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New tank and new questions...

egon

egon

Member
Joined
22 May 2011
Messages
49
Location
N kent
Hiya. Santa left me a belated present in the form of a 200L aqua oak tank. :)
I'd like to keep my existing fish in it and have to move my whole set up shortly due to redoing the carpet in the living room.
Now, questions i have are these...

I'd like to aquascape it, and use a proper substrate. What can i use under my sand that wont freak out/kill/cycle my water?
Lights....I'm thinking 39W t5 x3. i have a proper timer and this fires up my co2 as well.
any advice for a first timer? :)

tia.

ian.
 
Hi Ian,

Most of the commercially available substrate will leach some ammonia into the water column or things like dirt may increase hardness like John Innes no3. Others may also lower PH as well. I believe substrates such as cat litter or molar clay would suit you quite well, you won't need to cap it too. One of the downside is that it can potentially be too light so plants may get uprooted unless they have some nice roots, so you can expect to replant until the roots take hold. Another, is that they are not enriched in nutrients but if you dose EI or have roots tabs etc the cat litter/molar clay will absorb nutrients due to having a high CEC and release it back for the plants. Some people will pre-soak the cat litter/molar clay in some nutrient rich water prior to using. Cat Litter and molar clay are relatively cheap,cheaper than the commercial goods sold for aquariums.

I use the tesco's low dust, light weight cat litter, Tesco Low Dust Lightweight Cat Litter 10 Litres - Groceries - Tesco Groceries
As for molar clay you can get it on online bonsai shops 20 Litre Graded Molar Clay I'm sure they do a 30L one too.

If you opt for the Tesco brand expect to rinse it for a long time to get the scent away ; it says low dust but trust me its not. With that in mind the molar clay seems to be better.

Michael
 
You could try Colombo nutribase, it won't leech ammonia but its not highly fertilized either. I like it but I also boost it with tnc substrate plugs.
 
Thanks Michael, I'm not far from the bonsai shop in barnehurst, he does akadama stuff that the internet seems to like. The double red line stuff. I'm thinking of a sandy path look with built up sides, built up under with the akadama stuff then sand on top.
Need something a bit more 3d than my existing tank!
 
The tanks looking well. I'm glad you got some Osmocote under there because that just saved me posting it, or didn't as the case may be. :confused: I use a Tesco cat litter and osmocote combination in both my tanks. I also freeze some osmocote in ice cubes and push these into the gravel as deep as I can get them about every three months.
The cat litter can be a bit of a nuisance to start with as it is very light, carpeting plants with fine root systems struggle to get hold and constantly get uprooted by investigative fish and water flow, this seems to improve a little as it gets water logged.
Another issue I experienced was with plants that sent out runners, if all these are connected they become very buoyant as a group. I have had a load of twisted Vallis suddenly all just uproot themselves one day and float to the top! What I generally do now is cut the connecting runners so they are individual plants, this also help when you're working in the tank with your hands. Many a time i've pulled my arm out and took an entire field of plants with me :banghead:
 
Tank looks stunning! Something to aspire to, that is.
I have Corys in the existing tank so it's got to be a fine substrate as they're nosy and my khuli loaches need a playground too.
Just off to have a look at some t5's and some led strips that apparently support plant life....hmmm...:)
Cheers for the info, keep the advice coming though as I'm likely to change my mind about 20 times!!!
 
egon said:
I have Corys in the existing tank so it's got to be a fine substrate as they're nosy and my khuli loaches need a playground too.
Click to expand...

Corys very good at uprooting stuff, just sayin' :) lol (1st hand experience)
 
Yes, especially in lightweight cat litter corys will disturb stuff. Pygmy corys (Pygmaeus) Harbrosus and Hastatus are probably less likely to rearrange your plants, Superb little fish and very active bottom to mid tank swimmers.
 
Totally agree that cat litter is light, vacuuming is tricky, better to allow the fish to do all the disturbing. Go with plants with big root systems, amazon swords, crypts etc but be prepared to keep replanting. Even after 9 months I have continuing problems with algae so do some water tests. My silicates were off the scale and water changes on a 350l Trigon take a lot of doing. Interested to know what your tests show.
 
That's a tank I'd like, a trigon 350!
5L of Colombo nutribase doesn't go far, does it? :)
Buried an old rock on one side to take up some space but it still having a mental block as to artyness!!
 
Question....
Is the journal section for members only? aaand how do i become a member? :)
 
As your posting it means your a member already. If you want to start a journal just goto the journals section an post as a new thread.:thumbup:
 
Oooh cheers mark, sorry, used to forums having a paid membership section. :)
I'll start a thread up as there's a lot of learning I have to do. :)
 
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