80 Us Gallon

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Wonderboy

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Hey all - I plan on converting my 80 US gallon (48"L x 18"D x 24"H) into a planted tank. I will be using automated pressurized CO2. I will also be using EI.

My Questions are:

1. What substrate do you prefer or think I should look into getting?

2. How much wattage (apx.) should I put over the tank?

3. Per wattage - how much CO2 ppm?

4. Should I use a substrate heater, or does this really do anything?

5. And finally, is there anything else I should take into consideration?

Thankyou,
Wonderboy!
 
Hi WB

Sounds like a nice project, nice and big too! :D

Re the questions

1) Substrate really depends on your budget, complete substrates like Eco-complete or ADA AS will cost a fair bit but give excellent results, base layer ones like the tetra one and tropica one are cheaper but may not give such good results. If you want a carpet of something like glosso or HC then I would get a complete substrate if you can afford it, this saves the plants having to use lots of energy sending out roots to 'find' the nutrients. If however you want a stem plant scape then a base layer would be fine.

2) I take it that if you're going to use EI then you want a high-light tank? If so then aim for around 150 to 200w over the tank. 4x 42in. lamps at 38w each would probably do the trick, or if you could get them 3x T5 46in lamps at 54w would be good, as the extra power would help the light reach the bottom of the tank. But not so sure about the length of these being 46", but worth a look all the same.

3) With all high light tanks aim for 30ppm CO2, there isn't a graduated scale like I think you are thinking. Its all or nothing really, i.e if you have high light you NEED CO2, however if you have lower light then CO2 becomes less necessary (although probably still beneficial). So get a stable 30ppm and you'll be fine.

4) Dont bother with a substrate cable, their effectiveness is questionable at best and useless at worst, spend the money on things that will definitely help, like the light or substrate.

5) Other things to consider are how much money you have to spend, how much effort you want to put into the tank, what kind of scape you wamt, and very importantly, if you do go down the high light route, get lots and I mean lots of plants into the tank when you set it up or you'll be plagued by algae.

Hope that helps

Sam
 
I'm gonna switch order a little because some things need to be decided before others.


2. How much wattage (apx.) should I put over the tank?
Since you are using CO2, I would say 2wpg (160 watts) at the lowest and 3.5wpg (280 watts) at the most, although this may be up for debate.

1. What substrate do you prefer or think I should look into getting?
Use whatever you want and whatever you can afford as long as it's a "plant substrate" that is nutrient rich. ADA aquasoil is the best, but it would be very expensive to use in an 80 gallon tank. I believe Tropica makes a good substrate now and so is Tetraplant (?). Eco-Complete and Flourite are also two classics. In my tank, since I am cheap, I use Soilmaster Select (charcoal) from Lesco. It's an infield conditioner for baseball fields so it works very well. It's only 16 USD for 50 lbs. Other options would inclue putting laterite or peat underneath regular gravel.

3. Per wattage - how much CO2 ppm?
If you have medium lighting (about 2-2.5 wpg) then 15-20ppm is fine. If you have more lighting, then you need to have closer to 30 ppm.

4. Should I use a substrate heater, or does this really do anything?
IMO, substrate heaters have very little affect on plant growth, although everyone has their own opinion. If they do have a positive affect, then it is so small that it is not worth your money to have one.

5. And finally, is there anything else I should take into consideration?
What kind of CO2 diffuser do you have?
What kind of filter do you have?
Are you going to fertilize with the EI method?
Your plant ideas will come after you know what lighting and substrate you are going to have.

Hope this helps!!!

EDIT: Ah, Sam, you posted a minute before me.
 
Hope that helps

Sam
More than you know! Thanks!

5. And finally, is there anything else I should take into consideration?
What kind of CO2 diffuser do you have?
What kind of filter do you have?
Are you going to fertilize with the EI method?
Your plant ideas will come after you know what lighting and substrate you are going to have.

Hope this helps!!!

EDIT: Ah, Sam, you posted a minute before me.
Reactor - I was thinking the Aquamedic CO2 Reactor 1000.
EI method - as long as I can find all the stuff - yes.
What do you mean by "your plant ideas... ... ..are going to have."? - Does this mean certain plants are good for certain substrate?

:lol:

If anyone has any layout suggestions, throw them at me because I am more than torn on what type of a layout to attempt. Thanks

And thank you Sam and dasmall1 a ton - very very helpful.

~ Wonderboy!
 
If anyone has any layout suggestions, throw them at me because I am more than torn on what type of a layout to attempt. Thanks

~ Wonderboy!

Wonderboy, if it is the high tech route you are going down, I would put the layout on the backburner for two or three months. You could certainly put the decor in as you intend it, but in terms of plants there is only one way to go at the moment:

75% substrate coverage with fast growing stem plants. Don`t upgrade the lighting above 2WPG before you have the plants in. I have a six week old EI tank and it is a totally disorganised jungle at the moment. On the bright side, it has given me the time and opportunity to experiment with various plants to see what I will like, come the day when I can actually get down to some aquascaping.
 
No probs ;)

I think what Dasmall was saying was that, your choice of plants will probably be determined by the setup you go for i.e. lower light will restrict you to plants that can grow in lower light conditions, although there are many of these so 'restrict' is probably to strong a word, if you have high light then the plant world is your oyster, grow whatever takes your fancy! :) But it sounds like high light is your thing so plant choice shouldn't be a problem

BTW - there is no point doing EI in lower light tanks and it could in fact give you algae problems

Sam

EDIT - thats some good advice from Dave, high light = plant jungle for a few weeks! :lol:
 
I will have this thing stuffed with fast growers when the time comes. I found 260 watts for $100 - compact flourescent - should I go with compact flourescent?
 
Compact florescent would be ideal, although 260w is a hell of a lot over an 80G (BTW I take it that's 80 US g), there is a 216W one but its T6 and I'm not to sure how easy it will be to get replacement bulbs.
Something like this one would be better. Ive used this company recently and the service was very good and so it the lighting rig. Other people in the US might be able to point you in the direction of a US based lighting shop if necessary.

Sam
 
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