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Maybe you guys can help..

2K views 13 replies 3 participants last post by  i heartmypleco 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello everyone.. starting up a new 90.. made a post about it on fishtanktv and decided to share with some of the other forums im on. copy and pasted :

Hello everyone. Allow me to introduce myself.. My name is Danny and I live in Miami, Fl. I'm starting up a 90 gallon tank i've had for months now. This is going to be my first attempt at a planted tank, though i've kept fish for years in various types of setups. The tank finally has water in it and I have the filter running. I'm open to extra filtration suggestions, as well as anything else you guys can think of as far as neccesary equipment goes. I dont really have a plan which was my reason for making the video I made. I'm a bit camera shy so I sorta just ramble and forgot to mention some things. One of those things eing the substrate im using but I took some pictures of the bags afterwards so you guys can see. My stocking plan for the 90 gallon is as follows :



2 x Leopard Bush Fish

1 x LF BN pleco

1 x Albino BN pleco

1 x Syndontis Petricola

7-8 x Bosemani

6 x Kuhli

1 x Gold Nugget or Green Phantom Pleco (not decided yet)





Most of these fish I already have, some I don't. I Think I still have room for a little more along the top so I was thinking some hatchet fish or something of the sort.. I'm open to suggestions and would really like to hear some. (any oddball fish? :p) As I said I have no iea or plan as far as aquascaping and decorations go.. or the best method for delivery of CO2 to my future plants. Well for now that is all. Thanks to all who read. Below is the link to my video and i'll be linking some pics as well. I'm out. :D



Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=6ruBB...


Is this good substrate?

Substrate 1 :




Substrate 2 :




(though you can't see the substate too well in the video it's one is black.. rocky/sand type look. and the other is same texture but more of a brownish soil like red, though you couldn't tell by looking at the video)
 
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#2 ·
On the substrate, I have not used either but I am familiar with Eco-Complete. It is a bit rough (I chose Flourite over EC for this reason, though I have found Flourite to also be rough) and this is an issue for substrate fish that can scrape/scratch their underbelly on sharp surfaces, and kuhli locahes which burrow. With your Synodontis/plecos/kuhli you might want to avoid this. I've not seen the Instant Aquarium product so can't comment on its sharpness.

Fine aquarium gravel or sand such as Playsand would work. Plants will grow fine it either, I have tanks with both substrates. The "nutrient" benefit of enriched substrates is questionable; from my experience with a Flourite tank for over six months I would not waste the money for any of these again. Playsand from Home Depot or Lowe's is a fraction of the cost, and very natural looking.

On the fish, be aware that the bushfish is predatory and as it attains 6-8 inches and is an ambush predator, it would make short work of small fish like hatchets. We have one species in our profiles, Ctenopoma acutirostre, for further info on this fish [click the shaded name for the profile].

Also the Synodontis might likely consider small fish like kuhli locahes as food. The Synodontis attains just over 5 inches and is naturally predatory; the "dwarf" form of this species attains 4.5 inches. This fish should however be kept in a small group, 4 or more, as alone it can become stressed and secretive.

The link to the video didn't work, at least not for me, so I couldn't see it.

Byron.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I think you're just a bit bottom heavy with the plecos, Syno and Kuhlis. I would skip the Syno (they like much harder water anyway). The Kuhli Loaches most likely will get eaten by the Ctenopoma (once it grows more) so you may want to re-think that one also.

As far as aqua-scaping... a fairly heavily planted tank with bogwood and a few caves for the plecos. The Cteno will enjoy lots of plants to hide in and the Boesemani will look great in a planted tank also.
 
#5 ·
Having seen the video, I would add a comment on the intended light. Two T5 tubes will provide a lot of light, more than needed for plants in a natural method 90g, and as the fish so far mentioned all prefer dim light this might be a problem. If you could use only one of the tubes it would work. Not sure about your fixture, if this is possible or not.

I had two T5 tubes for a week and over my 90g and 5-foot 115g they were too bright so I took the fixture back and got a T8. T5 is very intense lighting, and not only will this be difficult for the fish, but algae will have a real advantage.

Byron.
 
#6 · (Edited)
yes.. I love my fixture as it gives me the option to have both or just one on. It has a switch for each bulb. Also when both lights are off it has a strip of blue LED's down the middle for some nice moonlighting. I probably wont have that on all the time though, the only way to turn it off is unplugging it lol. But it's a really nice fixture. So you think it's best to just run it with one on at a time?

As far as the bottom dwellers yeah once the bushfish starts getting bigger i'll figure something out with the kuhlis.. i dont have anything for them at the moment but i'll see what I do about that. The bushfish won't be a threat to them for a while.

Also is flourish excel a good subsitute to an actual co2 setup? ive been hearing aout this, liquid co2 but i know nothing of it.. so any info or first hand experiences would be appreciated..
 
#7 ·
yes.. I love my fixture as it gives me the option to have both or just one on. It has a switch for each bulb. Also when both lights are off it has a strip of blue LED's down the middle for some nice moonlighting. I probably wont have that on all the time though, the only way to turn it off is unplugging it lol. But it's a really nice fixture. So you think it's best to just run it with one on at a time?

As far as the bottom dwellers yeah once the bushfish starts getting bigger i'll figure something out with the kuhlis.. i dont have anything for them at the moment but i'll see what I do about that. The bushfish won't be a threat to them for a while.

Also is flourish excel a good subsitute to an actual co2 setup? ive been hearing aout this, liquid co2 but i know nothing of it.. so any info or first hand experiences would be appreciated..
Quick comment on the light, be sure you have a period of total darkness for the "night." Fish exposed to continual light are stressed, and plants need some darkness too. I know the "moon" or whatever lights are not "bright" but light is still light. Complete darkness for 8 hours minimum.

One T5 HO tube will be fine. You will not want CO2. I am not a proponent of the liquid CO2; it does harm some plant species, and it sets up a different and higher level of balance. If light and all nutrients are not balanced, the plants will struggle and algae will increase. You can read more of this in my 4-part series at the head of the Aquarium Plants section, "A Basic Approach to the Natural Planted Aquarium." You might need a complete nutrient fertilizer, depending upon plants, water, feeding; if so, Flourish Comprehensive Supplement is the best I have so far come across.
 
#8 · (Edited)
yeah as far as the lighting i'll stick to using one at a time and i'll only use the blue light when I want or need to observe them at night and unplug the fixture as soon as I go to bed.

So If I use the flourish Nutrient product and you suggested I wont need anything like flourish excel or co2?

also i was given this as "plant food" is it good?
 
#9 ·
My best answer on the FlorinMulti product is to say that from the info on their website, this nutrient supplement has everything required, including carbon. So using this I would definitely not use additional carbon (like the Excel). However, not having used this product [I've never seen it where I live] I can't vouch for it's effectiveness.

One thing does puzzle me though, and that is the iodine it contains. Iodine is not a plant nutrient, and some believe it is detrimental to fish. Brightwell mention iodine for crustaceans like shrimp. I cannot say if this is good or not for fish aquaria. But it is probably not sufficient to cause issues with fish or presumably they would not be including it.

If you have it, I would use it. They recommend 5ml per 50g once a week, which is certainly comparable to Flourish Comprehensive (5ml per 60g once weekly). If this product works for you, and is comparable in price to Flourish Comp, fine. I'd be interested to know how it performs.

Byron.
 
#10 ·
Yeah im reading the back of the bottle now and it says it has all these..

: Potassium, Boron, Calcium,Carbon, Chlorine (why?), Copper, Iron, Magnesium, manganese, molybdenum and cobalt, Nickel, Sulfur, Zinc. (Does not contain nitrogren or phosphorous).

So is this good? and all I have to do now is find a source of phosphorous and nitrogen?
 
#11 ·
Yeah im reading the back of the bottle now and it says it has all these..

: Potassium, Boron, Calcium,Carbon, Chlorine (why?), Copper, Iron, Magnesium, manganese, molybdenum and cobalt, Nickel, Sulfur, Zinc. (Does not contain nitrogren or phosphorous).

So is this good? and all I have to do now is find a source of phosphorous and nitrogen?
You will have plenty of nitrogen and phosphorus without adding it; that is why it is not included in the fertilizer--which tells me they seem to know their stuff. Nitrogen is found in the aquarium in several forms, namely ammonia, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and nitrogen gas. The latter is given off during de-nitrification by anaerobic bacteria and will not be sufficient to be an issue, it dissipates into the air at the water surface. Nitrite of course we never want to see, and with plants shouldn't. Nitrate may be present, but with plants will be very low, often zero. That leaves ammonia/ammonium. Ammonia of course is produced by fish during respiration, and during the breakdown of organics by snails and bacteria. In acidic water is changes into ammonium and the plants grab it; in basic water the plants take up the ammonia and change it into ammonium. Plants prefer ammonium as their source of nitrogen, though many will also use nitrate if ammonia/ammonium is not available. So that deals with nitrogen.

Phosphorus is a macro-nutrient for plants and an important one. Plants assimilate phosphorus in the form phosphate via the roots from the substrate [for substrate-rooted plants]. There is more than enough phosphate present in prepared fish foods. It should never be necessary to add this nutrient. Too much in the water column can contribute to algae; in the substrate it is not available to algae.

With the exception of cobalt, all the nutrients you have listed (yes, including chlorine) are those required by plants to photosynthesize, develop roots, or whatever. There are two others, oxygen and hydrogen (water) and as these both occur in plenty in an aquarium, they are not included in fertilizers. Cobalt is not a nutrient required by aquatic plants as far as I know, so I've no idea why it is included; but with all minerals, no fertilizer will contain levels that are problematic so I wouldn't worry over it.

All of these nutrients are required in specific proportions to each other, and a good plant fertilizer will have them so proportioned. So long as you do not overdose, there is no harm to fish, invertebrates or plants.
Byron.
 
#13 ·
Depends upon the plant species. Obviously, substrate fertilizers won't do anything for plants not rooted in the substrate. With respect to those that are, the swords are heavy feeders and do benefit from substrate ferts, though they will also manage fine with just liquid fert added to the water. In my experience ,growth will be a bit faster with substrate ferts for the large swords. Aponogeton also fare better with substrate ferts.

Every aquarium is somewhat different with respect to nutrients for plants. Some occur in tap water, so the hardness of your source water may add more or less of certain minerals that someone else's water. Some occur in fish foods, so the type of food and amount makes a difference. Different fish species plus their numbers determine organics which is where many nutrients occur naturally.

Byron.
 
#14 ·
thanks for the great information guys! *update* I have brought my filtration for the tank.. it consists of the fluval 405 and the newest addition.. Two bio-wheel 350's. This should be sufficient right? If not i can always get an extra powerhead and bring it down low to the bottom of the tank and generate some current. Next step is to get some Drift wood from a nearby state park, prepare it, set it up then begin the planting/scaping. I was thinking start i'd making a journal. Which forum section should i post it on?
 
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