5ft tank

[stormydax]

Hi all,

will be doing a 5ft planted tank...however no idea on how to go about doing it as I was only doing a 3ft tank last time.

Whats are the equipment which I need :

1) Chiller
2) Filter (what type?)
3) Soil
4) Fertilizer
5) CO2

What have I missed out?

Can advise on the suitable chiller,filter, soil, fertilizer and CO2? Willl be buying by this week.

Thank you

Yours sincerely,
Storm

[barmby]

I can speak because I have a 5 feet. I regretted not having two ehiem 2228 or 2028.

Anyway, Your set up looks fine. I didn't see your pre plan lighting system. I have a 2 x150 MH and 4 x 55w PL and still not doing good.

Chiller, needs to be more than 1/2 hp. I am having a 1/2 hp RA 680 and I am still not happy as it turns on quite frequent and took a long time to cool the tank.

C02, you need to run a pipe along the length and back of the tank and this will be powered by the power head with the inlet from CO2. This will ensure a good spread and less dead spot.

5 feet - is great. I always encourage big tank. The level higher and the room for error is so much more forgiving..

However, "Shiong" when you buy fertilizer every month. The money is quite alot.

For your soil. It depends on long that you want to run the tank. My tank I plan to run it as long as possible. Therefore, Amano style kind of soil is out for me. I am using lapis over JBL base fertilzers. Try to have 4 to 5 inches of substrate and you can have more options when you decides to switch plants.

My setup:

5' x 2' x 2'
1x ehiem 2228
1x chiller RA680 1/2 hp
1x CO2 5L tank with two outlets, one diffusor, one power headed
2x MH x 150W
4x PL x 55W
4" of substrate with JBL base fertilizers

[Midori]

Hi all,
1) Chiller
2) Filter (what type?)
3) Soil
4) Fertilizer
5) CO2

What have I missed out?

Can advise on the suitable chiller,filter, soil, fertilizer and CO2? Willl be buying by this week.

Thank you
Yours sincerely,
Storm

Hi Storm,

As what barmby mentioned, I would suggest the following:

A) For Filtration, 2 Units of Eheim Filter 2028 will be good (For cheaper option, there is also other brands like BOYU)
----------------

B) Use good Filter Medium to maximize the limited capacity of your canister filter as this is the key to stable water condition. Forget about activated charcoal as it means you need to open up the filter after a while.

You can also consider bacterial liquid to kick start nitrogen cycle, such as WATERLIFE bacterlife, EBITEN bacterial, MOSURA Bioplus.

In fact, most product designed for shrimp keeping are very good products that can be used with good effect in a planted community aquarium.
----------------

C) Soil wise, I do not agree that it cannot be used for long term. There is always a need to recharge the substrate even when you use sand. When you overhaul the tank that uses soil, you can retain 50%-75% of it after mixing it again with substrate fertilizers. Topping up of the balance will be minimum cost. I would recommend GEX soil.

The advantage of using soil is that plants grow their roots much faster and easier in soil. This is regardless of old or new soil.
----------------

D) I would also recommend a combination of these Substrate Fertilizers and supplement:

• CHOICE AquaEnergy - Minerals that also improve immunity of organism, water quality, activiation of bacterium growth.
• FERKA Aquabase - Peat-base fertilizer
• Mini lava rock chips as porous base below the soil layer
• Use the FERKA Liquid Fertilizer and Capsules during maintenance phase, they are well tested here and in many other countries, very affordable too.

----------------

E) CO2 is pretty standard stuff.
----------------

F) For Chiller, use either Artica/Teco for better performance and efficiency. Otherwise, Hailea is not too bad and its more affordable.

[stormydax]

hi thanks for the many mail. can i sum it :

Filter - Ehiem 2228
Chiller -1/hp model?
CO2 - ?
Light - Juwel INbuilt light
Substrate -?

also, can do set up tank?

thank you

can call at 97680911

thank you

yours sincerely,
Storm

[TKS7011]

Hi Storm,
I am using the Aqua medic 1000 (http://www.aqua-medic.de/freshwater/...eactor%201000/) external CO2 reactor, in line with an Eheim 2028 for my 5 footer. Quite happy with its performance but price is on the higher side.

[stormydax]

anyone do setup? please quote me.
thanks

[barmby]

Read > Midori Pte Ltd :: Aquarium At Your Fingertips

hahah...

[StanChung]

LOL-
I think consider 5X20"X20" for tank size. Easier to plant and smaller water volume with more panoramic dimension.

5X24"X24" is a bit difficult to grow carpet plants because of the depth unless you use 3X150W MH+6X36W PL. I'm using 2X150W MH+4X36W PL and it's just enough to grow hairgrass.

As for fertiliser cost-it's better to get the 5L bottles for big tanks. For NPK, using dry fert is much more economical for the long haul. Occasionally mixing in some branded stuff to get some confidence boost.

As for the chiller-beware of heat. You have to figure out a place for it to expel the air out.
I think you can consider A/C if you have many tanks and the room is not that big.

[Midori]

hi thanks for the many mail. can i sum it :

Filter - Ehiem 2228
Chiller -1/hp model?
CO2 - ?
Light - Juwel INbuilt light
Substrate -?
also, can do set up tank?
thank you
can call at 97680911
thank you
yours sincerely,
Storm

Hi Storm,

Yes we do provide set up service, will email you.

For sake of discussion, Juwel Inbuilt light is not enough to sustain a planted aquarium. Is your a tank a Juwel tank? If you wish to grow more stem plants or have a deep tank, i suggest going for T5/H combination with chiller, otherwise, multiple tubes of PL or T5 should do. There are some people out there who grows stem plants is very well with FL (fully covering the top ~8 tubes, pink/daylight) and they get good results too.

For CO2, you can either go the diffuser way or external reactor way.

For filtration of a 522 tank, i still recommend 2 filter. 1 can be used to drive the chiller and the other one to drive the external co2 reactor. You can create a good current this way. My 522 in the office have 1 output on top right corner and the 2nd output near the bottom left corner.

You can use dry fert for NPK if you know exactly what you are doing. Otherwise, use commercially available ones.

[stormydax]

thanks for the many advice.

I am actually looking at the offer of a few co. I had received Midori offer.thanks...

can i ask if anyone had used sanyick service before? good maintenace? servicin? design?

thank you

yours sincerely,
Storm

[bryan]

For the base, if you want to keep cost down, lapis sand is the way to go(Cost of 1bag of ADA soil= 4-5bags of 10kg lapis sand) . Mix the bottom layer with fertilizer like Ferka aquabase or Tetra Initial Stick. These will dissolve after years of use so you can even reuse the lapis sand after a good wash. Supplement with other root inserts once in awhile.

[hii]

It depend which direction you are going, low or high maintainence.

You can use cheaper soil (not ADA) for low maintenance, choose moss as carpet plants instead hairgrass, than you safe on the base fertilizer. Lapis sand very heavy if you compare filling the same depth as soil.

I wil not recommend Eheim 2028, even if you use 2 cause weak to drive chiller and also weak for external CO2 reactor, you can choose Atman, I using it for 2 years plus and it still silent and powerful.

Get external pump eheim 1260 and connect it to chiller (1/2 hp recommended for 5ft) and CO2 reactor, you will get better result.

[stormydax]

hi.
can i say that :

I get one Ehiem 2028 to go thru chiller and another ehiem 1260 for co2 reacotor.Can this work?

GOt any problem. I think the cabinet of juwel cannot accomodate 1 filter(ehiem 202, i1 chiller and 1 5l CO2.

Substrate, i will need around 30kg of lapis sand?enough?

Fertilizer - What brand?

Lighting, can juwel tank lighting accomodate pl tube?

thank you

yours sincerely,
Storm

[hii]

Cannot, 0.5hp chiller need stronger pump, you will experience the chiller none stop kick in every few mins. It is better to connect chiller & CO2 reactor to eheim 1260 pump.

Do not put chiller inside cabinet due to poor ventilation, I put my eheim 1260, CO2 reactor + chiller outside cabinet.

For lapis sand I think 1 bag = 20kg, for 5 ft if you don't intend to plant any root plant than you can lay a thin layer about 2 inches should be ok. Estimate you need at least 2-3 bag...that's why I say lapis sand very heavy if you compare to soil with same depth 2 inches.

Fertilizer - think JBJ or Dennerle should be quite ok. But less planter use base fertilizer nowaday, cause when you up root the plant, the leak might cause poison to the fish..you can consider ADA soil which contain rich substrate already. With power sand even more power...my current power sand used for 3 year ++ still very good.

Lighting - for low maintainence should be enough. But I saw this Juwel tank at Marina, all the plant grow quite well.

[stormydax]

thanks so much

anyone tried colourful aquatirum's services before? Is the guy good?

[stormydax]

anyone tried his service before?

[juggler]

Just sharing the specs of my "not so high tech" 5ft setup of mainly Echinodorus and low-light Anubias and Java Ferns.

Size: 5' x 2' x 20". Low height nice for my maintenance but can't grow very tall plants.

Substrate: JBL base fertiliser (3 bags); Cocopeat (4 x 5L bags); topped up by 1" gravel. Did not change since Nov 2002 as it looked too daunting a task.

Filter: Eheim 2028. I did not think of getting two units because Eheim specs said it could support up to 600L. Mine is about 470L.

Lighting: 6 x 36W PL currently.

No chiller. Just using fans. Constant water top up sometimes become a chore.

Pictures and more info at http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/kfloh/mytank.htm#tank1a

[barmby]

MAN! Sorry to OT. Juggler, you still make one of the beautiful tanks around ! you constantly deliver and longevity of the tank is impressive.