New 55g -- Kitty litter/sand substrate/VHO Questions
John Pitney
John Pitney <pit...@uiuc.edu.SPAMBLOCK> wrote:
> I set up a new 55g two weeks ago with kitty litter and gravel in the
> substrate. My procedure and results so far are documented with Snappy
> photos on my web page at
> http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/~pitney
Oops! I meant two MONTHS ago. Sorry.
John
Beverly Erlebacher
In article <MPG.eb5a053d...@news1.ziplink.net>,
Jeffrey Rice <jr...@ziplink.net> wrote:
>
> Finally -- about lighting. I managed to get the tank without a
>hood. But even if I put in a double hood, that would only be 80 watts
>for 55g. As suggested (again in the Low Tech Guide!) I could add a
>second hood which would boost it to 120 watts, which is just over the
>2watt/g number. But that's getting expensive...
Your cheapest (and IMHO) most effective move is to buy standard 4'
fluorescent fixtures and build your own hood. You can buy the parts
or buy the whole fixture and disassemble it. Any building supply
store and many hardware stores will have all you need. Just put
the ballast(s) on the outside of the hood to prevent heat problems
and to make the part you lift to open lighter.
If you are really strapped for cash, you can buy used fluorescent
fixtures from a wrecker for a buck or two each.
Almost any tube will give you adequate growth, but some have a poor
color rendition. I like to use one daylight or cool white and one
gro-lux wide spectrum for an especially cheap setup that looks pretty
good. Vitalites are more expensive but give a very aethetically pleasing
light. GE now has a tube called Chroma 50 or Sunlight which is said
to be comparable, and cheaper than vitalites, but I haven't found them
here in Canada yet (not that I've looked all that hard...).
> I've heard about VHO, but don't know much about it. How easy is
>it to upgrade a hood to VHO, and how expensive? I know I need new
>ballast, but I'm concerned about heat and complications in installing it.
>How hard is it? I'm reasonably good with this stuff, but have never
>undertaken anything like this.
> If I do decide to go VHO, can I just get a straight VHO hood? If
>so, how expensive are they? I'm not rolling in it (so to speak) and I
>still need to outfit the tank. I assume it's cheaper to get a straight
>VHO hood? Where would I get one? I have Pet Warehouse's cat but don't
>see anything but upgrade kits. Help, I'm clueless on this!
Well, put it this way. Aquarium hoods from the pet store are about an
order of magnitude more expensive than do it yourself hoods. VHO, if
you can find it at all, is about another order of magnitude. If you
want lots of intense light and are willing to pay big bucks for it, go
metal halide.
You can grow most common plants with 80 watts on a 55, but not the most
light-demanding ones. I have had several tanks with less than one watt
per gallon that grew lots of Java fern, Java moss, cryptocorynes, water
sprite and others. I have a 30gallon with 40 watts that has a nice stand
of vallisneria and a layer of floating plants, too. It might be adequate
for some sword plants too.
> Anyway, very long but I'd really appreciate any advice you could
>offer on this.
Take it slow, find out what grows well for you and don't sweat it over
the species that don't.
Jeffrey Rice
In article <MPG.eb7124b8...@news1.ziplink.net>,
jr...@ziplink.net writes...
> > I then top with a layer of
> > rinsed play sand. The sand can be mixed with crushed coral for a tank
How clean is it reasonable to expect the sand to get after
rinsing? I've been working on my first batch for a while, but still
haven't gotten the water to run cleaner than a yellowish color. Is it
possible to get it to run clear? Or am I wasting my time?
Jeff
Nestor10
> I have about 1.5 - 2" of kitty litter, which I gather is enough. I've got
more -- any use to having it deeper, or no point?
No need for more - remember, you've got to top it with the sand, which will
add another inch or so. I used 2" kl and 1.5" sand myself, for extra sand
depth in case the Kuhlis get really busy. Tetra Initial Sticks have quite a
bit of iron in them, if you can't find the Osmokote - in a couple of my
tanks with just a thin layer of sand, there's actually rusty streaks in the
substrate.
> I got play sand. Haven't quite worked out how to rinse it yet...
I usually use a five gallon bucket. Place about four inches of sand in it
(1/3 or so of a 40 lb bag) and fill with water. Mix well, allow a couple of
seconds for the heavier sand to settle, and pour off the dirty water. Repeat
until the water runs fairly clear - it won't get crystal clear as gravel
would, but by working with it in pieces you have an easier time of it.
Make sure you're outside, too. Any sand in your drain will cause a clog that
only a plumber (and his bill) can handle...
> Where does one get crushed coral?
Most pet/aquarium shops can order what they don't carry. Most dark aquarium
sands are made from crushed coral, and will generally run about $3.00 US for
a five pound bag, which is why I mentioned cutting costs. A single five
pound bag of black coral will tone down the brightness of most light colored
sands considerably
> I'm sorry I'm not sure I understand completely -- you mean use the coral
to raise the pH somewhat?
Dark sand is difficult to find. Coral comes in a variety of shades. Play
sand or river sand is usually quartz- or silicon-based materials, which tend
not to dissolve in the water. Oceanic sand can come in a variety of forms,
some silicate, some carbonate (or if your lucky enough to live in a volcanic
region like Hawaii, you might even get lava-based sand of igneous rocks).
The carbonate types generally are either a shell-based sand, which is a
softer, more easily (relatively speaking) dissolved sand than the much
harder crushed corals. Coral would stand up to longer use and bleed less
carbonate into the tank than the crushed shell.
If you're running a low pH, soft water tank, then you want only about 2 - 4
degrees of carbonate hardness in order to stabilize the pH and keep it from
bottoming out as the tank ages. Mixing in a small proportion of coral to
darken the sand doesn't expose too much coral to the water. Using a large
amount of coral, with a smaller proportion of the sand in order to save on
the cost of the coral, will naturally expose more carbonate to the
environment, with a proportionate rise in buffering and pH - ideal for a
high pH tank without having to shell out the payday for an all-coral bottom.
Crushed coral doesn't necessarily raise the pH immediately, but comes in
handy as a way to maintain it. If you want a quicker effect, with a "hey,why
can't I get my pH down from the 8 range"
response, use shell.
And, just in case, here's Beverly's post in it's entirety:
-----quote-----
-----END quote-----
-Y-
nest...@mindspring.chkr.com
"chkr." is for mail-bots
John Pitney
[snip]
> How realistic is it to take clippings from my existing plants and replant
> them in the new tank? Or should I just bite the bullet and give Dan some
> more business?
I've found that Hygrophila, Apongeton crispus, Egeria najas, and several
other plants grow so quickly in good conditions that, if you have a good
source for cuttings, you might get by with propagating them. On the
other hand, $50 worth of plants, plus s/h, was plenty to really fill my
55g and got me off to a good start.
> Jeff