NorthernDan
Member
Hey guys
Thought I'd make a journal as somewhere to keep the progress on my first "proper" planted aquarium.
I've had numerous planted aquariums in the past, large Discus one, smaller nano types, but I've always tended to try and bodge something. Generally this comes from me never having the nerve/bottle or finances to go Co2 injection. However, in anticipation of a large Discus aquarium when we finally get some house renovation done I've decided to dip my toes into a small planted aquarium hopefully done with all the trimmings but still on a budget where I can.
What I've managed to pick up so far.
Equipment.
Aquamanta Nano 60 aquarium. Got a great little bargain for this tank second hand. Its a one with the little sump in the back. Measures 60x40x40cm approx 90l.
Aquael Ultra Heater. Had one of these lying around from my marine or Discus days.
Couple of 2kg FE. Again a cracking bargain as a guy local to me sells them for £7 a pop.
Co2 Art Pro SE series Regulator. This is one item I bit the bullet on and bought brand new. I don't feel experienced enough or have the balls to risk a ebay no name type and tbh the second hand market on these is close to what you can buy one new with the discount.
Chihiros A601 Plus. A bit of a gamble for me, I really wanted to try the whole RBG/ App adjustable lighting but everything seemed massively out of my budget. I had read good things about Chihiros on here and with me not in any hurry I decided to order direct from Nicrew via Aliexpress. Was only £45 which I thought was worth the gamble for this type of kit. I kinda expected to be waiting till Christmas to receive it but its actually just come through the post this morning. Less than two weeks since I ordered it, can't really argue with that plus it looks great and took less than 5 minutes to set up.
Hardscape.
Luckily we have a relatively new dedicated aquascaping shop withing 40 mins of us in Horizon Aquatics. Popped over a couple of times and decided on a few nice bits of Redmoor type and a few kilos of mini landscaping rock.
Fish.
This tank isn't really about the fish so much. I've let the other half pick what she likes as a way to get her on side and for a easy life. Will likely be your normal Otto/Neon combo. Maybe try a Betta or another "stand alone" feature fish.
Still to buy/receive.
While I was on Aliexpress I did notice some hellishly cheap Bubble counters/Diffusers etc. For the sake of a couple quid I ordered a few but whether I receive these or they are any good is another matter.
I have a order waiting to go in on pro shrimp. I'm almost certain I'll go with tropica soil, I was thinking of using some Lava rock underneath the substrate at the back to kinda cheat without having to buy more (very expensive) substrate but still add depth to the aquarium. Also on that order is some test kits and other random bits.
Sorry its not to exciting compared to some of the jorunals on here, should hopefully have some pictures and updates within a couple weeks!
Thanks for reading
Thought I'd make a journal as somewhere to keep the progress on my first "proper" planted aquarium.
I've had numerous planted aquariums in the past, large Discus one, smaller nano types, but I've always tended to try and bodge something. Generally this comes from me never having the nerve/bottle or finances to go Co2 injection. However, in anticipation of a large Discus aquarium when we finally get some house renovation done I've decided to dip my toes into a small planted aquarium hopefully done with all the trimmings but still on a budget where I can.
What I've managed to pick up so far.
Equipment.
Aquamanta Nano 60 aquarium. Got a great little bargain for this tank second hand. Its a one with the little sump in the back. Measures 60x40x40cm approx 90l.
Aquael Ultra Heater. Had one of these lying around from my marine or Discus days.
Couple of 2kg FE. Again a cracking bargain as a guy local to me sells them for £7 a pop.
Co2 Art Pro SE series Regulator. This is one item I bit the bullet on and bought brand new. I don't feel experienced enough or have the balls to risk a ebay no name type and tbh the second hand market on these is close to what you can buy one new with the discount.
Chihiros A601 Plus. A bit of a gamble for me, I really wanted to try the whole RBG/ App adjustable lighting but everything seemed massively out of my budget. I had read good things about Chihiros on here and with me not in any hurry I decided to order direct from Nicrew via Aliexpress. Was only £45 which I thought was worth the gamble for this type of kit. I kinda expected to be waiting till Christmas to receive it but its actually just come through the post this morning. Less than two weeks since I ordered it, can't really argue with that plus it looks great and took less than 5 minutes to set up.
Hardscape.
Luckily we have a relatively new dedicated aquascaping shop withing 40 mins of us in Horizon Aquatics. Popped over a couple of times and decided on a few nice bits of Redmoor type and a few kilos of mini landscaping rock.
Fish.
This tank isn't really about the fish so much. I've let the other half pick what she likes as a way to get her on side and for a easy life. Will likely be your normal Otto/Neon combo. Maybe try a Betta or another "stand alone" feature fish.
Still to buy/receive.
While I was on Aliexpress I did notice some hellishly cheap Bubble counters/Diffusers etc. For the sake of a couple quid I ordered a few but whether I receive these or they are any good is another matter.
I have a order waiting to go in on pro shrimp. I'm almost certain I'll go with tropica soil, I was thinking of using some Lava rock underneath the substrate at the back to kinda cheat without having to buy more (very expensive) substrate but still add depth to the aquarium. Also on that order is some test kits and other random bits.
Sorry its not to exciting compared to some of the jorunals on here, should hopefully have some pictures and updates within a couple weeks!
Thanks for reading