180 Gallon 6x2x2 Planter tank gernal

[stretch5]

Over the last 2 months have been doing alot of reading and bough a Aquka One 180 Gallon 6x2x2 tank for a good price second hand on fathers day. Came with some really nice pieces of drift wood.
I grew them out in a 5x2x1.5 and collected things over time. I got my discus about 2" and now want to have a crack at plants with discus. Some have done well others slower progress, im still learning about discus. My co2 stuff arrived last week and also a 4 channel dosing kit which i have had running for a few days, so far so good.
Also got some Aussie black worms and fish are going nuts for them.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eg7qw2pskzdyi72/1.jpg?dl=1
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[bluelagoon]

IMO,added CO2 and ferts for that set up is not needed/will not work because of the water movement,the CO2 will gas off too quick to make a difference.Plus it isn't what I'd say was a high tech tank.All those bubbles will need to be shut off during the day and turned on again after the lights go out.

[Altum Nut]

I would totally agree with Mervin. Co2 needs to remain in tank while lights are on to be beneficial as plants will absorb it.
During the night when lights are out the plants will give off Co2 and can be gassed off. A proper Co2 controller will be required for this unless you do it manually.

...Ralph

[Ryan925]

I would totally agree with Mervin. Co2 needs to remain in tank while lights are on to be beneficial as plants will absorb it.
During the night when lights are out the plants will give off Co2 and can be gassed off. A proper Co2 controller will be required for this unless you do it manually.

...Ralph

When I was running co2 I just ran the tank on a timer. I set it to come on 1 hour before photo period then one hour before lights off.

You will need a quality drop checker to monitor co2 levels as well as a bubble counter.

Is say with those few plants co2 won't be necessary and very little ferts.

[Altum Nut]

When I was running co2 I just ran the tank on a timer. I set it to come on 1 hour before photo period then one hour before lights off.

You will need a quality drop checker to monitor co2 levels as well as a bubble counter.

Is say with those few plants co2 won't be necessary and very little ferts.

Egg-Zackly...my friend. :)
The bubble counter I seen in pic along with the regulator/solenoid but a diffused reactor is required inside tank connected to co2 coming in via airline.
With so little plants I can see a major algae bloom problem. A mix of intense lighting and nutrients added being to much for such little plants to absorb the over-all balance.


...Ralph

[bluelagoon]

You can achieve a nice planted tank without any thing added but lots of fresh water.These are a few low tech planted tanks I used to have.The domestic tank is my first a crack at discus;this was around 12 years age.Then I have 5 wilds.Also low tech;only fresh water.the pics are not great but gives you some idea what you can do without all that extra stuff.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x104/bluelagoon_02/76gal.jpg~original (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/bluelagoon_02/media/76gal.jpg.html)

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x104/bluelagoon_02/discusaug62012004.jpg~original (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/bluelagoon_02/media/discusaug62012004.jpg.html)

76 gal.bow front.24" deep.

[Ryan925]

You can achieve a nice planted tank without any thing added but lots of fresh water.These are a few low tech planted tanks I used to have.The domestic tank is my first a crack at discus;this was around 12 years age.Then I have 5 wilds.Also low tech;only fresh water.the pics are not great but gives you some idea what you can do without all that extra stuff.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x104/bluelagoon_02/76gal.jpg~original (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/bluelagoon_02/media/76gal.jpg.html)

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x104/bluelagoon_02/discusaug62012004.jpg~original (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/bluelagoon_02/media/discusaug62012004.jpg.html)

76 gal.bow front.24" deep.

Agreed!! Low tech tanks can be very lush and green.

It all comes down to proper balance with lighting being at the top of the list

[bluelagoon]

Agreed.Lighting is the most important of the three.The wilds liked the floaters.

[stretch5]

IMO,added CO2 and ferts for that set up is not needed/will not work because of the water movement,the CO2 will gas off too quick to make a difference.Plus it isn't what I'd say was a high tech tank.All those bubbles will need to be shut off during the day and turned on again after the lights go out.
You have a very nice tank bluelagoon and done well just good lighting no co2 or ferts.
I may have went a little overboard. What makes a tech a high tech tank, a while back I had some basic plants and 3x 150W floodlights in a different tank. The plants did good as cutings for a few weeks then started getting holes in all the new growth, though it was because of too much light not enough ferts and co2 for level of lighting and went back to bare bottom tank. I don’t have a light dimer. This time around I have T5 lights, rock mineral dirty and added co2 and ferts to hope that doesnt happen again.Ill reduce the co2 amount through my bubble counter to stop those bubbles, I have a solenoid on a timer so lights, co2 and wave maker only come on together for 8 hrs a day. Should I remove the wave maker? I though I could move the bubbles around the tank give them more time to dissolve, seen it on some youtube vids.

When I was running co2 I just ran the tank on a timer. I set it to come on 1 hour before photo period then one hour before lights off. You will need a quality drop checker to monitor co2 levels as well as a bubble counter. Is say with those few plants co2 won't be necessary and very little ferts.
I have a timer running all the co2 related kit, but will look at getting a second timer so the co2 comes on an hour before th lights and shuts off hour before the lights go out. The bubble checkers them self are just glass, you mean quality water drops? From reading the ones you buy they have a solution that is exactly 4dKH and add correct amount of PH solution.

Egg-Zackly...my friend. :)The bubble counter I seen in pic along with the regulator/solenoid but a diffused reactor is required inside tank connected to co2 coming in via airline. With so little plants I can see a major algae bloom problem. A mix of intense lighting and nutrients added being to much for such little plants to absorb the over-all balance.
I have a difussed reactor in the bottom left hand corner seen in below pic, also have another one coming that goes inline of my canister filter to replace current one.
Thanks for the tip about algae bloom, will only put in small amounts and increase as plants grow. With the auto dosser I can program intervals and how many mls to put in each day. I Can bump the mls each does at a time I see holes in new growth of leaves.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q69dngm01elmpqr/20161001_195357.jpg?dl=1

[Ryan925]

You have a very nice tank bluelagoon and done well just good lighting no co2 or ferts.
I may have went a little overboard. What makes a tech a high tech tank, a while back I had some basic plants and 3x 150W floodlights in a different tank. The plants did good as cutings for a few weeks then started getting holes in all the new growth, though it was because of too much light not enough ferts and co2 for level of lighting and went back to bare bottom tank. I don’t have a light dimer. This time around I have T5 lights, rock mineral dirty and added co2 and ferts to hope that doesnt happen again.Ill reduce the co2 amount through my bubble counter to stop those bubbles, I have a solenoid on a timer so lights, co2 and wave maker only come on together for 8 hrs a day. Should I remove the wave maker? I though I could move the bubbles around the tank give them more time to dissolve, seen it on some youtube vids.

I have a timer running all the co2 related kit, but will look at getting a second timer so the co2 comes on an hour before th lights and shuts off hour before the lights go out. The bubble checkers them self are just glass, you mean quality water drops? From reading the ones you buy they have a solution that is exactly 4dKH and add correct amount of PH solution.

I have a difussed reactor in the bottom left hand corner seen in below pic, also have another one coming that goes inline of my canister filter to replace current one.
Thanks for the tip about algae bloom, will only put in small amounts and increase as plants grow. With the auto dosser I can program intervals and how many mls to put in each day. I Can bump the mls each does at a time I see holes in new growth of leaves.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q69dngm01elmpqr/20161001_195357.jpg?dl=1

Is it a wave maker or just a nano pump? If it's a wave maker I would prob ditch it. I dont think the discus would really appreciate it. When I was running co2 I did run a nano pump at the same time.

As far as drop checker you are right they all are essentially the same thing. What I found is that some are sold with actual 4dkh solution where some are sold with basically ph indicator solution. Myself I prefer the greenleaf drop checkers although they are pricey. I can't remember off hand what the one is called that I have but it has a chamber for a reference solution and a separate chamber for indicator solution. Makes it really easy to adjust to proper color.

I still think with such a light plant load co2 and ferts might be too much

[Filip]

Agree with the rest of the comments Stretch.
Plenty of light as a number one , fresh water and root tabs or a bit of nutrient rich soil in a pot is all you need to have a nice and lush tank. Wise selection of easy growing plants is also important.

How many T5 bulbs and what wattage do you have on this tank ?

[stretch5]

Is it a wave maker or just a nano pump? If it's a wave maker I would prob ditch it. I dont think the discus would really appreciate it. When I was running co2 I did run a nano pump at the same time. As far as drop checker you are right they all are essentially the same thing. What I found is that some are sold with actual 4dkh solution where some are sold with basically ph indicator solution. Myself I prefer the greenleaf drop checkers although they are pricey. I can't remember off hand what the one is called that I have but it has a chamber for a reference solution and a separate chamber for indicator solution. Makes it really easy to adjust to proper color.
I still think with such a light plant load co2 and ferts might be too much
It’s a wave maker, I didn’t have it in there before as you said discus didn’t really like it. Ill switch the co2 off then and run tinniest amount of ferts see what happens no wave maker. I bought a kh and GH test kit today to see what my water is like here.
From reading with high temps will be hard to dissolve co2 in my large tank and its volume as as temps get warmer need more c02.

Agree with the rest of the comments Stretch.
Plenty of light as a number one , fresh water and root tabs or a bit of nutrient rich soil in a pot is all you need to have a nice and lush tank. Wise selection of easy growing plants is also important. How many T5 bulbs and what wattage do you have on this tank ?
Thanks filip, co2 off now and go basic see where I end up. Can always move the co2 into another small tank no fish for fun. I asked the guy I got the plants of for basic ones. I have 4x 39w globes and 4 x 24w total of about 250w. It the aqua one lights that come with this tank setup, Person before me bought it all new, moved house and doesn’t have space, It’s a few years old and got it for a good price.

[bluelagoon]

What kelvin range are the lights.This is just as important as watts.I really like the fluval T5 6700k.I had a double on that 76 gal.2 foot deep tank with the wilds and an 18000K and a 6700K T5 on the domestics.18000k is high but the colors were great.

[stretch5]

so tap water at 18.5c its cold here. KH 4 drops 71.6. GH 7 drops 125.3. I know ppl worry about ph alot but that depends on KH more as its a total combination as a buffer and aging water is good but once added KH is still the same value cant change your tap water unless you run RO.
Lights on for 8hrs off now for 3 hrs off after co2 and lights out
Tank water 30c, KH 6 drops 89.5, GH 8 drops 143.2. this is what i have in perth austraila.
Any comments love to hear as im new to KH and GH and what is good what is bad. Just trying to learn ppl

[stretch5]

What kelvin range are the lights.This is just as important as watts.I really like the fluval T5 6700k.I had a double on that 76 gal.2 foot deep tank with the wilds and an 18000K and a 6700K T5 on the domestics.18000k is high but the colors were great.

most are 1000k and a few 600k i think. mose redish and few white light

[Ryan925]

so tap water at 18.5c its cold here. KH 4 drops 71.6. GH 7 drops 125.3. I know ppl worry about ph alot but that depends on KH more as its a total combination as a buffer and aging water is good but once added KH is still the same value cant change your tap water unless you run RO.
Lights on for 8hrs off now for 3 hrs off after co2 and lights out
Tank water 30c, KH 6 drops 89.5, GH 8 drops 143.2. this is what i have in perth austraila.
Any comments love to hear as im new to KH and GH and what is good what is bad. Just trying to learn ppl

I think one of the most important factors is temp. I see a lot of people failing with plants in their discus tank because they are not choosing plants that can handle the high temps. There is a good sticky here that lists plants that work in discus tanks. I actually purchased a "discus starter pack" from an online store. My plants flourished in my tank but got to be too much. I eventually removed them in favor of the discus growth. Was sad to see them go but much happier with growth and appearance of my fish.

Here's a pic of the plants I had. I was running co2 and dosing ferts102170102171

[bluelagoon]

most are 1000k and a few 600k i think. mose redish and few white light

Plants prefer a Kelvin brightness of 5000 K to 10,000 K.The higher in K your see more blue to the eye;lower and it is redder to the eye.Blue rays will penetrate deeper than red rays.Plants need both.

[stretch5]

I think one of the most important factors is temp. I see a lot of people failing with plants in their discus tank because they are not choosing plants that can handle the high temps. There is a good sticky here that lists plants that work in discus tanks. I actually purchased a "discus starter pack" from an online store. My plants flourished in my tank but got to be too much. I eventually removed them in favor of the discus growth. Was sad to see them go but much happier with growth and appearance of my fish. Here's a pic of the plants I had. I was running co2 and dosing fert
Looks very nice Ryan, Ill take a look at that sticky for sure. I wont be adding anymore plants anytime soon see how what I got goes and pull the ones that die out. What size tank is that Ryan. Fish look nice and healthy

Plants prefer a Kelvin brightness of 5000 K to 10,000 K.The higher in K your see more blue to the eye;lower and it is redder to the eye.Blue rays will penetrate deeper than red rays.Plants need both.

Ok that makes sense it came with mostly the 10,000k light I think when they stopped working they were changed out for natural light ones. Two of the lights have started to flicker over the weekend. I took all the globes out and sprayed them with contact cleaner and left it in my shed for a day. No luck its still doing it  Cant see how to open the unit up either see if there is a starter to change.
Its model number L1800T5 cant find anything on google either
It’s the two smaller ones on the right side, seem to flicker in sync. The other two are fine. I swapped the globes fron this unit to the other one and this unit with different globes still flickered.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ii3s8xunlc53zyf/aqua%20one%20lights%20model%20info.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ezd19rqovba92hv/aqua%20one%20lights.jpg?dl=1