Reply With Quoteerhmmm u sure u planning 50 tetras with crs???
the neons are going to murder them
Hello people,
After a long consideration and with the inspiration coming from Joe. I finally took the plunge to invest and setup my very first 4ft low tech tank.
The tank finally arrived on Fri, went equipment shopping at NA on Sat and spent the entire Sun night doing the setup....
Had some pics of the empty tank but in my wife's cam, but will not post that for now since who wants to look at an empty tank???
The idea is to have low maintenance plants since I am travelling very often and have little time to care for the pruning and fertilisation.
A combination of stones and Driftwood was used to create a nature environment with a zen feeling.
Sorry for the poor picture quality cos the water is still "milky" due to the new setup and just started cycling of the tank and filter. Hopefully it will clear up soon.
Some Tank parameters to share:
Tank size: 4ft X 1.5ft X 2ft height
Lighting: 54 X 4 T5 lighting from NA. 7hrs daily
Filter: 2028 Ehiem
CO2: None
Base Fert: JBL
Substrate: Lapis sand
Fan: 1X AC fan 24 hrs
Temp: ?? Not measured
pH: ?? Not measured
Fert routine: Not started (Seachem Excel in future)
Flora selection:
Java Fern
Windelov Fern
Anubias Nanas
Nanas Petite
Bylxa Japonica
Java Moss
Taiwan Moss
HC
Balansae
Fauna:
None at the moment
Planned Fauna:
50 Neon Tetra
5 Otos
20 CRS
Any other suggestions?
Any improvement suggestions on scaping, plant selection, fauna or setup will be greatly appreciated
I am experimenting if I could get HC to grow nicely in a non-CO2 low tech tank. Hope it works.... The LFS reccommended to plant the entire pot into the soil directly. Did that and will give an update on the status in 1-2 weeks. Hope it works.....
erhmmm u sure u planning 50 tetras with crs???
the neons are going to murder them
Lighting: 54 X 4 T5 lighting from NA. 7hrs daily
isn't the lighting abit strong for a low tech setup?
Cheers,
Melvin Lim
About the CRS with cardinal tetras...is it true that they will be murdered by the tetras??
As for the lighting, spoke to Chan of NA. He says 4X54W is not too much...i am wondering as well cos it works out to be ard 2.8W per US Gallon... Any expert advice? Can only reduce to 2 X54W by switching off 1 ballast.
Better install CO2 system from the start or you can choose lower level of lighting with low light plants. WHY? because I have ruined my nice tank by letting the CO2 run out for two weeks. Ever ferns tend to be very ugly looking when grown in higher lighting without CO2.
Never create what you can't control
As a rough guide, low tech is normally +-1.5W/gal.Originally Posted by adi99
About the CRS with cardinal tetras...is it true that they will be murdered by the tetras??
As for the lighting, spoke to Chan of NA. He says 4X54W is not too much...i am wondering as well cos it works out to be ard 2.8W per US Gallon... Any expert advice? Can only reduce to 2 X54W by switching off 1 ballast.
reduce the lighting be good! anyway, i like the overall scape, nice!
The Happiest of people don't neccessary have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way
When will there be 25 letters in the alphabets?
adi99, from your equipment it seems that you're not really on track for low tech tank, T5 lighting, good eheim filter.
Watch out for algae, if you're using such high lightings.
Frankly, you're just lacking a co2 system and it will be such a wonderful setup already
Hello Kemp,
Can you please elaborate why my equipment is not on track for low tech setup? It is too "high tech"?
I have 2 old CO2 tanks available actually but really like to keep this tank as a low maintenance tank without religious fertilisation routine or any other parameters maintenance....
I will reduce the light to 2 X54W and see how things goes...
Right now I set up the tank and left for overseas for a week already. So gotta get my wife to switch off the light tomorrow. Hopefully no algae growth started....
Btw, the tank water is expected to clear up by itself or do I have to do water changes??
tink u still abit of Co2 to keep the plants growing n healthy.......
run co2 at reduce level ...
Thanks for the Co2 tip. But right now I hope to be able to keep to a pure low tech setup first and see what happens next.
Reduced the lights to 2X54W now.
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