oppinions on planted aquarium wanted

N

_newbie_

AC Members
Jul 26, 2006
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New Zealand
help absolute newbie to planted aquariums

im completely new to planted aquarium and have jumped in with both feet :joke: . does the following seem ok?

14 (U.S)g coldwater tank
heavily planted
fishless
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 0 ppm
NH3: 0.25 ppm
ph before CO2: 7.0
ph after CO2: 6.0 (lowest reading possible with kit)
kh 3
CO2 87-90 ppm (est)
DIY jello CO2 injection ( :p: blackcurrent :p: )
light 2 wpg (assuming U.S g)

im using flourish excel by seachem and plant grow by nutrafin.

i know the CO2 level is pretty much lethal to fish thats why im keeping it fishless. once i have finished experimenting with plants, hardscape, CO2, kh, ferts, lightning, etc i will probably bring CO2 down to approx 20ppm then add fish.

comments tips and advice are very welcome :bowing: :bowing: :bowing: :bowing:
 
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_newbie_ said:
im completely new to planted aquarium and have jumped in with both feet :joke: . does the following seem ok?

14 (U.S)g coldwater tank
heavily planted
fishless
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 0 ppm
NH3: 0.25 ppm
ph before CO2: 7.0
ph after CO2: 6.0 (lowest reading possible with kit)
kh 3
CO2 87-90 ppm (est)
DIY jello CO2 injection ( :p: blackcurrent :p: )
light 2 wpg (assuming U.S g)

im using flourish excel by seachem and plant grow by nutrafin.

i know the CO2 level is pretty much lethal to fish thats why im keeping it fishless. once i have finished experimenting with plants, hardscape, CO2, kh, ferts, lightning, etc i will probably bring CO2 down to approx 20ppm then add fish.

comments tips and advice are very welcome :bowing: :bowing: :bowing: :bowing:
Click to expand...


1) get lighting up to 45W at least
2) coldwater is fine in the summer, but try keep temp at 70-75F
3) you dont need flourish excel it's redundant, diy for 15g provides all the co2 the tank needs.
4) you do need nutrient dosing, since you are using seachem products need: 3 macro(flourish potassium, flourish nitrogen, flourish phosphorus) and 1 micro (simply called flourish)
5) yes lower the co2 to about 25-30ppm and raise the ph to 6.4(which should happen automatically when you lower co2) before adding fish
 
i have dwarf sag grass, java moss, duckweed, camboba *sp*, pennywort, and about 3 other varieties that i have no idea what they are.

kinda experimenting to find out what plants 'work for me'.
 
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just out of curiousity, if i wanted to lower my CO2 to approx 20-25ppm, should i take out my diy CO2 reactor, increase surface aggitation or something else??? :help: :huh:
 
_newbie_ said:
just out of curiousity, if i wanted to lower my CO2 to approx 20-25ppm, should i take out my diy CO2 reactor, increase surface aggitation or something else??? :help: :huh:
Click to expand...

there are two ways to do it:

1) like you said create surface movement by trial and error until the co2 level stablizes at desired ppm

2) change the diy mixture by decrease the amount of yeast added. In general:

more yeast = higher co2 output + shorter duration
less yeast = lower co2 output + longer duration
 
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