A newbie on a 2 ft tank

[Urban Aquaria]

Just returned from seaview and sunpet, grey stones over there are too small for 2ft. Some are OK but I couldn't one that fit the role for the ''main stone'', and they costs $15 a kg
Wifey doesn't like the idea of paying for stone..

You could also check at landscaping companies which supply rocks... like the rock distributor at 40 Jalan Lekar:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...40-Jalan-Lekar

Still have to pay for rocks... but at only 60-70 cents a kg, it's a tiny fraction of the prices at LFS and there are much larger pieces available.

[Urban Aquaria]

My question is : do I use back the old media? I could have used the money on something else. The previous owner told me he put salt in his water when keeping goldfish, I was afraid it might alter the water parameters of my new tank.

please advise shi fus.

If the previous owner used normal aquarium salt, then its probably just a theraputic concentration and safe for most freshwater livestock. Just a wash and rinse will usually clear out most of the residual salt from the media.

As you do water changes in the tank, it will also gradually dilute any remaining traces of salt that leach out of the media.

If you are concerned, you can also boil the media too. It will help clear out any residual stuff and chemicals. Some people make it a point to boil used bio-media by default to kill critters, bad bacteria, pests and algae before usage too.

[j.c.koh]

@urban aquaria, 70cents a kg!? Will definitely check that place out!

I might boil the media, he might have dose something else to his tank, can never be too careful.

[tetrakid]

@urban aquaria, 70cents a kg!? Will definitely check that place out!

I might boil the media, he might have dose something else to his tank, can never be too careful.

Boiling for a longer period eg. 30 min. simmer may be more effective than say 5 min. Also, adding crude salt to the water raises the boiling point thus raising the heating effect. Thereafter, soaking the media for a couple more days in clean water gives further cleansing. Heating the media for hours in very hot sun also has a cleansing effect.

[j.c.koh]

@tetrakid
Thanks for the tips bro, going to use method a week before the actual set up. Meanwhile I'll just put it inside the cabinet.

[fireblade]

wow! what a good deal! Looking forward to your setup!
Have you decided what soil to use?
any progress yet?
for the medias, I think after soaking in hotwater or after boiling should be safe to use.. no need to worry too much.

[j.c.koh]

Thanks fireblade,
won't be progressing until next month, wifey has been controlling my monthly spending budget.

anyway the substrate I planned on getting are:

1). ADA substrate base combo set.
I saw freshnmarine selling these additives in lose pack, like a few scoops of every ADA additives in zip lock bags for $45.


2). ADA power sand special S 2L


3). ADA aqua soil amazonia (powder) 9L


4). ADA aquasoil amazonia (powder) 3L
as a back up in case 9L is not enough, might need high slopes at the back. must find a LFS who is willing to let me refund it if not used.

[jackychun]

What is the dimensions of your tank JC? If it is 60x30x36cm then 9L of ADA Aquasoil should be enough. If the tank is higher, yes, you might need more soil.

For item 1 and 2 in your list, it would be good to have, but not compulsory. So less spending, less complain from wife. Haha!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[j.c.koh]

Thanks for the advise Jacky,

I'm afraid of the idea of going down to the lfs in the middle of scaping shall I need more soil, so I've a small pack as a backup. Now that I think of it, 12L worth of soil in a 60p might be overkill. Maybe I think too much lol.

Item 1 and 2 will be last on my list, if I went over budget I will remove them. Problems with these 2 items are: if I don't add them during set up I won't be able to add them in future unless I tear down the tank and recape. I'm reading reviews on them, if the benefits is not worth the money in the long run I will remove them.

[fireblade]

I used 1.5 pack of 9L of amazonia for my 2feet tank and I think the back is not high enough.. :P
instead of power sand, use lava chips and that willl save a lot!!

[tetrakid]

Do be wary of stuffing a 2ft fish tank with a lot of plants and decorative material, resulting in only a small body of water remaining in the tank. Visually, it may be a big tank, but when one tskes into account volume displaced by the items, only a small volume of water is available for maintaining a healthy ecosystem, which translates into stress and sub-optimal conditions for fish.

To address this human tendency to overlook this aspect of fish-keeping, one can simply opt for a larger tank.

[j.c.koh]

@fireblade,
Thanks I'll check the lava chips out during next shopping trip.

[j.c.koh]

@tetrakid,

Thanks for the warning, I'll try not to use too much of them.

My current set up plans are,
Hardscape :
Aquasoil 9L. Maximum 12L. depending on the stones I aquire.
Ryuoh stone, five stone formation. I hope it doesn't take up too much volume.

Planting:
Foreground, HC cuba
Background, Japanese hairglass
Might have riccia on rock.

Livestock : neon tetras and green neon tetras.
Amano shrimps as cleaning crew.
Still deciding what other shrimps to put in as most fancy shrimps requires chiller.

I'll use the remaining water volume to determine how many livestock to put in. The last thing I want is for the fish to suffer.

Above are just a rough sketch, might change over time.

[toolkit]

Hi,

Welcome to the hobby j.c.koh! I started this fascinating hobby around Oct about 2 years ago.
Aquascaping takes time but the rewards are worth it!

[j.c.koh]

Thanks toolkit, glad to be part of it!

Right now I'm still learning and buying/sourcing the items I need. Week 1 & 2 of November I'll be doing major purchase. If everything goes according to plan I'll be setting up during week 3 or 4.

Words can't describe the joy and excitement I'm feeling right now, hands getting more itchy as times goes by. guess only fishkeeping hobbyist would understand.

[eeJamboy]

Hey j.c.koh welcome back to the hobby!

Note that it is only a 2ft tank. After putting in the litres of soil and your rock hardscape to achieve the iwagumi motif, there is not so much volume left for water which in turn will affect your choices of fauna.

Nonetheless, 2ft is a good start. And with all those equipment on hand and the research, you should be on your way.

Just make sure the wife is not around while boiling ur media.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[j.c.koh]

Hi jamboy,
You guys are definitely right about this one.
As I was looking at tank pics on the Internet for inspiration I realized most tank that have high slopes had one thing in common : most of the tank are 3ft and above.

So even if they dump 3 x 9L Aquasoil they still have a lot of water volume to work with unlike a 15 gallon tank. thank you guys for pointing that out for me.

[j.c.koh]

An update on my progress.

Bought this few items off the internet last week.
I copied the items for bro jackychun when browsing through his journal.




planing of getting fertilizer tomorrow but there are many brands and types to choose from ( ADA, Seachem etc. flourish, flourish excel, flourish iron, flourish potassium etc. )
so I think it's best to consult the experts here first before buying.

Assuming I'm sticking to the plan of having hc cuba, Japanese hair grass and riccia for my tank, which the fertilizers sould I be getting?
Any help would be appreciated.

[jackychun]

JC, I like the "fertilizer" on the left corner of the picture you posted. Hehehe.

For me, I have used Seachem fertilizers products since beginning till now. So far so good, plants have developed very well. Just follow the instructions accordingly and calculate to dose daily.

Most important I think is Iron and Potassium at the beginning period. You can refer to my post regarding the dosing schedule.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DreamerX5521]

If you want keep thing simple, then go for ada fert.
If you are hardworking, then go for seachem.
If you want controlling of what you dose, then go for dry fert or your own liquid solution.
So far, none of them are perfect for everything, just pick one route that suite you/your expectation.