First attempt at carpeting

Hi All,

started a 1,5f tank for my office, this will be my first attempt at carpeting, probably the most hitec tanks setup i have built.

ill be running CO2 with a 24W Led for lighting
soil is ADA amazonia
I have thrown in a few osmocote capsule below substrate ( not sure if that was overkill)

i have some dragon rock and a piece of driftwood.

anubia Nana, HC for carpet

pics below then i have a few questions!!!

 

questions ---

1-how does the sponge filter affect Co2 levels in the water, i don't have a canister to use so it will have to be a sponge filter which i will hide better.
2- i found that without the sponge filter the co2 bubbles just went straight up and didn't dissolve before reaching the surface adding the sponge filter the bubbles are scattered almost right across the tank.

Any advice / comments will be much appreciated. i will be using seachem flourish once a week for ferts.

 

Nice scape @Ammar !! Seems so much easier to scape smaller tanks. The hardscape layout looks fantastic .I think a small internal filter or HOB would be more suited to this setup ,will also free up some space for more plants/hardscape .

 

for some reason i completely forgot about HOB filter!! thanks for the suggestion, I agree with you 100%, will def get one this weekend.
smaller tanks are for sure much easier, you can get a decent looking scape with very little.
the depth of the tank also means i can go a bit less on light. I will be testing this light for a few weeks and see how plants respond. will keep posting

 

A small Cascade 100 will be ideal for that tank.
If need be, it can be dialled back to ease the flow.
Add a sponge to the intake, and you should be good to go. (Use one of the sponges currently on your sponge filter. They fit perfectly.)
I use Seachem Matrix that is separated from the impeller by as small piece of plastic mesh.

CO2 diffuser needs to be positioned below the inflow from the filter, as CO2 apparently doesn't like surface agitation, and the water flowing in assists with the distribution of the CO2 throughout the tank.
(Or something like that...)

 

thanks @Pezulu i will do that, but will the co2 not be lost in that way? im assuming it will be sucked into the filter..

 

When I was using CO2 in my display tank, the diffuser was placed near the bottom of the tank, with a spraybar positioned at the top of the tank.
Growth of slow growing plants like Bolbitis, Java Fern and Anubias was markedly higher in that tank, when compared to a tank with the same plants in without CO2.
I even managed to get Cryptocoryne Parva to grow and spread.

That being said, I am no expert, and just read up everything I could find on the WWW, and then used the averages on my own tank.

 

makes sense, ill give it a try, my issue with this tank is that i don't have much depth, i might have to get a slightly smaller diffuser. or maybe a bell... will have to read up

 

Awesome hardscape @Ammar.

I agree fully with what @rsa and @Pezulu said above.

The biggest reason why you want the co2 below your filter intake is to get the impeller chop them up into smaller bubbles. The ripple of the hob won't affect the co2 in a big way. Most of the high tech tanks I have seen has quite a bit of surface movement.

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Thanks @pierreschoonraad i will be getting one this weekend, tank will look a million times better.

 

I like the idea ... a few comments ..

Using a years worth of OC+ in root tabs .... maybe hold back on adding live stock for the next while.

Also OC+ sheds prills that look really bad when it mixes with ADA - so try not to disturb the ADA for the next few months.

Secure your top rock if not already done ... it is a tank busters if it rolls off and hits the 2ft's glass - what is it 4mm or 5mm?

Get a few weeks of WC done first before you hit it with even more fertz, if this is fresh ADA you are bound to hit some issues and the extra root tabs also need to leach, once you are over the new tank issues then look at water column fertz but honestly not much in the tank needs more water column fertz at this stage.

Hopping you are running a light timer - and CO2 in a office tank is not always the best idea - if something goes wrong on a weekend you could gas all your fish. CO2 is best checked every morning and night - hence home tanks work best with it.

What is the aircon situation like in the office?

Later Ferdie

 

Very nice scapping, looks fantastic.

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Thanx for the input @f-fish always appreciated, i should have consulted first with the pro. I also thought i may have overdone it with the OC +.

The ada is not new, was in another tank prior, im assuming 8 to 10 months but could be a it more.

Ill double check on that top rock again but did put decent support underneath.

The co2 gets switched on in the morning when i get there and off when i leave i think im currently keeping it on for too long. What would you say is a fair amount of time for it to run?

Weekend it doesnt come on.

Ill do regular water changes for the next while.

Stock wise im not putting anything for the next month +, im more interested in getting the green going first and then probably just shrimp and a couple neons probably.

Aircon doesnt come on during winter, i am hiding a 50w heater behind the rocks ( hasnt gone in yet. What would u say a good temp is for the plants i think it currently at around 21 or 22.

Thanks again..

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Thanks David, cant wait for it to fill up

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Stable CO2 is the key to pumping CO2 ... Fluctuating CO2 affects the pH of the tank as a negative ... run it but if you start hitting algae issues this would be a sure look in.

Later Ferdie

 

Awesome i will monitor it thanks

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Why not put the CO2 on a timer, with it coming on half an hour before the lights come on, and switching off half an hour before lights out?
That way, you don't have to worry about switching on and off?

With your lights being on a timer as well, you don't have any hassle with worrying about lights or CO2.

 

I am ordering a couple sonoff wifi devices, will be using one for this setup. im just hoping i haven't gone overkill with eveything and end up melting the plants

 

I had a look at the sonoff wifi devices for home automation, and from what I can see it seems complicated.
Hopefully you'll be able to understand all the technical mumbo-jumbo that is way above my intellect level.