I have just become the proud owner of a 48"x18"x18" aquarium & cabinet. The tank holds 4x 40watt T8 bulbs plus reflectors, has a Eheim 2026 ext. cannister filter a 300 watt heater & will use a DIY yeast CO2 reactor.
The tank will be mainly a planted tank, although I will be keeping a selection of Rams (blue, gold & bolivian) plus SAE's & Amano shrimps.
I intend to use a substrate of 2" powdered clay/sand/gravel mix (bottom layer); 2" flourite (middle layer); 1" gravel & sand (top layer).
I hope to grow Riccia Fluitans, Glossostigma Elatinoides & Rotala Indica to name just a few. I am a particular fan of Takashi Amano & love his open setups using the Riccia 'rolling hill' effect.
With this in mind can anyone tell me if there are any problems with my intentions. The main things I am concerned about are (1) how do I make the lovely rolling hill effect using the substrate without it all collapsing into a lose pile? (2) Do I need to use loads of lumps of rock to attach the Riccia to or can I use a handful & let the Riccia spread & join the gaps?
(3) I would like to have a GH & KH of about 3d or 4d, how do I go about this as my tap water has a GH of about >16d. And finally (4) Am I going to have to buy lots of different test kits to measure things like the Co2 levels, phosphate levels etc, etc...
All help is appreciated as I don't want to make any silly mistakes.
The tank will be mainly a planted tank, although I will be keeping a selection of Rams (blue, gold & bolivian) plus SAE's & Amano shrimps.
I intend to use a substrate of 2" powdered clay/sand/gravel mix (bottom layer); 2" flourite (middle layer); 1" gravel & sand (top layer).
I hope to grow Riccia Fluitans, Glossostigma Elatinoides & Rotala Indica to name just a few. I am a particular fan of Takashi Amano & love his open setups using the Riccia 'rolling hill' effect.
With this in mind can anyone tell me if there are any problems with my intentions. The main things I am concerned about are (1) how do I make the lovely rolling hill effect using the substrate without it all collapsing into a lose pile? (2) Do I need to use loads of lumps of rock to attach the Riccia to or can I use a handful & let the Riccia spread & join the gaps?
(3) I would like to have a GH & KH of about 3d or 4d, how do I go about this as my tap water has a GH of about >16d. And finally (4) Am I going to have to buy lots of different test kits to measure things like the Co2 levels, phosphate levels etc, etc...
All help is appreciated as I don't want to make any silly mistakes.