George Farmer
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This is a journal of a planted aquarium I'm setting up for a colleague. It's actually a surprise for his wife who is currently serving in Iraq in the RAF.
The tank is a Fluval Venezia 190 l. corner tank, purchased from my local Maidenhead Aquatics in Peterborough, along with all the necessary accessories (substrate, nets, thermometer, dechlorinator, rocks, wood etc.) Thanks to Steve, the manager for providing a superb service.
Lighting is the supplied 2 x 24w HO T5 Hagen Power-Glo with in-built reflectors. We may use some different reflectors as they're not very efficient. This is low light at just under 1 watt per gallon but I'm confident that it will grow the chosen plants effectively. It should also be forgiving with regards algae.
The filter is the supplied Fluval 205 external. You can see it's plumbed into the bottom of the tank using a clever design. The outputs should provide a good all-round circulation. It's not massive filtration but it won't be having a large fish load, so should be ample.
Substrate is the Tetra product topped with a fine 1-2mm inert lime-free gravel.
CO2 will be a 2Kg pressurized system using a fire extinguisher, a welding regulator and needle valve (from www.flubenol.co.uk), and other accessories from Aqua Essentials. The CO2 tubing goes directly into the filter intake. I've used this technique previously in my Juwel Rio 125 and Fluval 204 (almost identical to the 205).
Fertilisation will be Tropica Plant Nutrition+ liquid, from Aqua Essentials.
The heater is the supplied Hagen 200w model.
Filter system
Empty tank, with filter piping, CO2 tubing and heater fitted
Tetra substrate
Tetra substrate installed
Top layer installed
The next stage is placing the wood and rocks. And then planting!
The tank is a Fluval Venezia 190 l. corner tank, purchased from my local Maidenhead Aquatics in Peterborough, along with all the necessary accessories (substrate, nets, thermometer, dechlorinator, rocks, wood etc.) Thanks to Steve, the manager for providing a superb service.
Lighting is the supplied 2 x 24w HO T5 Hagen Power-Glo with in-built reflectors. We may use some different reflectors as they're not very efficient. This is low light at just under 1 watt per gallon but I'm confident that it will grow the chosen plants effectively. It should also be forgiving with regards algae.
The filter is the supplied Fluval 205 external. You can see it's plumbed into the bottom of the tank using a clever design. The outputs should provide a good all-round circulation. It's not massive filtration but it won't be having a large fish load, so should be ample.
Substrate is the Tetra product topped with a fine 1-2mm inert lime-free gravel.
CO2 will be a 2Kg pressurized system using a fire extinguisher, a welding regulator and needle valve (from www.flubenol.co.uk), and other accessories from Aqua Essentials. The CO2 tubing goes directly into the filter intake. I've used this technique previously in my Juwel Rio 125 and Fluval 204 (almost identical to the 205).
Fertilisation will be Tropica Plant Nutrition+ liquid, from Aqua Essentials.
The heater is the supplied Hagen 200w model.
Filter system
Empty tank, with filter piping, CO2 tubing and heater fitted
Tetra substrate
Tetra substrate installed
Top layer installed
The next stage is placing the wood and rocks. And then planting!
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