Maturing New Media For A New Tank.....and Setting Up Substrate And Stu

[pammy172]

I am about to start the set up of a 260l tank for freshwater tropicals. I currently run a 35l orb. I have a tetratec EX1200 filter for the new tank. If I took the black balls out of the tetratec and popped them in a mesh bag and put them in the Orb, would that help populate the balls with the necessary bacteria and help speed up the cycling process?

I'm struggling to get the order of everything at the mo and would like to get the water started asap. I'm not fully decided what to do for substrate etc in the tank. I had thought about building a terrace using something ike the Juwel terrace blocks but someone on here said it caused them to have stagnant water behind the terrace. I was thinking of sand in front of the terrace and pea gravel behind. I do want to plant the tank faily well and also have some Mopani wood and or one of those resin mangrove roots. If the terrace will cause the water to stagnate then that's out - could I get some water in the tank and get that cycling, then add sand and rocks and gravel after, then plants? Is there anything wrong with that order?

I was also thinking of using some of the water from the orb too to help kick start the cycling? Is that a stupid idea?

Any help/advice very gratefully received.

 

[OldMan47]

You are making a very large step up in size so many of the usual things we might do will not be as effective.
If you move some of the balls from the Orb to the new filter, that will give your filter something to build on and should accelerate the cycling process. The water from the Orb will not help at all because the bacteria you want to establish live on surfaces, not free swimming. You could start cycling the filter with only the water but would need to shut off the filter for a short time when you add in the substrate. Otherwise, the suspended material you get with the substrate will go right into the filter and will tend to plug it up. Even very well washed substrate will give some suspended particles when it first goes into a tank. An approach I would try would be to shutoff the filter, drain the tank and build the substrate and water back up before restarting the filter. That way you could get the filter cycled while you make up your mind on substrate. If you decide to use a soil substrate with a sand or gravel cover on top, the soil will make a terrible mess going in after the water.
The easiest sequence would be to get the substrate set the way you want it and get the decorations in place with only a little water in the tank, then bring the water level up carefully so nothing gets disturbed. After that you would turn on the filter and clear the last of the suspended material. The other sequence will work if you have not made up your mind yet what to use for substrate.
The plants can go in any time you are ready for them. Even if you have no substrate, most plants will live OK for a while just floating around in the water. You will need to decide what plants you want to get before you decide on the substrate and the tank lighting. Some plants are heavy root feeders and do better with a fertile substrate. All plants have specific light requirements and you want a group that are similar in light needs so that you can choose the right light levels. If you go with high light levels, you will also need to learn about the wonderful world of CO2 and fertilizers.

 

[pammy172]

Many thanks for you really helpful response - very much appreciated.

I'll chuck the balls into the orb for a start


Anyone any thoughts on the terracing idea?

 

[pammy172]

Anyone please?

 

[waterdrop]

I have never seen the terrace blocks but I can't quite see why anyone would say there was stagnant water behind some rocks that had more gravel behind them. Perhaps this was just the old concern about substrate that's too deep but I thought that concern was mostly debunked.

I personally think you should go after whatever the heck look you want! If you want to try terrace blocks and two types of substrate, go for it! But I would comment that any time you use two types of substrate, two colors of gravel, whatever, that even though you think they are very well separated, they will inevitably get mixed somehow, so you need to be prepared for potential disappointment in that department. Also, the more complicated you make your bottom surface, the trickier the maintenance gets, so you need to be prepared for that too. Have you perused the pictures of planted tanks in the planted tank journals here on TFF or on the AGA competition sites? Sometimes there are ideas for how to acheive a look of "movement" using gravel paths and such.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[pammy172]

Thanks for that - much appreciated. Have some thoughts and your comments are very helpful. I have been looking at as many planted tanks as I can and have found some stunners on here and other sites. So much inspiration!!