Hi Nathan.
Disposable CO2 can add up after a while. I have used DIY in the past but it's unstable... so for my current tank i brought a kit from CO2art
http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...get-sodastream-system-for-aquarium-up-to-120l The reason i went for this is that i can get sodastream 60L cylinders from Argos at £19.99 for a full cylinder and a replacement for £9.99, they last really well on my tank 92L at 2.5 bubbles per second.
EI stands for Estimative Index... Here is a link from this site, it is lengthy but worth the read
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-estimative-index.13/ you can make up the ferts yourself or buy ready made Macro and Micro. The cheapest option is to make them up yourself, but if like me you want an easy life then i brought mine from CO2art (before you star to wonder i don't work for them!) here is a link for you
http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections/fertilizer I would recommend using EI from the start, i didn't and growth was slow, as soon as i started using it.... wow, really fast growth.
-8 Cardinal Tetras - I would say they are best kept in showles of around 10 or more and for your tank probably 20, if price is an issue then you can get deals from ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-x-Card...076?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item25a22f26d4 As a note they like soft water at 23 – 27°C / 73.5 – 80.5°F
-6 Platies - not a big fan myself and they might eat the shrimp, especially cherries.
-6-8 Amano or Cherry Shrimp - I have 12 Amano shrimp and they are great for munching on any algae, they are quite bold and are out feeding all the time. The three cherry shrimp i have (not sure where they came from?) spend most of their time under bog wood and in the plants.
I was also thinking of putting in some rasboras - I really like the Galaxy rasboras, the colours are great.
I also have a few questions.
What sand should I put in? I chose sand over gravel because I think it looks more natural and plant should be happier than with gravel? - If you are going for a planted tank i would suggest a base of some kind... I use JBL aquabasis plus and capped of with JBL Manado, you could use something like aquabasis or similar which could be capped off with the sand. Their are lots of choices as far as substrate and some great threads on here for to read
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/forums/substrates.17/ Substrate is a really debated subject on here, so i would advise a good read and weigh up the pro's and con's.
Are there any plants that you would recommend - Planting choice can depend on what type of tank you are going for... Dutch, Biotope, Nature style, dirty, iwagumi... you get the idea
😵 if you are a new or just going for your fist real planted tank i would recommend easy species, have a look on the tropica website:
http://tropica.com/en/plants/
At the start i would keep your lighting period to 6-8hrs until you get some really good growth, you don't want to have the battle with algae like did
😵
Jim
