Hi everyone. I'm new to planted tanks, having kept cichlids until now in my 5 foot tank. (60 x 18 x 20 - approx 90 US gallons) Now I'm planning to tear it down and convert to a planted low tech with eventually some tetras and angels. My lighting consists of 2 x 54 watt HO T5 lights. This lighting should be sufficient for low light plants shouldn't it? I'm looking at the usual suspects, crypto's, anubia, java fern, maybe some hygro, val etc.
My next step is substrate. I want to get the best I can while I'm starting from scratch. I've been researching for a week straight, and have been tossing up between fluorite, eco complete and ADA amazonia, but they are all very expensive here in Australia. So then I read that laterite with gravel on top could be a cheaper alternative, but it turns out it's not so cheap either, and to be honest, I like the idea of not having to mix substrates. So that brings me back to the other 3 - given that eco and fluorite are about the same price, and ADA amazonia is currently on sale for the same price also, I am thinking of biting the bullet and investing in the ADA. Little bit scared about doing so for a couple of reasons - the initial cycling of ammonia seems fairly straight forward, but given this will be a low tech tank therefore no CO2, how heavily do I have to plant the tank to avoid algae problems? Is ADA overkill for a low tech? I live in a drought stricken area and survive on rain water, therefore big weekly water changes aren't a luxury I can afford. How significantly will ADA contribute to the nitrate levels given it will be constantly decomposing and leaching nutrients. Is it so much that weekly water changes will be a must for healthy fish, or will the plants keep up with it? Currently in my cichlid tank (no plants) I do a 30 -50% water change about once a month. I'd like to stick to this routine if possible. I guess what I want to know is will using ADA change this due to nitrate levels?
I've been doing a lot of reading on this forum and learned a heap of stuff, keep up the good work everyone and thanks for your help.
My next step is substrate. I want to get the best I can while I'm starting from scratch. I've been researching for a week straight, and have been tossing up between fluorite, eco complete and ADA amazonia, but they are all very expensive here in Australia. So then I read that laterite with gravel on top could be a cheaper alternative, but it turns out it's not so cheap either, and to be honest, I like the idea of not having to mix substrates. So that brings me back to the other 3 - given that eco and fluorite are about the same price, and ADA amazonia is currently on sale for the same price also, I am thinking of biting the bullet and investing in the ADA. Little bit scared about doing so for a couple of reasons - the initial cycling of ammonia seems fairly straight forward, but given this will be a low tech tank therefore no CO2, how heavily do I have to plant the tank to avoid algae problems? Is ADA overkill for a low tech? I live in a drought stricken area and survive on rain water, therefore big weekly water changes aren't a luxury I can afford. How significantly will ADA contribute to the nitrate levels given it will be constantly decomposing and leaching nutrients. Is it so much that weekly water changes will be a must for healthy fish, or will the plants keep up with it? Currently in my cichlid tank (no plants) I do a 30 -50% water change about once a month. I'd like to stick to this routine if possible. I guess what I want to know is will using ADA change this due to nitrate levels?
I've been doing a lot of reading on this forum and learned a heap of stuff, keep up the good work everyone and thanks for your help.