a minimal care tank.
Any more than this, it becomes a much larger headache. Hence the garage quarantine tank neglect.