Hi everyone,
I am planning to setup a planted non-CO2 community 450l (about 120gl) tank (180cm x 50cm x 50cm or apron. 71in x 20in x 20in) and need your help on several topics. I appreciate it! Nominal volume is 450l, but after discounting the glass thickness it drops to 391l. After substrate and rocks it may drop to less than 350l (95gl).
I used to have aquariums long time ago, before all this great info was widely available. I had some success (got lucky) and lots of failures back then, and now I have an ambitious plan (for my aquarium skillset or lack of it), for which I have been reading and planning to avoid common mistakes and learn from your experience, so I can have healthy plants and happy fishes.
Here are the questions:
1. Water - my tap water is soft (2GH, 2 to 3KH) and has a 7.5PH. I am concerned with the lack of buffering and its risks. Should I add some crushed coral to the substrate or use seachem equilibrium or something else? Some of the rocks I want to use fizzles when tested with a 35% HCL solution, but when submerged in a bucket for few days, they still don't change the ph, kh nor gh - I guess because some of their minerals (e.g. calcium) does not dissolve at the 7.5ph of my tap water. If that is the case, could they act as a natural buffer when the ph drops, starting to dissolve then increasing ph to a level they no longer dissolve and prevent ph shock? I have no idea at the pace/speed which this potential balance could occur, and whether this is possible and a viable approach. Any thoughts on this approach?
2. Filtration and media - are 2 eheim classic 600 (2217) with the included media adequate? I already purchased these filters and I am thinking to try to cycle them in a bucket, after kicking the DSM..., so I can have some bacteria in the filter media, prior to flooding the tank. I am thinking to use lily acrylic pipes for the output.
3. Lighting - I had help from folks in this forum (thank you!) and ordered a single 72" BML Nature Style 6500K, which I should receive this afternoon. Unfortunately it was held up for several days by customs in Brazil. Anyway, I am planning to leave it on for 2 periods of 4-5 hours, with a siesta of 2-4 hours in between, so I can enjoy it at night. Is this ok? I will likely try to raise it a little bit to avoid dark spots.
4. Substrate - purchased ADA AS Amazonia Normal. I am planning to have a slope and I am wondering how deep can the substrate be on the back, without running into H2S or CH4. Or shouldn't be worried about H2S, as it may be immediately oxidized and not harm fish? I don't know how much impact the Amazonia will have on item 1 (water), any thoughts? And if too deep (e.g. over 10cm or 4 in) is not recommended, is it ok to put something else (an inert object, e.g. styrofoam) to accomplish this?
5. Hardscape and plants - I have lots of rocks, big ones (over 10l, 15l of volume), which I really want to use (see item 1 above), thus I am planning a half rock, half plant look mixed together. This may drastically reduce the volume of water and the room for plants. If I use moss to cover the top of the large rocks, and leave only 10-15% of area unplanted (when looking from the top), will it still act/function as a heavily planted tank? Large sides of the rock would still be exposed. I am looking for the benefits and looks of plants plus looks of rocks.
6. Plants - below are the plants I want to have - info between parenthesis is from Tropica. Will I be ok with these, are there any of these I should avoid? I may not buy all these types, but this is the pool of plants I desire to use, because I like their small/delicate foliage. I like how it looks with large rocks and small fishes. Feel free to suggest any other plant with small/delicate foliage. Btw, I understand the ideal is to start fully planted and with high growth plants, but I want to avoid replanting or moving plants around. I am planning to use the DSM for the carpet and mosses, and add the others after flooding the tank. Based on your experience, would the medium and high CO2 demanding plants below be healthy in a non-CO2 tank? Will any of these require constant pruning in a non-CO2 tank?
Background: cabomba caroliniana (easy care, high growth, 20-30cm, medium light, low co2) ceratophyllum demersum “foxtail” (easy care, high growth, 5-30cm, low light, low co2)
ceratopteris thalictroides - talvez (medium care, high growth, 15-30cm, medium light, low co2)
myriophyllum matogrossense (medium care, high growth, 20-30cm, medium light, medium co2)
Middleground:
bacopa australis (medium care, high growth, 5-30cm, medium light, medium co2) Pogostemon erectus (medium care, medium growth, 15-30cm, medium light, medium co2)
hottonia palustris (easy care, medium growth, 10-20cm, low light, low co2)
Carpet (to be grown trough DSM):
helianthus callitrichoides “cuba” (advanced care, medium growth, 3-5cm, high light, high co2)
eleocharis acicularis “mini” (medium care, slow growth, 3-5cm, medium light, medium co2)
marsilea crenata (medium care, medium growth, 3-10cm, medium light, low co2)
flutuante:
azalea carolinians ou azolla caroliniana (easy care, medium growth, 3-5cm, low light, low co2)
Riccia fluitans (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, medium co2)
limnobium laevigatum (easy care, medium growth, 3-5cm, low light, low co2)
salvinia nations (easy care, high growth, 3-5cm, low light, low co2)
moss:
Vesicularia ferriei ‘Weeping’ (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, low co2)
vesicular dubyana “christmas” (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, low co2)
Riccia fluitane (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, medium co2)
7. Ferts - based on item#1, seachem equilibrium and KNO3/KH2PO4 once a week or biweekly, according to the effective volume (likely less than 350l or 95g)?
8. Fishes - below is the current plan.
1 school of 30 tetra neon cardinal or 2 schools (15 neons and 15 danios)
1 male betta
1 or 2 female bettas
1 male dwarf gourami
1 female dwarf gourami
10 neocaradina shrimps (I hope they can breed and increase population - they are expensive) - there will be plenty of hiding space for them.
5-7 guppies (only 1 male)
9. UPS - I got a true sine wave UPS plus external battery to keep the filters going during the frequent and sometimes long power outages. 12V, 41Ah. Any comments or things to avoid here?
10. Cabinet top leveling - the hardwood cabinet has an irregular top, with irregularities up to 3mm. Stupid and lazy question: will a 10mm EVA mat under the aquarium be enough to prevent these irregularities to crack or break the bottom glass? The top is 5cm (2in) thick and can be sanded, but if the rubber mat can work, with no risks of cracking, I can avoid the messy wood work in the house. On the other side, if there are risks, I rather fix it now than have a flooded living room. The aquarium is arriving soon...
Does this all make sense and work well together? Should I make any changes?
Thank you very much and sorry for the long loaded question(s).
I am planning to setup a planted non-CO2 community 450l (about 120gl) tank (180cm x 50cm x 50cm or apron. 71in x 20in x 20in) and need your help on several topics. I appreciate it! Nominal volume is 450l, but after discounting the glass thickness it drops to 391l. After substrate and rocks it may drop to less than 350l (95gl).
I used to have aquariums long time ago, before all this great info was widely available. I had some success (got lucky) and lots of failures back then, and now I have an ambitious plan (for my aquarium skillset or lack of it), for which I have been reading and planning to avoid common mistakes and learn from your experience, so I can have healthy plants and happy fishes.
Here are the questions:
1. Water - my tap water is soft (2GH, 2 to 3KH) and has a 7.5PH. I am concerned with the lack of buffering and its risks. Should I add some crushed coral to the substrate or use seachem equilibrium or something else? Some of the rocks I want to use fizzles when tested with a 35% HCL solution, but when submerged in a bucket for few days, they still don't change the ph, kh nor gh - I guess because some of their minerals (e.g. calcium) does not dissolve at the 7.5ph of my tap water. If that is the case, could they act as a natural buffer when the ph drops, starting to dissolve then increasing ph to a level they no longer dissolve and prevent ph shock? I have no idea at the pace/speed which this potential balance could occur, and whether this is possible and a viable approach. Any thoughts on this approach?
2. Filtration and media - are 2 eheim classic 600 (2217) with the included media adequate? I already purchased these filters and I am thinking to try to cycle them in a bucket, after kicking the DSM..., so I can have some bacteria in the filter media, prior to flooding the tank. I am thinking to use lily acrylic pipes for the output.
3. Lighting - I had help from folks in this forum (thank you!) and ordered a single 72" BML Nature Style 6500K, which I should receive this afternoon. Unfortunately it was held up for several days by customs in Brazil. Anyway, I am planning to leave it on for 2 periods of 4-5 hours, with a siesta of 2-4 hours in between, so I can enjoy it at night. Is this ok? I will likely try to raise it a little bit to avoid dark spots.
4. Substrate - purchased ADA AS Amazonia Normal. I am planning to have a slope and I am wondering how deep can the substrate be on the back, without running into H2S or CH4. Or shouldn't be worried about H2S, as it may be immediately oxidized and not harm fish? I don't know how much impact the Amazonia will have on item 1 (water), any thoughts? And if too deep (e.g. over 10cm or 4 in) is not recommended, is it ok to put something else (an inert object, e.g. styrofoam) to accomplish this?
5. Hardscape and plants - I have lots of rocks, big ones (over 10l, 15l of volume), which I really want to use (see item 1 above), thus I am planning a half rock, half plant look mixed together. This may drastically reduce the volume of water and the room for plants. If I use moss to cover the top of the large rocks, and leave only 10-15% of area unplanted (when looking from the top), will it still act/function as a heavily planted tank? Large sides of the rock would still be exposed. I am looking for the benefits and looks of plants plus looks of rocks.
6. Plants - below are the plants I want to have - info between parenthesis is from Tropica. Will I be ok with these, are there any of these I should avoid? I may not buy all these types, but this is the pool of plants I desire to use, because I like their small/delicate foliage. I like how it looks with large rocks and small fishes. Feel free to suggest any other plant with small/delicate foliage. Btw, I understand the ideal is to start fully planted and with high growth plants, but I want to avoid replanting or moving plants around. I am planning to use the DSM for the carpet and mosses, and add the others after flooding the tank. Based on your experience, would the medium and high CO2 demanding plants below be healthy in a non-CO2 tank? Will any of these require constant pruning in a non-CO2 tank?
Background: cabomba caroliniana (easy care, high growth, 20-30cm, medium light, low co2) ceratophyllum demersum “foxtail” (easy care, high growth, 5-30cm, low light, low co2)
ceratopteris thalictroides - talvez (medium care, high growth, 15-30cm, medium light, low co2)
myriophyllum matogrossense (medium care, high growth, 20-30cm, medium light, medium co2)
Middleground:
bacopa australis (medium care, high growth, 5-30cm, medium light, medium co2) Pogostemon erectus (medium care, medium growth, 15-30cm, medium light, medium co2)
hottonia palustris (easy care, medium growth, 10-20cm, low light, low co2)
Carpet (to be grown trough DSM):
helianthus callitrichoides “cuba” (advanced care, medium growth, 3-5cm, high light, high co2)
eleocharis acicularis “mini” (medium care, slow growth, 3-5cm, medium light, medium co2)
marsilea crenata (medium care, medium growth, 3-10cm, medium light, low co2)
flutuante:
azalea carolinians ou azolla caroliniana (easy care, medium growth, 3-5cm, low light, low co2)
Riccia fluitans (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, medium co2)
limnobium laevigatum (easy care, medium growth, 3-5cm, low light, low co2)
salvinia nations (easy care, high growth, 3-5cm, low light, low co2)
moss:
Vesicularia ferriei ‘Weeping’ (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, low co2)
vesicular dubyana “christmas” (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, low co2)
Riccia fluitane (medium care, medium growth, 3-5cm, medium light, medium co2)
7. Ferts - based on item#1, seachem equilibrium and KNO3/KH2PO4 once a week or biweekly, according to the effective volume (likely less than 350l or 95g)?
8. Fishes - below is the current plan.
1 school of 30 tetra neon cardinal or 2 schools (15 neons and 15 danios)
1 male betta
1 or 2 female bettas
1 male dwarf gourami
1 female dwarf gourami
10 neocaradina shrimps (I hope they can breed and increase population - they are expensive) - there will be plenty of hiding space for them.
5-7 guppies (only 1 male)
9. UPS - I got a true sine wave UPS plus external battery to keep the filters going during the frequent and sometimes long power outages. 12V, 41Ah. Any comments or things to avoid here?
10. Cabinet top leveling - the hardwood cabinet has an irregular top, with irregularities up to 3mm. Stupid and lazy question: will a 10mm EVA mat under the aquarium be enough to prevent these irregularities to crack or break the bottom glass? The top is 5cm (2in) thick and can be sanded, but if the rubber mat can work, with no risks of cracking, I can avoid the messy wood work in the house. On the other side, if there are risks, I rather fix it now than have a flooded living room. The aquarium is arriving soon...
Does this all make sense and work well together? Should I make any changes?
Thank you very much and sorry for the long loaded question(s).