Getting back into it

[biomekanic]

I'm contemplating setting up a planted tank at work. I was looking at using an Eclipse 10 hood as I have one around, it didnt' work out for the SW nano I'm planning.
I have one of those "drop in" pellet cheapo CO2 systems I can use as well.
I was looking at getting a 10g "Easy life" package from http://www.azgardens.com/habitats_easy.php and using that.
Maybe some kribs for fish, but I'm more interested in getting shrimp, the variety available has exploded since I had my last setup (back in 2000, when amano's where hard to get).
I was thinking laterite/flourite under a layer of sand, and using the stock bulbs that come with the Eclipse. this would give me 16w of T5, maybe getting some reflectors from ahsupply.com and retrofitting them to the hood to increase the light output.

As an aside, they still sell the live bearing Malaysian trumped snails, they never ate my plants and did a good job on the algae. You don't see them, except at night when the lights are off. They nicely stir the sand bed, and do breed like rabbits. My initial 10 where about 50 when I turned the tank over to my cousin. Oddly enough, they're not listed on their website, they're a whopping $0.25 apiece btw.

I'm looking for any thoughts or ideas, I'm much more "up" on SW stuff than I am on fresh.
Thanks!

[icebear]

Well, i don't know much yet...i'm trying to forget most of what i thought i knew- so much has changed in 10 years so i'm asking all the questions over again...

one thing i might be able to help suggest is do some research on EcoComplete substrate. Carib Sea makes it. I decided to try it cause it had favorable reviews and so i didn't have to go through the hassle of trying to mix my own substrate and get it right the first time. Trying to eliminate any problems down the road.
It is a natural shade of dull black, similar to good potting soil, has a texture and size similar to pearlite- but heavier and more dense. It automatically settles out its particles into layers - i can already see mine doing this. The EC comes wet like their live sand, 20# each. 4 bags gave me close to 5" in a 30 gallon tank.

HTH

[icebear]

this is what it looks like in my tank (my camera makes it look more green than it is)

[biomekanic]

Thanks, sounds good.
My initial setup was fullers earth (aka kitty litter) with fertilizer pellets and sand. Worked great. It took about two months for the tank to stablize, then the plants took off like weeds. Tried it out here, and couldn't find a kitty litter that wasn't chemically treated.
Sounds like a good substrate to use.
How deep should it be? 3" or 4", 5"?

[biomekanic]

I wonder if this would make a good substrate for marine plants? grasses, mangroves, etc?

[icebear]

i think i was told that 3 or more inches was good for my 30, but more wouldn't be bad... i had to special order it up here and my LFS could only get it in orders of 2 bags each....so when i wanted 3 bags i had to get all 4, but i got a good deal on the order, basically got that 4th one free anyway....

but i went ahead and put them all in.

[icebear]

Originally posted by biomekanic
I wonder if this would make a good substrate for marine plants? grasses, mangroves, etc?

i don't know about ph issues.... & maybe if the substrate has an iron content it may be bad news....

?

[biomekanic]

I wonder if there's a depth calculator for it like there is for sand over at RC. I was thinking 3" should be enough, it's only a 10g tank after all.

as for marine use... billsreef grows sea grasses in laterite, so iron isn't bad. I was thinking of doing a 55g sea grass and or mangrove tank, put that under the sand instead of flourite or laterite

[icebear]

Originally posted by biomekanic
I wonder if there's a depth calculator for it like there is for sand over at RC. I was thinking 3" should be enough, it's only a 10g tank after all.

there is... somewhere out there.....i used it myself... i'm having trouble finding it....

[icebear]

Finally.... here:

http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html

[biomekanic]

Nurts... 30 lbs. (thanks for the link btw).
well, a littlle left over... maybe a mangrove nano lies in the future...

[Stang69]

Sorry I have been out all night and drilling a tank today but here is a link I posted for Casey for plants and bog wood

www.aquariumdriftwood.com

Great site they will cut you roots or whatever ya want and put it in a package deal and ship it to ya.

Jeff

[jmanrow]

The laterite idea sounds great for mangroves. I know in addition to iron, mangroves benifit from magnesium additions. Julian Sprung has written a booklet on mangroves. GARF http://www.garf.org has some good info.
Here's a good source of mangroves http://www.floridaplants.com/Mangroves/Default.htm