Designing My Tank

Hi everyone!
I'm hoping you can give me some tips for designing my tank.

I have a TropiQuarium 130l tank, 80cmx35x50 (not sure on the height, its a guestimate)

I have a couple of fake plants, and some of the plants that float on the top, as well as a small two piece ship wreck. But now I would like to make my tank look nice. Add some dritfwood (I have one cured piece that I am debating putting in with my next and first water change)

But are there any things I should keep in mind? Landscaping wise? What makes for the best eye candy when looking at a tank? I know it boils down to personal preferance, but I'm sure there are some standard things that one needs to consider. My tank looks a bit boring, and I'd like to spice it up a bit :bigsmile:

There are so many beautiful tanks here, and I really am hoping that some of you could provide me with some things to push me along the right path

Thanks
Kels

 

Hi Kels

You will have to tell these guys what kind of lighting you have, since that will most definitely decide what kind of plants you will be able to keep.

Oh - and any tank without fake plants is a nice tank - hehe

 

hehe! yes, as soon as i get my light working, I will look at scaping it properly
I have a 24" Flourescant globe, 20W (Not sure which other info you want, and will check the make when i get home, but it was about R88 which is apparently one of the better globes?) Have space to put in 2 of those, so if I need to put in an additional globe I will put it in! I will also change the lighting depending on what I need for my plants and fishies!

I will def be looking at replacing my fakers with real plants They are purely there for decoration purposes as my light is not working, and I dont want to deprive the plants of what they need. (and I got them when I bought the tank, so theres no skin off my back )

Any other info you need?
I would also like some info on where to get the things I need for my tank if you suggest I get something specific please

 

Hi! It is a Sun-Glo Daylight Aquarium bulb. Dont know if that helps at all?
It is a B Energy level, and the LUX is 125 (no idea what that means ) the color temperature is 4200k (also no idea what that means )

If anyone could explain it to me I would appreciate it Also do I need to get a better globe? or a different one?
Thanks

 

Hi Kels

That tube will work fine but you would need to add another tube.
Look for another 20W+ tube that will fit in your tank. You have options of
T5 and T8. T5 is the new technology and usually a much thinner tube than a T8.

You do not have to buy a expensive tube from a LPS.
Go to a lighting place and ask for a ?W 6500K daylight tube.
Not warm white or sky white.

Make sure you have the ballast that turns the light on and off first. Again T5 or T8

Hope that helps a little.

Gerhard

 

Thanks very much Gerhard!
You have some amazing landscaping displays, are there anythings I need to follow/watch out for when landscaping my tank? Any pointers would be excellent

I will go tomorrow to get the ballast, as I'm pretty sure thats why its not turning on (My dad tested it, and there is current going to the points, but I dont have the ballast (at least i think thats what it is ) I have a T8 tube, do you think it would be more effective to have 2 T5 tubes? I can still exchange the one I have for a T5.
Thanks
Kels

 

Hi Kels

Back at my laptop so now I can help you better.

Ok first lights.

Lights will usually have the K rating on them. These range from 2700K-20 000K.
This is there kelvin rating. Kelvin is a representation of there color temprature.

So you will have 2700K that is very red to 20 000K very blue.
Daylight are usually at 6500K which is a normal white type looking light.

These lights emit a certain light spectrum that is measured in nanometers with a par meter.

Plants use light that is at two different spectrum points, 420nm (blue) and 670nm (red)
Light out of these measurements mean nothing to plants.

So a 2700K(red) light will lets say measure at 820nm and the plants cant do anything with this light.

4700 K lamp is a lot closer to 670 etc.

6500K lamp have peaks close at 420 and 670 and are more usefull for plants.

Some lamps are especially build for plants and will peak at the right ends of the spectrum meaning at 420 and 670.

Lux is simply light intensity. lets say you have a lamp 20W and 125Lux it comes down to +-60lm/W. A good quality lamp will be at around 64LM/w

This is just a simple explanation.

Lighting equipment:

You need a tube(lamp), ballast and endcaps.

A ballast is rated in Watss. So a 24W ballast can handle a 24W tube etc.

The ballast will have a wire that goes to the wall socket and another two wires that go to the lamp.
At the end of these two wires will be 2 points that connect to your tube.

Some say that there is no difference between T8 ans T5 when it comes to light output.
T5 however will give you better output for longer. They last let say 30% longer than T8's

So go with T5's if you can, they are a little bit more expensive.
T5 usually also come in dual ballast's. They take two tubes at a time.

SO measure your hood carefully and take a tape measure along to see if the tubes will fit. The bigger the Watt the longer the tube.

Scaping is all personal preference but check here for a few basic tips.

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?3413-Aquascaping-Basics

Regards
Gerhard

 

Thanks very very much Gerhard! At least now I feel that I know what im getting in for

My tanks hood is a specific measurement of 24", Do the ballasts take up space? Will I need to get a smaller tube?
The lid of my tank has a specific slot for the tubes, there is something in there (might be the ballast) But im pretty sure thy need to be replaced.
Will look into it tomorrow, as I have the day off, and can get what I need

 

Hi Kels

It would be best if you can post a pic of what you have before going to buy things you might already have.

Ballast can be mounted inside the hood or outside with only the lights inside.

 

Hi Kels do you have the tropiquarium 88 tank?

These have ballast and timer build into the hood. If its not working then they might be faulty. You might have to build a new ballast with tubes into the hood.

 

Hi Vis,
Yes I have the TropiQuarium 88, The light is currently not working. it has the slots that the light fits into, but I assume they are broken, so I will need to get new ones. Also the little display thing isnt working, I have bought new batteries, and will test them out when I get home.

 

There are some handy aquarium guys down there so it might help asking one of them to help you rebuild lights into the hood.

 

Hi Kels, I found this on the web for you, hope it helps a bit

So a quick ? what did you buy batteries for? Is the filter running ok?

 

Maybe try and put in 2 tubes, maybe your light are wired in a way that you need bulbs installed or it wont work. Seems little unlikely though.

 

Thanks Tracyp I bought the batteries for the onboard computer, I dont know why, but im not 100% sure how it works... electrically that is. I bought it second hand, so its not that new and stuff doesnt work... The little on board computer seems to come on once i have put some batteries in, but I used old batteries so I dont think there was enough power in the battery to power it properly. Will test it when i get home.

The filter is powered seperately, so theres no problem with that. Its running like a machine

hmm... never thought about using 2 tubes... Will also try that when I get home, I know my dad has a spare 24" tube at home that I can try with (just to test)

It might act like a circuit witht he two lights, and if there isnt a ligth in the other one then it wont work as the circuit is broken. But the connectors for the second light thing arent there, so I will need to sort that out sometime as well.

 

Here are the pics of the inside of my TropiQuarium 88 where the globe goes

 

Kels, I'm guessing, but it looks like the 2nd tube might fit diagonally? It LOOKS like its been rewired to do that, though I can't figure out why?

 

I thought that too, but it wont actually fit... because then the thingers on the side will have to be at an angle

 

Hi Kels your tube is not working because you do not have a starter installed
Next to the tube there is another fitting, here you need to install a starter. Not sure
what there real name is. Most Florescent tubes use them.

 

http://www.google.co.za/imgres?imgu...&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:12&biw=1024&bih=625