sukhkawal

Hi, im planning to setup my First Planted Tank, will be getting my aquarium in about 1 week, and need help before i do something wrong. heres my setup. im gonna be using eco complete substrate about
2" layer of it, and then on top of that put 2" layer of gravel. then plants , and wait for cycle and add fish.is this a correct setup? i have also purchased a Co2 system called "Turbo CO2 Bio System". my other items purchased are:
1) SeaClear Bowfront 36 Gallon Aquarium
2) Aquatic Fundamentals 46 Gallon Bowfront Aquarium Stand (fits my aquarium)
3)Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit
4)Marineland Penguin 150GPH BIO-Wheel Power Filter
5)PETCO Dark Blue Aquarium Gravel 50LBS
6) Seachem Prime
7) Various Decorations
thermometer
and about lighting, my aquarium already comes with a "UL listed fluorescent light fixture "
, i will put plants after receiving all items and setting up tank. any recommendations?

greentin

Its a good start, but that wont be enough lights. Look for the wattage of the fluorescent and try to be atleast 3 or 4 times the numbers of gallon of the aquarium. To keep almost all kind of plants you need at least 100+ watts of lights over that 36 gallon(36x3=108watts). You should do some research on plants light requirement and determine what you want to keep, some plants tolerate low light just fine. Others will need more. A compact fluorescent lamp or even better a T5 light set up will be excellent and efficient. Another thing I would advise is invest in pressurize CO2 system it is expensive at first but cheaper in the long run.

Avi

There are different ways of keeping a planted tank and, personally, I prefer the method that uses more lighting, along the lines of what greentin recommends. But, that doesn't mean you have to have 3 or 4 times...in wattage...than the 36-gallons in your tank. You could manage with less...2-watts per gallon or more, I,d say...but it's a matter of balance between the CO2 level in your tank, the amount of fertilization, and the amount of lighting. If they aren't in balance, you'd get excesses of unwanted algaes, so read up on that.

I think you'd be all right at first with the CO2 rig you bought, but I also agree with greentin that if you really want more reliable growth, pressurized CO2 is vastly preferable. I think you ought to get some experience with a planted tank using what you have and as you see that you really like keeping one and you're up for trying more kinds of plants, then get yourself a pressurized setup.

But, do some research on the balance between the CO2, lighting and ferts because that's really critical to success and the beauty of your planted tank.

And, you should ask any questions that you're curious about because that's the key to success.

Vadimshevchuk

why dont you just use only ec complete? 2 inches of eco adn then blue gravel? the eco will compact and it wont be as useful when its down to only .5 of an inch. with eco i would use 2 lbs per gallon. on my 29 i used 2 20lbs bag and its need 1 more for sure. Other then that your okay so far.

sukhkawal

Well, the reason im using blue gravel on top of the eco complete is because it will match my blue background, and it helps good bacteria grow. Anyway, Another question, how can i safely turn off my c20 system at night, because i heard i wont be needing it at night because plants take in oxygen and release c02 at night, so theres no use. so can i safely turn it off without blowing the can up(it has yeast and sugar, so its pressurized). thnx

Vadimshevchuk

well what i do is i just put a jar at night and then i put the co2 tube into the jar. usually the co2 at night wont affect the fish since its not producing co2 sufficently. Btw they usually use blue back grounds for sw tanks. In my opion black substrate either ada or eco would look good with black background but its ur tank and not mine. good luck on it. Any pics?

mythin

I'd just run a timer on an airstone for the night time, and let the co2 run all night, it shouldnt be a problem as long as you have an airstone come on when the lights go out. The only other thing I would really recommend is an external canister filter over the biowheel, it may cost a little more, but in the long run you wont regret it. Its better, more reliable and efficient compared to a biowheel hob. I recommend the eheim classic series, solid and lasts for years.

sukhkawal

hey, whats a good airstone you recommend for a beginner, that comes with the whole kit. thanks

sukhkawal

WELL, i got my aquarium, and the lighting hole is 24" by 6.5". anyone know where i can find a good lighting fixture for this?the one that came with it is only 40watts, but i need about 2-3 wpg. so atleast minimum 80watts i need. thanks

HERES A PICTURE "

sukhkawal

hey, for cycling my tank (aka nitrogen cycle), do i need to add ammonia to the water, because i dont want to cycle it using a real fish, so would it be wise to cycle it using ammonia drops ,or will it just happen naturally.