New 17L Tank

[krissykat]

I've got a cute new little tank from P@h and I'm just in the process of setting it up now but I wanna make sure I get this one right from the beginning...

Im Cycling it now with some water from my established tank and I soaked the filter sponges etc in tank water and put some gravel in the filter, is this ok?

I want to have a planted tank and I also want to use sand.

I'l post pics later of the full tank but I'm abit concerned about the filter and the sand because its a canister filter although I have seen the same tank with sand.

What do I need to put under the sand for the plants to grow well? and should I put and gravel between the soil and the sand?

The lighting isn't great either so I'm going for low light plants if anyone can suggest some?

Thanks

 

[Wills]

Hi the cycle plans arnt going to work, you need to take a piece of your filter sponge from your other tank and put it in the new tank then start dosing with ammonia - I would do that for a week then be ready for fish

 

[krissykat]

Thats fine I'm not in a rush to get it cycled

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

put it in the new tank then start dosing with ammonia - I would do that for a week then be ready for fish

Definately don't put fish in after a week!

Anyway so far so good; follow the fishless cycling instructions - I'm in the process of following it.

Another tip is wash out your other tank filter (do it in a bucket and put your new filter sponge in there to maximise bacteria transfer).

 

[Wills]

put it in the new tank then start dosing with ammonia - I would do that for a week then be ready for fish

Definately don't put fish in after a week!

Anyway so far so good; follow the fishless cycling instructions - I'm in the process of following it.

Another tip is wash out your other tank filter (do it in a bucket and put your new filter sponge in there to maximise bacteria transfer).

If she transfers media from a larger tank to a smaller tank that seed will most likley match whats needed in the new tank and the week of ammonia is just going to settle it in and keep it alive till the point fish are added.

Wills

 

[Always Learning]

I did it by cleaning my mature filters out, then using the new sponges to soak it all back up again then they were done. It was along the lines of what OldMan had said in a post sometime, though I just saved there being a load of mess in the tank. It worked a treat anyway

 

[krissykat]

Okey doke, thanks for all the cycling tips.

So what about the sand and plants?

 

[demasonisrule]

My link
That should help clear up cycling.

The substrate depends on what plants you want. What you thinking of keeping? The substrate doesn't matter so much as the ferts, CO2, lights, etc.

 

[krissykat]

I'm mostly going for low light stuff so if anyone has some suggestions?

Also can anyone give some names of fertilisers to go underneath the sand so I know what I'm looking for?

 

[drsquirrel]

The tank is small so you won't need a huge amount of fert. I use JBL 7 fertiliser balls because I don't want to keep putting in ferts every week etc, and they should last a year (obviously depending on stock) cost me like £4.

/edit: Though saying that, the 7 is stage 7 in their "proflora" system and is meant for established tanks.

 

[nurglespuss]

Hi there, you got the same tank as me

The lightint isnt great, but my plants seem to be growing....

Did you replace the filter? I found it way to strong for the tiny tank...

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Hi there, you got the same tank as me

The lightint isnt great, but my plants seem to be growing....

Did you replace the filter? I found it way to strong for the tiny tank...

I have the same tank too; but I got mine before P@H started stocking them; they are only £30 in mine now; I Soooooooo want another one.

I replaced the filter in mine; my boyfriend even commented that his danios would find it too strong. At least you can't complain the filter isn't strong; I also have a smaller version of the same tank for shrimp and the filter in that is pretty strong too.

 

[Dinky Stig]

It all depends on what you wish to achieve and how much extra time you have, if you wanted to be serious about it, you could go for a lowish tech set up that involves the following:

Clay cat litter (1cm as a base substrate) capped with sand, and then absolutely crammed with good quality plants (a good selection of stems) and about 8-10 watts of light, adding some gluturaldehyde in the form of Liquid carbon would benefit the plants as well, and at the same time you can add your desired fish, the plants will take care of the majority of the ammonia and 50% water changes will be required every few days to reduce the risk of algae.

Or, you could do it the long, laborious and boring way in which you fishlessly cycle the tank, after the 30 or so days it takes, add the plants and fish, but the above lowish tech method works very effectively.

by all means there is absolutely no need for a specific substrate here, sand on its own will be ample, planted substrates just make dosing a little more lenient, and if you forget it wont matter so much, but in a low tech tank this wont matter.

Once the cycle is complete you could add a little Tropica plant nutrition + daily as well as the easy carbo ((both 0.5ml)both available from: fluid sensor online (cheapest) The green machine and aqua essentials)

Plants I suggest you consider include:
Hygrophila species
Anubias species
Crypt species
Vallis species
Microsorum species

all are readily available online and it is best to plant them all at the same time.

 

[RadaR]

Well said Dinky.