# 90 Gallon El Natural (I Hope - 2 Photos) -- Advice Please?



## appalachianfeet (Dec 12, 2011)

I've misplaced my copy of The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium (may have loaned it out) and intend to find it this week or buy a new one. It's also been a while since my last planted tank and I've forgotten a lot.

Trying to stay low-cost and low-maintenance.

I'd appreciate any comments on what I'm doing right and what I need to tweak with the following setup. I will definitely read any links you send me to:


90 gallon standard with raised ceramic planter/caves & driftwood in order to get plants closer to the light source
Waiting on master test kit to arrive in the mail but in the meantime, I have 2 tests of questionable reliability saying my ammonia is 0 and my pH is 7.4. Fish looks stress-free. I know my local tap water is somewhat hard, too. Temp is currently 80 F
Filter is a Rena Filstar xp3, do I need to remove the sponges & ceramic cylinders? Using a water polishing pad at the moment to try and clear up the cloudiness from moving plants around.
I feel the most indecisive about the lighting. Currently have two sit-on-the-tank 48" ballasts that each hold 2 fluorescent bulbs (4 bulbs total) each 40 watts. One ballast has brand new daylight 6500k bulbs and the other has unidentified old 40 watt bulbs that I plan to replace (with what?) Using them on the back part of the tank, the front 6" of the tank has no lighting (or plants). EDIT: Oh yeah, and currently running a timer with a siesta so they come on from 7am - 11am and again from 5pm - 10pm. Sound okay?
Plan to add more fish but right now only tank occupants are a female bristlenose pleco and some tiny hitchhiker pond & ramshorn snails. Will the pleco be enough to feed my plants at first? Will the snails eat my plants?
Substrate is potting soil under local (sterilized) creek sand and a sprinkling of pea gravel (same in the planters). The creek has red clay banks so there may be iron-rich clay particles mixed with the sand.
My plants were mostly donated by kind aquarists who live near me:


Lower part of tank: Hornwort, java moss, java fern, spiralis, jungle val, crypt (I don't know which one)
 Mid-level part of tank: Anubias congensis, banana plant, foxtail, red tiger lotus, Alternanthera reineckii, narrow-leaf temple (Hygrophila), dwarf sagittaria, Amazon sword, water wisteria (this one looks different than online profiles), red myrio/red foxtail
 High areas of tank: water sprite, Rotala indica, Echinodorus 'Vesuvius', broad ludwigia, riccia (in 3 little individual planters close to the water surface)

Don't have CO2 injection/additives or fertilizer regimen (yet -- would rather not if unnecessary). Suggestions? There is a small hydroponics store up the street from me if I can use their products instead of aquarium brands. Prefer organic methods. I have a worm bin, compost pile, and chickens but not sure how I'd use those products in my aquarium (rather not tear up the substrate at this point).

Here's a couple photos:










and










Thanks!


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I see this is your first post--welcome to APC!

Basically, everything looks good to me, except you need more plants. Walstad tanks depend on heavy planting for stability--75% of the substrate should be covered by foliage.

How long has the tank been set up?

Other answers below:

"Filter is a Rena Filstar xp3, do I need to remove the sponges & ceramic cylinders? Using a water polishing pad at the moment to try and clear up the cloudiness from moving plants around."

The ceramic cylinders are biomedium, correct? I like to use 100% biomedia in my filters, usually lava rock because it is cheap and effective. I think good circulation in the tank and good biofiltration are the important factors.

"I feel the most indecisive about the lighting. Currently have two sit-on-the-tank 48" ballasts that each hold 2 fluorescent bulbs (4 bulbs total) each 40 watts. One ballast has brand new daylight 6500k bulbs and the other has unidentified old 40 watt bulbs that I plan to replace (with what?) Using them on the back part of the tank, the front 6" of the tank has no lighting (or plants)."

Welcome to the club of confusion. What kind of fluorescents are you using? T5 NO, T5 HO, T8, etc? And how deep is the tank?

"Oh yeah, and currently running a timer with a siesta so they come on from 7am - 11am and again from 5pm - 10pm. Sound okay?"

6 hours is a longer siesta than most people use (typical is 3-4 hours). But it should be OK. There is a lot of debate on the merits of the siesta schedule.

"Plan to add more fish but right now only tank occupants are a female bristlenose pleco and some tiny hitchhiker pond & ramshorn snails. Will the pleco be enough to feed my plants at first? Will the snails eat my plants?"

Assuming this is a new tank, the soil will feed your plants for months, so a low fish population is no problem. Those species of snails will not eat plants unless the plants are already dying.

"Don't have CO2 injection/additives or fertilizer regimen (yet -- would rather not if unnecessary). Suggestions?"

I maintain my tanks without either, so I don't think you need them.

"I have a worm bin, compost pile, and chickens but not sure how I'd use those products in my aquarium (rather not tear up the substrate at this point)."

I have compost and chickens, but composts and manures are just too rich for aquarium use. Compost that is so mature that it has broken down into humus is good, but that takes years in most cases.


----------



## appalachianfeet (Dec 12, 2011)

> I see this is your first post--welcome to APC!


Thanks! 



> Basically, everything looks good to me, except you need more plants. Walstad tanks depend on heavy planting for stability--75% of the substrate should be covered by foliage.


Uhoh... how much time do I have to fix it? Also, is that taking into account that a lot of my plants are in the planters because the tank is so deep? It's a 24" tall tank. I have a bunch of hornwort hiding in the back (doesn't show well in the photo). I've been worried it is too deep anyway -- should I uproot it and use it as a floating plant in one corner?



> How long has the tank been set up?


One week as it is now, although the filter has been running for years. I set it up the same day I moved it.



> The ceramic cylinders are biomedium, correct? I like to use 100% biomedia in my filters, usually lava rock because it is cheap and effective. I think good circulation in the tank and good biofiltration are the important factors.


Yes, they are biomedium. I read somewhere that they process the ammonia too fast and the plants prefer ammonia to nitrates, which is why I asked if I should remove them.



> Welcome to the club of confusion. What kind of fluorescents are you using? T5 NO, T5 HO, T8, etc? And how deep is the tank?


One ballast takes two 4' long T12 fluorescents up to 40 watts. I currently have new T12 daylight 6500k in that one. The other takes two 4' long T10 bulbs up to 40 watts and I haven't bought new bulbs for it yet. I am not sure what you mean by NO and HO.



> I have compost and chickens, but composts and manures are just too rich for aquarium use. Compost that is so mature that it has broken down into humus is good, but that takes years in most cases.


Cool! And I'm fairly relieved to hear it isn't a good idea to use these items in my tank since it sounds like a pain at this point.


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

It's never too late to add more plants. The more quickly you do it the less likely you are to have ammonia or algae problems. Hornwort is a good plant for new tanks because it grows quickly and can use the excess nutrients. It doesn't ever root in substrate, and normally just floats in the water.

Leave the ceramic cylinders in, you want the filter full of biomedia.

T12 fluorescents are not as efficient as others, but 4 of them over the tank should give you low to medium light. Getting the plants closer to the surface as you have done will help. T5 fluorescents come in two versions: normal output (NO) and high output (HO). HO are almost twice as bright as NO.

Do put new tubes in your lights, old tubes are significantly dimmer. You might try mixing the 6500K tubes with plant tubes, like Grow Lights. The 6500k light is more pleasing to our eyes, but the plants like the red and blue spectrum from the Grow Lights.

You're off to a good start, keep us updated.


----------



## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

Hey, that's a cool idea. Those ceramic pots look sort of pagoda like. Maybe they would resemble ancient pagodas more with a jungly overgrowth of moss, baby tears, algae, or something like that. Covering the outside surfaces of the pots with sand held on with a layer of clear silicone would give them a more weathered and coarser appearance and probably help that naturalization process along too. Also, you could cover the raised area and use that as a big planter too.


----------



## appalachianfeet (Dec 12, 2011)

Thanks! That's the plan. 

Also, found my copy of The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium. My daughter had been using it to bear down on when she drew pictures and was storing it under her bed...


----------



## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

nice idea , although this tank not really picturing slice of nature, it is full of imaginations (perhaps like some clan that live meditating in a temple in a dense jungle ). surely it has potential to be one healthy tank


----------

