Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
hi
I want to create a very natural tank for my 12" Serrasalmus rhombeus and over 100 tropical south american fish. what I have to work with is: 180 gallon glass aquarium 14' 25w heater cable. 300w heater. 100 pounds of quartz. 3-5 gallon buckets of flourite. 2 metal halide pendants. 2-175w 15k. the tank will be open top. with a few inch layer of water sprite across the surface to help cut down on the brightness. my question is...what would be the best plants to use? I know I would like some plants that grow out of the tank that will flower and would also like to grow some bamboo. I am just unsure of what would work best. the piranha is fairly active but is great at negotiating his/her surroundings. and lastly is there anything else I should have included in the setup? thanks! bob |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
if you are concerned with light being too bright why not put less than 350W
over your tank and forget the plant cover, you'll save on your power bill tremendously wrote in message om... hi I want to create a very natural tank for my 12" Serrasalmus rhombeus and over 100 tropical south american fish. what I have to work with is: 180 gallon glass aquarium 14' 25w heater cable. 300w heater. 100 pounds of quartz. 3-5 gallon buckets of flourite. 2 metal halide pendants. 2-175w 15k. the tank will be open top. with a few inch layer of water sprite across the surface to help cut down on the brightness. my question is...what would be the best plants to use? I know I would like some plants that grow out of the tank that will flower and would also like to grow some bamboo. I am just unsure of what would work best. the piranha is fairly active but is great at negotiating his/her surroundings. and lastly is there anything else I should have included in the setup? thanks! bob |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
wrote in message
om... hi I want to create a very natural tank for my 12" Serrasalmus rhombeus and over 100 tropical south american fish. what I have to work with is: 180 gallon glass aquarium 14' 25w heater cable. 300w heater. 100 pounds of quartz. 3-5 gallon buckets of flourite. 2 metal halide pendants. 2-175w 15k. the tank will be open top. with a few inch layer of water sprite across the surface to help cut down on the brightness. my question is...what would be the best plants to use? I know I would like some plants that grow out of the tank that will flower and would also like to grow some bamboo. I am just unsure of what would work best. the piranha is fairly active but is great at negotiating his/her surroundings. and lastly is there anything else I should have included in the setup? thanks! bob I'd love to see a picture of this when it gets set up. It sounds fantastic! |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
I want to create a very natural tank for my 12" Serrasalmus rhombeus
and over 100 tropical south american fish. Are you sure it isn't going to end up a tank for a piranha and over 100 tasty snacks? Generally, it's very difficult to keep a planted tank with large fish. Even if they don't chew up the plants, they damage them just moving around the tank. Also, an open top tank with a piranha is a bad idea. They've been known to knock the tops right off tanks and jump out. A tank without a cover is asking for trouble. The bright light will be stressful for the fish, too. I suspect you and your fish would be better off with less light, and a few hardy plants like Anubias. Or, alternately, a nice planted tank full of small tetras, and a separate tank for the 12" predator. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
thanks for the reply christopher.
I am new to halide lighting and as far as I can see the 175w is the smallest bulb made for these coral life pendants. I wanted to purchase something less powerful however 2 pendants only a few months old for $140 was no way I could pass them up. is there any other bulbs you know of I can use? thanks, bob |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
thanks for the replies and intrest everyone.
leigh, is there an alternative to using 175w bulbs? I heard street lamps make a very nice blackwater look however promotes alot of algae growth. i'm not too worried about the fish jumping. I keep many serrasalmus species and am part of a piranha research group. I have never heard of one jumping yet. mine have never touched the tops that I have seen or heard unlike my Cichla temensis that break the surface once or twice a day. I have been experimenting with this rhom for close to 2 months now with several species of small tropical fish. the rhom eats a few but for the most part will only eat fish over 5" so it's diet is large pond comets and or large chunks of raw lean steak or fish filet. the tank is a 125g with about 12 assorted live plants. my problem is I am a noob to aquatic plants and am looking for advice on some good hearty plants. and any info on a diffrent bulb for the pendant's. thanks, bob |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
You can see some large 180 gal arrowana planted tanks, these are covered though! I think Vincent has some photo's. I'll check the link or you can go to www.aquaticquotient.com and hunt for it. I've always wanted to do a large school of Whimple piranha(C. mento) in a planted tank. I think they are very well suited for a planted tank. The large reds and blacks often will uproot plants when excited. If you have only a few of them it's fine but a number of them can do some damage in packs. Not sure if the whites do that as much. 12" is a big old fish. Regards, Tom Barr |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
I don't know about the dimensions of your tank but you could use 48"
florescents (40W) staggered, this would give an even lighting and be far less costly energy wise wrote in message om... thanks for the reply christopher. I am new to halide lighting and as far as I can see the 175w is the smallest bulb made for these coral life pendants. I wanted to purchase something less powerful however 2 pendants only a few months old for $140 was no way I could pass them up. is there any other bulbs you know of I can use? thanks, bob |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
leigh, is there an alternative to using 175w bulbs? I heard street
lamps make a very nice blackwater look however promotes alot of algae growth. Sorry, I don't know much about MH lights. I use flourescents, myself. Perhaps if you raised them higher over the tank, that would cut down on the light intensity? my problem is I am a noob to aquatic plants and am looking for advice on some good hearty plants. You'll have about 2 wpg, which would be a good number for a smaller tank. For a 180 gallon tank, though, that might be too much. You may need to inject CO2 to keep the pH from going crazy. Not to mention the inevitable algae problems. With a low-light tank, you could go with a few hardy, easy plants. But with a high-light tank, you must plant heavily, and some of them should be fast-growers. High-light = high maintenance. Make sure you can move your lights out of the way easily, because you'll be spending a lot of time working in the tank. As for the actual plants...I like Hygrophila, because it's easy to maintain. You might want a lot of low plants, like Sagittaria subulata, Marsilea, or pygmy chain sword, so your fish still has room to swim. Vallisneria, cryptocorynes, anubias, java fern, and Aponogetons are all tough plants that will stand up to big fish pretty well. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
I heard street
lamps make a very nice blackwater look however promotes alot of algae growth. No algae, I've used HPS(yellow looking) and Merc vapor(Bluer looking), heck they cost only 15$ and the bulbs last for years. The HSP and MH are what they use for grow lights. But the light type is not what causes the algae, it's more about CO2 and nutriuents that are at zero ppm or out of balance. my problem is I am a noob to aquatic plants and am looking for advice on some good hearty plants. and any info on a diffrent bulb for the pendant's. I like the powercompact pendent up on 4 individual "feet". You can also hang it from the ceiling. The "feet" raise it up off the top of the tank about 3 inches. The box is 11"w x 2.5" h x 48.5"l(6 x 55w PC lights). I used 3/16" and 1/4" wood then painted it. It's pretty light weight. You could go with 4 (2.1 w gal) or 6 (3.2 w/gal) 96w PC lights and do the same thing with the 96 w lights. MH's need to be up around 12" from the surface of the light, while the PC's can be right down on the surface and still has good spread and even lighting unlike the MH. Better reflectors on the PC's than some/most MH set ups. The smaller HQI bulbs usually have a nice look but cost more. There's also the Spider MH reflector (or something close that is made for a MH light). Water sprite is a good test plant. Using driftwood with jave fern attached to it or moss etc would look good and allow you to move the pieces around for maintenance/design changes. Bolbitus fern/moss on the wood and water sprite would look nice together also. Regards, Tom Barr thanks, bob |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
I kept an 8" rhom in a planted tank before, it didnt really damage any
plants, it just sat there in the corner all day hiding behind the plants...I have included a picture for you to see. http://members.rogers.com/robertng/piranha10.jpg As you can see, its split in half, left side had 3 red bellies(including a breeding pair), the other side housed an 8" rhom. You can see the back of it if you look closely. Tank was a 65gallon (yes, I know the tank is too small for so much fish) Plants included swords, java fern, apongeton, jungle vals on a sand substrate. My rhom ate everything, even half inch neons, it just sucked them in when it had the chance. I dont have the fish anymore, I thought my tank would have more potential as a heavily planted tank housing apistos and other small tetras. http://members.rogers.com/robertng/plantedc.jpg its an older pic, the plants kind of grew out of control, i have to do some aquascaping soon. Rob wrote in message om... hi I want to create a very natural tank for my 12" Serrasalmus rhombeus and over 100 tropical south american fish. what I have to work with is: 180 gallon glass aquarium 14' 25w heater cable. 300w heater. 100 pounds of quartz. 3-5 gallon buckets of flourite. 2 metal halide pendants. 2-175w 15k. the tank will be open top. with a few inch layer of water sprite across the surface to help cut down on the brightness. my question is...what would be the best plants to use? I know I would like some plants that grow out of the tank that will flower and would also like to grow some bamboo. I am just unsure of what would work best. the piranha is fairly active but is great at negotiating his/her surroundings. and lastly is there anything else I should have included in the setup? thanks! bob |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
thanks for the rep;ies and further intrest in my project.
to better help plants from being uprooted would potted plants help? aquascape, what is the grass called in the foreground of your tank? looks very nice. here are some pics of the fish and some tankmates and the current plants that have survived. also a few shots of my next project, Serrasalmus geryi. at the moment there are 2 that have blown nests so I have not done anything to thier tank for now. http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5171.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5172.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5173.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5174.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5175.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5176.jpg |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
thanks for the rep;ies and further intrest in my project.
to better help plants from being uprooted would potted plants help? aquascape, what is the grass called in the foreground of your tank? looks very nice. here are some pics of the fish and some tankmates and the current plants that have survived. also a few shots of my next project, Serrasalmus geryi. at the moment there are 2 that have blown nests so I have not done anything to thier tank for now. http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5171.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5172.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5173.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5174.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5175.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5176.jpg |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
thanks for the rep;ies and further intrest in my project.
to better help plants from being uprooted would potted plants help? aquascape, what is the grass called in the foreground of your tank? looks very nice. here are some pics of the fish and some tankmates and the current plants that have survived. also a few shots of my next project, Serrasalmus geryi. at the moment there are 2 that have blown nests so I have not done anything to thier tank for now. http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5171.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5172.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5173.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5174.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5175.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5176.jpg |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
180g planted predator tank
thanks for the rep;ies and further intrest in my project.
to better help plants from being uprooted would potted plants help? aquascape, what is the grass called in the foreground of your tank? looks very nice. here are some pics of the fish and some tankmates and the current plants that have survived. also a few shots of my next project, Serrasalmus geryi. at the moment there are 2 that have blown nests so I have not done anything to thier tank for now. http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5171.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5172.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5173.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/rhom1/5174.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5175.jpg http://hareball.20megsfree.com/geryi/5176.jpg |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Planted Tank Focus Group -- CO2 tank system | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
Planted Tank Focus Group -- Stainless steel tank stands | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
RO for a planted tank: Shakey's tank | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
RO for a planted tank: Shaky's tank | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
180g planted predator tank | Freshwater Aquaria Plants |