First Post and semi-pro/semi-beginner

[mredman]

I have been in the aquarium hobby for three decades - and have become adept at reef aquariums (up to 600 gallons) and also experienced the African cichlid craze. My newest challenge is a planted aquarium. My experience includes a background in water chemistry so I am not afraid of the challenges.

I just purchased a 135 gallon aquarium and will be using Finnex Ray2 lights. I will first set up two 36-inch fixtures and then determine if two additional light strips are required. My goal is to maintain plants that require significant light. The aquarium will be a community tank with fish. Unfortunately, shrimp are not in the forecast (I want more than plecos and otocinclus).


This site has been very beneficial and I have already met two members.

I also purchased the Aquatop 500C filter system complete with UV. The tank has not yet been set up so I have many options moving forward:


1. What do you recommend for a CO2 system?

2. Many of the fish offerings today were not available when I last maintained freshwater tanks. Any suggestions? I like the blue rams and a longfin abino bristlenose are desirable. I do not yet understand the codes for fish. Perhaps there is a table to reference.


Mike (near 249 and Louetta)

[kv9tb]

Personally, the Green Leaf regulators have been bulletproof from experience. You will also need to look into a dosing regimen that works for you. EI and PPS- Pro are the two most common starting points. From there it is tweaking the dosage to get what macro and micros you need more of. All that is done by how the plants are doing though, and can't be answered ahead of time.

http://greenleafaquariums.com

As far as fish are concerned, it is a personal preference as well. I really enjoy my planted 125 with Angels, but that's just me. I wanted discus, but a planted tank with CO2 I was afraid would cause to much of a swing in PH. I also have a school of Cory cats in this tank, and really like them as well.

Good luck! I love a planted tank, and wish you happy fish keeping and plant keeping!

[mnemenoi]

Green leaf is top of the line and what the professionals use in their tanks.

As to fish, there are so many options really now. With your CO2 lowering the Ph, you have a lot of different options that can really succeed well. SE Asian rasboras, microrasboras, licorice gouramis, noble gouramis, and WC bettas. With African Riverine, the WC Pelvicachromis (Kribs) relatives, the barbs, and the tetras are amazing. The SA dwarfs (Apistogramma, rams, checkerboards, zebra acara, Krobia), the tetras, the corydoras, and the plecos. Think the codes might be the L-Number system? Corydoras also have a C-system. Species were emerging so fast from the region, they were not scientifically described fully, so to identify them they assigned a Loricard number to them (L-Number, i.e. L-191) and Corydoras also have a similar system (C-92). Planet Catfish (planetcatfish.com) is a great site for both and have a wonderful pictorial guide to the numbers, native collection points and most up to date scientific classification names.

[TattedUpFishGuy]

Welcome to the box!

[ptran]

Welcome!

[mredman]

Thanks for all the advice. I am making the plunge - from a pH of 8.3 to about 6.5!!!

The Aquatop filter system comes with activated carbon but a youtube video says you shouldn't use it. I am now working with Greenleaf to buy the CO2 system.

It doesn't look like I will have fish for another month...

Mike

[mnemenoi]

I think of carbon like a general purpose chemical sponge. If your dosing ferts it will suck them up indiscriminately. It also never has any indicator when its exhausted and will lech things back into your water column. Just a lose lose to me. Purigen is better, will avoid Seachem ferts, and turns dark when its exhausted and use bleach to regenerate it and its ready to go again. Win Win. I do use Carbon to remove medication after dosing, but I just throw it away after use. I never run carbon on any of my tanks unless I am specifically looking to remove a pollutant, never part of a chemical filtration system.