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Newbie Planted Tank

Simps100

Simps100

Seedling
Joined
8 Aug 2016
Messages
21
Location
Surrey
Hi all

Am currently running a Fluval Roma 240 which I intended to be a planted tank but I dived in without much research and am regretting it now!

So our current setup has:

Roma 240
External Fluval 306 Filter
2 x GLO T8 light tubes (May have seen my topic asking for recommendations on this)
Co2 http://www.co2supermarket.co.uk/dual-stage-co2-system-advanced-p485.html

Its not gone too well - we used pond soil in the attempt to save some money which we've now been told is probably causing a lot of our problems (Plants dying - lots of algae) so we've decided to start from scratch.

We plan to empty the water into containers and keep the fish in a bucket whilst we do this (only 5/6 fish) We will then empty our gravel / pond soil and dispose of this, give the tank a good clean and start again!

We have JBL Aquabasis plus + JBL Manado for our new substrate we also have a selection of rocks we will be using to randomly put across the tank. We will also be EI dosing the tank using this recommended kit: http://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html

Am now looking for ideas for plants to use in the new tank - I would like a carpeting plant but this will mainly depend on if our lighting is up for it - other than that im open to suggestions from you guys who have much more experience in all of this than i do!

Thanks!
Marc
 
What kind of pond soil did you use? I've used various types of soil without any issues http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-soil-substrate-or-dirted-planted-tank-a-how-to-guide.18943/
Your lighting should be OK for most easy plants http://tropica.com/en/plants/, and take a look at this for low light carpeting plant ideas http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-tech-lawns.32597/
Although, if you upgraded to T5 or LED you would have a greater choice of plants and increase the likelihood of growing a carpet https://www.iquaticsonline.co.uk/aqualumi-universal-juwel-compatible-lighting.html
 
Tim Harrison said:
What kind of pond soil did you use? I've used various types of soil without any issues http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-soil-substrate-or-dirted-planted-tank-a-how-to-guide.18943/
Your lighting should be OK for most easy plants http://tropica.com/en/plants/, and take a look at this for low light carpeting plant ideas http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-tech-lawns.32597/
Although, if you upgraded to T5 or LED you would have a greater choice of plants and increase the likelihood of growing a carpet https://www.iquaticsonline.co.uk/aqualumi-universal-juwel-compatible-lighting.html
Click to expand...

Wish I saw your guide before I started up this original tank! We actually used the Westland Aquatic Compost in your topic funnily enough and suffer awful algae problems (Attached pictures) we have Co2 going in and the lights are currently on from 12-9pm - I'd be interested to know where i went wrong even though it will all be redone soon!

As for the new tank I am tempted to upgrade to T5 / LED now as I know eventually i'll want to anyway! Our tank is 120CM wide and 50CM depth - Would the 2 bulb AquaLumi Universal be enough or would i be better to go for the 4 bulb one?

Thanks for the help!
IMG_1065.JPG IMG_1068.JPG
 
Hi all,
Simps100 said:
We actually used the Westland Aquatic Compost in your topic funnily enough and suffer awful algae problems (Attached pictures)
Click to expand...
You need a lot more plant mass, ideally with some floating plants. I'm away in Germany for the next fortnight, but hopefully some-one else can send you some spare plants. Hornwort (Ceratophyllum) would really help at the moment as well.

The plants you have planted already have been grown emersed, which means that they need some time to get used to being submerged. The algae is you can see on the Hygrophila pinnatifida etc is a red algae, and it looks like possibly <"Stagshorn Algae"> (Compsopogon), which is difficult to remove. Black Brush Algae (BBA) would be the other option, but the same applies with regard to manual removal.

Plant production at Tropica



cheers Darrel
 
Dito...what Darrel said...especially with regards plant biomass; it's one of the fundamentals to getting off to a good start, so plant as heavily as possible.

These algae guides may be of future help http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/algae-problems-read-this-first.5818/
I doubt your algae problem was much, if anything, to do with using a soil substrate; I think perhaps you were misinformed.

2 T5 tubes will be fine for most plants, including carpet plants http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/setting-up-a-higher-tech-planted-tank.1275/
But I'd go with the T8s first and see how you go. If you haven't got them already adding good reflectors will increase output enormously.

I've had Jewel tanks and the internal filter really isn't up to providing the flow and distribution you need to get the best out of your CO2, especially if you upgrade the lights to T5.
I took my internal out with the help of a scalpel, and used an external. But you can add a powerhead instead.

So to sum up in your case poor flow and distribution and fluctuating CO2, and inadequate plant biomass = algae.

Check out the rest of the tutorials as well.
 
Thanks both for the hints - will defiantly make sure we heavily plant out the new aquarium!

Our tank is a Fluval Roma 240, it has a canister filter with drilled holes for the input and output - I've attached images of where the co2 is positioned - is this the best place or will it be suited better elsewhere when I redo the tank?

If only I had found this forum sooner!
image.jpg image.jpg
 
I would also reduce lighting times to 5/6 hours during initial setup, you can increase light duration later.
 
No you haven't misunderstood, it is closer to 5. That's fine for a low-energy but you may struggle high-energy. The addition of a powerhead would give you the flow you need. Or you could change your filter out for something more powerful.
 
Have you tried moving your diffuser ?.Looks like it's right in a back corner.
What colour is your drop checker ?.
 
Tim Harrison said:
No you haven't misunderstood, it is closer to 5. That's fine for a low-energy but you may struggle high-energy. The addition of a powerhead would give you the flow you need. Or you could change your filter out for something more powerful.
Click to expand...
https://www.seapets.co.uk/fluval-sea-cp3-circulation-pump-2800lph-48408 - something like this?

Nelson said:
Have you tried moving your diffuser ?.Looks like it's right in a back corner.
What colour is your drop checker ?.
Click to expand...

It has In the past gone green but have noticed recently it's blue - we followed the instructions and put it just above the substrate under the outflow would there be a better place in our tank as I guess this wilL vary on tank setup. I guess we may need to reposition again with a power head?
 
Something like that should do it.
And Neil is right, your CO2 appears to be in a bit of a dead spot, repositioning it near the powerhead or as near to the inlet as possible would be better, although I'd still recommend an inline atomiser for your setup;)
You need to aim for lime green at lights on.
 
Tim Harrison said:
Something like that should do it.
And Neil is right, your CO2 appears to be in a bit of a dead spot, repositioning it near the powerhead or as near to the inlet as possible would be better, although I'd still recommend an inline atomiser for your setup;)
You need to aim for lime green at lights on.
Click to expand...

Great thanks for all the help so far!

I always thought we wanted to avoid co2 going into the inlet for some reason - but will look at the inline atomiser for the new setup. Our co2 is on a timer with the lights - so the co2 only starts when the lights come on but I guess we want the co2 to come on a little while before if we want the drop checker to be lime green at lights on?

So far for the new setup:

Purchased:

  • JBL aquabasis plus 2-3 cm across the base
  • JBL manado 4-5 cm on top
  • EI Dosing Starter kit

To Purchase:

  • Power head / new more powerful filter (will probably go for the power head this time)
  • Inline co2 atomiser
  • Plants and plenty of them!

And then once up and running see how it goes with our lights and make a choice what to do depending on results from there - had a look and our current T8 bulbs are
  • One Power-Glo fluorescent aquarium 40 Watt T8 Tube
  • One Aqua-Glo fluorescent aquarium 40 Watt T8 Tube
Am I missing anything?
 
Hi all

We have bought a new filter (Fluval FX6) which gives us pretty much the 10 times flow rate we need.

At the moment the output from the filter is 2 nozzles -would there be any benifit of us changing this to a spray bar?

IMG_1151.JPG

Thanks!
 
Hi, a lot of members use a spray bar across the rear of their tank, especially with a large volume tank so flow is distributed evenly, however not all use this method and some substitute with an additional powerhead. The most important thing to aim for is flow travelling in the same direction - as if placed at different angles can then lose momentum - looking good so far!
 
Here's my opinion and I'm running an Osaka 155 with pond soil capped with silver sand.

Use a spray bar and create as much surface agitation as possible. Don't break the water, agitate it. You want as much o2 in the water column both for you fish and to help break down organics. O2 is independent of Co2 in the tank.

Use a small wavemaker to create turbulence under the water and to help carry Co2 around all deadspot prone areas.

Dont go off a lime green DC in such a large tank for staging lighting. It'll likely be 2 hours behind what the pH drop really is so this is wasted gas. Buy a cheap PH meter off ebay for a fiver and use this to measure PH drop and help dial in both lighting and Co2 needle valve adjustment.

Fill your tank with cheap FAST growing stem plants, floating plants until you are confident things are heading in the right direction before slow substitution of the scape.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
 
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