planted tank on the cheap

[FishBlock]

I have an Oceanic 20L tank from about 12 years ago or so.....I want to do a low tech planted tank to learn on. I had an underground filter that i pitched in the trash. Whats a good filter to start off with? I was thinking about an aquaclear 30 but it will not clear the fat lip of the tank. What kind of substrate? I'm going to use my old hood but replace the old bulb. thinking about a t-5 6.7k bulb. Fish wise I was going with cardinals and maybe a ram or 2.

[Somefishguy]

You dont need any special substate to get started if you want low tech. Later you can supplement with root tabs if you like. A cheap yes realtivly good substrate is shultz aquasoil. You can get a bag at Home depot for pretty cheap. One bag should be enough. Ide personaly mix it with some natural grval becuse it is very light and plants have a tendency to come out of it pretty easy if used solo. Also note some people expeince an amoinia spike when they first set it up. Also make sure if you go with shults you dont get one with the blue fertalizer in it.


Light will be good, just look to get 2 wpg (1.5 -2.5wpg is good range). You wont have to mess with CO2 that way and will be suffieicnt for a good varity of plants.

If you arent adding CO2 then HOB filter will be fine, canister would be better though.

Plant densly right off the bat if possible. Lower light plants, java ferns, anubias, mosses, crypts, vals, will all work well in that setup.

Luck

[dblondfemme]

If you are willing to come to the meeting at fshfrk's house on um..I think the 24th.. I am sure you could get a few starter plants from people.

[TheOldMan]

Will your old hood even use T5 bulbs without a retrofit? If so that should be fine for the plants suggested by somefishguy. Personally I'd invest in a Eheim 2213.

[wesleydnunder]

+1 on the other suggestions.

Some mid-light plant types include;
anubias
cryptocoryne
jave fern
java moss
rotala indica
bacopa carolina
sagittaria subulata

Mark

[FishBlock]

I'm not sure on the old hood. How can I tell if a T-5 bulb will work? I know its not the original hood, has a built in ballast with a starter.

thanks for recommendation for plants, I'm going to have to start shopping.

[TheOldMan]

T-5 bulbs are smaller than regular flourescent bulbs. I would take the hood in to a lfs and checkout what bulbs fit unless you have the old bulb. That way you know if the old hood is good and what bulb works. They are only about 1/2 the size of a regular tube, but give out a brighter light.

[mahoro]

i would go for a bag of flourite then mix that with other gravel...

[silentspidey]

I have an Oceanic 20L tank from about 12 years ago or so.....I want to do a low tech planted tank to learn on. I had an underground filter that i pitched in the trash. Whats a good filter to start off with? I was thinking about an aquaclear 30 but it will not clear the fat lip of the tank. What kind of substrate? I'm going to use my old hood but replace the old bulb. thinking about a t-5 6.7k bulb. Fish wise I was going with cardinals and maybe a ram or 2.

Rams are good. But you shouldnt add them until the tank is good and settled. They arent too found of new tanks. Your gonna have to do CO2 but DIY way will do the job for you. Your plants really need the co2 and ur fish wont produce enough of it for them to flourish. Heres a link

http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/DIY-Yeast-CO2/7/

if your doin t-5 bulbs u should go about 2.5 watts per gallon. since they are considerably brighter.

[Mzungu]

"if your doin t-5 bulbs u should go about 2.5 watts per gallon. since they are considerably brighter."

When you say 2.5wpg, is that less than you would recommend with other bulbs? I'm not sure what you mean. Thanks. :)

[Zulaab]

You will most likely have to retrofit your hood again. A 20L is 30" in length.
My suggestion would be to replace the hood completely and install a Current USA 30" freshwater T5 light setup.
Nova Extreme SLR T-5 Fixtures choose the 30" freshwater unit $75.99 (3rd from bottom)
This will give you 48w of 10k + 6.7k flora light T5.

[silentspidey]

alot of people use the 1 watt per gallon rule. Plants that need high light would need 3 wpg. which u probly wont be since were going low tech and those plants are more demanding. Youll be doin low and moderate light plants.
T-5 bulbs u can go a little lower wattage because it is a brighter bulb than average fluorescent bulb.

[silentspidey]

You say 20 liter, did u mean 20 gallon?

[Zulaab]

You say 20 liter, did u mean 20 gallon?

He listed the tank as a Oceanic 20L which is the 30x12x12 vs the 20T which is 24x12x16.. In short, a long tank with not much height.

[silentspidey]

ahh i see :)