First planted tank build thread

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]That's right, a planted tank! I know that this is a reef forum, but I still wanted to share this build. I am keeping my other tanks, but wanted to try my hand at a planted tank as well.[/FONT]

The Plan:

I purchased a 40 gallon breeder tank about 2 weeks ago, at the $1 a gallon sale, to be used for this endeavor. Since that time I have been lurking on this and other sites gathering as much knowledge as possible, and have purchased what I believe to be everything I need to get started, though I plan on making more purchases in the future. Here is a list of the current things that I have now, or are on thier way to me.

- 40g breeder tank
- AquaTop CF400UV canister filter
- Pressurized Co2 system w/Milwaukee regulator and PH controler, 5# Co2 tank, and DIY inline downflow Co2 reactor.
- Glass drop checker w/4dkH solution
- Odyssea 36" quad T5 light fixture w/6500k bulbs
- 300W inline heater
- UP Aqua Soil
- Pruning scissors
- forceps
- Flourish, Flourish Excel, Flourish Iron, Flourish Potassium, Flourish Nitrogen, Flourish Phosphorus, and Flourish root tabs.

The only thing that I know is missing is a stand. I hope to have one built by the end of the week. Other future plans include an Auto top-off/water change system, and automatic dosing pump system.

I did A LOT of research on different soils for the tank. For a long time I was planning on using the ADA Substrate System, but simply cannot afford it. In my research I came across Green Leaf Aquariums and the UP Aqua Soil and decided to order it. I know that the ADA soil is better, but I think that I can still have fantastic results with the UP soil.

Hopefully, I will be ready to actually set this tank up in the next 2 weeks. At that point I was planning on getting some help with the design and layout of the tank. I found a company called Aquariumplants.com that will design my system and send me all of the plants. Being that I don't know much about the various plants, I thought this might be the way to go. Any thoughts on this or if you have used this service, please let me know.

Thanks for checking out my build thread. There will be more to come in the future, including LOTS of pics. Please feel free to post comments and/or suggestions!!

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

Well, I have had a little progress with the build. I should have everything up and ready to plant by this time next week. The equipment is slowly trickling in. So far I have the tank, Co2 system, canister filter, Drop checker, and the DIY Co2 reactor. I expect to have the light, soil, heater, fertilizers, scissors, forceps, and just about everything else tomorrow. The only thing holding things up is the stand. I began work on it this past weekend but still have a lot to do. I was actually short a few LONG screws and have not had a chance to get more yet. I hope to get the "Face" of the stand cut sometime this week. Hopefully I will be able to complete the stand this coming weekend. If I do I should be able to start planting next week.

Now for the first of the pics. Nothing much, just a few of the stand build, and my DIY Co2 reactor.

My Co2 Reactor.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

Another quick update. Got most of the stuff for the tank in today. The only thing I am still waiting for, should be here tomorrow, is the inline heater. This is the list of everything that I have:

Aqueon 40 gallon breeder tank
Odyssea 36" 4x54W 6500k T5HO fixture w/built in timer
Aquatop CF-400UV canister filter
5# Co2 tank
Milwaukee Co2 Regulator w/solenoid and bubble counter
Co2 check valve
Milwaukee SMS-122 pH controller
Bubble counter fluid
2x9L bags of UP Aqua Soil
DIY inline downdraft Co2 reactor
Entire Flourish Line of ferts incl. root tabs
Glass Drop checker w/4dKh solution
API gH/kH test kit
Pruning Scissors
10" tweezers w/curved tips

Here are a couple of pics of everything. Let me know if you see anything that is missing, though I think I remembered everything.

 

[09bumblebee]

I can't wait to see this running. It's going to be sweet! I've always wanted a bonsai tree and I've tried a few times and I can't keep them alive. Ive submersed them in water up to the root everyday like recommended and still can't. Can you keep one in this system?

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

I honestly have no Idea!! I kind of doubt it though.

 

[yOdaddy]

If I give you a couple of seeds will you help me grow them?

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

If I give you a couple of seeds will you help me grow them?

Normally, I would not hesitate to help you grow something out. However, with this set up there has been A LOT of time and thought put into every plant, what type, where it will be planted, how it will grow, etc. Due to the complexity of the setup and the fact that ALL of the plants will be added from the start, I don't think that there will be a place for something to grow in the tank that is not a part of the final aquascape.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

Keep an eye out for upcoming updates on this build. It has been on hold for a while as I have been trying to come up with a stand. Craiger informed me this morning that he is almost done with the stand, he should have the first coat of stain on it tonight. As soon as I have the stand, things should progress pretty fast. I hope to get some plants in it next week. Water is still a few weeks off since I am going to do an emersed start up to let some of the roots get established before flooding the tank.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

Here are a few pics that Craiger has sent me of the stand so far. He just put the first coat of stain on last night.

 

[Craigar]

It's going to darken up
Nicely tonight with this next coat of stain!!!

 

[jahmic]

Make sure you stay on top of things with that emersed start-up. I know you've probably already come across this with all the research you've done, but it's very easy for mold/fungus to take hold if you don't allow for daily gas exchange and/or allow too much water to accumulate in the substrate. With our low relative humidity here, it's a delicate balance, but you will need to keep the substrate moist without any "puddles" of standing water.

The last time I tried an emersed start-up I had a much easier time by covering the tank with saran wrap and poking a few pinholes through it. Basically poked a few, waited a couple days, then repeated the process. You should end up with water condensing on the glass, but not on the saran wrap across the top of the tank (or whatever you use to keep the humidity in there high). If you get too much water beading up on the saran wrap and plants themselves...chances are you won't have enough gas exchange and the mold will take hold with a quickness.

If you can get it right, it's an EXCELLENT way to start a healthy tank...it took me a few attempts to get it right though.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

Jahmic, thanks for the input. I had read about using saran wrap over the tank to keep the humidity up, but no one else had talked about putting a few holes in it for gas exchange. Most said they would just remove the saran wrap briefly every couple of days. I like the pinhole idea though.

I am only doing the ground cover with the emersed start up. I will be getting some HC (dwarf baby tears) and need the roots to establish themselves before flooding the tank. According to my research this is the best way to do the ground cover using HC. Apparently the trick is to use A LOT of Co2 for the first week or two after flooding the tank, otherwise the plants go from a state of free gas exchange to very limited gas exchange and will melt. I guess it's a good thing I have a Co2 reactor and a bubble counter so I can keep things where they need to be. It will be learning experience none the less, hopefully all of my research over the last couple of months will help reduce the learning curve.

 

[jahmic]

That's definitely the right approach for an HC carpet. Just be patient and allow it to root fully before flooding the tank. Only added piece of advice I can give you on that is to embrace the painstaking process of planting your HC in very, very small groups. If you can plant 2-5 of those plantlets at a time and really spread them out, they should fill in nicely for you and form a carpet as they root into the substrate. Planting large clumps together greatly increases the likelihood of them melting when you flood the tank...the plantlets on the outer edges will root but the crowded plants in the middle never get a chance to establish and they tend to melt from the center out to the edges.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

I just picked up the new stand from Craiger last night. It is AWESOME. I got it home last night and set the tank and light on it. Then this morning, before leaving for work, I put the soil in it. I ordered dome driftwood pieces from aquariumplants.com and they should be here today. I will get some pics of that once I get it arranged in the tank. In the mean time here are some pics of the tank, stand, and light.

 

[WatercolorsGuy]

Looks great!

 

[cdrewferd]

That stand came out great. Can't wait to see your progress.

 

[09bumblebee]

Yea looks awesome.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

I got my aquascaping pretty well buttoned down today. I added some sand and arranged the driftwood, though that may change. I also got the filter set up and got the Co2 system hooked up. I hope to have things ready for plants by the end of the week. I still need to get the background figured out and I want to order another filter, but they are sold out until sometime in Sept.

I am planning on doing a carpet of HC on both sides of the tank. I am thinking about moving the driftwood from the right side of the tank and putting in a single broad leafed plant, like a java fern or a Hygrophilia corymbosa, I like that it flowers when it grows out of the water. I am open to suggestions on a good plant for this size tank. On the left side of the tank I am thinking of Zephyranthes Candida. I a, also looking for something else to go on that side of the tank, recommendations are welcome. Anything that goes in needs to be able handle warmer temps because I may put some discus in the tank.

Let me know what you think.

 

[cdrewferd]

That looks awesome.


Drew

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

Let there be life. I finally got everything setup on the tank and got a few plants today. I have A LOT more coming on Fri. so it will be MUCH more full then. The plants I have so far were actually only 4 plants, but there were several separate stems in each pot, so it went a lot further than I expected. Let me know what you think.