My 1st Planted tank

[spamalamadingdong]

Finally I have got around to setting my tank up

It's taken longer than planed as my wife has recently given birth so obviously this little project took a back seat

Managed to get it cycling a few weeks ago & put in some water from my other tank & planted up about a week ago

Equipment

• Tank 48" x 12" x 14"
• 2 xT8 tubes a 38w Tropical and a 38w Freshwater
• 1 xT5 39w
• 1x LED moonlight strip
• An eheim pro II 2028 filter
• DIY CO2
• Eco Complete

Flora

• Eleocharis Acicularis
• Hemianthus callitrichoides
• Riccia fluitans
• Echinodorus 'Red Devil'
• Echinodorus quadricostatus (I think or Cryptocoryne parva, you can see it under the airstone in the 2nd to last picture)

Fauna

• Paracheirodon innesi
• Rasbora hengeli
• Otocinclus
• Caridina Japonica

My CO2 doesnt seem to be dispersing across the tank

It's currently setup opposite the filter so not sure if the flow is pushing it around properly
Should I put this underneath the filter outlet to push it along?

I got my filter off eBay, it didn't come with a spray bar but I'm just wondering if that would help the flow of water across the top, as I'm wondering if the big rock in the middle is breaking the flow

Any advice or comments welcome
Cheers
Andy

 

[Tony Swinney]

Hi Andy

Great work on the scape - I love the rocks ( what are they by the way ? ) that centre one must be some weight

CO2 distribution around a 4 ft tank with big rocks like that will be tricky. I'd suggest a powerhead above the diffuser to blow the bubbles across the front of the tank, just make sure the flow is working with, not against, the filter outlet.

I've never used DIY CO2, but have heard mention of irregularities in the CO2 levels with DIY, which is likely to cause algae. On a 4 foot tank I think you need CO2 distribution at both ends of the tank - preferably from a pressurised system with a splitter to 2 diffusers. Perhaps you could rig another DIY system at the other end to see how that works ?

Hope that helps.

Tony

 

[spamalamadingdong]

Thanks for the response

I love the rocks ( what are they by the way ? ) that centre one must be some weight

They're a gneiss rock from my local garden centre. I have had them in for about a month before I put the fish in & have been testing and they seem fine. They have changed the ph ever so slightly but seem fine otherwise, no leeching of any sort. The centre rock is fairly big but is also thin like a shark fin as the tank has a built-in glass condesation panel so the opening is quite thin, so had to do some chiseling and filing!

CO2 distribution around a 4 ft tank with big rocks like that will be tricky. I'd suggest a powerhead above the diffuser to blow the bubbles across the front of the tank, just make sure the flow is working with, not against, the filter outlet.

Would something like this suffice for my needs
http://www.charterhouse-aquatics.co.uk/ ... -2494.html
And do you think I would need to use a spraybar instead of just the nozzle that is currently on the outlet?

I've never used DIY CO2, but have heard mention of irregularities in the CO2 levels with DIY, which is likely to cause algae. On a 4 foot tank I think you need CO2 distribution at both ends of the tank - preferably from a pressurised system with a splitter to 2 diffusers. Perhaps you could rig another DIY system at the other end to see how that works ?

This is my 1st try at CO2, I've only had a regular fish tank before this so I wanted to see how it went before I took the plunge with a pressurised system (also saving up the pennies to buy one!) I have some spare diffusers & a splitter so I will try rigging up another at the other end


Thanks again for the advice
Cheers
Andy

 

[Alastair]

id go for a slightly more powerful powerhead, you can get some cheap ones off ebay. i prefer spray bars myself as flow is better from top to bottom, but with the powerhead you can run your diffuser under it and it will get blown around the tank.

i noticed your drop checker has a very small airgap inside too, this will make the solution inside take alot longer to change colour mate

 

[spamalamadingdong]

Thanks for that, i'll have a look around

i noticed your drop checker has a very small airgap inside too, this will make the solution inside take alot longer to change colour mate

Ahh that makes sense never noticed that, will redo with a larger airgap for better surface area


Cheers
Andy

 

[Bahrah]

Gneiss layout, really do like the rock!

Cheers.
Bahrah