Seeking 1.5' Planted Tank Setup Advice

[marshy]

I have a spare 1.5' tank with pink FL lights.
Am thinking of setting up a nice planted tank to put in my room.
So here I am seeking advice from big brothers out there.

What equipment do I need?
Best of all.. is there a good one stop friendly LFS where I can get
advice on this setup and also purchase whatever I need there?

Thank You All In Advance

[PeterGwee]

Go to Nature....Ask Mr Chan for advice and eye feast on his nice tanks..[] ..The shop address is in the LFS list..just opposite thomson medical center.

[marshy]

Thanks... tot of going down there too.
Any ideas of an approximate cost I'd have to spend
on the whole setup for my tank size?

[PeterGwee]

That depends on whether you are going for low-light (limited type of plants) or high-light plants (Amount of light wattage you need for your tank..)...plus CO2 (going for pressurised systems or DIY?) (For pressurised systems going for regulator with or without solenoid?)...Ask Chan..he has some tanks that run CO2 for 24hrs with a manual regulator (Without solenoid) and ask him how he prevent CO2 overdose...kekekekee..care to feedback once you got the answer? Cause I also wondering how he do that...
What type plants are you going for...If it is riccia or moss..you don't need base fertilizer...you only need those when you grow stem plants or rosette plants..Just ask Chan..he would be happy to give you details..maybe you can even see some of the forumers there ...[]

[marshy]

Thanks man
Will go check him out.

[Simon]

no offense, but if everyone reply 'go NA for advise' then AQ will be out of business soon

for a 1.5ft, go with DIY CO2, try it out b4 u invest more into a commerical cylinder. to prevent overdosing, use a bell(inverted cup) as yr diffusion unit.

firstly, best to change yr light tube to a daylight tube, u dun really want to have pink lights for yr planted tank (really kills the look), like what peter point out, u then decide on the type of plants u intend to have, yr theme or concept.. if u going for highlight plants (more maintenance & given the height of yr tank, u gotta do alot of trimming) then u shall provide at least 3watts per gal, but do consider that the height of yr tank is ard 1ft.. so having 3watts per gal with PL will be overkill (IMHO)

some highlight plants which u may wanna consider, riccia (great newbie magnet), glosso... one thing u oso have to look into is the height of the plants. dun think u really wanna do trimming every few days, so my advice if possible, get at least a 2ft to start with (smaller tanks r harder to control and maintain, water parameters swing constantly change)

basic equipment u need to get u started:
1) tank
2) a layer of base fert and gravel (prolly 2-3cm of base fert with 1-2cm of gravel)
3) internal filter (not feasible for a external filter for a 1.5ft)
4) lights
5) CO2 (DIY or cylinder)
6) fan? (u got see whats the temp after setting up, try to provide some space between yr lights and to the surface)

think thats abt all u thing. I piece of advice, u need some time and effort to maintain the plants, if u intend to setup and leave it to grow on its own, i gotta fail and prolly giveup after a while. Best is u read thru the threads in the forum to learn alittle first, dun jump into it. always plan what u gotta do on paper, that will prevent/reduce the chances of rescaping it after awhile.. if u got any answers, feel free to ask.. the guys here will be glad to give a newbie a helping hand

[vinz]

Marshy,

Click here for a simple list of stuff you need.

Nothing beats finding your own info as there are a few slightly different methodologies out there and plenty of detailed information. Click here for a list of websites for more info.

If you have furthur questions, feel free to post back here.

[marshy]

Thanks everyone...

You guys have been a GREAT help.

[eprouve]

Marshy,
NA sold me his last 1.5ft PL light case and tube a couple of weeks back. He also claimed that it's probably no longer in production. I, in the meantime, upgraded to a 2ft Marine tank and so am trying to sell off the 1.5ft lights. Very good condition, only a couple of weeks old but used only for a week. Let me know if you're interested.