Back in the trenches......

[lousyweather]

Thanks, Frederick for the in-depth advice! (and everyone else- you guys and girls have been great!)

This will take a bit to build.....I am going on vacation to Roatan in April, and don't want to start "the rig" up before then...gone almost two weeks!

Been shotgunning this...a lot of info at once.
Looking into home-grown LED's, adding up costs (LED's timers, dimmers,power supply, heat sink etc), and crazily enough, might make some sense to buy pre-made...still checking tho!

Substrate...considering a topsoil substrate, covered in fluorite and/or sand. I am curious though, how much of a life can I expect out of a topsoil substrate?

I shall begin building the base this weekend, when I snag the tank. A 2x4 substructure covered by an oak shell should match some of my other living room furniture....will take pics of this while I do it. Pretty easy really.

Looking at a few CO2 systems, pretty simple really, especially if digitally measuring the pH consistently. Sourcing gas now.....plan on owning my own bottle, finding most gas outfits want to lease me one....wonder why?

Decided on a two canister system, no sump, no HOB. One can will supply the CO2, the other for water clarification. Wont do anything with powerheads until I know I need them...easy enough to get.

Dosing pumps? Yes please! anything to make my life easier....

Fish? No time soon.....want to get some plants established while I play with CO2...don't want to suffocate those little guys while I screw up!

Please, don't be shy about breaking my little pea-picking heart! If you see me going wrong somewhere, let me know. I am quickly learning that planted aquaria, like life, has many differing opinions of right and wrong, oftentimes both couched in pretty solid fact and experience!

 

[irishspy]

Looking into home-grown LED's, adding up costs (LED's timers, dimmers,power supply, heat sink etc), and crazily enough, might make some sense to buy pre-made...still checking tho!

You might want to look at YouTube videos from "King of DIY:" https://www.youtube.com/user/uarujoey

It's a good channel, and he has a few videos on DIY LED set ups.

 

[myswtsins]

I use Oil-Dri as my complete substrate. I did pre-charge the bottom layer with a fert solution when I added it to the new tank BTW.

I think you've made some great decisions in a VERY short amount of time! I like everything you are doing. Only thing I would possibly reconsider is soil substrate. If you are dosing water column ferts adequately the need for root nutrients is quite low. When you move plants around it can cause quite a mess. Plus the mini volcanoes that can form/erupt from gasses building in the soil from organics breaking down. (Spent like 6 months popping bubbles nearly everyday!) The soil can turn anaerobic as well and when those gases are released it can be harmful to the fish. Yes there are good points to soil too but personally I think the bad ones win on this one. Not to say I didn't consider trying dirt again on my most recent tank but I ultimately decided against it, again.

You can always add root tabs IF you find it to be a problem, unlikely though. Some people have beautiful planted tanks with completely inert substrate! I prefer some CEC though, can't hurt nothing.

I am quickly learning that planted aquaria, like life, has many differing opinions of right and wrong, oftentimes both couched in pretty solid fact and experience!

Ain't that the truth!! Just have to find what works for YOU. Every single tank is different, even from room to room never mind country to country. I can't wait to see how you think planted aquaria compares to reefing!

 

[lousyweather]

I use Oil-Dri as my complete substrate. I did pre-charge the bottom layer with a fert solution when I added it to the new tank BTW.

I think you've made some great decisions in a VERY short amount of time! I like everything you are doing. Only thing I would possibly reconsider is soil substrate. If you are dosing water column ferts adequately the need for root nutrients is quite low. When you move plants around it can cause quite a mess. Plus the mini volcanoes that can form/erupt from gasses building in the soil from organics breaking down. (Spent like 6 months popping bubbles nearly everyday!) The soil can turn anaerobic as well and when those gases are released it can be harmful to the fish. Yes there are good points to soil too but personally I think the bad ones win on this one. Not to say I didn't consider trying dirt again on my most recent tank but I ultimately decided against it, again.

You can always add root tabs IF you find it to be a problem, unlikely though. Some people have beautiful planted tanks with completely inert substrate! I prefer some CEC though, can't hurt nothing.


Ain't that the truth!! Just have to find what works for YOU. Every single tank is different, even from room to room never mind country to country. I can't wait to see how you think planted aquaria compares to reefing!

I started an experiment today.....put some Oil-Dri in a bucket of water with some air agitation....just testing to see what it does.....hopefully it stays cohesive. We have several different oil pickup media at work, and its possible what i was recalling earlier was a different product than Oil-Dri.

As for reef versus planted.....both somewhat high startup costs, but, similarly, most of the stuff lasts for some time. For me, the stand is cheap enough, only a bit of time. Some of the other stuff, not so much, but certainly no worse than reef. And on a positive point, if something does die, will be relatively cheap!

I did see some dude precharge his oil-dri with a sprinkling of Osmacote just prior to putting down his substrate as well on Youtube....I do kinda of like the idea what the clay substrate will absorb nutrients in the hope that it can cme out later....wont get that with plain gravel or sand.

I have time....will do the stand first, once I get the tank in a couple days. Likely that will take me a ways....then probably get another canister for water movement, my existing one for the CO2. Tackle the lighting thing....I watched the DIY videos....often seem more fish-oriented, and no real data on PAR values with that setup. Plus, this thing is in my livingroom, so, dont really want the Jed Clampett look there for when the Architectural Digest folks come over to take pictures . Still, no reason to rush.....Ive a few ideas. Then the CO2 setup, run it with no lights, no plants, no fish...watch what the substrate does with the pH. Fine-tune stuff. Not even doising at this point. Add some plants, wherever I might find some....most likely mail order. It gets planted, I start dosing a bit. Once everything tests ok, put some victims...er...fish in there, and we are off to the races!

Another plus....girlfriend likes the idea!

 

[SnakeIce]

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...-mineralized-soil-substrate-aaron-talbot.html

Give that a read since you mentioned going with soil. Mineralized soil avoids the decay of organics in the tank and bubbling substrate that causes. If the rooting medium has plant roots in it it can't go anaerobic, so just plant it good and don't worry about that issue.

 

[myswtsins]

I did mineralize my soil btw and screened it and got those nasty bubbles. BUT I did not plant enough stems either I don't think. Although where the stems were there was bubbles too and stems rotted below the substrate line. Shrug. Just FYI.

 

[lousyweather]

hmmm....update on my Oil-Dri experiment....seemingly no degradation of the cohesiveness of the granules so far.....just sitting in a bucket.....airstone going......

 

[lousyweather]

quick question on CO2.....if injected into a pump line, can I expect the CO2 bubbles to be broken up in the flow of the pump, so do folks use a difffuser? The ladder setups Ive seen dont actually break the bubbles up....smaller bubbles, more surface area. I figure if a bubble makes it out and the the surface, its lost, and did no good,
Also, what size bottles do folks use? I have seen 5 lb to 20 lb. How long do they last, praytell?
I pick up the 70 tomorrow. Would start on the base, but my girlfriend wants to make birdhouses instead....

 

[myswtsins]

If I am following correctly, some people do use a powerhead the chop up the bubbles. Feeding the CO2 line in a canister input is bad cause the CO2 builds up and air locks your canister. An inline reactor is usually the most effective way to go cause as you said if the co2 hits the surface it's wasted. The newest, now most popular?, DIY inline reactor is the cerges reactor or the older concept was a rex grigg reactor. I've used a couple rex's but if I did CO2 again I'd certainly try a cerges.

On a large tank you definitely want a 20lb tank. How long it will last depends on how effectively you diffuse the CO2 and how much you inject, it varies greatly. With a PH probe and inline reactor you would be at optimal usage though.

 

[myswtsins]

It is a poor video but I just shot this a few days ago. This oil-dri (is mixed with some soil master select and eco-complete) has been in this tank for more than 4 years and was in another tank for a few years before that.