Hi All,
I've spent the last number of weeks researching what I want to do for my first informed planted tank build. I currently have a fully cycled 10 gallon newbie tank that I've been maintaining for the past 3 months that has a canister filter and some plants and fish that are surviving. As I move into this new 22 gallon long tank, I want to check my plans against the knowledge of the community. What are your thoughts on this so far? I'll spare you all the background stuff, but you might see some design decisions that are unusual. Thanks for any thoughts on this!
Goals:
I've spent the last number of weeks researching what I want to do for my first informed planted tank build. I currently have a fully cycled 10 gallon newbie tank that I've been maintaining for the past 3 months that has a canister filter and some plants and fish that are surviving. As I move into this new 22 gallon long tank, I want to check my plans against the knowledge of the community. What are your thoughts on this so far? I'll spare you all the background stuff, but you might see some design decisions that are unusual. Thanks for any thoughts on this!
Goals:
- Nice aesthetic, active display reminiscent of a natural(ish) river (some gentle flowing plants and lots of river rock)
- Stability. The ability to leave on vacation for a few days or weeks without worrying about it beyond having a friend or neighbor feeding it occasionally. I also don't want to be constantly be fighting to keep it in balance.
- I don't care about fancy plants. Just a nice overall look and feel to it. Mostly grassy looking plants that move and accent the rock work. I'm not a plant collector or even a gardener for that matter. I'm not looking to make an incredible jungle with huge variety.
- I have hard water (GH = 11, KH = 6, pH = 7.4) and want to make that work as is
- Avoid expensive ferts, DIY is great for me
- Happy to use my existing cycled canister filter
- I HATE the bubbler. I want to avoid that.
- Avoid Flourish Excel (just one other factor I don't want to manage)
- Must plan for jumping fish and probably escaping snails
- Will be using fish that prefer cooler temps and more flow
- Tank is by a large window that does not get direct sun, but does see the blue sky
- My personal favorite tank, that's still in the same vein as my goals Is this one.
- Tank: Mr.Aqua 22gallon long rimless on a welded steel pedestal
- Substrate: SERA Floredepot and Fluval Stratum (ended up doing both to get more thickness 1" - 1.5" thick)
- Also, supporting a local fish store I bought some ADA products just to spend some money there. I put Clear Super and Bacter 100 on the glass bottom before adding anything. Added some Bacter 100 to the gravel too.
- Cap: gathered and sieved dry river bed gravel - predominantly basalt 1.5-3mm. Washed and boiled.
- Rock: gathered river bed basalt, pressure washed
- Driftwood: gathered dead dried manzanita crown, upside down to create space underneath. Pressure washed and boiled.
- Dark cycling:
- Added bottle of Dr.Tims One and Only and ~4mL of Dr.Tims ammonium chloride on Day 1
- Currently running a submerged pump and 2 airstones for flow and aeration
- Heater set to 83°F for cycling. Will be set to 72°F afterward.
- Wrapped the entire tank in blackout material
- Already seeing Nitrites on Day 3.
- Finish dark cycle
- 3D print new light brackets to lift the light higher off the water
- Plant plants, dose with Seachem Flourish Advance for ~2 weeks to get them rooting quicker
- Establish tank flow with a small pump or power head. Enough to get a gentle swaying of the taller plants. This will be independent from the canister filter.
- Transfer existing canister filter and fish/snails to new tank after planting
- Start water column fert schedule
- After ~4 weeks, begin root tabs
- Starting Plants:
- Vallisneria Torta: start with enough to fill the background, 20-30 individuals
- Vallisneria Nana: mid ground, sporadic for visual depth
- Giant Hairgrass: foreground, sporadic for texture
- Dwarf Hairgrass: foreground, sporadic for texture
- Dwarf Sagittaria: lots of it to cover most of the gravel bed, not in the center
- Crypt Balansae: 2-3 for interest and movement
- Dwarf Water Lettuce: Corralled on the far end, just for fun. I already have these in my newbie tank.
- Cabomba because I already have some.
- Light: RGBW programmable Hygger LED. My current 10gallon is using these settings which is working OK for plants and algae:
- PAR roughly turned down to ~30-40 umol at the substrate (cheap light meter method)
- Photoperiods 2 per day @ 4 hours ea.
- Any major issues to look out for?
- Is the dark cycle valuable if I already plan to use my cycled canister filter? My thinking is it should help get the substrate and other surfaces "cycled". Seems like it won't hurt, but I am questioning the value.
- I finished reading Diana Walstad's book and I am compelled to attempt to ween the tank down to minimal (but not zero) filtration. My thinking is it would be nice if the plants could have access to the Ammonia before conversion. Is this flawed thinking? I am not looking to do a Walstad tank, just something that has the highest likelihood of growth and balance without adding CO2.
- For the above to be feasible, I will keep stocking relatively light. But, with all my rocks and grassy plants, will I run into a problem of not enough plant mass?
- Also, my two large rocks on the left are supported by xps foam, no substrate underneath them. But everything else is sitting in/on the substrate. Will the rocks sitting on top of the substrate cause bacteria/rot/toxicity issues below them?
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