Hi evrybody. My name's Alex and I've finally decide to join the community after a while lurking in the background - I think this site is a fantastic resource. I've been in to the hobby about 1 year and just rearranged my tank (see below) after setting up a CO2 system. I've joined as I want to learn as much as I can about planted tanks. I'm currently experimenting with different plants and I'd really like to carpet (I've currently got a small patch of Staurogyne repens) the substrate so any suggestions or advice is welome. Also if anybocy has got any recommendations of good books to read on the subject I'd love to hear them.
For anyone who is interested my current setup is as follows:
Tank and filtration
160L tank with two external filters (tetratec EX 600 and aquamanta EFX200). The filter outflows combine via a t-piece into a single flow connected to Sera CO2 reactor.
Plants
Bacopa caroliniana
Echinodorus Rose
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Cryptocoryne Beckettii 'petchii'
Echinodorus ‘Barthii’
Eleocharis sp
Ludwigia Repens
Staurogyne repens
As i'm writing this I can't help feeling I've got too many different types of plant?
Lights
2 x 39W T5 bulbs and a couple of intepet 35 cm LED lights. The lights are on for 7 hours/day at present - is this long enough?
CO2
I bought a kit from CO2 art with a dual stage regulator and attached it to a 2 kg fire extinguisher, I initially tried a an inline diffuer but didnt like the fine bubbles so changed to a Sera reactor which has been great. The CO2 rate is roughly 5 bps but difficult to count. The tank pH drops to about 5.9 when the CO2 on, which is low but I live in Sheffield and the water is very soft KH < 1.
Fetiliser
I bouight some JBL aquabasis and currently dose with Tropica premium and special fertiliser alternatively. I dose approx 3-4 squirts every day. I'm interested in exploring the EI route so any advice would be gratefully recieved.
I'm really looking forward to learning from the epertise and experience of other forum members and shairng my own experiences.
For anyone who is interested my current setup is as follows:
Tank and filtration
160L tank with two external filters (tetratec EX 600 and aquamanta EFX200). The filter outflows combine via a t-piece into a single flow connected to Sera CO2 reactor.
Plants
Bacopa caroliniana
Echinodorus Rose
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Cryptocoryne Beckettii 'petchii'
Echinodorus ‘Barthii’
Eleocharis sp
Ludwigia Repens
Staurogyne repens
As i'm writing this I can't help feeling I've got too many different types of plant?
Lights
2 x 39W T5 bulbs and a couple of intepet 35 cm LED lights. The lights are on for 7 hours/day at present - is this long enough?
CO2
I bought a kit from CO2 art with a dual stage regulator and attached it to a 2 kg fire extinguisher, I initially tried a an inline diffuer but didnt like the fine bubbles so changed to a Sera reactor which has been great. The CO2 rate is roughly 5 bps but difficult to count. The tank pH drops to about 5.9 when the CO2 on, which is low but I live in Sheffield and the water is very soft KH < 1.
Fetiliser
I bouight some JBL aquabasis and currently dose with Tropica premium and special fertiliser alternatively. I dose approx 3-4 squirts every day. I'm interested in exploring the EI route so any advice would be gratefully recieved.
I'm really looking forward to learning from the epertise and experience of other forum members and shairng my own experiences.
