Looking to tear down and rebuild the tank this winter

[monty67]

So I am looking to tear down the tank this winter and just looking for some ideas as I want to change out the substrate.

I want to keep it pretty lowtech cuase i don't have the time to maintain a hightech tank.

This is a twenty tall I actually probably have too much light and I'm going to replace that and build a hood to match the stand.

First things. The majority of the plants are water wisteria, crypts, lots of anubias and some bulbs, what kind of light would be good?

Second, what would be a good substrate? I've got a mix of eco complete and small gravel, never liked the eco complete and i'd like to do some kind of soil but preferably something that isn't going to be totally messy.

Any ideas?

[i'm a ninja]

As far as substrate goes I would recommend either ADA Aqausoil or Fluval Shrimp Stratum. The Stratum looks better in my opinion, but the Aquasoil is easier to plant plants in, both provide lots of nutrients for the plants.

On my 20 tall I chose to just use two 15w T8 flourescent tubes. They're cheap, easy to get a hold of, and grew low-medium light plants without problems.

[MABJ]

Fluval Strat doesn't have any nutritional benefits for plants. I use it in my tanks, but I can say the only thing it does is lower the PH of a tank.


MABJ's iDevice used for this message :p

[monty67]

Cool, I was just looking at the ADA Aquasoil Amazonian and I'm thinking that is the way to go. Pretty expensive stuff. Any ideas how much I would need for this 20 tall? Also, do I need to be worrying about capping it with anything? I wouldn't mind going with some kind of black sand to help out the corys.

[urbguy]

Originally Posted by monty67

Cool, I was just looking at the ADA Aquasoil Amazonian and I'm thinking that is the way to go. Pretty expensive stuff. Any ideas how much I would need for this 20 tall? Also, do I need to be worrying about capping it with anything? I wouldn't mind going with some kind of black sand to help out the corys.

I made the switch and I am enjoying it! Since your substrate will be the major supplier of nutrients, your mentioned selection of ADA Aquasoil Amazonian will be a very wise choice (even though it is a bit pricy). If you take a look at the Extended Information tab it states the following:

ADA 60cm (24in. X 12in.) = U.S. 15 gal or Standard 20 Gallon (high or long):
- Regular 1- 9 liter bag
- Special type 1- 2 liter bag "S"
- Regular 1- 9 liter bag + or Special type 1- 3 liter bag ADA 90cm

(36in. X 18in.) = U.S. 58 gal.
- 2- 2 liter bags "M"
- Regular 3- 9 liter bags or Special type ADA 120cm

(48in. X 18in.) = U.S. 75 gal.
- 3- 2 liter bags "M"
- Regular or 4- 9 liter bags 1- 6 liter bag "M"

Special type ADA 180cm (72in. X 24in.) = U.S. 180 gal.
- 9- 2 liter bags "L"
- Regular or 9- 9 liter bags
- 1- 18 liter bag "L" Special type *note that a a 9 liter bag of is approximately 20 lbs.

I'd highly recommend the additional bag of whatever they suggest because, like stated before, a fertile substrate is key.

[monty67]

Oh wow, that is helpful. Is the 'special' substrate referring to powersand?

[urbguy]

Originally Posted by monty67

Oh wow, that is helpful. Is the 'special' substrate referring to powersand?

Yeah, I believe that's what they're referring to. I wish you luck! I love their stuff! Expensive, but I'm sure it's worth it all in the end. Maybe to save on a few bucks, have and see if your LFS will order some!

[monty67]

great info, thanks everyone. Gives me a start for sure. And yes, I was thinking about going back to the 15 watt T8's also cause the double T05's are Way over kill on this tank.