Advice Needed

[netcode]

Hey all. After roughly a year of setting up my 60 gallon tank and attempting the whole plant scape I have decided its time to redo the tank and implement some of the knowledge that I have gained over the year. But there are some things that I need some suggestions on.

Light.

Current lighting is two 40 watt T5 bulbs with reflectors over my tank. (as stated above my tank is 60 gallons, actually just over 60)
As I have read the WPG rule doesn't apply as much with bigger tanks. Plus my bulbs are T5 (they penetrate the water deeper do they not?). I am wondering if this is enough to grow species such as riccia flutians, hemianthus callitrichoids, lilaeopsis species, pogostemon helferi. Also wondering if this is too much light to grow such plants as crypts, java ferns, and other low light plants.

Substrate

Not sure whats i am going to do about substrate. i am thinking about using a seachem flourite but I have found that aquariumplants.com has their own substrate. Has anyone used this? I want something that will provide nutrients for my plants and not make a mess. I will cover the substrate with a pea gravel. From here I am thinking either a smaller gravel and or sand. I really would like to use sand on the very top but I am a little worried about using sand because i don't know how to work with it or clean it. I am thinking something like a nylon stocking in between the gravel and sand if i do use sand. Any suggestions would be great

Ferts/Co2

I will use Flourish Excel for co2. I really don't want to get into a co2 system as there are many potential issues you can run into when dosing high co2. I am using Flourish for as a liquid fertilizer. Hoping that fish waste will be enough to supply plants with the rest. I have 11 tiger barbs. 5 serpae tetras and a glass catfish so they say.


I think thats all my concerns. I am hoping that this will go well, I have some really good ideas for the scape. Thinking about building a slope from corner to corner with a rock mound in the high corner. The lower corner will be where the sand is. Anyways hope for some feedback. Thanks

 

[lljdma06]

There is a gravel that I use that nearly gives the look of sand without the upkeep. It is a very fine 1-3mm grain gravel that is a very light cream color interspersed with darker bits. It looks as if you've zoomed in on actual sand with a magnifying glass. When I post pictures of my tanks, many people think it is sand. It is easy to clean, however, like gravel and an excellent rooting medium for plants, including the delicate lawncovers. That, coupled with a nutrient-rich base substrate, might be something to consider. I also found it to be dirt cheap, which is always a plus.

I do not think 80W over 60g will be too much light to grow the low-light species. I've grown crypts and anubias with 3.6WPG. They just grow faster and usually need to be shaded a bit to control algae growth on the leaves. I have exposed anubias at 2.1WPG and they don't mind the extra light. I don't think you'll have a problem. Not sure about the other plants. It depends on the light penetration too. You could try them and see how things go. If your tank is tallish, you might not get the penetration you need to effectively grow the lawncovers. You could try Riccia on a piece of wood and see how that goes. It's really trial and error. If it doesn't work, though, I know that Marsilea hirsuta is a very nice foreground plant for tanks with less light. It would look especially nice in your 60g.

You probably don't have to dose CO2, but I've found that injecting CO2 into low-light tanks allows you to get away with growing some more demanding species and gets better growth habits out of others (carpetting, spreading, pink tips, etc). If your levels are good, you can easily cheat and grow some of the plants that demand moderate lighting levels. And your low-light plants will take advantage of CO2 as well. The growth will be considerably better. I don't really think too hard, though. I use 2 Nutrafin canisters connected with a T-connector to one bubble counter. I alternate changing the mixes. It's not really hard. I inject a lot, but I drive some away because my filters are set to maximum flow. I usually have double filters in my tanks, which allows for good circulation and a good-sized bacterial colony.

I do not dose ferts regularly, just rootabs to keep my rootfeeders happy. I do overstock with fish, however, which I think helps a lot. I think you can have quite a bit more fish that what you currently have, especially if you plant densely.

This is just what I do. There are other, better ways, but you have to find what works for you. Good luck with your rescaping. I have a tank that is a year old, but I have no plans to change the scape any time soon.

llj

 

[netcode]

thanks for the feedback. I think i am going to dose a small amount of Flourish Excel just to give the plants a little more boost. After doing some reading i am also going to dose seachems N-P-K liquid ferts at about 1/4 the dosage for the first few weeks and see how things go. I don't want an outbreak of algae, especially if i am going to do all this rescaping. I am also going to dose the trace ferts with flourish. I think this will be a good balance under the 1.33333 WPG . I also have two bags of silica sand which I will use, they were very cheap. Did you happen to use anything between your sand and lower layers of substrate? I am thinking nylon panty hose

My only debate left is the substrate. I am looking at putting together my own substrate consisting of laterite, vermiculite, and humus. Laterite for the iron and small amounts of other elements. Vermiculite for its ability to keep oxygen in the substrate to avoid aerobic gases from building up. Humus for its very high CEC. I think that should work well from what I have been reading over the past few days on the net. Any suggestions in this department?

 

[netcode]

Also been thinking.. if an Aquaclear 70 enough filtration in a 60 gallon tank? Especially if I am going to be having 3 inches of substrate at the bottom of this thing?

 

[netcode]

bump.. just trying to get some more feedback.