Hello sifus,

i'm a newbie. i would like to know what you guys think about a low-tech planted large (4feet) tank. low light with no CO2.

if possible i'd like to know the success rate.
i've been doin some reading online and it seems promisingly attractive.
any insights wud be greatly appreciated.

if it's really as good as it sounds. how come noone in this thread mentioned anythin about it.

Help!!!

yes bro, i already have a 4 feet tank. i'm actually in mids of setting the aquascape tank. but i'm a lil scepticle to post any pics yet. acred kena taruk by sifus in here.

i am using 3 bags of GEX soil for aquascaping. it cost me about 300++ just the substrate.

i was reading up online on low-tech plated aquarium. supposedly i doesn't require CO2. the science behind it is, u keep the lighting low to match the low CO2 just sufficient for the plants to strive.

but as opposed to high-tech tank which has CO2, metal halide and all, the plants grow much slower in the low-tech tank.

here's a pic of the tank to give u an idea.





do you think i can get away with the low-tech tank setup or u strongly suggest me getting a CO2 setup?

DIY CO2? wow, i doubt i'll be able to get that working. i'd like to know a good figure for the CO2 system. i was quoted RM 450. can u suggest any place i can get it for the price u said? Rm 300 is a good price for me.

Well, the soil was actually RM 120 each bag. and the white said was about RM 10. so in total is about RM370.  And about the view in the pic, the tank is actually a divider between my TV lounge and dining area. so it's viewed from both sides. the soil is elevated on all 4 corners to the same height, creating a somewhat valley from all 4 sides. The bottom of the tank is about the height of my waist. so, i'm hoping it won't block much of the view when the plants are grown. 

For light, i have 2 double tube holders. in total it holds 4 flourescent 3 ft tubes. currently mounted two white tubes and two red(pink) tubes. only turning 'on' one white tube and two red tubes for now.

filter, i'm using the china canister filter. JBJ reaction. i'm using the older model without the UV. i'm not sure what capacity but it was about RM 350 when i bought it. if i'm not mistaken it's the EFU-25. it's rated at 200 GPH. my 4 feet tank is 100 gallon.

Note:
i previously had, somewhat fine gravel. so, i left the gravel and topped it with the planting soil. if u notice carefully, only the top 1.5 inch of the substrate is soil. the high bottom is actually gravel.



no offence taken brother.
looks i just have to bite the bullet and get the CO2 system for my tank.
the thing is that i'm not very familiar with the CO2 system. but i'm a fast learner.
i asked a lfs to quote for a CO2 system and he said it'll be all in RM 450. is that a good figure to go for. or, am i being taken advantage on?

for the slopes, i've plugged in some elongated pebbles into the slopes. i'm hoping, that willl suffice and will prevent the slope from collapsing.


any comments, advise or any sort of criticism are welcome and will be taken in a very positve manner. i'm here to learn. thanks for all the help so far. i'm very greatful.

This post has been edited by moe81: Jul 6 2010, 10:16 AM

There's a quote from chuppy above saying 2-6 times the volume. so i guess i'm at the bottom brink. well, it doesn't quite seem like underpowered for now. i guess i'll keep that in mind and will upgrade when the circumstances permits. if i do upgrade, i might as well go for 6x the volume. a very useful input indeed.

ok, bout the land-scaping. i'll stick to what it is now and learn as i go further. thanks for ur inputs and suggestions. i'll definately keep that in mind.

lighting, currently i have 152 watts intalled. i have 5 ft bulbs in hand. two of it are full-spectrum white bulbs and other three are 6000K-6500K pink bulbs. maybe i shud install 3 pink bulbs and 1 white bulb. will also total to 152 watt. what ya think?

hmm, CO2. i can actually design and make a solenoid actuator with a pinch valve to shut off the CO2 electrically. but i found a deal for 3L alum tank with auto regulator w/ solenoid and all in for about Rm470 inclusive of diffusor. i think i'll just go for it.
i was thinkin of feeding the CO2 at the input of my filter for a more proper infussion of CO2 in the water. Any inputs on that?

This post has been edited by moe81: Jul 6 2010, 12:54 PM

Hahaha, i guess no more low0-tech tank.. i somehow knew i was gonna end-up here anyway.

Oh Geez, i almost forgot about oxygen for the bacteria inside the canister. wow, i can't even imagine how i over-looked that. thanks for reminding. well, since that is not an option i certainly can't go with the output coz i keep the output spraying like a curtain at the surface level for proper water circulation in the tank. i may risk all the CO2 escaping to the atmosphere if i use the output.

so what's my next bet? buy a proper diffuser? any other idea? since i'm gonna spend the money to get a CO2 system, i might as well go for proper equipments as an invesment.

my water temp is about 26.3 degrees C. is that alright?

hahaha. two filters is definately out of question. then i'll have two big holes in my pockets. an additional power sounds like a good plan. any other better solution?

Damn. at the rate things a goin, i may just end up with metal-halide and chiller as well in the future.

Hmmm, right now the water is spraying exactly at surface level. is it advisable to go couple of inches below the surface? u think that may reduce the surface agitation? also, i'm using a fan . that cud be the reason y the temp is kept low. cud the fan contribute to surface agitation as well?
pls advise?

i'm also planning to keep tetras in a large school? whudn't too much CO2 in the water be harmful for the fish?

matal halide is never an option yet. i was jst saying.
i already got some plants yesterday. planting was a pain since my tank is big. will post some pic soon. tonight will the the CO2 system.

Btw, right now i have 5 sebae monos and two clown loach. may trade the clown loach with the lfs since they get pretty big and may uproot the plants.

for those crazy shrimp lovers.

http://www.lelong.com.my/merchant/Aquashop...-C1-53274-1.htm

i'm in KL too.. to be specific selayang area.

Hahahah, bro moe here la... bring ur giant pythons la.. or can i bring my 8 feet dog tame salvator? sure run wan.. LOL

hey, nice tank. is that a 2 feet tank? sweet setup. really!!! btw, what type of CO2 diffussor u're using? what's the thing in the front of the tank and what's the bottle like thing with the suction cup at the back of the tank?

here's an updated pic of my tank. the plants are still new. can't wait to see them grow.



what ya think?


and this is the difussor i used. i powered it with very small power head used for small fountain.


This post has been edited by moe81: Jul 7 2010, 01:07 AM

The whites i used elongated white pebbles and white very fine sand. well, it's not as white as it appears in the picture la.. in the picture it got over-exposed a bit..

i had a HBRTG. someone offered me a good price. i sold it. i was thinkin of upgrading to red aro. so, i converted this 4 ft tank to planted and planning to get 6 footer for red. in the future of course. so u remembered uh Ben.

ahhh, surface skimmer.. Nice. i think i'd really need that. how does it work? do i have to connect it to my existing filter input or do i need a separate motor to power it? is it really efficient? wat wud the cost be?


hmm, about connecting the difussor to my filter output sounds really good. but currently the small powerhead that's running the diffuser is connected to the timer together with the auto CO2 regulator. so the powerhead only runs when the CO2 does. but i think i may just connect it with my filter output to save some energy. Great idea nevertheless. thanks.

About lighting and CO2 timing. currently light goes on for 6 hours a day and CO2 for 4 hours a day. lighting goes on from 6pm to 12 am. CO2 from 7pm to 11pm.. meaning, the CO2 turns on an hour after the lights turn on and goes off an hour before the lights go off. Is this ok, or shall i make some changes? pls advice.

I bought a so called "long term" CO2 monitor. below is the picture.



im not quite sure how it works. i did the mix as indicated and installed the tester in the tank as directed. i'm not sure if it'll keep changing color as the level of CO2 in the water changes. or is it just a one time change when u put it in? and it won't change anymore.

Coz i installed it last night and let the CO2 run for about 2 hours and the damn tester didn't change color at all. pls advice on this too. Pls do indiacte in elaborate on how the Co2 tester works is it's possible.

Thanks in advance!

Alright great piece of advise on the skimmer, light and CO2.

bout the CO2 monitor, i like how u put 'the water will magically get into ur tester from the water in ur tank' . that is the one part that got me wondering for a bit.
i haven't got the bubble counter. i think i'd be needing one.
and what's the gas separator for? is it really esential? i have two check valves conected in series in the CO2 hose line.

the petstore guy told me that it'll about a month for me to get the perfect adjusment of CO2 for the tank. I'm not sure if he knows what he's talkin about.

and he always likes to clasify tank equipment into 2 categories all the time. the olskool and the newskool ones. he always suggest me to get the newskool ones since it's always better. according to him.
i'm a man who dun evolve with the changes that fast. i'm pretty olskool if u know what i mean.

another thing is that, my canister filter is older model. it doesn't have a UV inside it. is it really necessary to have the UV. any prominent Pros and Cons?

---

Added on July 7, 2010, 12:36 pmin the same LFS i bought the rest of my stuff. i was about 30 bucks.

This post has been edited by moe81: Jul 7 2010, 12:36 PM

alright. got it.

already installed the skimmer, bubble counter. redo all my filter inlet and outlet connection and added a few more plants. now all set. i'm gonna try to keep my hands to myself and not touch the tank at all for the next 2 weeks. that's the hard part.

one more thing. i had 5 sebae mono and 2 clown loach in my tank.. since i didn't have bubble counter yesterday. i guess i was pumping in some crazy amount of CO2 in my tank and all the fish died. now the tank is fishless. i'm gonna leave it that way for now.
after bout 2 weeks i'll put in some guppies to test the water. hope everything goes well. thanks for all the advise and pointers.

well at that point i didn't have a bubble counter. so, it was like maybe 5-7 bps maybe. maybe even more. crazy!

Fuh, i guess u got lucky with that... me on the contrary, wasn't too lucky.

i wanna upgrade to a bigger canister. so darn expensive.. here are few brands i was looking online.. let me list it out.. pls do feeback for those who have experience with it.


All the filter i'm listing are rated with 1200L per hour.

Eheim= of course bloody expensive and known for the quality. leave this one out.
Taiyo= RM 168
Atman= RM 260
Jebo= RM 300
Boyu= ?


Any quality issue in any of these brand? and bad experiences? the taiyo is a lil too cheap. i don't mind the Atman..

I'm currently using Boyu- 750L per hour . need to upgrade. HELP!! fast..

Hmm, eheim 2217 is 1000L per hour. still smaller than 1200L per hour.
i checked the price with pet safari ikano. the price is 399.

hmm, let me check online...


Eheim 2217 = RM 399 sale price (1000 L per hour)
Rs-95 = RM 400 (with UV) (1100 L per hour)
Boyu EFU-45 = RM 345 (1100 L per hour)
Jebo 838 = RM 300 (1200 L per hour)
Atman AT 3338 = RM 260 (1200 L per hour)
Taiyo CF 1200 = RM 168 (1200 L per hour)



i dun mind eheim... but 400.. brrrr

Aiyo.. so mafan wan la.. dunno what to choose..

This post has been edited by moe81: Jul 8 2010, 02:14 PM

ok. here's a dilema. i got an offer for RS-95 ,1100 L/Hour with UV. the offer is 300. item used for few months.

is it worth goin for or shall i just go for the Eheim?

No wonder eheim 221* series is cheap now. i think they're clearing stock. they have so many new model which looks superb and some with electronic controls. sorry if my information is being redundant. i just found out from eheim site:

http://www.eheim.asia/prod_e_extfilter_classic.html

yes, i think i'll go for the eheim.