Planted tank starter?

[Pyramid_Party]

First, figure out the size of tank you want. Then figure out the lighting you will need. You do not need alot of light in most cases. Next start looking at some plants, pick a few you like. Remember, plants are just like fish, they can outgrow tanks so make sure you stock properly. You can choose to use liquid fertilizers or dry fertilize. In some cases its not needed. You have the option to use excel (which is sort of a c02 substitute). Again, it may or may not be needed. It really all depends what type of planted tank you want and the goals you want.


But whatever you do make sure you do your research and ask lots of questions. You do not want to go into planted tanks blind. Because you will blow lots of money and not be satisfied.

 

[duipo]

First, figure out the size of tank you want. Then figure out the lighting you will need. You do not need alot of light in most cases. Next start looking at some plants, pick a few you like. Remember, plants are just like fish, they can outgrow tanks so make sure you stock properly. You can choose to use liquid fertilizers or dry fertilize. In some cases its not needed. You have the option to use excel (which is sort of a c02 substitute). Again, it may or may not be needed. It really all depends what type of planted tank you want and the goals you want.


But whatever you do make sure you do your research and ask lots of questions. You do not want to go into planted tanks blind. Because you will blow lots of money and not be satisfied.

Sorry for sounding ignorant but i don't know what Excel is I don't know anything yet that's why i want to learn I would only like to create a small 10g planted tank with a few neon tetra, that way i can learn and eventually get more. also do you think that i might be able to lightly plant my Oscars tank, it has a t8 bulb

 

[jcardona1]

Sorry for sounding ignorant but i don't know what Excel is I don't know anything yet that's why i want to learn I would only like to create a small 10g planted tank with a few neon tetra, that way i can learn and eventually get more. also do you think that i might be able to lightly plant my Oscars tank, it has a t8 bulb

Seachem's Flourish Excel is a liquid organic carbon supplement. For small tanks, it can be used as a replacement of a pressurized co2 setup

 

[duipo]

Seachem's Flourish Excel is a liquid organic carbon supplement. For small tanks, it can be used as a replacement of a pressurized co2 setup

Thank you

 

[m1ste2tea]

I'd also suggest a 10-20 gallon tank. for the amount of money that it seems you're willing to spend, you can get a 10 gallon tank and a nice t5 light hood for it as well.

a full 10 gallon tank is still small enough to be put in many places around the house yet its large enough inside to actually get creative with some aquascaping.

I just started another 10 gallon planted tank myself a few months ago and its been very rewarding I must say.

 

[Pyramid_Party]

Sorry for sounding ignorant but i don't know what Excel is I don't know anything yet that's why i want to learn I would only like to create a small 10g planted tank with a few neon tetra, that way i can learn and eventually get more. also do you think that i might be able to lightly plant my Oscars tank, it has a t8 bulb

Whats the height in inches of the Oscar tank? One T8 bulb is probably too low anyway. But I think you can grow the easiest of plants like Java fern and java moss. Maybe even some anubias. But the real problem is, the Oscar will probably destroy the plants.

By the way, I recommend T8 lighting or compact fluorescent for a 10 gallon. T5 is too much light.

 

[Will Hayward]

Go for a 10 or 20 Gallon tank! You can do so much in a small space.

 

[duipo]

Go for a 10 or 20 Gallon tank! You can do so much in a small space.

The only problem is that my mum/step dad don't want any more tanks in the house so im going to ask if i could pay the running costs, how much is it on average for that size tank with low tech equipment?

 

[Will Hayward]

The only problem is that my mum/step dad don't want any more tanks in the house so im going to ask if i could pay the running costs, how much is it on average for that size tank with low tech equipment?

My 10 Gallon planted tank for example only:

6W LED Light.
6W Aquaclear 20 Filter
6W Aquaclear 30 Filter
No heater, no other equipment.

Total of 18 Watts.

Light is half the day, and the filters on 24/7, so lets say a total of only 15W running 24/7.

Electricity is charged to your parents by their hydro company by kWh. That's kilowatt hours. A kilowatt is 1000 watts.

• We use watts to see how hungry a device is for power. (e.g., 100-watt bulb is twice as hungry as a 50-watt bulb.)
• We use watt-hours to see how much electricity we actually used over a period of time.

So, just multiply the watts times the hours used to get the watt-hours. (Then divide by 1000 to get the kilowatt-hours, which is how your utility charges you.) Example: 100-watt bulb x 2 hours ÷ 1000 = 0.2 kWh.

Lets use that formula for my tank.

15W x 24 hours /1000 = 0.36kWh per 24 hour day. Say 30 days in a month.

After one 30 day month, only 10.8kWh.

The cost of electricity varies greatly depending on where you live, what service you have, how much you've used after a certain alloted amount, and so on, and on... In general contenental states might pay as low as 5 cents and as high as say 15 cents per kWh. Hawaii might pay up to 30 cents per kWh.

The average is somewhere close to 10 cents probably. And that's an easy number to use so I'll go with it.

Lets findout the cost per month for my 10 Gallon tank. remember we know that over a whole month the tank only uses 10.8kWh

10.8kWh x $0.10 = $1.08. One dollar and eight cents. For one month.

I havent had anyone check my calculations, but I'm fairly confident it's correct.

 

[duipo]

My 10 Gallon planted tank for example only:

6W LED Light.
6W Aquaclear 20 Filter
6W Aquaclear 30 Filter
No heater, no other equipment.

Total of 18 Watts.

Light is half the day, and the filters on 24/7, so lets say a total of only 15W running 24/7.

Electricity is charged to your parents by their hydro company by kWh. That's kilowatt hours. A kilowatt is 1000 watts.

• We use watts to see how hungry a device is for power. (e.g., 100-watt bulb is twice as hungry as a 50-watt bulb.)
• We use watt-hours to see how much electricity we actually used over a period of time.

So, just multiply the watts times the hours used to get the watt-hours. (Then divide by 1000 to get the kilowatt-hours, which is how your utility charges you.) Example: 100-watt bulb x 2 hours ÷ 1000 = 0.2 kWh.

Lets use that formula for my tank.

15W x 24 hours /1000 = 0.36kWh per 24 hour day. Say 30 days in a month.

After one 30 day month, only 10.8kWh.

The cost of electricity varies greatly depending on where you live, what service you have, how much you've used after a certain alloted amount, and so on, and on... In general contenental states might pay as low as 5 cents and as high as say 15 cents per kWh. Hawaii might pay up to 30 cents per kWh.

The average is somewhere close to 10 cents probably. And that's an easy number to use so I'll go with it.

Lets findout the cost per month for my 10 Gallon tank. remember we know that over a whole month the tank only uses 10.8kWh

10.8kWh x $0.10 = $1.08. One dollar and eight cents. For one month.

I havent had anyone check my calculations, but I'm fairly confident it's correct.

wow if you think about it its not actually that much im going to use that formula to work out the cost Thank you!