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First Post...need some guidance

634 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  falcooo, 
F
Hey Guys, I am new to ThePlantedTank and have some questions I hope someone can help me answer. Bear with me, but this is my scenario...I am 3 months away from setting up my first planted tank aquascape because i will be moving into a new apartment. I have been in the hobby for a few years but never planted before. In the meantime I would like to start growing some potted plants in order to have something to start with rather than having to buy everything upfront when I move. I have a Marineland Penguin 350 filter and a Coralife HO T5 light fixture, and no CO2 as i want to have a low-tech tank. This week I would like to remove my current crushed coral substrate as well as the decorations (driftwood/rocks) and keep just some potted plants. When I take everything out I am planning on fully cleaning the inside walls and want to clean the filter intake because they currently have a little of what i believe to be Black Brush Algae growing on it (short black hairs which can only be removed off the glass by razor). I am scared the BBA will carry over to the tank when i re-do it all which is why i want to get rid of it all now. How can i go about getting it off the plastic filter parts??? Also should i bleach and clean the driftwood incase it made its way onto it as well?

Sorry for writing so much but this is my first post and wanted to give you all the facts. Please help, i appreciate any advice.
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C

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#2 ·
Welcome. I hope you find this forum to be as informative and friendly as I have!

I would do a bleach dip on the filter parts. 20 parts water to 1 part bleach. Let it soak for 10 to 20 minutes, rinse really really well, and place them in a bucket of water with 3xs the dosage amount of DeChlor for a day or two. And then I usually rinse it again.

I don't know if others have bleached driftwood, but I would think it would be very difficult to remove soaked in bleach water. Spraying it really well with some Hydrogen Peroxide should do the trick or boil the heck out of it.
 
J

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#3 ·
If you aren't plaanning on running c02 you are going to want to raise that fixture off the tank. I'm not sure how efficient those fixtures are I would guess 6-12 inches. If you don't the bba will be back.
 
JasonG75

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#4 ·
jl209 said:
If you aren't plaanning on running c02 you are going to want to raise that fixture off the tank. I'm not sure how efficient those fixtures are I would guess 6-12 inches. If you don't the bba will be back.
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+1

Raise the light..IMO Lighting is the #1 reason people have to Co2. They buy thier lights NOT knowing they are causing the problem.
 
F

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
Wow, really? I just received the light fixture the other day so its not too late to return it. But I was under the impression 2wpg, I have 55 gallons so roughly 100 watts. This is the light I have (http://www.petco.com/product/113078... High Output T5 Aquarium Light Fixture-113078). Currently it has a 10000k and an actinic bulb which it came with, I was planning on throwing a daylight and a 6500k in there for the plants tho. The BBA was came about about 8 months ago due to neglect on my end because I went away. However it hasn't resurfaced much, just some still on the filter and very little on the glass.
 
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