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Starting off a planted tank -- starting one (or maybe) two strikes down....
Many years ago my wife and I had a fish-only 75 gallon (or so) tank with
dimensions 36x15x30. We really liked the way the large front glass acted almost like a window with our aquatic critters behind. When we moved across country, that tank went away -- but the stand is still with us. After having a small 30 gallon tank for a while (again, fish only) my wife and I discussed that we'd like to go larger -- and since we still had the stand, we got another tank to fit it. Then I got to thinking about how plants would be a nice thing to have -- searched the web, as usual -- and saw pictures of the many gorgeous tanks people had entered into competitions. Well, I don't have much interest in a competition tank, but they did show some neat things that could be done. Of course, I now have the almost exact wrong tank for plants, and my wife still loves the tank shape -- so I need to do the best I can with what I've got. The tank is the first strike against me.... The second concerns lighting. I read and researched via the net, and some references I saw said PC lights would have difficulty penetrating that deep a tank, and that MH would be the best bet. Yet the PC lights still seemed to me like they should work okay. So I compromised and bought a 36" Current US Outer Orbit and a couple 6700K bulbs (since it comes with actinics). This gives me 192W PC and a 150W MH I can run independently (should that be too much light or for other effects). I should have asked here first for opinions rather than trying to synthesize my own solution (since, unsurprisingly, I didn't find much about deep planted tanks on the net) but there it is. That was my "(or maybe) two strikes" since I don't know if that was a good decision or not. From my reading (and since I do have a lot of light) I figure CO2 is a must, and plan on going with a Milwaukee PH controller and probably the Milwaukee regulator/solenoid/bubble counter. My current tank has an Ehiem canister filter on it, so I planned to move that to the new tank and inject the CO2 into the filter input. I figured if the CO2 hasn't dissolved by the time it goes through three baskets of filter material it probably isn't going to. I'm thinking of trying to make a ledge 8-10", maybe a foot long, above the bottom of the tank in the back, both for added relief and to make a darker 'cave' for lower light plants if that is needed. I'm hoping to grow some really tall plants in back (so I don't just have a foot of empty water above all the plants, some medium in the foreground and some ground cover. Sounds good to me anyway -- I've never done this so I'm just going by what I've seen in pictures. I'm figuring flourite or onyx for the substrate. I will have some fish, but probably not too heavy a load. Currently I have a lot of neons and other tetras, two silver dollars, and a pleco. I realize the last three fish may not be good plant neighbors, but I may try them first -- if they just nibble it might not be too bad, but if they act like lawnmowers they are history! Some of the shrimp I've seen look neat, as do crabs. Anyway, if anyone has had a tall tank like this and can make suggestions as to how I could best attack this problem I'd surely appreciate it. Nothing is set up right now, and I have only the tank and the lights (the lights are still in transit, actually) so I've got pretty much a clean slate. thanks much, Geoff Sherwood |
#2
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Starting off a planted tank -- starting one (or maybe) two strikes down....
On 2005-11-08, wrote:
Anyway, if anyone has had a tall tank like this and can make suggestions as to how I could best attack this problem I'd surely appreciate it. Nothing is set up right now, and I have only the tank and the lights (the lights are still in transit, actually) so I've got pretty much a clean slate. http://www.aquariaplants.com/ -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
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