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Native Planted biotope thread (Houston, Texas)

6K views 45 replies 8 participants last post by  mnemenoi 
#1 ·
I was recently asked to assist (setup and consult) a local nature center nearby in setting up a locally collected biotope type tank and wanted to bounce some ideas for what I believe I have to work with. The center stated it was a 20 gallon tank (unsure if it is a 20H or 20L) and that no one at the center had much experiance with aquariums. I was happy to assist as I know there are quite a lot of local schools that use the faciluty heavily for outings and such. I have some ideas and would be interested to hear opinions either way...

Substrate - Eco-Complete (I have a ton that is sitting dry and I could use) or perhaps collected sand from a nearby stream. I even thought about topping the eco-complete with it, but think it will eventually make a mixed up mess)

Lighting - I doubt they have anything that is very decent, so I'll likely just buy/donate a dual T5 fixture with 10,000K bulbs.

Filtration - Eheim 2211 with Purigen to control the tannins

Plants (Spring, Tx.) - Locally collected Sag, Floaters of some sort (look like red root, but local), Fissidens (not local per se, but found in Texas), Riccia, and anything else that I spot locally.

Hardscape - Locally collected dried oak and hardwoods branches that might work similar to Manzanita. I might use either Oak leaves or crush up some IAL for some substrate effect.

Livestock - Gammarus, Ghost Shrimp (Paleomontes sp.), Golden Topminnow ( Fundulus chrysotus) 1M/2F, Possibly a Banded pygmy perch (unsure about adding it as they are difficult to feed), Ramshorn snails (if they get too far out of control I can add some assassins and just remove them at a later time), Tadpole Madtom (if I can find one)

Lighting schedule of 8-10 hours daily on a timer, for ease of control

Dosing - No CO2, so I will recommend Excel dosing, with a compliment of Seachem Flourish and Iron. With either substrate I'll start with root tabs and maintain a 6 month schedule for maintanance.

Some issues I would appreciate feedback on

-I tried working other options over in my head, but can not seem to find any other loacally viable species in a tank that small.
-I think the plants should work with a dual T5 light and dosing, but minimal care is to be expected
-Is a tank like this doable with me only being able to do care every 2 weeks?

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated and once I have a plan and get approval I will take some pics as the tank gets built.
 
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#34 ·
Thanks for explaining Bluestems, Glad to have the explaination in this thread should anyone else be unaware of the Walstad method and its origins. I really enjoy this forum becuase of the knowledgeable members, the wealth of real life experiance is invaluable. Nearly everything has been attempted at one time or another, I find it utterly fascinating that even so every tank is different. Feel free to ask/answer/clarify questions anytime and I certainly appreciate it!
 
#35 ·
Seems like this thread already has a large pool of information on Houston/Texas Natives. Thanks Bluestems for that explanation. Makes much more sense now. I'm sure the others who come to visit this thread and reading about it will also know. I, myself, am still in the learning game. I've only started planted tanks since September 2012 and fish back in April 2012.

If you want, I could meet up with you every now and then to go collecting for this tank? I'm sure with multiple trips and more than one person, we could easily set up this tank in no time.
 
#36 ·
That sounds great Mistahoo! My general timeline is return from offshore on the 14th, ready for the GHAC meeting and collection trip on the 16th. I'll probably call and set up an appointment with the supervisor on Monday/Tuesday and we shall see what happens at that point onward. I'll bring up the tank at the GHAC meeting and see if anyone has anything to donate and once it gets firmed up, will order whatever is needed beyond what we currently have (which is a decent amount of hoarding, lol). The 2 largest issues are the light (the guy I order from is local and a dual T5 with 10,000K bulbs is only $50) and the filter (Have a few AC's sitting around we could use temporarily until I can get an Eheim 2211 or 2213) otherwise we could start it in no time. Even just doing a setup, filter, hardscape, and allowing it to begin cycling could be done during this 2 weeks in hopefully.
 
#39 ·
LED fixtures are not that costly, just have never used them in a planted tank before. I think it would all be about preference at that point and I like the look better as well. Awesome on the 2213, I think we have some extra stuff from a broken Pro II we might be able to scavenge.
 
#41 ·
Indeed, I think lily pipes are more pimpin then even my tanks, lol. Would a Finnex be enough wattage/PAR for the sag? I think we could do low light otherwise, it is about the only snag in the lighting I can see. I'd ditch them out of the set up, but they are everywhere locally and would be a great addition...
 
#43 ·
So I took a quick look at the Finnex Ray 2. For a 24" it's about 50 mmol per square inch of PAR if you sit it on the tank. For a 36" it's about 90 mmol per square inch of PAR sitting on the tank. I've already factored in the depth of each tank (20H and 20L) into the PAR ratings. I have no clue what is considered low/med/high when it comes to PAR. I found this thread that's just as confusing. Along with this thread. The members in the first thread are saying 35-50 is medium, but the second thread says otherwise. If you end up with a 20L that would be awesome (I love those dimensions much better)!
 
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