beginner.. pls help..

[ahwei]

hihi.. i m a 1st time beginner setting up a 4 ft 90 gallon. planted tank.. i have many qns to ask.. hope some 1 can help up... thanks..

1. i using diy co2. how many bottles is needed??

2. i using 2 PL and 2 FL. isit enough for most high light plants??

3. can low light plants like xmas moss(is it a low light plant???) grow in above conditons??

4. i am going to put in gravels soon. wat lind of gravel is gd?? for beginners??

5. base fert.. read tat garden fert is possible, most impt cheap.. wat kind then??

6. how to go abt puting base fert n gravels?? simply pour the fert in 1st then gravels?? how do i need to soak the fert in water 1st?? can pls explain step by step as i m a real newbie...


tanks.. a 1000000

ahwei

[PohSan]

U may want to refer to the following site. It shows how to setup planted tank step by step

http://www.vectrapoint.com/main/manual/manual.html

[vinz]

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On 8/27/2003 12:04:59 AM

hihi.. i m a 1st time beginner setting up a 4 ft 90 gallon. planted tank.. i have many qns to ask.. hope some 1 can help up... thanks..

1. i using diy co2. how many bottles is needed??
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Not advisable to use DIY CO2 for such a large tank, as it may not meet the requirements. If you insist, I would GUESS about 6 to 8 bottles, recharge half of them alternately. Your requirements also depends on the type of plants you're gonna go for. If your going for a low light tank then DIY may be sufficient.

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2. i using 2 PL and 2 FL. isit enough for most high light plants??
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What is the total wattage of the lights? High-light plants will require at least 2.5 watts per gallon (WPG) of tank capacity for such a large tank. Colour of light matters too... get lights marked as "Daylight" or around 6,500K.

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3. can low light plants like xmas moss(is it a low light plant???) grow in above conditons??
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Yes, X'mas moss is a low light plant. Low light is about 1.5 WPG upwards.

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4. i am going to put in gravels soon. wat lind of gravel is gd?? for beginners??
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There is no "beginners" gravel. But there is gravel suitable for rooting plants (moss is not a rooting plant). The gravel grain size should be about 1 to 2mm. The gravel must be neutral... i.e. it should alter the water chemistry. Ask any LFS with a good plant selection and planted tank products, they should know what gravel is suitable. You don't have to get expensive stuff like Dennerle. Cheap good gravel for planted tanks are about $1 per kg (+/- 20cents).

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5. base fert.. read tat garden fert is possible, most impt cheap.. wat kind then??
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I use aquatic compost... about $10 per 25litre bag, if I'm not wrong. You can find them at most garden nurseries, especially those that do ponds. Some forumers use Horti brand soils. There's a recent thread that covered this. Most importantly, the soils should not contain chemicals like fungicides and insecticides.

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6. how to go abt puting base fert n gravels?? simply pour the fert in 1st then gravels?? how do i need to soak the fert in water 1st?? can pls explain step by step as i m a real newbie...


tanks.. a 1000000

ahwei
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Yes, place the base fert in a dry tank and then cover with gravel, then fill with water. Never before the water.

You don't really need to soak base fert (i.e. those sold for planted tanks) as they are meant to be for planted tanks. But Plantbrain did recommend it for soil base fert (I'm guessing you read that thread already) to condition them for aquatic use. I don't think the other forumers did but their tanks are fine... it just might take a little longer for your substrate to stabilise. I didn't and I guess its not necessary for aquatic compost.

Browse around AQ's Aquatic FAQ for more info. Especially, read "Things needed for a planted tank" and "Websites". Search the rest of AQ too for specific info. There is simple to many things for any one forumer to sit down and tell you in one post, so best to do some research on your own. What you don't understand, feel free to ask in AQ.