NEWBIE setup HELP and Advices

[ManicMunky]

Hey Peeps..

I am a newbie in freshwater and aquascaping. Previously own nano tanks with small fishes just to chill back when i am home from long day of work. I just find looking at the tank very calming. :P

However i was reccommended by a friend to iwagumi style and love it at first sight. So i am deciding to start my own with a 2 feet tank that i have already own. planning to carpet them with HC and maybe HG. Any other plants reccomendations are welcomed. I am awaiting for my ADA stuffs to be delivered to me from FreshNMarine.

List of stuff:
2 Feet - approx 68L
ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia(Normal Type) - 9L
ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia (Powder Type) - 3L
ADA Power Sand Special S - 2L
ADA Aqua Gravel M - 2KG
Some Scaping Boulders/Rocks plus 2 roots

CO2 with JBJ Solenoid Regulator
JEBO 825 Filter
Aqua Zonic 2x24 T5 Lamp

I have USED HELP soil for plants. Can i use this on the base.
Planning to use it as base since ADA is not cheap! hehe

Base - HELP
Mid - Power Sand
Top Back - ADA normal
Top Front - ADA powder
Is this setup OK guys?

Besides these what other tips and tricks do you have for me?
All suggestions and reccomendations are welcomed.
Can't wait to get started.

[bennyc]

Have you thought of using only ada amazonia normal for the entire setup, i believe you can save some there. instead of using a mixture which includes power type (more expensive). so you have more soil and do not need to mix in HELP.

You have the exact same equipments i am using, my only advice is to have frequently water change initially and use frogbits to "suck" the excess nutrient before the plant mass have establish. Or plant very heavily to begin with, to prevent algae to have a head start.

[bennyc]

oh.. get some egg crate as base to prevent the rocks from breaking the bottom glass due to uneven distribution of weight.

[ManicMunky]

Have you thought of using only ada amazonia normal for the entire setup, i believe you can save some there. instead of using a mixture which includes power type (more expensive). so you have more soil and do not need to mix in HELP.

You have the exact same equipments i am using, my only advice is to have frequently water change initially and use frogbits to "suck" the excess nutrient before the plant mass have establish. Or plant very heavily to begin with, to prevent algae to have a head start.

Hey Benny.. thinks for taking the time. Well the Normal and Powder are already on the way.. haha.. all thats listed will be here most probably tomorrow. Will update the pics when they are here. Well i was actually thinking of using the powder type for better planting of the HC in the front. The egg crate idea sounds good and i have to get frog bits as well.. I might go with that so HELP is out then. :P

Anyway did you start with Dry Start or half flooded?

[bennyc]

Ha when i first started out, i challenge HC as my first plant. so i did a dry start method first, it did work. but after sometime, my lack of knowledge cause the slow dying of HC.
Dry start method is good to allow plants to gather a certain mass so they are not too fragile to go thru the transition stage.

[wongce]

Actually, to me hc do not need dsm, plant properly then flood carefully...with sufficient light, co2, fert regime, cool temperature (less than 30 degrees)....should be ok.

Dsm hc seems faster... but some will also melt during transition from emerge to submerge during flooding of tank...thus to me its same...well there is no right or wrong, just individual preference

Hc is not hard to grow but higher requirement to make them crawl and fill up to imitate lawn effect

Your light might be be a bit low wattage for hc in my opinion... well you already bought them, might as well try out first....

[ManicMunky]

Ha when i first started out, i challenge HC as my first plant. so i did a dry start method first, it did work. but after sometime, my lack of knowledge cause the slow dying of HC.
Dry start method is good to allow plants to gather a certain mass so they are not too fragile to go thru the transition stage.

Your challenge previously will be my upcoming challenge. Still undecided on wether to DSM or flooding it right away. I saw George Farmer planting at while the tank is half flooded. I am afraid i might just make the water murky! haha... as for dam i do not know if what i will be using is good enough to supply whats needed. :P

[ManicMunky]

Actually, to me hc do not need dsm, plant properly then flood carefully...with sufficient light, co2, fert regime, cool temperature (less than 30 degrees)....should be ok.

Dsm hc seems faster... but some will also melt during transition from emerge to submerge during flooding of tank...thus to me its same...well there is no right or wrong, just individual preference

Hc is not hard to grow but higher requirement to make them crawl and fill up to imitate lawn effect

Your light might be be a bit low wattage for hc in my opinion... well you already bought them, might as well try out first....

Light might be low? hmmm.. would a reflector help?
Anyway would you DSM or not? With the humid weather in Singapore and all other factors including the stuff that i already have?

[Urban Aquaria]

DSM is mainly to grow a HC carpet quickly without the hassles of water changes or worrying about Co2 and algae, but you still have to be diligent in keeping the DSM conditions optimal for the HC to grow properly.

Since you are already using Co2 injection, its better to just plant the HC and then flood it immediately, the Co2 injection will help the plants grow faster anyways.

You can get clear water during start-up, just mist the soil first, plant it, then slowly add water into the tank (in my case, i just use an airline tubing and valve combo to trickle in water from a bucket), here is an example from my tank journal: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...607#post743607

Hope that helps.

[ManicMunky]

DSM is mainly to grow a HC carpet quickly without the hassles of water changes or worrying about Co2 and algae, but you still have to be diligent in keeping the DSM conditions optimal for the HC to grow properly.

Since you are already using Co2 injection, its better to just plant the HC and then flood it immediately, the Co2 injection will help the plants grow faster anyways.

You can get clear water during start-up, just mist the soil first, plant it, then slowly add water into the tank (in my case, i just use an airline tubing and valve combo to trickle in water from a bucket), here is an example from my tank journal: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...607#post743607

Hope that helps.

Firstly.. Awesome job on the link that you gave me dude. U made it look so simple.. haha
And the reshaping and replanting of the plants there did not cloud the water too?
So what was the temperature that you maintain after flooding?
Did you use any fans or chiller?

[wongce]

Reflector...hmm do not think will help much...aquazonic lights already comes with reflector.

Well, you just try first...remedy by adding light if they grow taugeh...

Don't worry be happy haha

[ManicMunky]

Reflector...hmm do not think will help much...aquazonic lights already comes with reflector.

Well, you just try first...remedy by adding light if they grow taugeh...

Don't worry be happy haha

Well taugeh would be a consolation dun u think? can eat! :P hahaha
well jokes aside.. fingers crossed!

[Urban Aquaria]

Firstly.. Awesome job on the link that you gave me dude. U made it look so simple.. haha
And the reshaping and replanting of the plants there did not cloud the water too?
So what was the temperature that you maintain after flooding?
Did you use any fans or chiller?

I also went through lots of cloudy tank water during previous tank startups too... until i watched how the pros setup their tanks, then just followed their techniques.

Rescaping and replanting does kick up some dust from the substrate, but i've found that if the uprooting and planting activities are done slowly while the filter is switched off and the dust is allowed time to settle, there'll usually be no issue with cloudiness.

My tanks temperatures usually average around 28-29°C nowadays... but these few days with the warmer dry weather, they can sometimes creep up close to 30°C at their peak during particularly hot afternoons.

So far the flora and fauna that i keep are all still okay at those temperatures, so i haven't found a need to use fans or chillers yet.

Btw i'm using relatively lower powered LED lights which generate much less heat compared to T5 lights. If you are using T5 lights, the tank temperature might get abit higher so it could be a good idea to consider using a fan to reduce the heat build up under those type of lights.

[bennyc]

As i mention my setup is the same as yours, i have a fan blowing across the water surface. Temperature is around 28~29 degrees when lights are on, no problem for HC growth. Water top everyday is a hassle thou.

The experts recommend to flood the tank but personally i would still do DSM 1st as there are less things to worry. Algae, Co2, floating of HC etc, things that a newbie do not have the knowledge to handle. Anyway, i am still a noob, just a very old one. Haha

[ManicMunky]

I also went through lots of cloudy tank water during previous tank startups too... until i watched how the pros setup their tanks, then just followed their techniques.

Rescaping and replanting does kick up some dust from the substrate, but i've found that if the uprooting and planting activities are done slowly while the filter is switched off and the dust is allowed time to settle, there'll usually be no issue with cloudiness.

My tanks temperatures usually average around 28-29°C nowadays... but these few days with the warmer dry weather, they can sometimes creep up close to 30°C at their peak during particularly hot afternoons.

So far the flora and fauna that i keep are all still okay at those temperatures, so i haven't found a need to use fans or chillers yet.

Btw i'm using relatively lower powered LED lights which generate much less heat compared to T5 lights. If you are using T5 lights, the tank temperature might get abit higher so it could be a good idea to consider using a fan to reduce the heat build up under those type of lights.

Well I will monitor the lihts and temperature once setup. Thanks for the heads up. I have a DIY 4x1 USB fan which can be individually disconnected. So pretty much covered on the fax side. Hope I won't have cloudy issues when replanting too. All in all how many plant types do you use in your setup on the link that you provided? which would you recommend me? I am planning to go for this kinda look (http://foundwalls.com/wp-content/upl...oss-forest.jpg) might look ambitious but I will take my time scaping it. Gonna use river gravels to simulate the water area in that link. So your algae that you let it grow purposely would be sweet. Do I have to do anything extra to get those algae dude?

[ManicMunky]

As i mention my setup is the same as yours, i have a fan blowing across the water surface. Temperature is around 28~29 degrees when lights are on, no problem for HC growth. Water top everyday is a hassle thou.

The experts recommend to flood the tank but personally i would still do DSM 1st as there are less things to worry. Algae, Co2, floating of HC etc, things that a newbie do not have the knowledge to handle. Anyway, i am still a noob, just a very old one. Haha

haha.. Bro age is just a number man.. its how you feel inside! haha.. anw I am noober and might be slightly younger that's all! LOL.. jokes aside ..I am sceptical on my ability to do a nice DSM.. haha. and I have to agree if I go the other way this newbie might face those that you mentioned although I don't mind the algae growing on my roots. I don't plan to tie that many moss perhaps just the tips and some hanging branches. My other nano tank averages btw 26-30(on the hottest and humid afternoons). so I guess I would have about the same temp unless the T5 really gives out power of 2 suns! haha :P .. and I thought doing up a tank is easy as A B C !! :s

[Urban Aquaria]

All in all how many plant types do you use in your setup on the link that you provided? which would you recommend me?

That tank currently has just 5 species of plants... but along the way i added and removed perhaps a dozen more other plants to test out and see if they work in the scape.

I guess its just a matter of trying out various plants and re-arranging them to see which fit and which don't, a scape is everchanging as it progresses.

It'll be best to get plants that are easier to grow to start with first, and always try to plant as densely as possible. Fast growing stem plants (ie. rotala species) help take up excess nutrients, especially during the start up phase of a new tank and assist to outcompete algae. As the tank progresses and stabilizes, you can just reduce those plants and gradually replace with other plants that you like.

So your algae that you let it grow purposely would be sweet. Do I have to do anything extra to get those algae dude?

I noticed that the green fuzzy algae always appears and eventually covers bare rocks and wood in all my tanks, so i guess its a common algae species. It seems to have the same requirements as plants and grows well when plants grow well too, so i treat it as just another plant in the tank.

All i do is just remove any other types of algae that pop up but leave the green fuzzy algae to grow, so it eventually becomes the "dominant" algae in the tank.

[ManicMunky]

I noticed that the green fuzzy algae always appears and eventually covers bare rocks and wood in all my tanks, so i guess its a common algae species. It seems to have the same requirements as plants and grows well when plants grow well too, so i treat it as just another plant in the tank.

All i do is just remove any other types of algae that pop up but leave the green fuzzy algae to grow, so it eventually becomes the "dominant" algae in the tank.

I want that green fuzzy algae too as i am planning for a few bare rocks and not planning to suffocate the wood/roots with plants.. just maybe in between the roots and the wood itself. Any recommendation for those plants that would root to it?

One more thing.. is it advisable to plant HC with the cotton or do i separate them completely from the cotton? I have seen some planting with the cotton and they grow well and have read that it is always advisable to remove the cotton. Any thoughts on this?

I will definitely reshaping along the way.. guess i am just like you.. lack of patience and just can't leave it alone! LOL
Good news.. the stuff ordered will be here tomorrow. Will update the pics and then start to layout the soils.
Please advise on this. Here is what i plan.
Bottom - a thin layer of used HELP soil for the base.
Mid - ADA Power Sand
Top Front - ADA Amazonia Powder
Top Back - ADA Amazonia Normal

[wongce]

separate HC from cotton.You won't know what parasite is waiting inside the cotton..or buy those without cotton to minimize hassle to remove them...

[ManicMunky]

separate HC from cotton.You won't know what parasite is waiting inside the cotton..or buy those without cotton to minimize hassle to remove them...

yeah.. never thought about the parasites. haha.. thanks for the heads up.