Up date on my progress

Just an up date on how my tank is coming along. Plants are growing okay but would have liked some more so if anyone in the KZN North aria are willing to donate me some cuttings it would be nice.

My current setup is as follows:
Tank:2000 x 500 x 600mm but only filled to 500mm.
Lighting: 1 x 40w T5 Extra Day Hi Glo, 1 x 30w T5 Extra Day Hi Glo, 2 x 30w Jobo Luxline Plus 10 000k
Filtration: 200L sump containing filter floss, fake grass as bio-media and has a 3000l/p return pump.
Heating: will be a 300w heater but will only start using it in the winter because as is I am struggling to keep my temp below 28C.
Circulation: 1x 750l/h and 1 x 450l/h submersible pumps
Substrate: 30mm deep silica mixed with some black sand (not the best for plants but will have to do for now)
Decor: a few peace of wood and some rocks

Plants:
Java vern, Bacopa monnieri, Amazon sword, Hygrophila difformis, Hygrophila corymbosa
At this stage only using Flourish Excel and Flourish Trace need to get some normal Flourish when my lfs get some in stock.

Live stock:
20 x Shrimps don't know what kind they are the lfs just said they are feeder shrimps
7 x Neon Tetras
6 x Glass Bloodfin Tetra
6 x Golden Pencil fish
4 x Red Eyed Tetra
1 x Hoblo Cat
2 x Ancistrus sp.
2 x Black Fantom Tetra
4 x Silver Tip Tetra
3 x Elagent Corydoras

Any advice and comment will be appreciated.

 

Any comments ?

 

Howsit bro,

Tank looks good but i have a few suggestions but i do recommend you read up on planted setups.

The lighting needs to be increased to at least double the current power output to be on a medium tech tank, if your plan is to stay low tech i
would read more on plants that have very low lighting requirements and stick with them or you risk having dying plants. Stick with a mix of 6500K/15000K/2700K, this will give you a nice
natural colour blend as well as supply the plants with the correct lighting for photosynthesis.

Substrate needs to be deeper, i would suggest (but open to change) 6-10cm.
if you are going to use a small amount of substrate like ADA/.. make a good layer at the bottom of the tank with it and cover with silica. The current plants you have like your
Amazon Swords are heavy root feeders and will require nutrients in the substrate via root tabs (don't seem to work for me well) or a nutrient rich substrate for growing aquarium plants.

If you plan on using CO2 which would be recommended if going planted i would not recommend a sump as the water flow introduces oxygen and the CO2 levels drop. A canister filter would
be best for this setup however being such a large tank it would be costly to get a decent canister filter to do a good job. what is the liter volume of the tank?

Overall the tank looks good! try introduce more rock to the tank (all the same type and colour) and create a focal point; Read about the Golden rule of Aquascape layouts.

Well done and good luck bud!

 

@sub-lime thanks for the reply.
My plans for the future will be to change the lights and the hood of the tank completely. As I don't think the T8 lights are penetrating properly to the substrate. I was leaning towards led flood lights like you are using. What wattage are you using? I have seen the 10w flood lights are not that expensive and was thinking of maybe buying 1 or 2 a month until I have a sufficient quantity to light up my tank properly. How many do you think I will need and will 10w be okay? Does the led flood lights produce a lot of heat?

I will be keeping it medium tech and not be going with pressurised Co2 at the moment. So will keep my sump for now. Will have to check that all my future plant purchases are compatible with this kind of set-up.

As for my substrate I am planing on going the PFP method of the Prof. I will be doing this when we move house in the next few months. At that stage I will also try and do a more proper lay out with a strong focal point.

 

I bought 2 x 30W cool white led flood lights yesterday on an action. One was R219 and the other one for R303. Can't wait for them to get delivered. Anyone els using led flood lights in their tank?

 

I have 30w cool white led flood lights on my 300l planted cube. They are great. Depends on the brand. Cool white should be around 5000k which is fine for the plants and gives a nice color. Don't go more than 8,000k on the lights.

A sump can be used on a planted setup, provided it is setup correctly. If you post more information on the sump then I could assist further. Essentially, the sump must not have areas of high surface agitation which encourages gas exchange. The drain pipe into the sump must be below the water surface and the overflow drain must also be setup specifically. A sump can be used very effectively.

 

I think that the led floodlights are becoming quite popular. For your depth of tank, 30w is gonna be a little underrated. I'd guess you need at least 8 x 50w for good plant growth. Personally, I've only had bad luck with the LED floodlights on BidorBuy and other online shops. They seem to last for about 6 months or so, then the chip or the driver fails. It would be great if someone could recommend a reliable supplier? Dont stress if those units are a bit too weak... You can always use them for other projects..

 

Will get more as money becomes available.