I have just introduced myself as a new member in the introductions section of the board and I am hoping to get your input on three issues related to my existing 20 gallon setup.
1) Is it possible to have a successful planted aquarium using fine gravel and Flourish tablets along with Flourish Excel? Or will I end up with mediocre results? If that's the case, what do you suggest to swap out substrate in the tank without tearing the whole thing apart? Can I just take part of the existing gravel out and mix in Flourite? If I rinse it well enough, do I have to take my fish out?
2) I am running an AquaClear 50 filter, which is keeping the water almost crystal clear and tank chemistry balanced out across the board. Do I really need an Eheim or other canister filter? If so, which would you recommend for a 20 gallon?
3) And finally, I am running a single 65w compact fluorescent on legs to keep it cool. Is that enough light for this tank? I've been running it that way for about three months and my plants seem to be doing okay, but they're nothing like the plants I saw this afternoon! Then again, maybe that's the chemistry.
Your input is greatly appreciated... including answering whether as long as I'm upgrading all this, if I shouldn't just get a bigger tank!
A planted tank without proper substrate?
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keeperofthefish
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:06 pm
- Location: Washington, D.C.
I see no need for a bigger tank other than the fact that I have the same addiction. 
Because the tank is so small you could siphon a good portion of the water into a plastic tub or 5 gallon bucket and transfer the fish in there for a while. Then drain the tank completely and remove the substrate and replace it with Flourite or Eco-Complete. It's a good idea to add the plants at this stage too. Fill the tank about half way full (very slowly to avoid the Flourite dust getting disturbed) and plant the plants where you like them. Then add back in some of the tank water from the tub/bucket and reintroduce the fish. Of course you should add some water conditioner if you are using a municipal water supply to dechlorinate the water.
The filter will have enough bacteria in it already that recycling the tank is not an issue, especially with live plants. You certainly don't NEED a canister filter. You can use the AquaClear; just make sure to keep the water level high enough that the water surface agitation is at a minimum. Replacing the substrate and dosing excel should induce a significant increase in plant health and growth rate.
The 65 watt light you are running on that tank is plenty.
Because the tank is so small you could siphon a good portion of the water into a plastic tub or 5 gallon bucket and transfer the fish in there for a while. Then drain the tank completely and remove the substrate and replace it with Flourite or Eco-Complete. It's a good idea to add the plants at this stage too. Fill the tank about half way full (very slowly to avoid the Flourite dust getting disturbed) and plant the plants where you like them. Then add back in some of the tank water from the tub/bucket and reintroduce the fish. Of course you should add some water conditioner if you are using a municipal water supply to dechlorinate the water.
The filter will have enough bacteria in it already that recycling the tank is not an issue, especially with live plants. You certainly don't NEED a canister filter. You can use the AquaClear; just make sure to keep the water level high enough that the water surface agitation is at a minimum. Replacing the substrate and dosing excel should induce a significant increase in plant health and growth rate.
The 65 watt light you are running on that tank is plenty.
Just to follow-up to Aaron's excellent response. It IS possible to have a successful aquarium with plain gravel and flourish tab and dosing, however, it is not as easy to do so as it with with a substrate designed for plant growth and stimulation. Your 20G has been setup for 5 months, right? At this point, the gravel itself is probably starting to build up a little bit of crud in it, that plants will love. The question is whether the amount of waste in the gravel will sustain the amount of nutrients the plants are pulling from it. Flourish tabs can help there, but the easiest route is still to start with a plant-friendly substrate.
Additionally, it is generally recommended not to mix gravel and flourite together, but it won't hurt anything if you do. The gravel just won't help promote plant growth, while the flourite will.
Additionally, it is generally recommended not to mix gravel and flourite together, but it won't hurt anything if you do. The gravel just won't help promote plant growth, while the flourite will.
The majority of my tanks are plain old-fashoned gravel, a few are Flourite-gravel blends. Being old and old-school, gravel was all there was for a long time, but with a number of caveats. When I was young, conventional wisdom was that you did not plant new tanks, you had to let them "mature". That maturity was just build-up of mulm (fully mineralized fish poop, leftover food, all the gunk in the gravel- the tank equivalent of garden compost). Then you could plant, swap out the fish for more plant-frienly ones, up the light and you were on your way.
Now you can start with modified gravel, or gravel plus supplements, and get the same effect fro the start, instant "maturity". The number one additive was laterite (a well leached clay soil formed in the tropics, not much in the way of nutrients other than iron, but with high binding affinity for many mineral ions, aka CEC or cation exchange coefficient). I commonly add just a dusting of fine-milled sphagnum peat on the bottom of the tank initially, but the lateriate alone will work. Laterite alone is nutrient poor, but will grab any mineral ions available and hold them in a manner by which they are readily available to plant roots. This is fine if you are not using high light/high nutrients/high CO2 with lots of stem plants, but more moderate conditions and mostly rooted rosette type plants (I do). For faster, lusher growth and lots of stems, the old-fashioned ways are not as good. So if you are going high light, routine supplements, pressurized CO2, and lots of stem plants, then one of the specialized substrates will be easier to manage and will likely do a much better job.
Even at my moderate conditions, I will admit that Fluorite is easier in the long run and it lasts forever so far as we can tell.
Now you can start with modified gravel, or gravel plus supplements, and get the same effect fro the start, instant "maturity". The number one additive was laterite (a well leached clay soil formed in the tropics, not much in the way of nutrients other than iron, but with high binding affinity for many mineral ions, aka CEC or cation exchange coefficient). I commonly add just a dusting of fine-milled sphagnum peat on the bottom of the tank initially, but the lateriate alone will work. Laterite alone is nutrient poor, but will grab any mineral ions available and hold them in a manner by which they are readily available to plant roots. This is fine if you are not using high light/high nutrients/high CO2 with lots of stem plants, but more moderate conditions and mostly rooted rosette type plants (I do). For faster, lusher growth and lots of stems, the old-fashioned ways are not as good. So if you are going high light, routine supplements, pressurized CO2, and lots of stem plants, then one of the specialized substrates will be easier to manage and will likely do a much better job.
Even at my moderate conditions, I will admit that Fluorite is easier in the long run and it lasts forever so far as we can tell.
Where's the fish? Neptune
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keeperofthefish
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:06 pm
- Location: Washington, D.C.
Wow! Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. I think I'm going to take the plunge and do a substrate change. I think I know a bit more about aquascaping now and I'd like to do some serious re-decorating anyhow. Plus, this is a less expensive solution to feed my mania!
But three questions:
1) Ghazfanar mentioned yesterday that the smaller the tank, paradoxically, the larger amount of light you may need. Why is this the case? And if this is the case, is the 65w pc really enough in my tank?
2) At yesterday's demo, both Aaron and Ghazfanar talked about how great the Eheim canister filters are. Why are canister filters so much better? Does it all have to do with surface agitation and oxygenation?
3) I have heard of people loading their filters with peat. What is the point of this?
But three questions:
1) Ghazfanar mentioned yesterday that the smaller the tank, paradoxically, the larger amount of light you may need. Why is this the case? And if this is the case, is the 65w pc really enough in my tank?
2) At yesterday's demo, both Aaron and Ghazfanar talked about how great the Eheim canister filters are. Why are canister filters so much better? Does it all have to do with surface agitation and oxygenation?
3) I have heard of people loading their filters with peat. What is the point of this?
It's not that you need "less" light. It's just that every tank needs a certain amount of light as a baseline. It has to do with the height of the aquarium, more than the volume. A 20G high aquarium is 16" tall. A 75G tank is 20" tall. So, for light to reach the bottom of the tank, there's not much difference between the intensity needed to reach 16" and 20". So, while you might be okay with 220W over a 75G, which is 2.93Watts/gallon, a 20G high, might need the 65W, which is 3.25Watts/gallon to be the same intensity. I'm probably not getting these terms 100% correct, but this is the basic idea. All in all, I think your 65W is more than enough for a 20G tank, especially, if it's a 20G long, instead of a 20G high.1) Ghazfanar mentioned yesterday that the smaller the tank, paradoxically, the larger amount of light you may need. Why is this the case? And if this is the case, is the 65w pc really enough in my tank?
People like canister filters because puts the filter out of tank, instead of on the back of the tank. Additionally, there are compartments in the canister filter that let you put all kinds of medium in there like peat, carbon, bio balls, etc. The reason folks like Eheim filters are because they're a simple, straight forward design, and the tubing is easy to work with, and splice into. Many people put heaters and CO2 reactors in-line with their filter outtake lines. This moves even more equipment outside of the aquarium. Finally, you have more options in terms of where the intakes and outtakes are, for water circulation/return. But, when it comes down to it tho, you don't have to have a canister filter to have a successful planted aquarium.2) At yesterday's demo, both Aaron and Ghazfanar talked about how great the Eheim canister filters are. Why are canister filters so much better? Does it all have to do with surface agitation and oxygenation?
I have never done this, but people do it to soften their water. (lower the PH) It also adds tannins to the water like driftwood does. (Some people like this, some don't). If you inject CO2, you'll already be lowering your PH some. I wouldn't recommend using peat when you start.3) I have heard of people loading their filters with peat. What is the point of this
IMHO &IME, if you feel you must use peat for water modification, it is many-fold better to pretreat the water to be used in an alternate vessel - spare tank, food-safe tub, etc. It gives me the shudders for folk to attempt poorly controllable water mods in their display tanks.
Singificant tannins/tannic acids from peat will also play havoc with any pH/KH/CO2 measurements, which I suspect is the basis for krisw's caution note, with which I obviously agree..
Singificant tannins/tannic acids from peat will also play havoc with any pH/KH/CO2 measurements, which I suspect is the basis for krisw's caution note, with which I obviously agree..
Where's the fish? Neptune
