advise needed from experienced hobbyists

**irindale** · 15th Sep 2011, 10:12

hi! thank you for looking at this thread.

i'm very very new to this hobby, i've ordered a tank and it's arriving in a week's time. the dimensions are 6' x 2.5' x 2.5'.

currently, i have plans for it to be a "semi planted tank": (left) 3 feet of 2" sandy flats, with a lava rock "breakwater" kind of structure before sloping up 4" where the planted area will be (right) and plenty of driftwood amongst. the tank also consist of a sump and a set of T5HO lights (8 tubes) which will provide lighting for the plants, and i will add frogbits (since the flow of the tank is towards the left side) to provide shade over the sandy flats (some of the fishes i will be keeping prefer a darker environment).

i'm sorry but i'm not really good at describing, hope you can understand what i mean!

i have a couple of queries, hope i can get some answers here...

1) i've bought 6 bags of 10kg GEX "pure sand extra smooth" as substrate. i'm wondering if this substrate is adequate for planting easy-medium level plants. if needed, i can add a base fert layer (your recommendation please!).

2) i will be keeping some pretty high bio-load fishes. so far i've ordered and paid for 10 wild golden archer fishes, and a few spotted perch, bichirs and 2 irwini catfishes. i'm wondering if the bio-load and co2 output of these fishes is able to sustain the healthy growth of the plants?

3) any tips for combating algae in my setup?

thanks for reading, i know it's a little long winded.... but i'm really excited about this project!

**Shadow** · 15th Sep 2011, 10:32

6' x 2.5' x 2.5' is very large tank, I guess you must be staying and landed property otherwise you need permission from HDB for such big tank. Your light might be ok for non demanding plants. But if you want to plant carpet plant, you might want to consider MH light. T5Ho might not be able to penetrate 2.5' deep.

1) You want to be less hazel, go for soil type instead of sand. Get the right brand because there are many brand out there and they are not the same.

2) Bio load and CO2 output from fish normally will not be enough for plants, you need to inject CO2 and dose fertilizer

3) Make sure your plant have healthy grow and algae will stay away

**irindale** · 15th Sep 2011, 11:11

Hi Shadow,

thanks for replying, do you think i can put a layer of soil at my planted area, and then top up the top 1" or 2" with sand?
which soil would you recommend?

my only concern is the lifestock... with sand, they most is they ruin the scape. but with soil, they might ruin the whole tank!

off topic: no, sir, i'm staying in a HDB....

**Shadow** · 15th Sep 2011, 13:48

Aquarium soil you can use at it is no need to top up with sand. You can keep your idea, I mean the front will be sand followed by lava rocks and then soil at the back where you start planting your plants. I not bot an fish expert, actually i have no clue about the fishes behavior in your list, so I do not know whether they will dig the soil or not. Normally you will want to densely planted the back area where the soil is. Thus normally fish will not go to that area unless they stress.

The best Aquarium soil in my personal opinion is ADA soil, I try other brand like Gex but disappointed because nutrient is depleted too fast or they may not even have nutrient in the first place. For tank of your size, I do not think you planning to re-scape every year so get the right soil from the start.

Since you stay at HDB, you might want to read below link. Basically they scared that the floor unable to support the tank weight, unless you stay at the ground floor

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10324p....ument#FishTank

**irindale** · 15th Sep 2011, 22:45

thanks for your advise, Robert

i'll read up more about the plants i intend to get, probably start with low requirement ones first

maybe a root tab regime will be drawn up....

as for the HDB ruling, i'll stick to the old SAF mantra... do anything i want, but don't get caught!

**limz_777** · 16th Sep 2011, 04:36

do take note that irwini grows big around 20 plus inches and certain bichirs species grows big too , will definitely mess up your scape

**Shadow** · 16th Sep 2011, 08:58

ouch.. 20 inches plus... that huge

You might want to reconsider your scape, I would suggest stick to fern, anubias or other species that can be tied on rocks or stones.

**irindale** · 16th Sep 2011, 15:05

Originally Posted by limz_777

do take note that irwini grows big around 20 plus inches and certain bichirs species grows big too , will definitely mess up your scape

i do understand that, and i would like to think that it's with great fortune if i can keep one from 3" to 20"

thanks for your advise!

**irindale** · 16th Sep 2011, 15:07

Originally Posted by Shadow

ouch.. 20 inches plus... that huge

You might want to reconsider your scape, I would suggest stick to fern, anubias or other species that can be tied on rocks or stones.

today i realise what you truly meant that the lights are going to be hard to reach the bottom.... but yea i've since started to shop for DW that are shaped in a way that's nice for anubias / ferns

**limz_777** · 17th Sep 2011, 13:50

Originally Posted by irindale

i do understand that, and i would like to think that it's with great fortune if i can keep one from 3" to 20"

thanks for your advise!

growth rate wise , dont have to worry its very slow , just that they are quite sensitive to bright lights , when spook you can expect dust clouds if you have subsrate like ada or sand