# Craiglist 80 Gallon >> Walstad style tank ideas...



## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

roud:

Hello Forum!

This is my first post. I had in the past 3 SA Cichlid tanks. I bred Jewel Cichlids as well. Then due to life changes I stopped the hobby all together. Lately I have gotten the aquarium bug again. So I got this beat up 80 gallon tank and I really want to have a planted tank with a pair of Ram Dwarfs and a harem of Agazzis. I realize I will have to setup two zones for them to live relatively stress free. Does this sound doable? I will also include some schooling community fish and a clean up crew. What would you all suggest for these tank mates?

I am also looking for guidance on plant choice. I am thinking of doing ~1.5 watts per gallon for the lighting using t5 6400 lights.. The water column is ~22 inches. I plan on simply using a power head for secondary filtration (or at least at night for water movement to offset the lack of plant produced oxygen ).

So, in closing; thank you for viewing and I hope to be able to learn a ton and share my experiences here!

Brian


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## Calmia22 (Aug 20, 2011)

As far as the fish are concerned, if your tank is planted heavily enough then they can co-exist and be peaceful. 

Stick to plants of low-medium light range.


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

Yes, I was planning on using plants tolerant of low light. Any particular plant or tank mate ideas?

Thanks! 

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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

Also, will fine sand as a cap over the dirt work with the Cichlids? 

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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

Water test...

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## Pooky125 (Jul 30, 2002)

BJWTech said:


> Also, will fine sand as a cap over the dirt work with the Cichlids?


It can get messy. Cichlids tend to be diggers, and will scoop out the substrate in their preferred breeding grounds. 



BJWTech said:


> Yes, I was planning on using plants tolerant of low light. Any particular plant or tank mate ideas?
> 
> Thanks!


For plants with that little lighting, I would stick with Anubias sps, bolbitus, mosses, java ferns, and crypt sps. Maybe vals and dwarf sag as well.


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## fish h20 (May 5, 2009)

Pooky125 said:


> It can get messy. Cichlids tend to be diggers, and will scoop out the substrate in their preferred breeding grounds.
> 
> 
> 
> For plants with that little lighting, I would stick with Anubias sps, bolbitus, mosses, java ferns, and crypt sps. Maybe vals and dwarf sag as well.


Actually depending on the fixture and reflectors that could be high light. Depending.

Also, are they T5HO or T5NO?

I would suggest asking about the particular lighting fixture in the lighting section. Hopefully Hoppy can help you. He is good with lighting.


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

Update;

My tap water is ~7.9 PH. I got some nice top soil from home depot. All organics and sand, no ferts. Going to do a few dirt tests w/ my water and some purchased ro water....

As far as the lighting, I am going for 1.5 watts per gallon. But I will work w/ the store to ensure the bulbs I buy will have that overall requirement in mind.

Thanks!


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

fish h20 said:


> Actually depending on the fixture and reflectors that could be high light. Depending.
> 
> Also, are they T5HO or T5NO?
> 
> I would suggest asking about the particular lighting fixture in the lighting section. Hopefully Hoppy can help you. He is good with lighting.


This is the fixture;

http://ahsupply.com/54watt.htm

And I was thinking of these bulbs;

54 Watt T5HO 2-6-10 Bulb
http://ahsupply.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&cat=1

Thanks!


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

So I am doing some water/dirt tests....

Check it out here. I will be updating this spreadsheet as I go. Testing every day for a bit, then less freq if changes end up being slight or less...

I am testing r/o water against my tap water. I am also testing each in a dirt test. Using my Earthgro Top Soil from Home Depot under some fine black sand. I am using an inch of each. The top soil is a nice mix of peat, organic material, a little sand and a few small sticks. All are being tested in 1 gallon containers.

Thanks!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

You should use only one T5HO bulb, with an AHSupply reflector, mounted about 10 inches above the top of the tank. That should give you good low light, with CO2 not necessary, although CO2 is always good for the plants at any amount of light.


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

BJWTech said:


> Water test...
> 
> Sent from my HTC Evo 4G using Tapatalk 2


I have been water testing for 4 days now. I noticed small bubbles forming on the edges of the silicon where it meets the flat part of the glass. I wipe them and after half a day or so they reform. Is my tank leaking? I have not detected any moisture on the outside of the joints. What else can explain the formation of these air bubbles in these specific locations?

Here's a pic... cellphone style.



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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

Hoppy said:


> You should use only one T5HO bulb, with an AHSupply reflector, mounted about 10 inches above the top of the tank. That should give you good low light, with CO2 not necessary, although CO2 is always good for the plants at any amount of light.


Hmmn, I may not be able to get the lights that high... I'll have to work that out. Say the lights were 5 inches or so, should I use a wider reflector? 

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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

BJWTech said:


> I have been water testing for 4 days now. I noticed small bubbles forming on the edges of the silicon where it meets the flat part of the glass. I wipe them and after half a day or so they reform. Is my tank leaking? I have not detected any moisture on the outside of the joints. What else can explain the formation of these air bubbles in these specific locations?
> 
> Here's a pic... cellphone style.
> 
> ...


So it seems the tank is holding steady. I am just going to roll with it.


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

BJWTech said:


> So I am doing some water/dirt tests....
> 
> Check it out here. I will be updating this spreadsheet as I go. Testing every day for a bit, then less freq if changes end up being slight or less...
> 
> ...


 
I updated the water/substrate testing. It seems the substrate mix raised the pH of the R/O water. The Tap water has gone down in pH by the same factor in both the R/O water and the tap water. I think I will end up going with the R/O water. It seems to stabalize around 6.8 which is just what I want. I need to get some GH/KH test equipment to ensure I am in the "soft water" range.


In addition I have a list of proposed fishes and parameters here. What do you think?

Thanks!


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## BJWTech (Aug 11, 2012)

As far as lighting... Thinking of mounting this to my canopy. I am thinking of Having the water only come up to about 18" of the available ~22" of tank height. So the lights will be ~8 inches from the top of the water & ~34" to the substrate.

What are your thoughts?


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