Dear Experienced Planted Tank Keepers,
After reading Tom Barr's articles twice with a highlighter in my hand, he ( The Science ) has won me over Takashi Amano ( The Design and Marketing )
I successfully gained good experience on a 114 Litre Iwagumi tank ( 200+ umol at substrate, Fluval 2.0 LED’s ), full ADA substrate system, ADA dosed, HC planted and I now feel ready to start up a fully planted tank.
I am going to be setting up two ADA 60P’s, heavily planted, daily EI+ dosing, one with a concave and one with a convex layout using driftwood. Lighting will be around 200 umol at the substrate level ( 90 at shaded areas between driftwood and glass ) on one and around 100 umol ( 40 at shaded areas under and around driftwood ) on the other. I am aiming to gain experience on both systems which will be greatly different in dynamics.
After week 1, fauna will be 60 Caridina Multidentata’s and 30 Neocaridina Bloody Mary’s during the first 12 weeks. 30 Caridina Multidentata’s will be removed from each system around week 8-12. Trigonostima Espei's and Boraras Brigittae's will be added after week 12.
%100 RO with Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Equilibrium and/or Salty Shrimp GH+. 2 KH, 6 GH, with a full ADA substrate system.
TANK:
2x ADA 60P
LIGHTING:
2x Chihiros A601 Plus ( Concave Layout )
2x Chihiros A601 ( Convex Layout )
FILTER:
Eheim Classical 350 ( 2215 )
2.5 Litres Seachem Matrix ( 1 Litre from an established setup )
1 Litre Seachem Matrix Carbon
500 ml Seachem Purigen
Jardli Lily Pipes - Surface skimmer intake
Hydor Inline Heater 200W
SUBSTRATE:
ADA Amazonia Powder Type
ADA Amazonia Regular Type
ADA Power Sand S
Bacter 100
Clear Super
Tourmaline BC
WATER COLUMN :
Aqua Rebell Basic N
Aqua Rebell Basic P
Aqua Rebell Basic K
Aqua Rebell Basic Fe+ Traces
ADA Green Bacter - Daily for 14 days, then with WC
ADA Green Gain - With WC
ADA Python Git - With WC
ADA ECA - Daily
Seachem Prime
Seachem Stability - Daily for 14 days, then with WC
Seachem Pristine - Daily for 14 days, then with WC
Prodibio Biodigest - First day only
Seachem Equilibrium
Salty Shrimp GH+
Seachem Alkaline Buffer
Do!Aqua Music Glass 20mm CO2 Diffusor ( CO2 at 45 ppm )
ADA Bubble Counter
Double Stage Regulator with Selonoid
Twinstar M5
DAILY DOSING PLAN :
Week 1
%50 WC daily
NO3 20 ppm
PO4 1.2 ppm
K 20 ppm
Fe+Traces 0.2 ppm
Week 2 - Introduce 60 Caridina Multidentata’s
%50 WC daily
Week 3
%50 WC every 2 days
NO3 10 ppm ( depending on tests )
PO4 0.6 ppm
K 10 ppm
Fe+ Traces 0.1 ppm
Week 4
%50 WC every 3 days
NO3 7-8 ppm ( depending on tests )
K 7 ppm
Replace Carbon with regular Matrix, Replace Purigen with 250 ml new Purigen. ( 3.75L Matrix, 0.25L Purigen )
Week 5 - Introduce 30 Neocaridina Bloody Mary’s
%50 WC every 7 days
NO3 6 ppm ( depending on tests )
Week 6 - Increase daily PO4 dose !
Please do comment on any detail, brand, amount about my daily dosing plan and/or my equipment. I am eager to improve my abilities.
QUESTIONS :
MAIN QUESTION 1: Should I be dosing PO4 and Fe+ from day one? Does the information about PO4 and Fe not being sources of a bloom also apply for the initial stage?
MAIN QUESTION 2: Seachem Equilibrium adds 0.44 Fe, 92 K2O, 78 K, 9.64 Mg, 32.24 Ca, 0.24 Mn to the water at a GH of 6. Is this too much? Would the high Fe concentration cause any problem on the systems initial stage? Should I mix 3 GH Equilibrium with 3 GH Salty Shrimp? Comments on Salty Shrimp will be appreciated, it’s ingredients aren’t listed. Any recommendations for a branded GH product?
Q3: Would using %100 RO cause any form of a Cl deficiency? Any information on how RO systems work in terms of Cl? Tap water is not an option due to Milano’s incomprehensible tap water.
Q4: Would a daily value of 0.002 ppm Cu result in a deficiency?
Q5: Is aeration during lights off necessary considering Twinstar M5 diffuses a great deal of oxygen? Will Twinstar M5 substitute for a full aeration by the use of an air pump ( 50 l/h ) considering the skimmer would also be supplying oxygen for the bacteria? I do not want the oxygen levels to decline during lights off. Would Twinstar alone be sufficient?
Q6: Is it possible to introduce the Bloody Mary’s sooner? Would they get affected by the water changes? Around 2 KH in tank due to Amazonia’s initial days, 4-6 KH new water. ( See below )
Q7: Should I aim for a higher KH of 4-6 for the new water in order to keep the tanks KH at or around 2 and then gradually adjust to keep KH at 2 over time?
PLANT LIST :
Rotala ‘Green’
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Wallichii
Rotala ‘Vietnam’ Hra
Hottonia Palustris
Rotala Indica ‘Bonsai’
Ludwigia Palustris
Micranthemum Umbrosum
Ranunculus Inundatus
Hydrocotyle Tripartita
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Taxiphyllum Barbieri ??? ( Any moss recommendations? I will be covering all driftwood. Aiming for a no visible wood look. Using ADA Moss Cotton. )
Bolbitis Heudelotii
Microsorum Trident
Anubias ‘Petite’
Bucephalandra ‘Wavy Green’
Thank you for taking the time to read through my long post.
Happy Fish Keeping
After reading Tom Barr's articles twice with a highlighter in my hand, he ( The Science ) has won me over Takashi Amano ( The Design and Marketing )
I successfully gained good experience on a 114 Litre Iwagumi tank ( 200+ umol at substrate, Fluval 2.0 LED’s ), full ADA substrate system, ADA dosed, HC planted and I now feel ready to start up a fully planted tank.
I am going to be setting up two ADA 60P’s, heavily planted, daily EI+ dosing, one with a concave and one with a convex layout using driftwood. Lighting will be around 200 umol at the substrate level ( 90 at shaded areas between driftwood and glass ) on one and around 100 umol ( 40 at shaded areas under and around driftwood ) on the other. I am aiming to gain experience on both systems which will be greatly different in dynamics.
After week 1, fauna will be 60 Caridina Multidentata’s and 30 Neocaridina Bloody Mary’s during the first 12 weeks. 30 Caridina Multidentata’s will be removed from each system around week 8-12. Trigonostima Espei's and Boraras Brigittae's will be added after week 12.
%100 RO with Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Equilibrium and/or Salty Shrimp GH+. 2 KH, 6 GH, with a full ADA substrate system.
TANK:
2x ADA 60P
LIGHTING:
2x Chihiros A601 Plus ( Concave Layout )
2x Chihiros A601 ( Convex Layout )
FILTER:
Eheim Classical 350 ( 2215 )
2.5 Litres Seachem Matrix ( 1 Litre from an established setup )
1 Litre Seachem Matrix Carbon
500 ml Seachem Purigen
Jardli Lily Pipes - Surface skimmer intake
Hydor Inline Heater 200W
SUBSTRATE:
ADA Amazonia Powder Type
ADA Amazonia Regular Type
ADA Power Sand S
Bacter 100
Clear Super
Tourmaline BC
WATER COLUMN :
Aqua Rebell Basic N
Aqua Rebell Basic P
Aqua Rebell Basic K
Aqua Rebell Basic Fe+ Traces
ADA Green Bacter - Daily for 14 days, then with WC
ADA Green Gain - With WC
ADA Python Git - With WC
ADA ECA - Daily
Seachem Prime
Seachem Stability - Daily for 14 days, then with WC
Seachem Pristine - Daily for 14 days, then with WC
Prodibio Biodigest - First day only
Seachem Equilibrium
Salty Shrimp GH+
Seachem Alkaline Buffer
Do!Aqua Music Glass 20mm CO2 Diffusor ( CO2 at 45 ppm )
ADA Bubble Counter
Double Stage Regulator with Selonoid
Twinstar M5
DAILY DOSING PLAN :
Week 1
%50 WC daily
NO3 20 ppm
PO4 1.2 ppm
K 20 ppm
Fe+Traces 0.2 ppm
Week 2 - Introduce 60 Caridina Multidentata’s
%50 WC daily
Week 3
%50 WC every 2 days
NO3 10 ppm ( depending on tests )
PO4 0.6 ppm
K 10 ppm
Fe+ Traces 0.1 ppm
Week 4
%50 WC every 3 days
NO3 7-8 ppm ( depending on tests )
K 7 ppm
Replace Carbon with regular Matrix, Replace Purigen with 250 ml new Purigen. ( 3.75L Matrix, 0.25L Purigen )
Week 5 - Introduce 30 Neocaridina Bloody Mary’s
%50 WC every 7 days
NO3 6 ppm ( depending on tests )
Week 6 - Increase daily PO4 dose !
Please do comment on any detail, brand, amount about my daily dosing plan and/or my equipment. I am eager to improve my abilities.
QUESTIONS :
MAIN QUESTION 1: Should I be dosing PO4 and Fe+ from day one? Does the information about PO4 and Fe not being sources of a bloom also apply for the initial stage?
MAIN QUESTION 2: Seachem Equilibrium adds 0.44 Fe, 92 K2O, 78 K, 9.64 Mg, 32.24 Ca, 0.24 Mn to the water at a GH of 6. Is this too much? Would the high Fe concentration cause any problem on the systems initial stage? Should I mix 3 GH Equilibrium with 3 GH Salty Shrimp? Comments on Salty Shrimp will be appreciated, it’s ingredients aren’t listed. Any recommendations for a branded GH product?
Q3: Would using %100 RO cause any form of a Cl deficiency? Any information on how RO systems work in terms of Cl? Tap water is not an option due to Milano’s incomprehensible tap water.
Q4: Would a daily value of 0.002 ppm Cu result in a deficiency?
Q5: Is aeration during lights off necessary considering Twinstar M5 diffuses a great deal of oxygen? Will Twinstar M5 substitute for a full aeration by the use of an air pump ( 50 l/h ) considering the skimmer would also be supplying oxygen for the bacteria? I do not want the oxygen levels to decline during lights off. Would Twinstar alone be sufficient?
Q6: Is it possible to introduce the Bloody Mary’s sooner? Would they get affected by the water changes? Around 2 KH in tank due to Amazonia’s initial days, 4-6 KH new water. ( See below )
Q7: Should I aim for a higher KH of 4-6 for the new water in order to keep the tanks KH at or around 2 and then gradually adjust to keep KH at 2 over time?
PLANT LIST :
Rotala ‘Green’
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Wallichii
Rotala ‘Vietnam’ Hra
Hottonia Palustris
Rotala Indica ‘Bonsai’
Ludwigia Palustris
Micranthemum Umbrosum
Ranunculus Inundatus
Hydrocotyle Tripartita
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Taxiphyllum Barbieri ??? ( Any moss recommendations? I will be covering all driftwood. Aiming for a no visible wood look. Using ADA Moss Cotton. )
Bolbitis Heudelotii
Microsorum Trident
Anubias ‘Petite’
Bucephalandra ‘Wavy Green’
Thank you for taking the time to read through my long post.
Happy Fish Keeping
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