1. Welcome to Aquarium Space! We are a friendly online community for aquarium owners all over the world who love their tanks including their fish, reefs, corals, invertebrates and their aquatic livestock. If you haven't joined yet, we invite you to register and join our community!

restarting my 30 gallon

Discussion in 'Aquatic Plants & Planted Tanks' started by manta975, Aug 18, 2011.

  1. manta975

    manta975 Thread Starter New Member

    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    So i think my 30 gallon kind of sucks right now. I have a weird looking sword plant and some ridiculous looking other plant and just stuff my dad put in while i was away lol. Anyway i want to take all that stuff out upgrade my geto DIY lighting take all the gravel out of my tank replace with some sand then leave the eco-compleat on top. Keep my drift wood because it was expensive and looks cool (any my pleco would miss it) and add different plants. Oh i also want to get it set up with CO2. I plan to do this after Christmas or my birthday. (depends how much money i get haha)

    I have 3 obstacles. One it is a 2 foot tall tank, makes getting a nice layer of hair grass and HC i want hard. Duex I know very little about setting up a CO2 system, I have read about it befour but still make very little sense. Three I make no money hahah got like 170 is now and should get more after the holidays I would guess i would have a good $350ish of money to spend probably more just going to aim on the low side.

    So how should i light this sucker? Right now its got my dads DIY PC ligting i think they are 50watt equivilants, i will have to check i might just be able to change the bulbs the make a cover. Now my bigger question CO2 do i need it? my goal is very heavily planted with the majority of the ground covered in hair grass and HC wih just a small aria of, then have a large stem plant or two then have everything else be something attached to the drift wood. All i have for fish wise is some guppies, 4 galaxy rasbora, a bristle nosed pleco, and like 4 oto cats. Oh i would want to add some shrimp later on.


    The filter i am running is an ehime 1500 i think i may be compleatly wrong but i think that's what it is maybe 1200
     
    manta975, Aug 18, 2011
    #1
  2. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

    Messages:
    5,172
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    38
    I''ll warn ya, the eco-complete will end up falling to the bottom being it's heavier than the sand.

    My tanks also 24" tall. I say skip the co2 because it'll be a pain in the butt and costs more than you can afford and go for a good light and some low-medium light plants (for plants you can mooch clippings if you have a bud with a tank, or can ask for them on here or cl in your area).

    I say shop lights from the hardware store and some good T5HO bulbs which you can normally find there too. If you want a really good 24" or more fixture be prepared to spend the cash! I know mine set me back about $300 for my 90g (48"). You could always check ebay too?

    If you don't have a prefilter they'll more than likely get drawn into the intake, and ANYTHING that you keep with shrimp (other than shrimp) will end up eating them.

    I have a eheim 2236 on my 20L, just slipped a prefilter over the intake and have lots of various types of shrimp in there. PS, if you need a new filter check your local petco (althought mileage may vary)...most are carrying the 2236 for $86.00 and sometimes you can score a coupon too!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Aug 19, 2011
    #2
  3. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

    Messages:
    5,172
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    38
    If your trying to cut corners cost-wise you could always:
    1) insulate the back & bottom of the tank with polystyrene. You can see how to here--> http://www.tankgeek.com/2011/03/24/diy- ... -aquarium/
    2) toss a airstone near the heater to make it disperse the heat better/more efficiently
    3) if going low'ish light use a staplegun and staple "moss" directly to the driftwood LOOSELY..it'll carpet it in no time at all.
    4) if going low'ish light crypts make great "cover" plants that require literally no care on your part.
    5) for lighting try shop lights, or flourecent cabinet lights that you can lay directly on top of the glass canopy (if you have a glass canopy covering the tank)....believe it or not when I did that with a 10g it was shockingly BRIGHT with just Fl. cabinet lights. OR if your into the diy you can build basically a square box for a canopy and install lighting directly into it--but I'll warn ya it CAN add up and be more of a pain.
    6) Eco-complete is definately awesome substrate for any planted setup imo, but if your looking to cut corners you could try a pool filter sand substrate with maybe some terra cotta planters or even glass votive holders filled with eco-complete. That way you could plant the "pots" and move them where-ever you feel the need to place them at any time without disturbing their root system.
    I use pool filter sand in my 90g and no issues with algae on it or any negative effects to the fish.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Aug 19, 2011
    #3
  4. chickadedede

    chickadedede New Member

    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I never would have thought to staple moss to driftwood.
     
    chickadedede, Oct 12, 2011
    #4
  5. HBIC

    HBIC Need help??? That's what we're here for :)

    Messages:
    1,000
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    48
    If you want HC pressurized CO2 is going to be a must. I don't know that I would suggest staples in a tank, won't they rest? Try using super glue gel instead.
     
    HBIC, Oct 12, 2011
    #5
  6. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

    Messages:
    5,172
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    38
    stainless steel staples & screw are perfectly fine in an aquarium; I've used both in various setups for years without any negative effects along with MANY others. I've heard about the super glue gel, but have never used/tried it in an aquarium setting...but there's also the gum band option/thread/fishing string too if you're worried :)
     
    MOD_Dawn, Oct 12, 2011
    #6
  7. HBIC

    HBIC Need help??? That's what we're here for :)

    Messages:
    1,000
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    48
    I guess I am just old school and believe NO metal in a tank :)
     
    HBIC, Oct 12, 2011
    #7
  8. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

    Messages:
    5,172
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Nothing wrong in that :)
     
    MOD_Dawn, Oct 12, 2011
    #8
  9. manta975

    manta975 Thread Starter New Member

    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    sorry i just kind of dropped off this topic. i have a habit of just not checking things for a long time then coming back. haha anyway i did overhaul it a little bit i replaced 2 of the plants amazon sword for a beautifully red ozelet sword and some weird plant i don't like with ... one i do like haha got from my dad so the name escapes me. then stole a plant that wasn't doing well in my dads pond and stuck it in my tank, also replaced my HOB canister with a ehime rated for like 2 times my volume haha( love the ehime by the way) didn't get around to CO2 but i am thinking of starting a new 20 long decked out with Co2 after the Christmas money starts rolling in lol.
     
    manta975, Oct 18, 2011
    #9
  10. manta975

    manta975 Thread Starter New Member

    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    oh also my moss has exploded in size lol. its attached itself to my drift wood and stray bits are sticking on the wood in places and attaching and growing. My Anubis has also eaten the rubber band i had holding it onto the wood it grew over it then stretched the rest untill it just broke off and floated away.
     
    manta975, Oct 18, 2011
    #10