advice on equip. subst. & plants.

[xjiahua]

its great to be back after stopping for 5yrs. gonna start on my 2ft. but after reading various sources am still a lil confused on the different recommendation. this is what i proposed to have.

Tank:
2 x 1 x 1.5ft 80% full water 68litres 18gallon

Substrate:
1 packet of ADA Aquasoil Amazonia & 1 packet of ADA Power Sand

Proposed Plants:
-Foreground : Glosso, Tiger Lotus, Dwarf Hairgrass
-Midground / Background : Blyxa japonica, Vallisneria nana, christmas moss


Questions:

Filter: how much circulation in litres / hr is considered sufficient for the outflow for the plants in carrying C02 & nutrients around.

Lighting: would a 55w PL light suitable for such tank ?

C02: where is a good place to purchase full set of CO2 system ? & how many beats per second is recommended ?

appreciate all guidance & advice given.

[vinz]

Filter: buy a filter with a flow rate of 3 x your water volume or greater. Minimum flow rate for your tank should be 3 times your water volume. You need greater, because:
a) Once the filter is packed with media, flow rate drops
b) As the media gets choked, flow rate drops
c) We sometimes have other equipment (chiller, CO2 reactors, etc) in-line with the filter... they cause flow rate to drop
d) As the filter age, low rate drops

Some high-end filters come with valves or throttles to let you control the flow rate. Some may not. If not, get a valve to attach to the output of the filter.

Lights: For such a small tank, I recommend 3 watts per gallon. Use our calculator (link below the site header) to calculate how much light you will need. Use US gallons.

CO2 System: Try Nature Aquarium at Balestier Shopping Centre. It's opposite Thomson Medical.

Tiger lotus should be back-ground. IMO, it is too big for a 2ft tank. Big plants willmake your small tank look even smaller.

[xjiahua]

wooo thanks !! since we're on the filter. i would wanna knw wads the best combination of filter media ?

& how much would a full set automated CO2 cylinder cost ?

any red colour leaves plant to break up the greenery setup to reccomend ?

[Jimmy]

i would suggest buy a used CO2 set. i bought one with solenoid for $70 only. one brand new solenoid can cost more than $100 alone.

[vinz]

wooo thanks !! since we're on the filter. i would wanna knw wads the best combination of filter media ?

& how much would a full set automated CO2 cylinder cost ?

any red colour leaves plant to break up the greenery setup to reccomend ?

The combination that comes in the filter manual.