Planted Aquarium Maintenance ? - MyFishTank.Net Freshwater Saltwater Aquarium Fish Forum

tsweers89 · 11-02-2009, 01:00 PM

I picked up a 72g bowfront and am now finally getting everything ready to set it up and get it going, but i have a few questions. I am going to be aquascaping it with some driftwood to add in it.

Here are my qusetions:

1. I plan on having a grass plant on the tank bottom. Like this tank here:
http://truthinart.files.wordpress.co...amanotank1.jpg

Now i know on my old aquarium when i would do a water change i would syphon the gravel and such but when i have a grass type plant how do i go about doing that since i wont be able to get down to the gravel and trying would probably reck the plant?

2. How many of you use a UV seteralizer? I have been told it makes the water more clear and kills micro organizmes and bateria in the tank. What are your thoughts on this? also what is a good one to gowith for my 72g. Im using a ehiem filter so i would probably want to go with a inline one.

3. Since i am using a canister filter i thought about a inline heater also so i could get rid the intank one i currently have. How efficient are these? Would a 300watt be sufficient or would i still need a in tank to? This is the one i was looking at: ETH 300 In-Line Heater 300W f/16mm-5/8"Hose

4. As far as ehiem filter media goes do i really need anything? My first plan was to just use the sponges and then just a bunch of aquarium flawss. Is that ok? i see these bio balls, carbon, etc that you can get but am woundering if there are really needed.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

tsweers89 · 11-02-2009, 03:47 PM

Also is a powerhead going to be needed to get flow across the tank? or is my ehiem filter intake and out going to cause enough.

epond83 · 11-02-2009, 07:52 PM

1. Not 100% sure but i think that you don't need to clean the gravel as much since root plants take up the nutrients that breakdown in the gravel.

2. From what i can tell not many people on here use UV filters, they only kill what in floating in the water, a fine floss of polishing pad is what will get the water supper clear. These need cleaned more often depending on what your tank produces. regualr WC will help out here a lot too. If you do run a UV make sure to not run it while cycling the tank.

3. I don't have any experince with inline heaters but if it's 300 watt it should work.

4. No need for carbon since it will remove any ferts you might want for the plants. You do need some sort of biomedia though. Ehiem has a few different ones you can use, some sort of ceramic material for the bacteria to conalize on.

For flow you want lower surface aggitaion to keep CO2 in the water but still good flow. Does the filter have a spray bar? That should provide good output stream kept low enough to only disturb the surface a little. some people use powerheads to diffuse CO2 into the tank so that could do double duty. Also on the salt side they have power heads that only move water and don't have sponges on them, like a koralia powerhead i have one in my turtle tank to help keep stuff suspended for the filter to remove.

11-02-2009, 01:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
tsweers89 Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 5	Planted Aquarium Maintenance ? I picked up a 72g bowfront and am now finally getting everything ready to set it up and get it going, but i have a few questions. I am going to be aquascaping it with some driftwood to add in it. Here are my qusetions: 1. I plan on having a grass plant on the tank bottom. Like this tank here: http://truthinart.files.wordpress.co...amanotank1.jpg Now i know on my old aquarium when i would do a water change i would syphon the gravel and such but when i have a grass type plant how do i go about doing that since i wont be able to get down to the gravel and trying would probably reck the plant? 2. How many of you use a UV seteralizer? I have been told it makes the water more clear and kills micro organizmes and bateria in the tank. What are your thoughts on this? also what is a good one to gowith for my 72g. Im using a ehiem filter so i would probably want to go with a inline one. 3. Since i am using a canister filter i thought about a inline heater also so i could get rid the intank one i currently have. How efficient are these? Would a 300watt be sufficient or would i still need a in tank to? This is the one i was looking at: ETH 300 In-Line Heater 300W f/16mm-5/8"Hose 4. As far as ehiem filter media goes do i really need anything? My first plan was to just use the sponges and then just a bunch of aquarium flawss. Is that ok? i see these bio balls, carbon, etc that you can get but am woundering if there are really needed. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

11-02-2009, 03:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
tsweers89 Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 5	Also is a powerhead going to be needed to get flow across the tank? or is my ehiem filter intake and out going to cause enough.

11-02-2009, 07:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
epond83 Medium Fish Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 424	1. Not 100% sure but i think that you don't need to clean the gravel as much since root plants take up the nutrients that breakdown in the gravel. 2. From what i can tell not many people on here use UV filters, they only kill what in floating in the water, a fine floss of polishing pad is what will get the water supper clear. These need cleaned more often depending on what your tank produces. regualr WC will help out here a lot too. If you do run a UV make sure to not run it while cycling the tank. 3. I don't have any experince with inline heaters but if it's 300 watt it should work. 4. No need for carbon since it will remove any ferts you might want for the plants. You do need some sort of biomedia though. Ehiem has a few different ones you can use, some sort of ceramic material for the bacteria to conalize on. For flow you want lower surface aggitaion to keep CO2 in the water but still good flow. Does the filter have a spray bar? That should provide good output stream kept low enough to only disturb the surface a little. some people use powerheads to diffuse CO2 into the tank so that could do double duty. Also on the salt side they have power heads that only move water and don't have sponges on them, like a koralia powerhead i have one in my turtle tank to help keep stuff suspended for the filter to remove.