# Advice Requested On Low Maintenence Tank



## ame (Nov 20, 2006)

Hello 

I am planning a planted tank of 4 ft by 2 ft by 2 ft. Due to work requirements I will not be able to devote the required time to maintain a planted tank .I mean daily dosing of fertilisers , weekly water change is a problem due to my travel schedule.

In view of the above please advice me for a setup that requires low maintenence.

I like HC aquascapes .Please share your experience on this .

Thanking in advance.

AME


----------



## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

You may want to check out the El Natural forum here. HC aquascapes require more attention than you will be able to give. Maybe you should try East African cichlid rift tank with some anubias and java fern instead? Either that, or maybe an El Natural low light tank with lots of cryptocornes, anubias, java fern, etc., ie: plants that grow slowly and don't require a ton of maintenance.


----------



## ame (Nov 20, 2006)

Hi 
Thanks for your prompt reply .I have a 3 ft planted tank for which I have CO2 pressurised setup and external canister filter .Hence If I can somehow automate the dosing and water change then I would be fulfill my dream of a lovely aquascape.

Any suggestions for this setup and plant suggestions .

All comments welcome.

LOL

AME


----------



## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

On what? I think we need a bit more information on what you're doing with the tank. This is the aquascaping forum, so the focus is on design/art. Because of that, I think people will need more information on what you're doing because otherwise, you're just talking about an empty 3ft tank inside of which really anything is possible.


----------



## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

This is hard AME because you want something that looks great, but requires little maintenance with your travel schedule. That is difficult to do.

They do sell automatic dosers, and you can hook up your CO2's solenoid to a timer. Those are pluses for you.

However, what if you aren't around and a problem happens? You could potentially destroy your tank in a matter of a day or two because your CO2 was stuck "On," or your automatic doser didn't dose properly. It is unlikely that these things would happen, but they COULD happen. Then you wasted all of that money, get frustrated, and give up on the hobby.

I suggest doing something a little more "user-friendly"; something that doesn't require a lot of maintenance or know-how so you can have success and fun while learning from it. As your schedule allows in the future, you will have the knowledge base and wisedom needed to set something a little more advanced down the road. It would be difficult for any members here to have a difficult setup immediately, leave town for days or a week at a time, and return expecting that our advanced planted tank would still look fantastic.

I'm sure that you could do something very nice looking that won't have high demands. Why don't you buy a bunch or two of HC, place it in your tank for a week or two with your current conditions and work schedule, and make a mental note of how it looks at the end of two weeks. That way, you would be able to judge for yourself whether or not this would be a plant that you could handle with your time schedule and tank conditions.

It is simply one idea.......keep us posted, and we'll help you as much as possible. But I agree with Steven that you must provide us with more details. How much lighting do you have? What type of substrate? What type of fertilizer? What other types of plants? How much CO2 do you have running in bubbles/second?


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Ame,

Using HC without being able to take care of the tank on a regular basis is out of the question. Autodosing is not the way to go either.

If you cannot maintain the tank on a regular basis you have no option but to make a low light tank. With or without CO2. Use mosses and crypts. No daily fertilization (but some peat + laterite in the substrate will be welcome for the crypts).

Here are 2 pictures of such a tank - only moss + a few crypts:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/files/3/6/mosscrypt1_original.jpg
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/files/3/6/mosscrypt2_original.jpg

The light should be no more than 0.5 watt per gallon. The first 4 to 8 weeks of the tank's life you may even leave it with just ambient light (but not complete darkness). After that the tank should be stable - you will be able to ignore it for weeks. Evaporation will always be a problem so use a glass cover over the tank. CO2 is good to have but will not be a disaster if it runs out.

It will be good if there's someone to feed the fish lightly on a regular basis - this will provide a minor amount of other nutrients, mostly Phosphorus, but with the low light that will not be a problem but rather a good thing.

And more details how to make a similar tank:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showpost.php?p=285754&postcount=12

--Nikolay


----------



## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

Ame.. you can also view any of my recent threads about my 60cm tank. I have the same uncertain schedule due to my work nature so all of my tanks are low-tech and require almost no dosing or any maintenance at all. Only the occasional top up of water and you're set to go.


----------



## ame (Nov 20, 2006)

Dear Friends 

First thanks a lot for your advice. 

Let me explain my situation in detail to all. I am into planted tank hobby for last 2 Year.The 3 ft tank I am having currently has river soil substrate and moderately planted with some Crypts,Hygrophilla, and some stem plants .I initially started the E.I way with above 3WPG FLUORESCENT lighting , 1 bubble per sec pressurised CO2 and EI dosing . I had no algae , good pearling .I noticed that due to my irregular schedule , the fast growing plants cover the entire tank surface thereby spoiling the tank look , and lower lying foreground plants getting no lights and dying off. Also some algae on glass starts to develop.

Now I am shifting to my new home and want to start a 4 ft tank .
To avoid these situations I am looking for an aquascape plan which requires low maintenence and very little stem plants and fast growers .

So I need your experience for this new aquascape design.

Niko ,the moss scape looks great ,but my local temp is 35C. With open top and low light will I be able to grow moss?

Hope I am able to explain the situation to you all.

Thanks .

AME


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Ame,

The temperature of the air is always 2-4 degrees higher than the tank because of the physical properties of the water. So at 35 deg. Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) your tank will be about 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheit).

I do believe that moss will grow at 32 degress C (89F) because when I had discus my tank's temperature was 86-88 degress and all plants did fine.

Maybe someone with more experience with moss will post here because lately there have been many new species of mosses coming to the aquarium hobby and some maybe more suited for warm water.

--Nikolay


----------



## ame (Nov 20, 2006)

Nikolay

I appreciate your prompt reply.

I hope someone will share their experience with mosses that stand high temp. 

Ranmasatome

Your aquacsapes are giving me some ideas. How much temp do anubias tolerate?

Thanks 

Ame


----------



## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Honestly, Ame is right

32 degrees C is really pushing it for moss. Even for Java moss, it will survive, but it will never take on its healthier, bushier appearence-- ie, it will never reach its true potential. If ame is going moss, I'd seriously think about a chiller, fan, or something.

So far, there are no moss species in the hobby that likes warmer water. Honestly, even 30C would be pushing it, and 28 C would be uncomfortable for moss. As I mentioned, Java and possibly some others will survive, but none will be able to grow to their true beauty (from my experience and what I understand from posts at killies.com)

anubias probably would tolerate higher temperatures better.


----------



## black_lung (Dec 19, 2006)

From my experience I've found that anubias did not tolerate higher temperatures over 30C very well; they survive, but end up looking pretty nasty. Java moss did better for me, but as Steven said, they certainly don't show their full potential. Really, for the benefit of any plants you consider growing, you should consider getting a chiller.


----------



## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

Ame,
Truthfully, the temperature in singapore is also like 33 to 35 degrees.. however, we've noted that our water usually stays at around 28-30 degrees when using just a cheap fan to cool the tank via evaporation. This is the only cheap and affordable way if you want your moss to survive in such hot weather. 
Mosses that we've been able to grow well (although not showing their full potential) would be mosses like java moss, taiwan moss and spiky moss. If you are considering some kinda of moss for a foreground or on rocks, then i would suggest spiky moss. The only thing is i don't know how easily it is attainable over there. I have found that this little difference in temperature can mean that your moss will wilt or thrive. You can try looking for some fans to cool the water via evaporation. This way i am almost certain that the mosses will survive.
As for nanas..i kinda agree with black lung, the anubias will survive, but they won't look all that fantastic...so i think the first thing you should do right now is to look for that tank mountable fan..and since its a 4 footer..you should consider 2 fans.. However, this would also mean that you would have to top up evaporated water every now and then.


----------



## ame (Nov 20, 2006)

Ranmasatome

Since you are having similar condition ,in terms of water temp and time shortage ,I would request you if you can let me know some other plants that I may include in my aquascape.

Plants with small leaves are most welcome. On the issue of availability I am located in Mumbai ,India and fellow hobbyists have managed to get a good collection of plants.Hopefully I will get the moss. As far as cooling is concerned ,I will go ahead with with 2 fan plan and also open top tank with not much lights. 

Hope I get some aquascaping ideas for my new tank.Also this tank will have three sides open for viewing.I mean the front and back and one side of the tank will be uncovered due to my new home interior layout.

Thanks
Ame


----------



## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

You can take a look at my 4 ft tank in my signature. I have planted it in a way that it doesnt need a lot of maintenance. actually, i got a thing for low maintenance tanks, so most of my tanks are low maintenance. even my newest ADA tank which is currently on the 1st page of the forum. the 4 ft tank's temp ranges from 27C to 32C - not chilled at all. while temp of my ADA tank ranges from 22C to 27C chilled by fan by day and air condition at night..both at shaded areas of my house.

I think its easier to create a plant list to avoid: mosses, anubias barteri (anubias afzeli in my 4ft tank is doing well), java fern, spiky pipewort, bolbotis, tonina... cant think of more right now. all these plants will grow, but not as good.

However, your option of plants you could have in you tank is endless, you can even opt to go without a fan:
blyxa, lotus plants (trimmed to stay small), Alternanthera, ludwiga (some are slow growing e.g. lud sp. guinea), swords, echinodorus tenellus red, valis nana, mini sagittaria, eleocharis, crypts, Hydrocotyle etc. 

However if the price of the fan is justifiable, go for it. Plants grow better at lower temps, no doubt. I think a iwagumi would require the LEAST maintenance if the plants are chosen correctly. with all these suggestions i think you should be well equipped enough to get out there to shop and put together a tank already. Hope to see some pictures soon =)


----------



## leelee (Feb 9, 2007)

"The temperature of the air is always 2-4 degrees higher than the tank because of the physical properties of the water. So at 35 deg. Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) your tank will be about 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheit)."

Is that really true?


----------



## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

in theory, yeah. water has less active molecules as compared to air thus having less capacity in storing heat(energy). well thats theory, but in real fact, we cant deny that 2 different properties can have a equilibrium temperature after a substantial amount of time is given to absorb heat from the same source. water absorbs heat slower, it releases heat slower too as compared to air. See: Sea breeze. so you cant deny that there is a equilibrium of temperature somewhere along that line.

however i think its better to get a submerged thermometer rather than relying on a taking 2 degrees off the temperature of our surroundings. i dunno if this will help ame. this question is best asked at the Water Bucket forum tho. anyways Welcome to APC! =)


----------

