My new tank setup

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


athensguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:44 am

My new tank setup

by athensguy

What do you guys think of the initial setup on this new 125 gallon amazon tank?

Lighting is x6 96 watt power compact dual bulbs of 6700k/10k and x6 led moon lights

Filtration - x2 HOB Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel Filters, x2 sponge filters, and 1 CF500 Canister Filter with built-in UV Sterilizer using sponges and cotton pads inside.

Heating - will be x3 200 watt ViaAqua glass heaters

Substrate - layered substrate - fine sand on bottom inch followed by about an inch of established gravel then a small layer of peat moss followed by out 2 to 3 inches of coarse sand/gravel from Lake Hartwell

Fish - currently using established media in the filters but only populating the tank with a small school of about a dozen serpae tetras and then 4 cory cats until the bacteria can begin colinization throughout the tank to handle angelfish

Plants - Currently java moss, java fern, amazon swords, and floating water sprite.

Currently I am not using any CO2 and would love suggestions on what to use for CO2 in such a large tank. Previously I've used DIY CO2 but for a tank this size I don't feel like having a dozen 2-liter bottles under the tank.
tank3.jpg
125 Gallon Planted Tank - Amazon Theme


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

Re: My new tank setup

by yasherkoach

the length of that tank is fantastic...nothing beats a low long tank

the longer the better...your fish will enjoy that tank


athensguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:44 am

Re: My new tank setup

by athensguy

Thanks! And yeah I love the actual dimensions of the tank since it's 6 ft long but also has 22 inches in height so when I do put the angels in they will have plenty of room to move about.

I am getting a problem with diatoms now but I'm thinking that has more to do with the high silica content from using lake sand for much of the substrate. I'm hoping the phospates will balance out in about a month or so because the brown algea diatom is looking horrible.

I'm also trying to shop around for a 10 or 15 lb co2 canister and regulator so I can start doing co2 which I will put directly into the canister intake.


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

Re: My new tank setup

by natalie265

Sounds like a great set up! I'd add some valisnaria, which is a natural part of the angel fish habitat.

Pressurized CO2 is much less hassel than DIY. You might want to consider getting a reactor which is probably the most efficient way of diffusing the CO2.


athensguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:44 am

Re: My new tank setup

by athensguy

Do you recommend a reactor method instead of putting it directly into the intake of the canister filter? I've read that the filter intake is usually the best method for dispersal but I do have a Hagen reactor that I use on my DIY CO2 which I could use for this tank...it's just a massive eyesore.


Okiimiru
 
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:19 pm

Re: My new tank setup

by Okiimiru

" I've read that the filter intake is usually the best method for dispersal but I do have a Hagen reactor that I use on my DIY CO2 which I could use for this tank...it's just a massive eyesore."

Why not get multiple cheap $10 CO2 diffusers and then plumb them up with multiple lines off of one CO2 reactor? I bet they'd all bubble. The tiny bubbles are the most effective, anyway. When the pressure's really high the big bubbles that come out of a single diffuser just rise right up to the surface without dissolving much.
Aquarium air line splitters are like $5 on ebay. Picture: http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Air-Control-Valv ... Q~~_12.JPG

Diffusers are inexpensive at aquatic magic. I think they're kinda pretty.
Picture: http://www.aqmagic.com/images/aa67_12.jpg
Link: http://www.aqmagic.com/equipment-diffuser-c-49_83.html

Although personally I can't see the plants needing more than one CO2 diffuser. My 55 gallon tank used to run a 2 liter CO2 reactor with the 'recommended for 55 gallons' diffuser that I linked to up above and my CO2 was always right at the limit of fish toxicity (30 ppm). It's quite an excellent diffuser, very effective at dissolving its CO2. You could probably get a big dissolved CO2 concentration out of it even in a tank three times the size of my 55. For that reason I'd start out with just a T splitter, like so http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... T4xhVe6ylA run off of one 2 liter reactor. Then check your ppm of CO2. If it's less than 15 ppm, you could go with the 5 splitter and see how that increases it. Or use a 5 liter bottle. But like I said I bet one or two diffusers would be plenty.

Really, CO2 is sort of overrated (except for plants that aren't truly aquatic, which yes, won't live underwater without it). I have half a dozen plant species in my aquarium and I don't run CO2 and everything goes smoothly. Nitrate never rises to above 20 ppm even with me not doing a water change for a few months, which I feel like means the plants are growing fast enough to eat all of the nitrogen from the water column and prevent it from accumulating. Adding CO2 wouldn't be necessary for my aquarium because dissolved nitrogen is probably the limiting growth factor. I doubt adding CO2 would even increase their growth. Also, when I tried that (running a tank with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all 0 ppm), some species of plants crashed from lack of food. My <20 ppm (the lowest my test kit reads) is actually sort of dangerous for the plants. I should throw in some rotting meat. Then the CO2 would help them grow. lol, ew.


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

Re: My new tank setup

by natalie265

You could try just running through the canister filter like you were planning. It might work great, i've never tried that method. I just know that my reactor breaks the bubbles up into almost microscopic bubbles. It seems to work really well. Mine has the diffuser built in though, so i would not be able to run multiple diffussers from mine.

Some people have incredible tanks without co2. I wasn't one of those people though, so i added DIY and then pressurized co2. I'd like to give a low tech tank another shot someday, but with pressurized co2 you can grow plants that would be very difficult to grow without it.


athensguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:44 am

Re: My new tank setup

by athensguy

I'm very much considering going the pressurized co2 route with say a 5 or 10 lb canister. In the meantime I've moved just a single 2-liter size DIY co2 system into place to try to combat the hair algea that has begun taking over. I'll also be adding about 30 dwarf sag to the tank in the next few days. I'm hoping that the plants will begin to outcompete the algea for nutrients.


Okiimiru
 
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:19 pm

Re: My new tank setup

by Okiimiru

"I'll also be adding about 30 dwarf sag to the tank in the next few days. I'm hoping that the plants will begin to outcompete the algea for nutrients."

"Substrate - layered substrate - fine sand on bottom inch followed by about an inch of established gravel then a small layer of peat moss followed by out 2 to 3 inches of coarse sand/gravel from Lake Hartwell"

You might want to add some fertilizer tabs to your substrate for the health of the dwarf sags. They rely heavily on nutrients absorbed via their roots. If you don't add root tabs I'm afraid they might not grow too well in the sand and gravel (pure silicon dioxide, no calcium, magnesium, iron, etc) and peat moss (who knows what's in that).

Not having to purchase root fertilizer tabs is one of the reasons why I use pure clay kitty litter for my substrate. It's full of nutrients so I don't have to add root tabs. More info: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilize ... jamie.html Soil capped in gravel and the expensive aquarium-designed substrates like Fluorite(R) and Eco-Complete(R) also contain lots of nutrients and don't need root tabs added. The advantage that products designed for the aquarium have over things like kitty litter and soil are that they are not regionally variable. The kitty litter I bought in Cleveland, Ohio made my water 16 to 20 DH and was gray in color. The kitty litter I bought in Winston-Salem, North Carolina leaves my water 0 DH and is beige in color.
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ikKTwTEKs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTA7y9Tns5M

My new tank setup

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