New aquascaping tank

Hi,

I got a 100l bow front tank for free and I want to plan an aquascape.
For filtration I am going to use an Eheim 2224 canister.
On the heating, I am undecided on whether to use undergravel heating coils or not, what are the pros and cons of using undergravel heaters?
I will also be using inline heater on the return pipe of the filter as I don't want any visible elements in the tank in addition to any other heating.
For lighting, I am planning to use Interpet Triplus T5 Compact 24W bulb, a Sylvania Gro-Lux T5 24W bulb, Interpet Daylight Blue T5 Compact 24W bulb.
All light will be on timers to so that the the 3 bulbs will only be run together for 7hrs per 24hours, with lighting provided for 16hours per 24hours.

I would like to start off without using CO2 but would eventually add a CO2 system.

I would like to use a fine substrate like sand but I understand that it can clog up easily, is there a fine girt that could be used instead? It has been suggested to use one of the Tropica substrates.

My plant list is going to be
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Lilaeopsis Mauristius
Vallisneria Americana Natans
Microsorum Pteropus Narrow
Hemmianthis Callitrichoides Cuba
Cyperus Helferi
Bacopa Australis

Are these plants compatabile, is there any plants I should avoid? What would be more suitable plants?

The only fish I will be putting in the tank, will be a dozen Serpae Tetras.
Is there any issues with this setup? Should I change some of the plants? Will I really need CO2?

Thanks
Darragh

How fine is the Aquagrit?

I saw some of the Aquagrit when I was in Wackers/Tropical World getting cat food at the weekend.,
It looks like 3mm gravel, I'd like something a little finer. Can coral sand or a silica sand be used as a top layer over the aquagrit?

Darragh

I got the species of Lilaeopsis wrong, it is Lilaeopsis mauritiana.
It is a reed like plant 5-10cm in height

The Glosso will probably compete with the Hemianthus Callitrichoides Cuba, so I'll go with the Hemianthus only.
I'm going to leave out the Vallisneria and keep the Cyperus Helfrei for the background.
So now my plant list will be going from the background to the foreground:

Cyperus Helferi 20-35cm

Microsorum Pteropus Narrow 10-20cm

Bacopa Australis 7-30cm

Lilaeopsis Mauritiana 5-10cm

Hemianthis Callitrichoides Cuba 3cm

It will probably look pretty sparse but I don't want to use broad leafed plants

Darragh

I would like to use obsidian rocks as a focal point but is there an LFS that sells Obsidian or a similar black quartz type rock?

I still have to work out what my substrate will be, my thinking so far is to use a layer of aquagrit 2cm high to cover the base. Then blanket that base layer with a layer of filter wool.
Place a 2-3cm high layer of Tropica substrate on top the filter wool and cover this with another layer of filter wool. Cover the filter wool with a layer of Aquagrit and then top off the aquagrit with a coral sand. The substrate will slope from 6cm in the front to 10-12m in the background.

Is the Tropica substrate enough on it's own or do I need to add a root fertilizer?
The last time I setup a tank I used the same layering except I used aquatic soil and mixed with a red fertilizer that I got from Dave Whelan (Trop Shop) but I don't remember the name of it.

Darragh

The filter wool acts as a barrier between the different layers, so that the soil doesn't seep into the gravel and compact the gravel. So it acts as a barrier.
The filter wool is not the finely woven, so plant roots can root through it.
This has worked pretty successfully in my current tank for 4 years now but I am not adverse to trying some other material as a barrier between layers or having no barrier at all, but how to I stop compaction of the layers?

Darragh

If Takashi Amano and Tom Barr don't use filter wool, that's good enough reason for me not to use it.
Are my 4 layers ok? I have never used sand in an aquarium before, so what is it like for maintenance?
Will the plants be ok with coral sand? I don't mind using silica sand but I prefer the whitish colour of coral sand

Darragh

I thought AquaGrit was inert and lacked nutrients, so I using it as a gravel layer.
I didn't realise that AquaGrit will lower the pH, so I might use the AquaGrit as a base layer to maintain equilibrium in the setup as the Serpae Tetra require a pH of 5.5 to 7.5

Darragh

Coral gravel will cause the pH and hardness to go up but this should be balanced out by the aquagrit layer.
I'll just have to put a sample mix of the 3 layers together for a few days and see what proportions of substrates will balance out the pH over a week or 2.
Sharp edges won't be a problem, I am only going to have a dozen or so serpae tetras.

The other option is to use a 2-3mm white/golden gravel like white quartz but I haven't found anywhere one the internet that supplies it. The closest I came was Tex-Blast, a sand blasting sand with a grain size of 2-3mm available in the US but would cost a fortune to ship here.

The more I think about this, the more I am inclined towards the colour of silica sand, if I could achieve that colour with a fine gravel, I'd be happy

Darragh

I have been reading about using Sandblasting sand, it typical has a 2-3mm grain size and maybe a suitable alternative.
I need to read a bit more about it but it seems to be inert

Darragh

Darren,

I'm not going to go with coral sand or gravel. I have been researching on some of the american planting forum and blasting sand is what I am thinking of using

My current thoughts are to use a 2-3cm layer of aquagrit as a base. Place a 2cm sloping to a 10cm layer of the Tropica substrate.
I'll top off the Tropica substrate with aquagrit in the background and most of the foreground except where I want to have the substrate visible.
In the visible foreground, I'll put either blasting sand or silica sand. All the plants will be planted into the Aquagrit/Tropica substrate so the sand shouldn't cause me any issues, hopefully

Thanks
Darragh

This is the tank I got for from a friend. It has been sitting in his shed for a few years.


It is a 100 litre Aquatlantis tank with 1x 18W T8 bulb.
Over the weekend I visited our sponsor Tropical World at Wackers on the Long Mile Road.
Gavin gave me some great advice and I bought the following items for the new setup:

1. Eheim Ecco 2231
2. Rena Heater - This is a cool heater that can either be used on the input or output stage of an external filter and is pretty indestructible, I'll add a photo of it later
3. Aquagrit 25Kg
4. Tropica Substrate 5l
5. Tropica NP fertlilzer

I striped out the internal Bio filter that was attached with black silicone to the rear glass.
I cleaned it down with just a brand new sponge and lots of cold water.
I filled up the tank with cold water and left the water standing for 30 mins to ensure there was no leaks.
I siliconed the bulb clips in place for the compact T5 bulbs and have left it over night to cure.

I have to order the rocks, plants and sand. During the week I will be setting up the equipment and preparing the substrate.

Hopefully next weekend I can add plants

Darragh

I currently have a Interpet 24W T5 Triplus Compact and I will be adding another 24W T5 compact during the week.
I will eventually add a 3rd 24W T5 but I'd like to keep initial cost down, so I will keep the 18W T8 for the moment. If I am not happy with the lighting in the short term, I will replace it sooner.

Here is the tank after it has been cleaned up and the internal filter remove:


This is the hood with the 24W Compact T5 added:

I have enough room to just about add another 24W Compact T5 but it will get tight.
Therefore I will remove the T8 assembly and cut the inner hood assembly to make room for 2 additional T5 bulbs. This will also give me enough room to install more powerful bulbs, up to 55W Compact T5s.
Unfortunately, the hood doesn't really allow much room for standard T5 bulbs and I can't use an overhead luminary, as we have a few cats at home and they could get into the tank if it was open.

This is the heater that I bought

It will act as the return of the external filter inside the tank

Hey Denis,

The 2 pieces of glass are braces for the bow front. They don't bear any weight but they are capable of bearing a few pounds. The hood sits onto the glass rim, so it is load bearing.
The lid that is proped up with the compact sits on top of the hood.

I think the tank is around 18inches tall, but I'm not sure, I'd have to measure it when I get home.

I was planning to cut up the hood to remove the bulb and ballast unit and cut anyway as much of the hood as possible leaving only a lip for the the lid to sit onto. All the bulbs would be attached to the lid.

Thinking a bit more about a DIY lighting unit, I could possibly make a unit to sit onto those glass braces. I'll try come up with some drawings later of what a possible lighting unit would look like.

Darragh

I have added one more plant to my list
Utricularia graminifolia
This will be my main foreground plant

Above is the dimensions of the tank, I'll add dimensions for the bracing glass this evening.

I tested the bracing glass to see if it could support some weight. I put 10 litres of substrate onto one of the braces and left it for 3 hours and it was supported it.
I reckon from that test, the bracing is capable of supporting 10-12lbs over both braces.