First Planted Tank Journal

[Siamese Fighter05]

Well i know ive been going on about starting my first planted tank for a while now, so i guess its time to get the show on the road!
Im at college at the moment and only get £30 a week but my nan has hopefully got me a part time job which will bring in an extra £50 a week, not much to you guys i bet but it should be enough to do the usual teenage things and put the odd pound here and there into the tank.
Ill probably just buy a part to the tank every week so i have money to go out with mates and pay my phone contract.
Well this morning i went down to the LFS and bought a new hood to replace the ugly old one that came with the tank. My mums comment 'Why did you buy a lid for the tank, no-one looks at it anyway' give me a month or so women and we'll see
The hood is a clear-seal one, i can see where the first light tube will go but im going to have to drill into the hood to put the second one in i think. If anyone has this hood (3ft by 1ft) and you have two or more tubes please show me a piccy, so i can see how you've done it.
While i was down there i had a quick look at the light units. The tank is 22uk gallons and i was planning on two tubes, a 30w and 36w which would give me 66w therefore 3wpg. First problem is i cant find a 36'' tube which has an output of 36w i can get the 30w easily but i wonder if there is such thing as a 36'' 36w tube?
Ok a few questions before i carry on boring you?

1. The lights were arcadia brand 'especially used for planted tanks' apparently, will these be ok for lighting?
2. If they are ok id be guessing that you use the arcadia light controllers, would i need one for each tube or would one unit give power to two tubes?
Reflectors seem simple enough so i wont bother asking about them.
Moving on, Jimboo recomended laterite or flourite as a substrate. The only problem i have is that my LFS doesn't supply either of these but has something call 'eco-' also for planted tanks. Would this be ok or would you diffently suggest getting flourite online?
Another question is id like to keep sand as my cories seem to enjoy digging in it alot more that pebbles. Will a planted substrate mix in ok with this? Its playsand. Next friday ill be buying the two tubes and then the following i have to pay phone contract, so i will only be able to get one light control unit. Ill just get the easier part out of the way firstly before i go into ferts, Co2 and the rest of the scary stuff.
If you have any sites that does light units suitable for my tank or does flourite at a reasonable price please put the link through. Thanks Dan
(Ill Add to this thread everytime i buy something towards the tank or when i get new questions) Thanks again
Edit: I will probably get one tube and one light unit this friday instead, so i can at least see the fish while im waiting fot the real fun to begin. I also need to get a fluval 104 external as well as test kits for KH and the rest.

 

[houndour]

Hiya,

At 3 WPG you're going to need CO2. Have you got plans for this?

I would recommend getting seperate controllers for the 2 bulbs. This way if you need to reduce your wattage you can. I have 1 55W tube over my 20 gallon, and now I can see it would have been useful to have gone for 2 seperate bulbs.

eco-complete? I have no idea.

Yes corys much prefer sand. I have sand mixed with laterite in both my tanks. People will tell you that the sand will sink to the bottom but if you have more sand than laterite for example then its not a problem.

I don't know what the prices are like in Birmingham (probably cheaper than down here) but check out Pets at Home for the Fluval 104. I bought mine for £60 in my LFS and then saw it in Pets at home for £45.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for the reply
Yep i will be going with c02 and will probably be using the nutrafin diy method.
I think it was eco-complete yes, but ive found a good uk site where i can get laterite or flourite from at a decent price.
The fluval 104 are only 37.99 at the LFS which compared to everywhere else seems an amazing price
Ill take you advice on the tubes then, i also plan to add a moonlight tube later on when ive got everything up and running.

 

[pseud]

Go at it SF, you wont regret it!

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

im sure i wont
BTW your tank is stunning Pseud i enjoyed seeing the change. You must be really proud!

 

[RYO]

Hi m8, with the lighting strips ,i think your going to have to go with 30" -25w tubes. You can fit 3 of these in your hood pretty easilyjust by drilling into the hood and using the the plastic lamp holders.
This is a link to how my hood is made up- http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...&st=0&p=864483&
As to the substrate sand is fine as long as you add root tabs or somthing like ecco to the mix (personaly i think it looks pretty good mixed in together, kind of natural like)
Not too sure on the moon lights though,some people like them some say they cause more harm than good.

 

[Jen]

I have moon lights in my tank. They are just the blue LEDs. They are all focused on one spot, so there is a 'brighter' portion where I can make things out. They aren't bright enough to make the night seem like day.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

RYO - Thanks for those pictures, ill take your advice on getting 3 25w instead then. Is eco-complete just as good as flourite or is flourite much better? BTW nice looking tank

canoechiq - did you buy your blue Led from ebay?

 

[Jen]

canoechiq - did you buy your blue Led from ebay?

[snapback]926536[/snapback]​

No. I got them from the auto section at Wal-Mart. They were $10 cad. Meant for your car, I just had to wire them to a power adapter.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Ok well another update, but this time its a negative one...
Well after a hectic week/end im going to have delay the tank a couple of weeks...
Ok well ill tell you how this week planned out, very very hectic believe me
Saturday...My 1 year old cat got run over by someone who was then cruel enough to just leave him so we take him to the vets where we are told that he is going to need a few operations. One to rebuild muscles in his stomach, an operation to fic a broken leg and then look after nerve damage which will heal itself if kept bandaged as well as an out of place kidney...
Sunday.. He has his operation to rebuild his stomach muscles and kidney which all goes well.
Monday... I got into an arguement with some asian lads and end up getting hit in the face with a knuckle duster... A broken nose, a cut eye and now two beauties of black eyes...
Tuesday... Cat has his leg operation which also goes well, i go to the police to make a statement against the asian lads...
Wednesday-perhaps the most hectic day of the week... Our cat has had all his operation and has come out of the aensthitic so we were allowed to pick him up, we have been told to keep him in a small area to stop him from jumping and infecting his cuts... Our other cat can smell the vets on him so she keeps hissing at him.... and then... My sister comes in the door holding a little tortoise shell kitten which she found in the bin of the bus stop.. some people are so horrible... well our other cat is hissing at her as well. so its a mad house now.. Well the kitten wont eat kitten food so shes eating tuna, trying to wean her onto kitten food now but its heartbreaking to see her starve to get to eat something. I will do it now though after reading that they need kitten food to help them grow.
thursday - a normal day? whats one of those? well our poorly kitten is doing well and the other one is now ok with him and getting used to the little one (which we are keeping btw)
Hmmmm there is good news out of getting smacked in the face with the knuckle duster, im now 'guarenteed' at least £1000 in compensation, hmmmm the possibilites....
Edit: Piccys of the new kitty coming soon...

 

[jimbooo]

ahh man, what a week. oh well, at least you can get some cash out of it. hope the kats okay.

on the tube front i assume you are looking at arcadia original tropical tubes - theyre crap, old technology and although the right spectrum you will need a few of them to get enough power (i cant explain scientifically but it's weak light, a bit dim.) the best tubes are arcadia fresh water mixed with a dennerle special plant (you'll find them on the web)

buy the fresh water first, this is a crisp white/green light - good for viewing. the dennerle is a little red but mixes well with the FW.

i can only comment on laterite but i would assume any of the 3 would be fine for a substrate.

best of luck with the tank and i hope the face heals quickly.

 

[Dubby]

Sorry to hear about your face. Hope it gets better soon.

I use a mixture of clay & vermiculite with a top layer of sand. This works well for me and my plants are growing like crazy. Works out cheaper cost wise, compared to laterite

I have used clay from my back garden and a mix of cat litter (clay based with no additives) and vermiculite. The top layer is silver sand. I know some people will say that garden clay can have pesticides, etc. but I know my garden and what I put in there.

 

[littleimp]

There's a chap on ebay that sells the fluval range at a good price.

http/stores.ebay.co.uk/Aquacadabra_Exter...1QQftidZ2QQtZkm

I just boutght 2 of his 404's.

Hiya,

At 3 WPG you're going to need CO2. Have you got plans for this?

I would recommend getting seperate controllers for the 2 bulbs. This way if you need to reduce your wattage you can. I have 1 55W tube over my 20 gallon, and now I can see it would have been useful to have gone for 2 seperate bulbs.

eco-complete? I have no idea.

Yes corys much prefer sand. I have sand mixed with laterite in both my tanks. People will tell you that the sand will sink to the bottom but if you have more sand than laterite for example then its not a problem.

I don't know what the prices are like in Birmingham (probably cheaper than down here) but check out Pets at Home for the Fluval 104. I bought mine for £60 in my LFS and then saw it in Pets at home for £45.

Sorry to hijack but a question for hondour

The pic in your avatar, is this the laterite & sand mix?? I must say I do like this. What percentage of sand/laterite is their?? You have good plant growth so they must like it.
What maintenence do you do on the substrate?? Did you use a divider?

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

There's a chap on ebay that sells the fluval range at a good price.

http/stores.ebay.co.uk/Aquacadabra_Exter...1QQftidZ2QQtZkm

I just boutght 2 of his 404's.

Hiya,

At 3 WPG you're going to need CO2. Have you got plans for this?

I would recommend getting seperate controllers for the 2 bulbs. This way if you need to reduce your wattage you can. I have 1 55W tube over my 20 gallon, and now I can see it would have been useful to have gone for 2 seperate bulbs.

eco-complete? I have no idea.

Yes corys much prefer sand. I have sand mixed with laterite in both my tanks. People will tell you that the sand will sink to the bottom but if you have more sand than laterite for example then its not a problem.

I don't know what the prices are like in Birmingham (probably cheaper than down here) but check out Pets at Home for the Fluval 104. I bought mine for £60 in my LFS and then saw it in Pets at home for £45.

Sorry to hijack but a question for hondour

The pic in your avatar, is this the laterite & sand mix?? I must say I do like this. What percentage of sand/laterite is their?? You have good plant growth so they must like it.
What maintenence do you do on the substrate?? Did you use a divider?

Hmmm are these the latest series released from fluval? I remember bloozoo talking about a new series coming out... I think i may dop the 104 and try one of these. thanks for the link,
Thanks for the replies everyone, jimbooo i will go down the LFS tomorrow and see if they have the lights you mentioned, if not do you have a site that does them? extremeaquatics isnt the greatest for lighting.

 

[lljdma06]

Wow, you've had quite a time, huh? I hope your poor cat is doing better and the little kitten too. You won't regret going planted, I love it, and my tanks are small. I can't wait to set up a larger one knowing what I know now.

Have fun and feel better.