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new member new tank first time planted help please!

macd666

macd666

Seedling
Joined
1 Sep 2013
Messages
15
Location
bolsover
hi all
I'm new to all this planted tank and forums stuff I've had small tanks on and off over the years so I have basic fish keeping skills . I love watching my tank (I watch it while the wife watches TV) so as there is nothing better looking then a planted tank I've decided to give it a try but I know nothing all my knowledge is mainly other peoples posts on forums and a lot of that is individual to there tanks and argued, or what I've researched
So to start I'm after a low tech community tank ! I already have a 48"x12"x18" tank .a fluval 406 filter (new).20lbs of eco-complete live (new/unopened) an Arcadia original tropical F038 the plant growth lamp 42" and a Atman 10000k 30w super light 35" . Two buckets of rocks n bogwood !
Should I use any of this or just buy all new ?
cheers phil
 
I'm a great fan of using what you have already. So use it all! If the flow from the filter is not quite enough you could always supplement it with a powerhead.
 
the fluval 406 says it will do upto 400l as I'm only at 170l won't I have enough flow ?
cheers phil
 
Sounds like you already have everything you need for low tech. Stick some plants in and turn it all on 🙂

Actually, a second bag of eco complete (or any other substrate) wouldn't go amiss - you won't even get an inch deep with 20lbs which can make planting tricky.
 
That's fine for an unplanted tank but for a planted tank you should be looking at about 10x flow. The Fluval 406 is 1450lph = 8.5x flow. So a little under. You need the flow to reach all areas of the tank and all parts of the plants.
 
Lol no heater yet looking at getting a hydor ETH300 , only got 20lbs of substrate and not got a clue about lighting YET
Nice thought tho
 
Ok kewl thanks squid so a powerhead will be required any suggestions ?
I am hoping for nearly no equipment in my tank but if thats whats required thats what ill do
 
Generally speaking the more flow the better but if you're going low tech it's not as important. Problem with filters is they state their turnover when empty of medium in effect just the pumps ability so the actual turnover figure is usually a lot lower.
 
I also hear that they use very large filters. On the subject of lighting are you saying you have two tubes there? Not sure what an Arcadia original tropical F038 the plant growth lamp 42 is. With the one 30watt tube your at roughly 1.3 watts per gallon which is fine for low tech set ups. If there is another tube on there you could be by default not low tech. The range of 2 to 3 wpg is generally seen as being medium to high lighting in which most plants will flourish but you will have to step up your game on both flow and co2.
Hence the flow not being as critical in low tech.
More Light=more demand for co2 and nutrients=getting all those nutrients and co2 to all the plants with better flow
Problems begin when you place high demand on the plants with extra lighting then don't full fill the rest of the plants needs. If you want to begin low tech then stick with the one tube for now. Plants won't not grow they will just do it slower. A lot of people who use this board are seasoned aquascapers who build a tank for photography and shows in the least time then strip it down and build another. You sound to me, going off your original post that you just want a long term community tank to look at and enjoy yourself. Keeping the lighting down will give you more enjoyment it's just a case of finding which plants do well in a low light set up. At four feet combined with high lighting you would as previously mentioned need to be getting into huge filters and co2 setups.

Neil
 
AverageWhiteBloke said:
With the one 30watt tube your at roughly 1.3 watts per gallon which is fine for low tech set ups.
Click to expand...

Erm, I don't think so. This is a 170ltr tank, 45 US gallons, 37 UK gallons. I can't remember if you calculate wpg with uk or us gallons but either way it's not 1.3wpg. Unless I've gone wrong somewhere with my maths?

The Arcadia bulb is 38w so with both bulbs you should be about right.
 
Yeah, your right mate. That's what I get for doing a quick post at work. 😳 I did wrong way round divided galls by watts based on a 40 Gall tank. It's not exact science anyway but yes even with the two lights going it's around 1.5wpg which should be fine. I would hazard a guess at 1.5 and both lights running it would possibly need the addition of co2 either liquid or gas. It's borderline.
 
I've just ordered another starter unit as I cant get my 2 spares to fire up . and I'm going to start with the two bulbs I have and take it from there with the lighting
as for completion/start of my substrate I was thinking another bag of eco-complete mixed with silica sand 1mm-2mm (eBay item number 121158395501 ) total of 95lbs with osmocote tabs
all feedback welcome
 
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