This tank is really hitting its stride. I drained it for almost a year as life got busy, but things are more routine now, and I started this up right after the new year.
- This is a 120cm x 60cm x 50cm rimless aquarium.
- The substrate is inert Black Diamond Blasting Sand (BDBS ).
- I live in an area where our water is liquid rock, so I use Reverse Osmosis water reconstituted with APT Sky.
- I use the Estimative Index (EI) for my fertilizer routine using dry salts, with macros added on water change day, and a little extra mid week. Micros (CSMB) are added every other day.
- The tank gets weekly 90% water changes and carefully vacuum up and debris from the surface of the sand. At this time I do basic plant trimming and management. Large water changes keep a lot of the excess organics low, which helps to keep this tank balanced and free of algae. It takes about an hour a week.
‐ Every few months, every single stem gets removed, the BDBS substrate is stirred lightly, along with a 90% water change and then replanted with 2 or 3 stems of each plant I want to keep.
- I use a canister filter that is connected to a CO2 reactor that I inject pressurized CO2 into through a regulator. This helps the CO2 to dissolve in the water completely and be evenly distributed around the tank.
- Lighting is provided by 2 x Chihiros LED pendant lights. They have an app that is nice to use, and I have it set for 10,000K color rendition (gives a nice balanced white look to the light) at 75% power. I sometimes wish I thought through lighting options better. Im convinced modern LED lights from companies like this are way too much for almost all of us out there.
- This is a 120cm x 60cm x 50cm rimless aquarium.
- The substrate is inert Black Diamond Blasting Sand (BDBS ).
- I live in an area where our water is liquid rock, so I use Reverse Osmosis water reconstituted with APT Sky.
- I use the Estimative Index (EI) for my fertilizer routine using dry salts, with macros added on water change day, and a little extra mid week. Micros (CSMB) are added every other day.
- The tank gets weekly 90% water changes and carefully vacuum up and debris from the surface of the sand. At this time I do basic plant trimming and management. Large water changes keep a lot of the excess organics low, which helps to keep this tank balanced and free of algae. It takes about an hour a week.
‐ Every few months, every single stem gets removed, the BDBS substrate is stirred lightly, along with a 90% water change and then replanted with 2 or 3 stems of each plant I want to keep.
- I use a canister filter that is connected to a CO2 reactor that I inject pressurized CO2 into through a regulator. This helps the CO2 to dissolve in the water completely and be evenly distributed around the tank.
- Lighting is provided by 2 x Chihiros LED pendant lights. They have an app that is nice to use, and I have it set for 10,000K color rendition (gives a nice balanced white look to the light) at 75% power. I sometimes wish I thought through lighting options better. Im convinced modern LED lights from companies like this are way too much for almost all of us out there.
