90g planted build thread

[reefling]

I am looking at starting my first freshwater tank in about 8 or 10 years. I wanted to do a planted tank after I saw a display at TnT when I first moved to the area. So far, I have the tank, stand, lighting stuff(workhorse 7 ballast, endcaps, and 2 2-bulb reflectors), co2 tank, co2 regulator(needs needle valve and solonoid), Mag 7 return pump, and that is all I can think of for now.

My first plans are to reseal the tank and refinish the stand. The stand is starting to show signs of ware. The tank has been resealed but it was by someone who had only a slight idea of what they were doing, as the beads of silicone look horrible. Next, I am going to drill it for a beananimal overflow. I have the plumbing already. I might have enough scrap glass from making saltwater sumps for people to make like a 2' overflow.

my ultimate goal is to have a planted tank with a breeding group of punamillians. My wife did them before and told me they do not have the same relationship with vegitation as peacocks, fronts, etc....

Any thoughts or constructive feedback is appreciated. I will get a picture of the setup on my cellphone soon and post it up. The canopy has a shoplight in it now so it gives some idea of what it will look like. I plan on doing a 4 bulb setup, T5


on my list of stuff I need I am thinking
a wet/dry
flourite
co2 reactor
needle valve
solonoid
driftwood or holeyrock(i will need to check the pasture when i visit my parents haha)
what am I forgetting guys?

[Complexity]

• pH controller -- optional, but highly recommended, especially with high light tanks
• pH drop checker -- you really need this to know how much CO2 you're injecting
• Timers -- for the lighting. You don't want to run all 4 bulbs the whole time so make sure each set of 2 bulbs can be run independently.

You can do driftwood and holeyrock, no need to pick between the two.

[reefling]

O yeah, ph controller to inject CO2 properly.I have a reefkeeper lite on my reef. Is there a cheaper option for a planted tank. I think the package with the sl1 was like 180 or 200$. I have timers from other tanks, but I did plan on putting all 4 on that one ballast. Do freshwater plants get sunburned?

[myjohnson]

1) Plants do get "sunburned". They tend to melt when introduced to a new system. Normally the plants will recover and grow normally.

2) You don't really need a controller per se. You can use just the pH drop checker and balance CO2 as needed. People normally run their CO2 off the same timer as the light so CO2 kicks on when the lights do.

3) Why do you need a wet/dry? I would advise against it. Just get a good canister filter and a pump if needed.

Hope that helps. :)

[reefling]

o yeah, the wetdry would let the co2 out... hmm, how much would i be looking at for a canister filter to handle that sized tank?

[Crude]

I'm running two Fluval 405's on my 90g African set up. That's good for about 680gph of flow. I know a lot of folks on the box would recommend more filtration, which pretty much points you to either the Fluval FX5 or the Eheim 2262s. You can always add more

I had to go with the 405s because the FX5/2262 wouldn't fit under my stand.

[myjohnson]

For a 90g.....you got a number of options. And those options deal with the amount of money you want to put into the tank.

1) eheim 2217; will need a pump to move water around and evenly distribute the ferts.
2) eheim pro 11 2226/28; will need a pump to move water. I would go with an MP10 or MP20.
3) Any other canister rated like the three above. But most of them are sub-par compared to eheim, IMHO.

Also, good thing about the canister filters is that you can use the ADA lily pipe set. So it will look really clean as if no equipment is in the tank.

[myjohnson]

I'm running two Fluval 405's on my 90g African set up. That's good for about 680gph of flow. I know a lot of folks on the box would recommend more filtration, which pretty much points you to either the Fluval FX5 or the Eheim 2262s. You can always add more

I had to go with the 405s because the FX5/2262 wouldn't fit under my stand.

Fluval FX5 or the Eheim 2260/62 maybe too much flow for a planted tank 90g.

[myjohnson]

o yeah, the wetdry would let the co2 out... hmm, how much would i be looking at for a canister filter to handle that sized tank?

And if money is not an issue....go with the KING of canisters for planted tanks!

[Crude]

Not gonna argue with MJ

[myjohnson]

lol, nahhhh. It's not like that. :) I use to be into planted tanks like 4 years ago.

But I have always been into tangs more. There are a bunch of people on here that knows A LOT more than me when dealing with PTs.

I'm just speaking from my limited person experience and my bad hoarding habit.

My hoarding habit is BAD dude. :(

I have a bunch of ADA equipment I just collect, lol.

[Complexity]

While you can control the CO2 using the timer for the lights, it's best to at the very least, use a separate timer so you can start the CO2 an hour or two before the lights come on. It takes time for the CO2 to build back up to 30ppm in the tank. If you wait until the lights come on, then you've wasted the first couple of hours of growth time without sufficient carbon.

The other issue is that you'll be bouncing the pH up and down by turning the CO2 on and off. With a pH controller, this won't be a problem. You maintain a very stable, constant pH at all times, day and night.

A 3rd issue is what is called end of tank dump. When the CO2 tank empties, at the very end, there's insufficent pressure for the regulator to, well, regulate. This often causes a "dump" of whatever is left in the CO2 tank which then causes a CO2 overdose. This is deadly for fish. However, a pH controller does not rely on tank pressure. It uses pH only. So even if an end of tank dump begins, the pH will drop, causing the pH controller to shut off the regulator, stopping anymore CO2 from being released into the tank. If you get a really high quality regulator, you can avoid end of tank dumps, but those are more expensive than the price of a pH controller.

You can get a simple Milwaukee SMS120 pH controller for well under $100. Here's one on Amazon. Also, check eBay and Google Shopping for more options.

http://www.amazon.com/pH-Meter-SMS120-w-Alert/dp/B00178V7BU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321485662&sr=8-1

[Complexity]

As far as filtration goes, most planted tank people go for either Eheim or Rena Filstar. I've had both, and while I understand that big fanclub behind Eheim, I ended up preferring Rena. I have two XP4 canisters on my 75g planted (just replaced my old Eheim with a Rena on it) and two XP4s on my 90g, as well. You can probably get away with a couple XP3s, if you want. I just prefer XP4s for the extra biomedia.

I may have bought too fancy an Eheim which may be why my experience wasn't as good as others. I had an Eheim Pro II. More stuff broke on it than any of my 8 Rena XP filters. I also did not like the blue sponge material because it would fall apart much faster than the actual sponge material that Rena uses. However, I do like the Eheim "coco puffs" biomedia. It's expensive as heck, but works really well for me.

If you want to get Rena XP canisters, your best prices will usually come from petmountain.com.

http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquarium-canister-filters/11442-107524/rena-filstar-xp-canister-filter.html

[Complexity]

I have not experienced plants getting sunburned in the tank, but I have had them melt before. Most do not melt, but there are some that are known for melting.

Crypts are the most known for this phenomena. They will come right back just fine if they do melt.

The other time plants commonly melt is when they were originally grown emersed (growing out of the water) before they are shipped to you. The emersed growth then melts off when you submerge them under water, and is then replaced with submersed growth. A lot of aquatic plant growers grow their plants emersed because it's cheaper with fewer problems. For example, the air already contains CO2 so the growers don't have to inject CO2 into the water. So you receive a plant with beautiful growth, only to have it all melt away and start over in your tank. Fortunately, not all aquatic plants are grown this way and most of us can get lots of really great plants by trading or buying from others with planted tanks.

[reefling]

thanks for all the info guys.
ph controller 60$
canister 150$

price is an issue. i do not have unlimited resources as this is taking a back burner to my 125g reef aquarium. i have heard horror storries about having to start siphons with canister filters and just did not want to deal with them, but all of you seem to swear by them. i guess a wetdry would waste co2.
peacocks were so much easier... pool filter sand, holey rock from the pasture with a visit to see my parents, used wetdry and viola.. there is a tank.. this will take some time.

@"myjohnson" tangs are awesome :)
I will put the name in quotes so people dont think i am talking to my johnson... :P