6ft tank

[littleimp]

In the process of dismatling a 6ft marine tank for freswater use & am looking at constructing a decent size planted tank.

What would you recommend to allow me to do this properly, no bodges.

i.e.
substrate - what type works best
lighting - already have 2 400w halides & T5 lights running at 10k, could these be used with different bulbs??

co2 input - I beleive this is needed

Is a sump filter alright for freshwater planted tanks as I have a 4ft sump underneath which I could convert to freswater use also?

An help much appreciated, had a 4ft tank before with just external filter, standard lighting & gravel but never had much luck with plants as they don't seem to last.

Money is no object within reason as will be getting plenty from sale of marine stuff!!

 

[zig]

Substrates should be about 2-3 inches deep, you can use Seachem flourite, Eco complete, or laterite mixed with a small sized gravel 2-3mm, all of the above are expensive, flourite can be mixed 50-50 with gravel to save money, laterite can also be used in conjunction with sand, the eco complete will normally be used on its own.

Have a look at the pinned article on lighting at the top of this section for a better idea on lighting, the lighting will determine what plants you can grow. The metal halides and T5s can both be used although the 10000k bulbs might not be the best to view a planted tank, you could mix them with different tubes preferably from the the 6500k part of the spectrum.

Sumps are generally not used as they allow to much co2 to escape from the water, powerheads are also generally not used, the idea is to reduce surface agitation to retain the co2 in the water, filtration is normally done by cannister filters with the spraybar pointed beneath the water line, in your case you mightt need two, one at either end of the tank.

Co2 is needed if you wish to run a highlight tank, in your case you would need pressurised co2, some of us get away with DIY co2, your tank is to large IMO.

 

[littleimp]

Ok, thanks for that!! Will carry on reading & researching!!

 

[donkey]

well i have a sump tank under my planted tank and i have never had a problem with my co2. it stands at 30 at the moment .but i am using pressurised co2 .and i have a power head pushing the water back up to the tank .but i do have the return pipe from the powerhead about six inches under the water as not to make to many waves on the surface