# new planted tank -- check out pics



## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

hello im new to planted aquariums i bought a 75gallon tank last week i went with the eheim 2026 for filtraration with a aqua uv 8watt for the co2 i went with a pressurised 5lb cylinder with reactor i have at 3bubbles a sec i was wondering does it matter how far i keep the reactor in the tank i have it on the right side wall.for lights i bought the coralife with 4 65 watt bulbs i have the 4 lunar lights just for show the lights and co2 is on a timer at 10hrs...i also noticed when i have the co2 on in the day my ph drops from 6.8 to 6.1 and at night when the selinoid is off it rises back up to 6.8..thanks for your time...


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Paul,

You have a very nice set up, everything seems perfect.

The depth the CO2 reactor is in does not matter. As long as the CO2 disolves good you are fine. The daily drop from pH=6.8 to 6.1 proves that you are fine.
Talking about a CO2 reactor - you may be able to remove the ugly reactor from your tank. Try inserting the end of the CO2 tubing in the intake of your filter. Then in the course of the day make sure that your filter does not develop problems due to the CO2 accumulation in the filter. If everything is ok you will not need the CO2 reactor - less equipment inside the tank is a nice thing 

Nightly drop of pH is normal. The explanation is simple - at night the plants don't use the CO2 so it makes the pH drop.

The drop from 6.8 to 6.1 is pretty big. Normally the drop is 0.2 -0.3, not 0.7 as you have it. It is possible that your water hardness is rather low - generally you are advised to have KH of 3 to 6 and GH no less than 4.

Another thing - these Coralife lights - are they 4 x 65, but 2 of them Actinic? You should not have Actinic bulbs.

You may want to connect the UV sterilizer to the same timer as the CO2 solenoid. That will let you use the UV bulb longer compared to running it non-stop.


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

hey nikko thanks for the advise yes the coralife were atinic i changed them to the 65 watt 6700


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

but the other 2 lights that were not antinic they are 10,000 should i change them also to 6700


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Paul,

A mix of 10,000 and 6,700 is great. You have a nice lighting and tank set up! 

--Nikolay


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

*some pics*

here


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

*pics*

here


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

*pics*

here


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

*pics*

here


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

*hey posted new pics*

give me a couple of weeks waiting on alot of plants those plants are in there just for now not where i want them tank will be done in 2 weeks


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

Those last plants look non-aquatic. What was it labeled as?


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## Corigan (Mar 15, 2004)

IUnknown said:


> Those last plants look non-aquatic. What was it labeled as?


Sort of looks like a emmersed grown A. reineckii to me.

Matt


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

I am almost positive that it is emersed Ludwigia glandulosa.


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## paul236313 (Jul 23, 2004)

*plants species*

i have ludwiga gladulosa,egeran najans almost the family as the anacharis as we all know about them i have some wisteria waiting...
rotalia indica
baby tears
stargrass
40 pieces of dwarf hairgrass
crypts wenditi
rotalia roundifola
dipilis diandri
one rare cryp forgot the name and some others i cant think of now


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