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 dirted tank

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firegouramiman11

firegouramiman11


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Join date : 2012-12-23
Location : corvallis, oregon

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PostSubject: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyMon Jun 03, 2013 11:25 pm

So as you know I started a reef tank and it was going good for a while then I had a algea bloom and I cleared that up then the tank started looking pretty good and all of a sudden it just crashed and burned booth of my fish died and so did my shrimp and really don't know why. So I have a empty 20 gallon with t5s on it fully setup so I think I'm going to do a dirted freshwater tank and I was wondering if any one has any experience with a dirted tank and what the best way to do one is
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firegouramiman11

firegouramiman11


Posts : 113
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Join date : 2012-12-23
Location : corvallis, oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 06, 2013 12:26 am

So I have a t5 light fixture on my soon to be planted tank and I have a 10000k bulb in it and a actinic 420 will these work for plants
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badxgillen

badxgillen


Posts : 2139
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Join date : 2011-07-14
Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 06, 2013 12:35 am

That bulb combo will work and look awesome.I have tried it before,it might not get the maximum growth but it certainly has enough PAR to grow alot of plants.On the soil you can use a number of products as long as they dont contain any additives and preferably not fertilized with and non organic compost or non composted materials such as steer manure and other mulches.Also give soil tanks a little longer to cycle before adding fish.Dont forget you will almost always get softer water with a lower PH as well.
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firegouramiman11

firegouramiman11


Posts : 113
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Join date : 2012-12-23
Location : corvallis, oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 06, 2013 12:47 am

On cool I changed my mind on the dirt I'm doing a sand bottom and then I'm going to do c02 is sand a good substrate
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badxgillen

badxgillen


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Join date : 2011-07-14
Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 06, 2013 1:42 am

A few things to keep in mind you wont be able to have to much flow as any kicked up sand will clog your prefilter or jam up parts.Also water changes are a simple siphoning of the top layer,not to mention the surface area for bacteria in the substrate can be reduced if there is no life churning then sand.So on that note its not hard keeping a sand tank just a few little things to consider.I have a couple sand tanks and they look great in my opinion.
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Jroy2010




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Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 31
Location : Corvallis

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 06, 2013 5:38 am

If you do sand, and you want to see similar plant growth to a dirted tank, you could use latirite as a bottom layer. It provides a great amount of nutrients that the plants normally dont have access too.
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Hamstern

Hamstern


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Join date : 2011-07-13
Location : Corvallis, Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 06, 2013 11:56 pm

Sorry about the tank crash and your losses. During my few years in the saltwater hobby my tank crashed like yours-nearly all of my fish and inverts died, including my favorite Blenny and one of my Black Saddle Back Clowns. However I believe this was due to a filter clog by kicked up sand. Now I am not saying sand is bad to use in your new aquarium, however just reinforcing Badxgillen's advice about avoiding the excessive stir up of sand and comparing experiences. I hope your new planted tank works out better than your salt water tank.
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firegouramiman11

firegouramiman11


Posts : 113
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Join date : 2012-12-23
Location : corvallis, oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyMon Jun 10, 2013 11:55 pm

So my tank is off to an awesome start I put some plants in there from my big tank the plants are about 5 pieces of jungle Val and a beat up.java fern I also went by all for fish to see what fish they had left and I got 2 glass cats 4 salt and pepper cories and 1 marbled sailfin. They all are seeming to be happy in the tank. I have also have started a small obsession with plecos and really want a gold nugget so has any one every had one or know if there hard to care for.
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badxgillen

badxgillen


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Join date : 2011-07-14
Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyTue Jun 11, 2013 3:30 am

Golden nugget plecos like a good water chemistry a nuetral or lower PH,drift wood,and the occasional meaty food. The marbel sailfin will get alot larger I am sure you know.Another thing is with plecos like the sailfin you may start to lose plants as it develops a taste for them after your algae is gone.This may not happen until he gets a little bigger.Watch out for lack of growth or new growth being chewed on.
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firegouramiman11

firegouramiman11


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Join date : 2012-12-23
Location : corvallis, oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyTue Jun 11, 2013 7:34 pm

I know that the marbled gets big so I planed on putting him my 110 when he gets about 6-7 inches to open up for more room for another pleco and are vampire plecos needing the same as a gold nugget
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badxgillen

badxgillen


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Join date : 2011-07-14
Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyTue Jun 11, 2013 8:57 pm

Yes there requirements are similar.I have seen some good sized vampire plecos.They were awesome! I am a big fan of the para pleco too as they are a nice white and almost black color with the white being in lines that almost squigle.They are much more affordable than the zebra pleco and other black\white marbeled specimens too but has some similar colorations.
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Hamstern

Hamstern


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Join date : 2011-07-13
Location : Corvallis, Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyTue Jun 11, 2013 10:55 pm

Nice! Good to know your new planted tank are working out. I have a high appreciation for aquatic frogs aka African Dwarf Frogs. They make a nice addition to fresh water tanks as long there is not too much competition for food. But then again Plecos are fun to watch and are quite beneficial to fish tanks.
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firegouramiman11

firegouramiman11


Posts : 113
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Join date : 2012-12-23
Location : corvallis, oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyWed Jun 12, 2013 11:17 am

im going to swing by the animal house today and see if they have a cool pleco. do you think a vampire or gold nugget would do ok in a larger tank or should I put it in the 20? I may also have to get a couple dwarf frogs to I have seen them in tanks at the store and always wondered why I don't have some.
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Hamstern

Hamstern


Posts : 247
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Join date : 2011-07-13
Location : Corvallis, Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: dirted tank   dirted tank EmptyThu Jun 13, 2013 1:58 pm

Well if you do decide to obtain African Dwarf Frogs as I said before I would recommend that you make sure food actually gets to them and there is not far to much competition between other fish. My frogs are lazy and don't spend all so much effort in grabbing munchies...
they don't seek the food....the food seeks them....lol!

afroafroafro
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