90lt Planted Tank Journal

I’ve been thinking and talking about doing a landscaped planted tank for a good while now so I figured I might as well bite the bullet and get to work. The main aim of this tank is to grow a couple of plants that fit a specific design that I have had floating around in my head. I know exactly what I want the tank to look like but it is getting it to look like that, which is my main goal. The other goal I have is to do this project as economically as possible. Luckily enough I have a good bit of the equipment already but it is old and used looking and needs to be renovated. I’m going to entertain myself and hopefully some of you guys by writing a brief journal and throwing in a couple of photos as it progresses. This is not going to be a speedy project, as I have not sourced all the necessaries yet nor do I have all the required knowledge I will need to do this, so for those of you who want “automatic results” you will not find them here. If at any point you think I could benefit from any of your suggestion please do not hesitate to throw in your two cents, as they will be greatly appreciated. Two cents is better than nonsense!!!

I suppose I should try and convey what the landscape I am trying to recreate looks like. It is a typical grass and rock set-up however I am going to try for an aged look with rounded weathered rock and only two species of plants. One that will give a carpeting effect and one largest palmate species sporadically planted among the rock
“Outcrops”. To try and convey what I am “trying” to go for here are some snapped I stole form the internet.












That’s the idea and hopefully it will be achievable.


The tank I am going to use is the first tank I ever bought. It is roughly 90 litres with dimensions of 76L x 32W x 36H it has been unused for well over a year and shows its age.



The black plastic needed to be revamped so as not to detract from the overall look of the tank. I want the display to look as bright as possible to I decided to spray the plastic with white appliance enamel. The enamel dries very hard and is durable and water proof. In order to do this I removed the upper plastic rim and silcione. I didn’t remove the lower one as it was far too embedded in the silicone and could do without the headache of having to reseal the tank. I think the pictures below will explain the process better than I can word it.












In my opinion it looks a lot fresher and cleaner than it would had I left it black. That’s all for the moment before I bore the eyes of you out! I have nearly finished the over-tank light kit with the new 20W T-4’s (on trial for plant growth) and I will post the results tomorrow.


Regards

Denis

well done, it should be a very interesting project.

Good luck with your project - it looks far better white than black - good idea.

Excellent reading - I can't wait for the next episode !

Thank you for sharing this with us !

Regards,
Valerie

Thanks for the encouraging remarks folks.

This next instalment involves creating the box for the light fixtures and an elevating stand under the tank to give the tank a look of being framed. The box for the light kit was fairly simple, I cut out the required sides and top from a sheet of 12mm MDF, although I’m handy enough with the power tools it’s fairly difficult to get a dead straight edge with a jig saw. As a result I had to incorporate some polyfilla so that no light would be escaping through gaps in the joins. I’ve seen homemade light boxes where light is beaming out through gaps in all sorts of direction and I wanted to avoid the same effect. Plus the pollyfilla will give the edge a finished (all one piece) look. The light box will hold three 20W T4 suspended over the tank. I’m unsure as to how much heat will be given off by these tubes but that is something I must look into. After the box was assembled and filled I added three coats of pure white gloss so that it would match the tank. The box is the same size as the “elevating stand” however it is a bit deeper to accommodate the light fittings.
















The elevating stand is not a stand as such, it is really a couple of piece of 2 x 2 joined together so that when the tank is placed on it, the tank will looked framed between it and the over-tank light kit. Hopefully, when the light kit is placed over the tank enough light will run down the outside of the tank an illuminate the elevating stand. I think it gives a very nice presentation to the tank. I hadn’t seen it done before so I’m pleased that it turned out so well.



Regards

Denis

This is the second time I have had to write this post so it might be a bit shorter than normal. I haven't had a lot of time to work on the tank but I think I have done enough to write about.

The light box is nearly finished and only requires the bits to hold it above the tank. Originally I was going to suspend the box above the tank with wire, cables, chain etc but considering this tank will be heavily planted, I wanted access to be as easy as possible. For this reason I have used a single large back strut with a large door hinge which means that the box can be flipped back and rest against the wall. The hinge has also got extra support within the hood so the screws will not pull out. The area around the hinge has also been pollyfilled so that it will be flush with the top panel when painted.




The fittings going into the box are T4's. These puppies are said to have 3-5 times the lumen out put of T8's. So, hopefully 2 20W tubes will provide adequate lighting for plant growth. They are very simple to install and only require you to wire a plug. The other handy part about these fittings is that you can join up to ten fittings together with the handy joining cable they provide. Plus each fitting has its own on and off switch if you don't want all of the lights to be on.










Regarding substrate; Can any users suggest a quality plant growth medium. I was looking at a bag of \"Azoo plant bed growth medium\" it seemed better value that eco-complete and has better reviews on the Internet.

Also, I was pondering about the idea about mixing the substrate with a soil based compost (john Innes No.3, top soil). Would this help the growth of the plants or should I just stick with 100% aquarium plant substrate?

Hey Dennis, cheers for the excellent project write-ups - great reading

In both my planted tanks I have used the \"JBL AquaBasis Plus\" substrate. Its not trying to compete with Eco-Complete or any of the other expensive Seachem ones, but at less than half the price I cant complain.

Basically, its iron content will expire in a few months, but you then add JBL 7+13 AquaBalls at the base of your plants and this is suppsoed to give them targetted nutrients including iron for about 12 months! The Aquaballs are fairly cheap for a box of 50 and so far, Ive had good results.

I cant say they are better than anything else though, as all Ive used is the JBL system; but it certainly helped on my low budget!

Good luck mate.

P.S. Personally, I wouldnt use the John Innis (or any non-aquatic compost/fertiliser) as I have read they are very high in urea, hence ammonia. Perhaps they would be fine, but because I dont know whats in there, Id be worried about putting into into our closed system tanks.

Hi Cardnim, thanks for the information regarding the plant substrate. I've used root tabs/balls in the past and they work very well for plants like amazon swords and crypts that are very demanding in terms of root fertilization. However, I hope to have a carpet effect of plant growth in my tank so using individual root tabs to increase the iron content in the soil may prove to be difficult. The good thing about the Azoo plant substrate is that it will last (so says the bag) for roughly 14-15 months and then additives will be required. This is more than enough time in my opinion as by that stage I will have most likely wanted to have changed things around. Plus it is also relatively expensive and I should have enough substrate in about two 5kgs. Each bags cost about 17 euro so it wont be breaking the bank.

Azoo Plant Growth Bed link

As for the project; I have nearly fishing the majority of the required construction work and the only thing that remains to do is drill a hole in the back of the lid for the lights power cord. The hinge looks very discrete and I'm impressed with the over all look of the tank/lights and when I have a few minutes I will mount the light kit over the stand for the tank.







Let there be light!!



I added a few reflectors to the hood but I am concerned that the areas at either end of the tank might not get sufficient light as the tubes are a little on the short side. Would people recommend that I add two 6w T4's in a perpendicular position at each end to the existing lights to avoided this problem or should it be ok?

I'm looking forward to assembling the tank. However, it will be another month at least before any water or plants go it. The next couple of things to do on my list are selecting a few nicely shaped rock, try and copy Zig's receipt for DIY plant ferts and choose the plants I would like to have.

Regards

Denis

An update! I had a little extra time on my hands this evening and because I'm typically a very impatient person I decided I would moved the tank in from the shed. Since everything was ready to go, it was only a matter of screwing the light kit into the back of an existing stand that has previously been made for a Rio180. Personally I am very pleased with the results but I might have to put an expander in between the hinge and the support as the hinge lets the hood fall forward slightly and it looks uneven (see if you can spot the comb that is being used temporarily). The only other concern that I have is that the light kit might be a little too high above the tank, resulting in to much light escaping outward. This can be remedied very simply by cutting a length of the upright off.

In general I'm pleased with the way the hinge on the lights worked out and flipping the box up to gain access to the tank is a sinch and will mean that I will be far more enthusiastic about putting the hand in the tank for pruning and maintenance.






As for the T4's and the reflectors, see for yourself! It looks like a football stadium in my room! These tubes use a fraction of the energy of normal T8's but the light output is massive Lets just hope they allow for plant growth:dry: .



Here are a couple of snaps with the tank in place! Its pretty much the design I was going for with straight lines and lots of 90 degree angle corners. Plus, I think the white looks very clean, which in turn should make the green of the plants sing.









And for those of you who don't like looking at empty tanks here are two snaps of the typical view that I hope to be taking of my nicely planted tank in the future (these are not the rocks that I will be using, although they are the same rock type).







Slating and Rating is welcome, as I would like some suggestions as to what I could do to improve the setup. Plus, I'm big now so I will not be offended by any strong criticism.

Regards

Denis

I’ve been doing a bit of reading on the plants I would like to use for this tank. I’ve been using the book Nature Aquarium World No.3 by Takashi Amano and taking the latin names of the plants I like the look of and seeing if they are available on Tropica.com which is one of the main suppliers for the shops in Ireland I think? So far, my choice for low growing carpet plants that do not need to be attached to rocks are limited and the ones that are available have already been seen in the beautiful tanks created by Zig. However, I have been giving the ebay address of a reputable plant seller somewhere in Asia that I still have to check out and maybe he might have something different. Please see the plants I have selected below and if anyone has any opinions on their potential or a negative opinion about them please let me know.

Background and around rocks

Eleocharis acicularis
Eleocharis parvula
Echinodorus tenellus

Foreground (carpet)

Hemianthus callitrichoides
Glossostigma elatinoides

Also if people have ideas about other plants that I might incorporate please let me know. The brief for the plants I am looking for is;

Background; grass like of thin leaved plants that will grow to no more than 7-10cm

Foreground; very low growing carpet forming plant that does not require to be attached to rocks or sticks.

Cheers

Denis

Ps. Check out this cracking tank with a tree growing in it!

Now this is a Landscape

looking good denis. what about a black background?
also what about cuba for the carpet plant?

Wow.. nice tree!!

Watch that your water parameters are right for the plants you have in your list. The Eleocharis although supposedly \"easy\" to grow, doesnt do well in low light, and I found out only after much experimentation that it doesnt grow at all in low KH.

The Glosso. is also reportedly hard to grow.

Do you know your water parameters (eg. GH KH pH etc?)

I get all my plants from Greenline - the website is a bit hard to use, but just click the PLANTS link at the top right of the home page, and you'll be off. They easily have the best range Ive seen, plus full run down of all the plants requirements. They seem to have got a decent write up in this months PFK too (if that means anything at all! )
www.aquaticplants.eu.com/

This is a great thread... look forward to your updates... keep em coming.

p.s. where did u purchase the T4's?

lampeye wrote:

what about a black background?
also what about cuba for the carpet plant?

I haven't thought about a colour for the background yet but I might try for a brighter colour than black. It will be a piece of card that can be changed easily if I want a different colour. You can pick these up in an art and hobby shop for about €1.50 so I wont be constraining myself to just on colour and I will most definitely try black. The other thing I will be using with the background is two cold cathode tubes on the outside of the tank, between the card and the glass. This will give a sort of uplighting effect and give different tones of colour on the piece of card. (I will explain in more detail about this later in the thread).

As for \"Cuba\", that is the common name for Hemianthus callitrichoides which I have already included on the list. It seems to be one of the easiest to grow and most commonly used.

Cardnim wrote:

Do you know your water parameters (eg. GH KH pH etc?)

Thanks for the plant link, I will have a more indepth look at what is available later. As for my water parameters, the pH is between roughly 6.8 and 7.1, but I still have to get the equipment to check for GH and KH. I will let you know when I get them. I will have to invest in them anyway as I will need to work out roughly how many parts per million I have when I start injecting co2.

Arabesque :

where did u purchase the T4's?

I picked the T4's up in woodies. They cost €25 for the largest fitting which is 20W and they have them in about 4 smaller sizes. Not sure if the sale is still on but I got them for 19 euro a pop. I'm still not sure if they will be any use for plant growth but if you are looking for a general light fitting for fry tanks etc. they would be perfect. They also come with a protective light diffuser that will also help against water damage.

any updates?

Hey Mick,

I've been in mayo for the last couple of days and out of broadband coverage so I haven't had a chance to work on the tank or therefore there has been no need for an update.

I'm heading along to the ITFS meeting this evening to make use of the library (getting the two plants books) and to talk with peter (aka Zig) about fertz, planting arrangements, co2 dosing etc.... I must staring putting together my list of questions. I will post an update when I get some money to buys the rest of the equipment that I need. I'm looking forward to getting some water in the tank!

Regards

Denis

Howdy folks,

This is not really an update on the progress of the tank as I haven't had a great deal of opportunity to work on the tank or collect the rest of the pieces required.

However, I have been playing around with the hardscape of the rocks. I will be using a total of five rocks and although they are not as detailed or as interesting as some of the rocks I've seen in other \"Iwagumis\" setups, they give the look that I am trying to achieve. I like the arrangement of the rocks on the left but might have to change the right a little. I think it will look a lot different when the substrate goes in provided the scape with more depth of field.







P.s. I will move the reptile on when he gets too big for the tank!

I am really enjoying your thread especially not having a clue about plants. It’s always great seeing a project progress and yours is really coming on well. Best of luck and I hope you have the results you deserve with this project...........Tom.

PS.I don’t think your reptile has long to live, he seems a bit stiff.??????

Thanks Tom for the words of encouragement!

As for the project, You people reading this must be starting to wonder if water is ever going to make it into the tank! So far this project have been a very laid back and I would like to have all my bases covered before starting to plant.

After pondering about the amount of light in this tank (and other peoples concerns) if it will be sufficient to allow for \"quality\" plant growth I decided to add an additional two 18W T8's. Many thanks to JohnH for providing me with the extra set of splash proof leads that I needed. The ballast that I am using is a standard electronic number stripped from a lighting hood that used to be in supermacs (spot the cheapskate). It was a fairly simple process but it was important to observe and record the original wiring on the electronic ballast before stripping off the old wires and adding the splash proof end caps. See the pictures below for a brief run down of operations. As it stood I had roughly 2 watts per gallon with the T4's but with the addition of the new tubes it has bumped it up to 3.8 watts per gallon. Is this classified as high light?


Standard 2 x 18w T8 ballast stripped of its original wiring. The ballast has been mounted away from the tank to avoid water damage.



Had to move the existing T4's to make space for the T8's, but they all fitted in neatly!



T4 tubes on their own on a fast shutter speed



T8 tubes running, I will have to replace that shitty warmlite tube and it makes my tank look pink. I was sold it as a juwel daylight tube



Everything going full blast. Photo was taken on a fast shutter speed to stop brightness, other wise it would look like the below picture.


Let there be light!

The next two photos are a comparison of the extra light given off by the two new tubes. Both photos where taken with the same aperture and shutter speed so light absorption by the lens of the camera is identical. The first photo is the T4 tubes only, while the second photo has both the T4 and T8 tubes running. Although it doesn't show a massive difference, the small increase in light can cause a dramatic effect on the growth of plants (hopefully ).




That's all for the moment. I'm still on the hunt for the co2 fire extinguisher, \"J Arthur Bowers Sulphate of Potash\" (if you are in a garden centre over the weekend cast an eye in the fert section and see if they have any, cheers), grit or sand and some plants. Hopefully by next weekend I can start to plant .

Regards

Denis

give me shout for the fire extinguisher seen two lying around in work have to check if their full

Cheers Deeco, if they are full and category three/C (CO2 for electrical fires) I will take one but getting an empty existing one that you bring to a compressed gas merchants like BOC will cause a problem as they will not fill them unless they have been pressure tested. This is one of the reasons why I'm most likely going to have to buy one direct from the seller/filler. I was hoping to get them from a company called D + D who deal in fire extinguishers just off the Ballymount road but unfortunately when I went there two days ago they have moved to near western retail park and I cant find a contact number or office address. However, I will keep looking as other members of the forum have used this company in the past and they will part with a second hand co2 bottle with a full fill for a price that wont break the bank.

Regards

Denis

tanks_alot wrote:

Howdy folks,
P.s. I will move the reptile on when he gets too big for the tank!

Did the Reptile get too big for the tank or did it escape............Tom.

Tom wrote:

Did the Reptile get too big for the tank or did it escape............Tom.

I left the lid off for a moment when I left the room!

I would just like to ask the question again and this time add a picture for effect. If you happen to be in a horticultural centre near dublin over the weekend can you please have a look for the following product.



It is J. Arthur Bowers \"sulphate of potash\". Myself and Darren are looking to get our hands on some so we can put the final ingredients into a DIY fert mixture. So, if you see any please let me know and I will venture out and pick some up.

Regards

Denis

Hey Denis,

Not sure if you are wanting the BOWERS make specifically, but I understand that Suplhate of Potash is just another name for Potassium Sulphate, which is available (in many different sizes) from among others, AquaEssentials:
www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_...amp;products_id=1559

I just got some myself and have altered my own EI recipe to give a little more postassium and a little less phosphate.

CALL OFF THE SEARCH, I located the J.Arthur Bowers potash in the woodies just up the road. I had visited Homebases and B & Q's trying to locate the potash and there is was literally next door to me.




You are spot on Cardnim with the sulphate of potash being Potassium, however I think it might cost a little bit more to buy it online in the pure Potassium Sulphate form then the 4 eruo I spent on a Kg of the stuff today. I will write post with more detail about mixing of the ferts later (I'm really just doing what platty and zig have suggested).

While I was in woodies I also picked up a bag of Glenview horticultural grit of the washed and graded variety. So, this afternoon with some time to kill before the rugby I sorted out the substrate for the tank.

The first layer into the tank was a layer of horticultural grit to give the overall shape of the substrate hardscape that I wanted. I also did this as I didnt want to waste a load of plant substrate at the back of the tank where I wanted the substrate to be higher. I firmly pressed this layer down so when I spread the layer of plant substrate on this it would not be disturbed.



The next layer to be added was the plant substrate. I used the entire 5L bag of Tropica Plant Substrate giving about 2-3cm layer evenly around the tank.



Next and last into the mix was a sprinkeling of more horticultural grit given about 1-2cm deep covering of the plant substrate so that it doesnt float away or get disturbed to easily when the water is added.



The next two things I added are for \"TOM\" who seemed very upset with the loss/escape of my Crocadile. I hope these fellas make up for it!



I hope these fellas cant get out of the tank as I'm running out of fake animals!

My own personal opinion on the finished hardscaping; I'm sceptical if all the rocks are going to be visible once the plants start to grow. I would think that after a while the only rocks that are going to be visible will be the two large fellas on either side of the tank. The other thing that I would like to say is that in the pictures don't give the tank any \"depth\". However, as I sit here looking at it I think it looks rather well but is in need of some plants.

Until Next time!

Regards

Denis

Great stuff as always Denis. Glad you got sorted (and you are damn right about that price - 4Euro is much better than what I paid for only 250grams!!) Nice one mate.

I have to say, that third picture (the one with different sized grains in the substrate) looks great. Ive been reading a bit about this recently, and your pic reminded me of it. Of how using different size gravel/grains in a substrate can add interest and variety at key areas.

I suppose if you arent going to see the rocks once the plants have grown that you definately wont see the substrate so its probably academic.

Cant wait to see it planted. It could look fantastic.

tanks_alot wrote:

The next two things I added are for \"TOM\" who seemed very upset with the loss/escape of my Crocadile. I hope these fellas make up for it!

I hope these fellas cant get out of the tank as I'm running out of fake animals!

Until Next time!

Regards

Denis

Are you trying to tell me that the Crocodile was not real,I can take it????




Oh ya the tank is looking great.

Cardnim wrote:

my own EI recipe to give a little more potassium and a little less phosphate.

Out of curiosity Cardnim what amounts do you put into your fert mix.

I have the following raw ingredients but I am unsure of the actual amounts to add. It was mentioned that you can add equal parts of everything but I cant imagine that you would add the same amount of magnesium sulphate as you would Potassium Sulphate?

I have all the ingredients that Zig suggested to include;

250g KNo3 - Potassium Nitrate (raw)
125g K2Po4 - Potassium Phosphate (raw)
125g MgSO4 - Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts)
1000g K2SO4 - Potassium Sulphate (Sulphate of potash)

One of the only receipts I found is for an Estimated Index fert solution by George Farmer on Fishforum.net,

He suggest the following

Potassium Nitrate - 40g to 500ml of water and adding 10ml per 100L of water would give you a value of 5ppm.
Potassium Phosphate - 15g to 500ml of water and adding 5ml per 100L of water would give you a value of 1ppm.
Potassium Sulphate - 55g to 500ml of water and adding 10ml per 100L of water would give you a value of 5ppm
Magnesium Sulphate - 70g to 500ml of water and add 50ml once a week per 100L of water - this would give a target of 7ppm.

It is possible to add the solutions into one bottle except for the trace mix as, depending on the chelator used, the iron could react with the phosphate. Generally speaking it is a good idea to make the solutions up in separate bottles until you are comfortable with the dosing.

I would like to only have one bottom of fert solution so would can I put everything into one 500ml bottle but tweak the amounts of each additive so that when I add 10mls of the solution to the tank I will still get the required ppm values above? The other thing I was trying to avoid is using the estimated index method as it requires a weekly 50% water change and I would rather add smaller amounts daily or the PPS method as its also know. Does anyone have a link or info on the PPS method and how to make up a solution?

Ive started a new thread in the PLANTS section of this website; just as I think this could be quite a good topic, and I dont want to take away from the excellent 90l Planted Tank Journal.