Thank you guys

[Kellanved]

So, I have just joined MFK, though i have been browsing your site for nigh on two years now. This is definitely one of the best resources on the web. At the moment i am in possession of a 10g, a 30g, a 50g, and have just acquired a used 75 which i am looking forward to setting up in the fall, which is really the crux of this post. Of the aquariums that are in operation at the moment, the 10 and the 50 are planted, and the 30 has fakes due to burying fish which kept killing the plants i had. The thing is that the two planted tanks i have pretty much are horrible, they have only a few types of plants, and really take care of themselves. What i would really like is some suggestions for the seventy five that would require some work, but would overload me completely. Oh, and as i am a college student who absolutely adores aquariums, I am willing to spend a decent amount of money, but the budget is limited.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[chonhzilla]

nice to see you here.

 

[amehel0]

okay heres some options

Either buy a seriously expensive substrate or buy regular gravel and mix in pure laterite dupla sells laterite, or you can get some laterite in the soil (depends wherre u live)

Assumign you want to go light loving use t5's or pc/pl if low light then go t8's

Screw Pressurized Co2 either diy yeast if going light loving or se no co2 ijection if u use t8's

Get ther rite bulbs, i used t8's and t5's t8's on 6700k and t5's on 14000 and i got better growth from t8's.

dont use powerheads,spraybars or anything that makes the water surface move

AND LASTLY GOOD LUCK

 

[WyldFya]

okay heres some options

Either buy a seriously expensive substrate or buy regular gravel and mix in pure laterite dupla sells laterite, or you can get some laterite in the soil (depends wherre u live)

Assumign you want to go light loving use t5's or pc/pl if low light then go t8's

Screw Pressurized Co2 either diy yeast if going light loving or se no co2 ijection if u use t8's

Get ther rite bulbs, i used t8's and t5's t8's on 6700k and t5's on 14000 and i got better growth from t8's.

dont use powerheads,spraybars or anything that makes the water surface move

AND LASTLY GOOD LUCK

With high light, you need pressurized co2. Reaction co2 is only good for moderately low, to low lighting. The reason the T8s worked better for you is that 14,000K is the wrong spectrum. Plants prefer the 5,000k-10,000K range, with 5,500K being sunlight. Powerheads are good for keeping algae at bay, and are highly recommended in planted tanks, spray bars/surface agitation is important if you don't have co2.

 

[Kellanved]

Sweet guys, thanks, at the moment, i have a pressurized co2 cannister from one of my old tanks, and was intending to hook that up again, as far as substrate goes, the intention was to use fluorite, with river rocks of various sizes strewn across the top, and a decent amount of DIY driftwood, in different areas to give it a more natural look than just a pure substrate. Additionally, i thought the rock would help me to keep some of the plants anchored to the bottom, i've always had trouble with that, though it could be the bichirs.