my first f.w. tank

Max

Max

It's me
Jan 26, 2004
2,567
1
0
Mars
Visit site
Hello
As is s.o.p for me I seem to be going about our hobby backward. I'm planning on setting up my first f.w. tank and was wondering if you guys would please be so kind as to give me a little advice? I've kept s.w. for years so I'm not new to the hobby but, I may have some bad ideas due to that fact.
My plan 20 gal long sand/ground pumice substrate ,"I'll want to plant the tank and might as well get it started out right. I'd guess about 3 inches deep to provide good base as well as some additonal denitrification.
Lights ? any advice here I figure I have an old coral life that should fit it's 10,000 k full spectrum .
Filtration really weak here I've always just used live rock and deep sand. Can I do something like that with f.w. if the tank is lightly stocked? Won't a dsb and the plants remove a lot of the toxins or do I have to set up a filter?
Live stock hmm I'm soo lost here that I don't even know where to start I'm thinking about a peacefull community tank but, again I'm a 100% noob.
I'll prbly just go to the lfs and get what ever that looks good and is compatible. Don't worry I'll ask b/4 I buy :thud: . Any way I know that this is vague and I'll make sure the tank is cycled b/4 adding any critters so let me know what you guys think.
I know that this is vague sorry!
Thanks for your advice.
 
Plants do work as a filter to some extent, but without some kind of mechanical filter you will get algae build up. You want to have some water flow to prevent that, and you'll want something to help circulate fertilizer.

The coralife 10000k ought to work for the planted, though some people prefer 6700k. With that high of light you are probably going to want to have co2.

Since you are starting this off as a planted tank first, and then looking at fish, you might want to consider doing a plant cycle or a silent cycle. Basically you set up your tank with a lot of quick growing stem plants and let them settle in for a couple of days and then very slowly add fish. Decaying plant matter creates ammonia, which is consumed by the plants. This creates a very small amount of bacteria, so you have to stock very slowly to make sure you don't end up cycling again. Also if your plants die it doesn't work. I added a bunch of snails when I did my plant cycle and it helped speed things along.

As for substrate, I'd go with a plant oriented mix, like eco-complete, flourite, or one of the other brands. Sand can work, but it has its drawbacks as far as holding nutrients.

For fish, there are some that really like a heavily planted tank, and some that will tear up plants. So watch out for those that like to dig and those that like to eat plants.
 
Well, I'll toss in two cents for you, Max. I'm not really a plant guy so I'll skip the substrate in general. But I have been known to keep plants for short periods in pots with the proper substrate and have them buried in gravel or coral and surrounded by other decor to hide them. Since I'm prone to cichlids which like to rearrange tank decor, this has kept my live plants to a minimum.

I also am a big fan of RUGF, driven with powerheads, and canister filters. Smaller tanks I usually use internal or sponge filters, not a fan of HOB.

I never trust manufacturers ratings on filters. At best they do half of what they say. Check the fine print on their info sheets. They usually say the gph is without any media involved.

Heaters, 5 watt per gallon, split wattage into two heatersso a failure of one, high or low, shouldn't kill the tank.

Driftwood or peat to buffer pH down, coral to push it up.

Bubbles are not necessary, but man, when corys play in a bubble wall, it is a sight to see.

Tell you what, I'll do the same. I'll post a new thread for input on a new SW tank and what I'm looking for. I have a spare 55 gal for the set up and you can fill me in on a less rocky path.
 
You don't mention how many watts of light you have over your tank...I would suggest at least 25-30 watts over your 20g for a "low-light" tank. You could attach some java ferns and anubias to rocks and driftwood, and cryptocornes should do OK in a sand substrate (however I'm not familiar with ground pumice as a substrate).

You can indeed filter a tank using plants only, but this usually requires a LOT of plants, and usually the fast-growing kind (which would require around 40 watts over the 20g tank).

Power heads are often used in filterless planted tanks to circulate water, otherwise you'll have to stir it up yourself on a daily basis so that nutrients get distributed throughout the tank. Most people find this a p.i.t.a so they just get a filter and direct it so that surface agitation is kept to a minimum to preserve C02.
 
I think the lights are 60w I'll have to check and make sure they used to be over a mini reef. So far your advice all sounds most excellent I'll use a premade mix for the substrate and avoid any of my concotions until I'm better versed. Rbishop, that sounds like a great idea and I'd be honored. I'm very excited about this and I'll keep you all posted with the results/process. Imo thers nothing better than a new tank thread.
Scarcare, that sounds really interesting and I may try that. Would raising my temps to 85 to rush my cycle a bit have any ill affects on the plants?
 
max, i have a 20g long planted tank.

the way i did it....

2-3" play sand substrate.
6000k verilux bulbs. i have two 48" T8's in a standard shop light. this is actually enough to make CO2 more of a requirement than an option. if you don't want to hassle with CO2, i would suggest you go with under 2wpg.

for filters, i have two 90gph whisper hobs on the back, one at each end of the tank. these are fairly weak and don't create a lot of water flow. i'm going to be adding a 175gph powerhead soon. with lower light, just the two filters might be fine. i chose to use two smaller filters rather than one larger one because it lessens the possibility of dead spots. because the tank is so long, its easy to get dead spots.

if you go with less than 2 watts per gallon, you could probably get away with no CO2 or flourish excel if you wanted a little quicker growth, and just some basic all-around fertilizer.
 
From my experience, the folks running elevated temps during a fishless cycle gain a lot of time, as short as 1-2 weeks, but experience peaks and lows on ammonia and nitrites with nitrates coming in dead last.
 
with a 20 gal i would go with some low light set up first. when you get up to the higher light you have to deal with co2 and ferts. if thats something you want to deal with from the start thats fine. i would use excle for my co2. its a liquid co2. 10k light bulb should be fine. i have just reg gravel in my tank and my plants been growing like crazy. there are gravel made for plants like eco complet. a lot of people also just use sand. got luck max with your tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom