# New Planted tank updates



## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Hey everyone, I am doing this thread to document my planted tank that i just set up, and to ask questions along the way.

Background: I brought this tank home from my college apartment because I got bored of not having a tank :lol: . Well now its set up as a low-tech planted aquarium. For filtration I am running an Aqua-Clear 20, an Aqua-Tech 5-15, and a modded Top Fin (can remember the model but it is a step up from the previous two). For lights I have two 18W T-8 Fluorescent lights (one 6700k and one 10000k bulb).

Whatâ€™s next: Next I plan on waiting for all the plants to grow, and I am going to add a DIY carbon dioxide reactor. I might but a couple Rams in the tank, but I havenâ€™t decided yet. currently it has 2 rosy red barbs, a High fin spotted Pleco, some goby looking fish who I donâ€™t know how he got in there (he is dark brown and looks like a bumble bee goby, just a little more slender and longer.) I have no idea where this fish came from...., and a high fin guppy caught in the river. The fish are just there for some movement till i get some tetras or rams.

Well here is the tank so far (just set it up so the water is still cloudy):










All the driftwood and rocks are from a river. The sand is QuickCrete and was 3 dollars for 50 pounds at Lowes.

Now my question: How long should i leave the lights on for? I want some of the green hair algae to grow over things so keep that in mind. Also does anyone have a link to a good fertilizer?

I hope you enjoyed and i will probably update a picture of the growth progress once a week.


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

Tank looks fantastic! I generally leave my lights on for 10-12 hours a day. Not sure how good your pleco is at cleaning algae, but algae usually just grows with light and good water. And I haven't used any fertilizers so can't help you there, sorry.

Looks great, keep up the good work.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

i guess u could say a good fertilizer would be to over fed but that could lead to other problems so i dont advise it.....Natural sunlight is IMO the best at growing green algae....i leave my lights on for 10 hours a day roughly and has natural sunlight from the window and have no prblem growing some algae....never last long tho thanks to my BN plecos :thumb:


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

It's weird; I have never been able to grow algae. Maybe I donâ€™t have powerful enough lights, or maybe itâ€™s the water. I leave my lights on for about 12 hours a day; I'll try the sunlight though. I am going to the fish store tomorrow to pick up some rams. Would these be good for a planted tank?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

i dont see why not?...*** never kept rams but im guessing that more than likely they wont not like them :wink:


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

Ohh and btw....be sure to post some pics when u get em


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Anyone have any experience with a DIY carbon dioxide diffuser? I was thinking of making one with the yeast/sugar reaction. My only problem is that since this isnâ€™t regulated the CO2 will still enter the tank with the lights off when the plants stop using it. Is the easy way to solve this just to take the air tube out of the tank at night, or would it smell too much like fermentation in my room?


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Well I got some Rams today. I decided to get a pair so my flounder can munch on some of the babies opcorn: . They are still a little small but I believe they are breeding size. When these fish hit the light right they have amazing colors :thumb:



















They might not be the best quality rams but there is only one freshwater LFS around here. For 6 dollars each its not bad though


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

I think they look pretty good. To my understanding though, rams aren't the easiest to breed, so don't expect babies overnight.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

Theyre looking good....as far as the whole C02 thing i have no idea sorry.


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## Left C (Jan 18, 2005)

cichlidfeesh said:


> Anyone have any experience with a DIY carbon dioxide diffuser? I was thinking of making one with the yeast/sugar reaction. My only problem is that since this isnâ€™t regulated the CO2 will still enter the tank with the lights off when the plants stop using it. Is the easy way to solve this just to take the air tube out of the tank at night, or would it smell too much like fermentation in my room?


Most of the time, DIY doesn't make enough CO2 to be dangerous, but it can be. It depends on the output.

You can run an air pump with something like an airstone when the lights are off by using a timer. This will out gas the CO2. You can let your DIY CO2 run 24/7 then. You can also increase the surface turbulence to out gas the CO2 and let O2 in.

Usually DIY CO2 isn't very consistent and it needs a new mix when the bubble rate slows or you could have problems with algae and poor growth in the plants.

Pressurized CO2 is really the way to go with planted aquariums. It's costly up front, but it makes a huge difference in the way the plants grow. You will need a good fert dosing regimen too.

Seachem has a good line of ferts, but they are expensive. You can use a Seachem Dosing Calculator to calculate what to dose and when. This is a Microsoft Excel based calculator.

Many people use dry ferts because they are so much cheaper. You'll need Potassium Nitrate (KNO3), Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4), GH Booster and a good trace product like Plantex CSM+B, Flourish (comprehensive) or Tropica's Plant Nutrition _liquid_.
Here are some places to get the dry ferts:
http://aquariumfertilizer.com/
http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/aquar ... lizer.html
http://www.bestaquariumregulator.com/index.htm

There are several dry fert dosing plans that work, but they need to be tweaked for your aquarium. There is EI, PPS-Pro, PPS and Rex Grigg has dosing information on his site.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Good news, my rams layed eggs tonight  , I'll post pics later on


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## Maxima308 (Jun 6, 2009)

LOL :lol: They did breed overnight!


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Yeah thats kind of Ironic. The guy at the LFS gave me a pair, and he really knows a lot about his fish. They seem to be good parents, but tonight the Pleco or flounder will probably gobble them up  . Oh well, I'll see how it goes!

Here's Dad with the eggs









Good parents


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

nice !!! love those rams


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Well I set up my DIY CO2 reactor, seems to be working well as there is a lot of CO2 bubbling out.










Here is an updated picture, not sure why the light look like that (stupid camera) they should be more white.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Well the eggs have gone down to about half their population overnight. I was thinking they would all be eaten but it seems that there is still a chance of wigglers. I just bought some dwarf hair grass, so when that gets here it will hopefully carpet the sand


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## MSUDawgs56 (Feb 1, 2005)

Looks good, is that a 20 long?


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

yep, I'm going to be building a new canopy for it this week!


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## newbiechick (Apr 2, 2009)

Thanks for the fast updates...looking to setup a similar tank.
How is the DIY CO2 setup working out?


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

The DIY CO2 setup is a little tricky at first to get the mixtures right, but the plant growth is astonishing. My tank now looks like a jungle after a few weeks of constant CO2. I recently finished the canopy which now included a 14W T5 daylight bulb, so now I am around 52 watts of power. With the start of college looming around the corner I havenâ€™t found time to update the thread (sorry). Also I wonâ€™t be able to continue this tank because of unforeseen space limitations at my apartment this fall. I'm going to have to stick with my 55gallon and 20gallon reef tank for now. I am going to move some of the fish to my parentsâ€™ 30 gallon SA tank and take the plants and driftwood with me for my 55, hopefully my big cichlids wonâ€™t destroy the plants too much.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Here is a quick photo I just took to illustrate the plant growth


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## aussy612 (Jan 31, 2009)

that plant growth is amazing! you might have just convinced me to make a cO2 system aswell!


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## leopartner123 (Jun 29, 2009)

dannnggg your plants are growing fast. I started my planted tank around when you did, and I cant even tell they are growing. Maybe I shuold do CO2 and fertz...


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