New freshwater setup journey

I have a few threads gonig at the moment trying to get a info on a setup for a low tech, low light planted tank. I am giong to see if i can just have the one thread going and keep a picture record of the progress of the tank over the next few months.

I have an idea in my head of roughtly what i want the tank to look like but first i have to sort out the basics, the main issues to finalise are

1. What to put in sump
2. What substrate to use

I think i have a rough idea as to what to put in the sump, filter sock, additional floss, sponges and some bio-balls and ceramic rings and finally a return pump.

The susbrate is my biggest problem at the moment i want the look of sand but its going to be hard to find the one i like and i am worried about the plants growing properly in this substrate. i look at the JBL Monado and similar products but the sand just does it for me.


So the last vid of the tank as a saltwater



And the now empty tank cleaned do



Thanks to all who helped and advised so far


Cheers

Jeff

I would go for a 1mm silica sand.

Got a little bit done over the weekend, i managed to get a half day on Friday so was able to go to a few LFS in the afternoon to search for a few bits and bobs.

Finally managed to get my substrate, i got lucky up at Aquatic Village, Ian had a silica sand that i liked so first purchase of the day was made there. Its a long while since i was up at AV, the location is a bit of a killer for me but the shop still has its charm and Ian was a great help with ideas and advice.

Then onto Seahorse where i managed to get the wood, then across the M50 to Ger in the new setup at Aquachief at Brady,s pub to see the new setup and finally finished up at Andy,s at Aquarium Solutions where i got another nice piece of wood.

I washed the sand last night and started work on the sump but i think i will mess around with the sump pipes so i need a few 90 degree bends. I am thinking puttting in a spin off of a wet/dry trickle filter. Basically i am thinking of getting a plastic box (food grade) and have my two pipes coming from my main tank into the box which will be filled with floss. I will drill the bottom of the box to allow the water to pass back into the sump once it has being mechanically filtered by the floss.
Well thats the idea i will wait and see how it works out and how long it will take me to get the parts.

Heres a few pics i stil have to work out the wood layout so i will post these later




My little lad giving me a hand

Sump nearly sorted out now, made a box out of eggcrate, going to fill it with bio-balls and ceramic rings then have a plastic container on top filled with filter wool. The water will leave the plastic box through drilled holes in the end of the pastic container.







Jeff

looing good gerry.glad to see the next generation of fishkeepers being shown the way!

Cheers Gavin

Want to tap into you pretty soon Gavin with respect to the plants i am going to put in this tank. As i told you when we met i am going low tech, low light, low maintenance, low stress,low everything

I want to see can i get the bulk of my plants in one go so will need a bit of advice off yourself before i order, How long does it usually take for arrival of plants after you order them.

Cheers

Jeff

It depends on what stage we are at with a delivery,the max you would be waiting is two weeks.if we have them in stock you would have them the next day.On planting it's best to do it all in one go TBH.Pop by and have a chat and I can go through it with you. In the meantime if you want to do some homework you can have a look here for what we can get and some ideas and tech info.
www.tropica.com

Cheers Gavin i will be in touch

A few updated pics, finally got my aquascaping done, i still have to tinker with it but the hard work is done.The filter floss is doing its job i had a look at the tank this morning and the tank is crystal clear so fingers cross plants are my next "things to do"








Jeff

Finally got to finish off the tank........well to get it looking like to the original plan i had in my head which was to have open spaces over the substrate and have everything tied onto the wood.At the moment there are 60 cardinals tetras and a few german rams in there so slow and steady with the fish stock.






Jeff

the set up looks very natural and the lighting is perfect in two words spot on, great job

dave...

jeff fair play to ya lookin very well gettin my new 5 foot tomo so ill be startin to plant it and fill it de min i get it if i get it lookin anything like yours ill be doing well u can try it if u want for me hahaha

best off luck

sean

It's the look I've gone for and I'm happy. I have less plants and more Wood etc.

Looks lovely mate.

Kev.

very nice Jeff

looking great

what litre is that tank ?

cool thread, the tank has come together very well for You
I like the way Your going with the fish as well
60 Cardinals & Rams, lovely

Des

Thanks for the comments lads

Kev
I tried to use your tank as a guide to this one, i love the wood swetup with a bit of green.

Sean

You jammy git i would love a 5ft tank. Make sure you post up pics of the badboy

Des

The tank is about 440 litres, its a 3x2x2. i would love a longer tank i think you are very restricted with landscaping with a 3ft tank, i had the same issue when it was a marine tank.
My only fish i definitely knew that was going in this tank were the Cardinals, i got them off Adrian. Think i will put another 40 or so in as they are only small and they look class when the shoal together. They were the usually nervous for ther first week but after a few feeds they settled and come out all the time now.


Jeff