The Planted Tank Forum banner

65 Gal First Time Planted Tank

2K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  DeLucs414 
#1 ·
helllo everyone,

im new to the forum, i recently set up a 65 gal freshwater planted aquarium. I've had freshwater/saltwater aquariums in the past but never a planted, so i thought id give it a try. So heres my journal

Current Equiptment:
65 Gal Oceanic Tank with glass top
Rena XP 3 filter
Aquaclear 200 watt heater
Homemade Oak stand from 40 Gal Breeder Saltwater setup
Single T-8 fixture.(thinking of buying a Hagen Glo single T5HO or Double T5HO)

Start Date: April 13,2012



tank just waiting to my filled!



order 4 bags of eco-complete from petco. $17 a bag +free shipping, can't be beat.




tank being masked for the new black background.



the paint turned out nice! also plumbed to a XP 3:)



this was one bag of eco-complete, i put in 3 bags and was thinking about saving the last bag, but i quickly decided against that and dumped it in. i say 4 bags for a 36in tank is perfect



tank filled with water, and light just to see gravel. Also added pure ammonia to start cycle.
 
See less See more
8
#4 ·
yea i love this 36" 65, by far my fav tank ive owned, and ive owned quite a few. just love the dimensions of it. but for my saltwater tanks i prefer a shallower tank.

One question tho, you think my current light will be enough light? its a single t8 bulb. i want the tank to be low tech, dont plan on any co2. only fertz will be root tabs and possibly excel. like i said in the first post, if the current light i have now is not enough, i was looking at hagen glo T5HO, but dont know if a single will be enough or if double will be to much. any other suggestions will be much appreciated.

also looking for some nice driftwood, but im having no luck at all. the search still continues.
 
#11 ·
T5 HO fixtures are a great investment IMO and you'll really tell the difference in plant growth. I would say no so much and algae problem with the double but more so the plants not being able to produce enough co2 on their own with that amount of light. Also if you buy a double I would make sure that taking a bulb out is a possibility because some fixtures wont turn on with one bulb out.

Also if you haven't already definitely invest in a timer for the lights. they're are about 5-10 bucks and help keep a good schedule of light without having too long a photo period. you could even put in some mid day breaks for about 30 min to an hour each with the t5's to help the plants replenish a bit of co2. :icon_bigg

Just my 2 cents. I'm sure some more people will chime in.
 
#8 ·
so i did some tests today and i came up with theses results:

Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-5~
PH-8.2

its been just over two weeks, and its already cycled!? I was thinking my test kit was being weird so i tested them again. Same results, so i decided to take some water to the local pet store and see what they say. They got the same results, so i guess it is cycled.
so in a couple days i will start to add some fish/plants/driftwood. how exciting!
 
#13 ·
So today i stoped by two local petstores. one was getting rid of there fish department, so everything was 50% off. so i bought a Glo T5 HO ballast to retrofit my single T8 Fixture. Got it for only 30 bucks!! also got some food and bulbs for it. The last one i stopped at i saw two cool looking angels that i could not stop starring at, so i bought them lol.




never seen any angels that were this bright yellow before, thought they were soooo cool.
 
#15 ·
yea its for double T5 and its HO so i was super pumped about that. i did the retrofit today and they both fit in the old fixture nicely. had to cut the length a bit, but it all worked out good.

these angels, ive never seen any this bright in yellow before, i think thats why they caught my eye. i love them tho, and theyre doing great so far.

congrats on ur angel:icon_smil
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top