Planted tank placement and misc questions

[mfzzzoo]

Hello all,

I'm starting out a 38G tank and plan to have it heavily planted as time progress. Bought a used Coralife single CF strip with 96W 6700K light. I am thinking low-light to medium light plants to begin and have the following questions:

(1) I plan to place the tank facing windows as that's pretty much the only area I could put it in. With the daylight and lighting I have, would it easily cause algae problem? Should I apply a background to lessen the tank's exposure to day light?

(2) I definitely plan to get some ottos or SAE. However I'm unsure when to introduce them into the tank (algae prevention-wise and tanking cycling-wise). Any advice?

(3) Stupid question. Could I just put the strip light on a glass canopy? I'm wondering if it will be too hot

(4) I am going to put in Eco Complete as the substrate. How often do I have to vacuum them? I'm seeing a lot of nice setups online with carpet-like aquascaping, using plants like Marsilea. Do these kind of setup even require vacuuming?

Thank you all in advance

[Marinemom]

With a tank that faces a window, it might cause a problem down the line with algae in the tank. I would put a backing on the tank to help eliminate some of the natural light coming into the aquarium. Also, I think it will look better. As far as the window is concerned, how much light will come into the tank? You might want to consider keeping the blind or the cutain closed. I would introduce the algae eaters in the tank when the cycle is done or six to eight weeks after the tank has been set up. This will insure that there is enough for them to eat. However, you will want to suppliment thier diet with algae wafers and some veggies. For the light I do not see any reason why you cannot put it directly on the glass. I have t-5 lighting on two of my aquariums that sit directly on the glass without a problem. I also use eco-complete in two of my aquariums and I rarely vacuum it per say. It is not like having gravel. Most of the debris just sits on top of this substrate so it is easy to just suck it out during a water change. If you have a live plant that looks like carpet this may not even be necessary. I have java moss in one part of one of my aquariums and I do not vacuum it and it is just fine.

Hope this helps and good luck with your new setup. Keep us updated.

Marinemom

[Star_Rider]

generally there could be problems with sunlight and aquariums.

however, there are also tanks called natural tanks.

you may want to check in to this field as these tend to utlize natural light. which can also be controlled to some extent..I have one tank that utilizes filtered natural light and there are only a few problems (algae)so far with this tank but it isn't any different than some slight algae problems I have on a couple other tanks(controlled thru regular tank maintenance).

[skiboarder72]

don't forget to ad co2, either diy (2 bottles probably) or pressurized unless you want algae and unhappy plants of course :)

[Goatman]

It doesn't matter how much light (as long as it's above threshold), or from what source the light comes as long as you do everything that needs to be done, from the start. That means getting some Greg Watson fertilizers (or Seachem I guess, but they're a waste of money IMO), and a good, reliable CO2 system (DIY or pressurized). Starting half-assed will just lead to problems down the road. As for "cycling..." there's no such thing in a planted tank for the most part. So, look before you leap, and get everything set before you get started. Read... a lot.

On the topic of PC strip on a glass top, throw out the top and put the strip on legs. Tops, even when brand spankin new, still filter, diffuse, and block light. Now compund that with the inevitable white mineral deposits, and you might as well be using the crappy strip that comes with the tank (in my opinion anyway).

On the topic of vacuuming a carpetting plant, don't bother. If it gets covered with detrius, stir it up and let the filter... filter. Sucking up patches of a nice, thick carpet is always rough. As for Eco, without a carpet you can vacuum it, but you need to be carful and not dig too deep. The bottom layer is quite fine.

[Yoemen]

I agree with most everything said, however you still need to cycle a tank if you are doing planted. Especially if you are new to planted tanks. It is hard as a newbie to get a large enough amount of biomass to handle the bioload right from the start.

[gagaliya]

response in bold


Hello all,

I'm starting out a 38G tank and plan to have it heavily planted as time progress. Bought a used Coralife single CF strip with 96W 6700K light. I am thinking low-light to medium light plants to begin and have the following questions:

(1) I plan to place the tank facing windows as that's pretty much the only area I could put it in. With the daylight and lighting I have, would it easily cause algae problem? Should I apply a background to lessen the tank's exposure to day light?

if it's direct sunlight, there is no doubt it will cause algae. You can control the problem by:

1)adding a diverse population of algae eaters: nerite snails (king of algae control!), true SAE, otto, cherry red shrimp, or amono shrimp. I would start with 2 true SAE and 10 nerite snails.

2)add high growth stem plants from the get go: anarcharis, hornwort, rotila sp, sp vals, etc.

Black background facing the window? that would work but wont look very nice.


(2) I definitely plan to get some ottos or SAE. However I'm unsure when to introduce them into the tank (algae prevention-wise and tanking cycling-wise). Any advice?

see above, my suggestion is to introduce 2 true sae and 10 nerite snails 24 hours after the tank is running, assuming the tank is already fully planted with light/co2 running

(3) Stupid question. Could I just put the strip light on a glass canopy? I'm wondering if it will be too hot

that's fine, the coralife freshwater aqualight already has an acrylic cover too. But to make maintainece easier, you can buy some legs as well. either way no big deal


(4) I am going to put in Eco Complete as the substrate. How often do I have to vacuum them? I'm seeing a lot of nice setups online with carpet-like aquascaping, using plants like Marsilea. Do these kind of setup even require vacuuming?

if you have full carpet plants, no need to vacuum, dont think of it as waste but as ferts for the plants. I only graval vacced once in the last 5 months when i accidently spilled half bottle of food in the tank :(

Thank you all in advance

bottomline, here's my suggestions

initial setup:
1) dump ALL the plants in at the get go, they must include some high growth stem plants mentioned above (you can always remove them after things stablize)

2) setup your co2 (pressurized or diy) + lighting

after 24-48 hours:
3) add 10x nerite snails and 2x true sae

after 1 week:
4) start nutrient dosing macro (npk) + micro

after 3 weeks and no major problems
5) add your first school of fish

[mfzzzoo]

Thank you all for the advice.

>after 24-48 hours:
>3) add 10x nerite snails and 2x true sae

Just wondering, are snails gonna cause problems to a planted tank? I know if you suggesting this type of snails it's probably something suitable. However, I have been hearing snails will breed like crazy and cause infestation. Also, why do people who are selling aquarium plants often emphaize there was no snail in their tank?

Thanks.

[blackwolfXKAV]

i think apple snails cant breed spontaneously, so they might work.