Looking for some advice, considering a planted tank

[SidtheMonkey]

Ah, I see. That's what I thought, but I was having a hard time understanding why my current filter, albeit strange and unbranded, wouldn't just do the trick. There is enough room in the filter to add another sponge. The one that is in there now is much thicker than the fluval ones I have for my lizard's water. I don't know how often you are suppose to actually ... change out sponges (if ever). If I am able to bring the water level up to the filter (which i cannot in this current tank because for whatever reason the acrylic will leak), there isn't much surface disturbance at all. I'm not sure what kind of water flow setting would be appropriate for the larger tank, but I don't know how much that really matters.

I dont know if I ever threw sponges away...they last for yrs. I just squeezed them out in (removed) tank water when cleaning the tank. You dont want to throw them out, they carry the great majority of your bio-filtration, the beneficial bacteria.

You dont need to worry about surface agitation just starting out, as long as there isnt alot. I used to adjust my currents depending on algae growth...sometimes a little more helped but then I usually added the power head to a lower corner of the tank, not the surface. However on my larger tanks, (bigger than my 20 long) I usually used 2 smaller power filters..they provided nice even current thru the tank.

 

[SidtheMonkey]

Just FYI, reptile tanks can have much thinner glass than aquarium tanks because they aren't meant to be filled with water. The glass on my 20g long is about 3/16" thick. If the walls are your tank are much thinner, you might want to reconsider using it as an aquarium.

Wow, good pointer!

 

[tbirdie]

Just FYI, reptile tanks can have much thinner glass than aquarium tanks because they aren't meant to be filled with water. The glass on my 20g long is about 3/16" thick. If the walls are your tank are much thinner, you might want to reconsider using it as an aquarium.

GREAT POINT!
I've never bought a reptile tank that said it was... a reptile tank. I always just bought glass aquariums and used them as such. I bought them by themselves as you can at Petsmart or Petco. Having said that, I think this one was actually given to me by a friend. So I went out just now and measured it. It's stacked in the back and getting to it is kind of hard. With the black trim on it, I'm sure how to go about measuring the thickness of the glass. I put the edge of the tape measure at the edge of the corner and measured where I could visually see the other glass pane, and I got 1/4".

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Fluorite as stated before doesn't contain a lot of nutrients initially, but has reasonable "cation exchange capacity" (or CEC) which basically means it can absorb nutrients that plants can uptake later. It's cheaper than fancy substrates, has some advantage over cheaper gravel/sand, and if used alone won't end up mixing together like layered substrate. It is however a huge pain to rinse!

Also...excess nutrients do not cause algae (in a healthy well planted tank at least)! Mr. Tom Barr has proven this over and over again. Excess ammonia however will trigger algae (so don't leave rotting stuff in the tank including plant leaves), and providing more light than plants can use can trigger issues as well. Different forms of algae can give you clues as to what is imbalanced in your particular set-up.

Choose your lighting carefully. Most information about how many "watts" you need is based on old lighting technology. 2-3 WPG's of normal output T12/T8 is "medium lighting", but 2-3 WPG of high output (HO) T5 is "high lighting", especially on short tanks. Of course, floating plants help filter out excess light, and tannins leeching from driftwood will reduce light levels as well. For more information, here is a great lighting experiment: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html

Finally, I would recommend that if you go with a single HoB filter, that you get a small powerhead for the other side of your tank. Since the outflow of a normal HoB points towards the front glass, the water doesn't really get circulated very well in a long tank...especially if there are a bunch of plants further reducing the strength of the current! A small powerhead on the far side wall (directed towards the length of the tank) will help keep water moving, and nutrients circulating!

 

[Aptos]

Finally, I would recommend that if you go with a single HoB filter, that you get a small powerhead for the other side of your tank. Since the outflow of a normal HoB points towards the front glass, the water doesn't really get circulated very well in a long tank...especially if there are a bunch of plants further reducing the strength of the current! A small powerhead on the far side wall (directed towards the length of the tank) will help keep water moving, and nutrients circulating!

I'm just starting a planted tank as well, and I was under the impression that current can be bad for planted tanks; is this incorrect? If so, the only powerheads I've seen are the ones for saltwater tanks, which are expensive and really powerful. Are there any ones that are small and cheap?

 

[tbirdie]

I have seen small cheaper ones at petsmart / petco for freshwater.

Update:
Actually, as it turns out... I have a powerhead from my old waterfall set up for my lizard.

It's a Rio 50. It has a water flow adjustment on it.
So you're suggesting putting it in the bottom right corner if my filter is on the left side, right? I'm assuming it shouldn't be pointing towards the front of the glass? What do you do with the ugly black cord that you have to feed from the bottom of the tank up?

 

[Aptos]

I have seen small cheaper ones at petsmart / petco for freshwater.

Do you know the brand/product? I was at both PetCo and PetSmart yesterday and didn't see them.

Also, is it possible to have too much light? I've got 48 Watts of T5 Hight Output lighting between two bulbs (10,000K and 6,500K), and 17" between the bottom of the fixture and top of the substrate.

 

[tbirdie]

See above about brand. Not sure about the other question, is probably a topic of its own.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

CO2 diffuses very slowly in water, and thus good water movement helps CO2 and nutrients reach plant leaves. It also helps prevent detritus from collecting on your plants. High tech tanks will shoot for 10X water turnover per hour, although admittedly I do not know what level of water movement is desirable for low tech tanks. That being said...it's pretty difficult to keep plants in place if you've got hurricane force current going on, so keep that in mind. XD

Small powerheads like the Hydor Koralia Nano (250 gph) or Koralia 1 (400 gph) cost roughly $20-30 on-line.

Honestly, plant the tank and see where you're lacking in current. Middle to top seems a more likely position since your HoB will driving water down the front glass. Plus, blowing your plants out of position is bad. ~_^

If you want a non-CO2 tank, then yes there is certainly such a thing as too much light. If you're planning on injecting CO2 and dosing ferts, more light = more work, and more potential for algae. Do you want to trim on a daily basis? XD Much easier to maintain a tank if your limiting factor is the amount of light provided.

 

[Dr. Awkward]

What do you do with the ugly black cord that you have to feed from the bottom of the tank up?

I bought a bunch of little hook things with suctions cups on the back that I use to hold down cords. I think they're supposed to be used with airline tubing but they work fine for electrical cords. They have a plastic C-shaped thing that holds the cord tight against the glass so it's not as unsightly. Also, if you get a black background for the tank the cord won't show much at all, especially once the plants start filling in.

If you are worried about Flourite having sharp edges and looking weird if you mix it with your current gravel you might want to consider Eco-Complete. It's black, the particles are more rounded than Flourite and you don't have to rinse it before you put it in your tank (rinsing is the worst part with Flourite!!! I actually broke my garbage disposal with that stuff :shakehead. It's usually a little more expensive than Flourite but I like it much better.