It's been more than a quarter of a Century since I last maintained an aquarium and have recently decided to jump back in the water - to coin a phrase.
In the mid 1980's after breaking down my last setup, I stored my 30 and 10 gallon tanks out in an old shed on our property. Of course, about seven years ago we tore the old shed down and built a new one, necessitating a "clean up" which resulted in the old tanks being left for our sanitation guy.
So this time around I decided to make a smaller investment, purchasing two 5.5 gallon Aqueon tanks and getting creative in how to set them up.
The tanks themselves are adjacent to one another, separated by about a foot of space. However, the expanse of glass (even with the space in between them) gives the impression of a much larger tank than two 5.5 gallons, simply because the length of these tanks plus the space in between would be the equivalent of at least a 55 gallon aquarium.
The recent addition of a Hagen GLO T-5 linear lighting fixture only enhances this impression of expansiveness. I purchased a single tube model which is expandable to 52". The distance from one the left side of tank #1 to the right side of tank #2 is 43", so I use the one light to cover both tanks, and the space in between for place a house plant during the day which now also benefits from the T-5 lighting.
Over the past few months I have been establishing these two "plant only" tanks in efforts to propagate an excellent biological filtration system that will enable these plants to grow at a steady rate while remaining healthy.
As such, I have done a bit of research into what the best avenues to take are in this endeavor, and found that water quality must be the first consideration.
Rather than relying soley on an electronic filtration system in which to establish this biological filter, I have chosen to use the plants themselves, since doing so allows for continuous biological filtration, without the interruption of having to turn the electric filters off for cleaning and other servicing.
*As for electric filters, I use two: two recently purchased Aquaclear 20 three stage filters
The Aquaclear 20 is a self priming easy to use filter which does a nice job of purifying the water, offering a biological filter (i.e. good bacteria pellets which are dissolved into the aquarium's water) in addition to mechanical (filter pad) and chemical (charcoal or carbon) filtration.
I have chosen a few species of plants which I hope will grow successfully in my new Aqueons. Tank #1 consists of a dwarf sword plant, two microswords and two dwarf hairgrass plants.
Tank #2 consists of four Valisneria plants, a dwarf hairgrass plant and three microswords.
Thus far all are doing well with homemade CO2 filtration - generator/reactor.
Growing plants in an aquarium requires plenty of the proper spectrum of light, as well as excellent water quality, regular fertilizing of plants and enough CO2 to enhance plant growth.
I had been reading an article on constructing a CO2 generator and decided that it was certainly a cost effective way of injecting CO2 into an aquarium. A professional CO2 system which includes a compressor and metering gauge can run hundreds of dollars.
My CO2 system which consists of two plastic soda bottles and about 12 inches of clear pvc tubing, cost me about 25 cents. Add to this 3/4 of a cup of sugar and a teaspoon of baker's yeast (per bottle) plus some filtered water, and you have your CO2 generation system.
On average, this setup lasts for about two weeks before it needs recharging; recharging meaning to dump the contents of the bottles and add more sugar, yeast and filtered water.
I constructed two reactors over the past few days and they are now trapping CO2 bubbles near the bottom of the tanks. The bubbles attach to one another to become one great bubble that disperses a bit at at time. This is far more efficient than leaving an open tube in the tank and allowing the individual bubbles to float to the surface and dissolve (much of the CO2 gets lost in the air this way).
Moreover, there is no question that using CO2 is very effective in increasing plant growth provided that you have the proper spectrum of lighting and enough wattage, plus excellent water quality in your aquarium.
Before stating the results of this test, I should also say that the heaters in my Aqueons are set to keep the tank water at about 78 degrees.
*I keep my Vortex diatom filter setup all the time, and every three to four months clean it out and recharge the bag to ensure that the unit runs properly. The Vortex motor should also be oiled at this time. Diatoming the filtered water which I add to my "green aquarium bucket" also ensures that the water has been filtered for any harmful pathogens which may have made it through the water filter that we use on our kitchen sink, before adding it to my aquariums.
I also add a capful (5ML) of Tropica Master Grow fertilizer at least once a week to ensure that the plants receive enough mineral supplementation to keep them healthy.
Lastly, I use the Vortex diatom filter on each tank once a week in order to both polish the water, as well as remove any harmful pathogens that are too small for the regular hang-on filters to remove. This is the best way that I know of in which to protect my fish from dangerous pathogens.
Rather than listing the specific parameters (which are always in a state of flux), I have decided to simply follow the best protocol for ensuring that the water conditions remain as stable as possible so that the biological filtration in these tanks is cycling properly.
Thus, I follow the nitrogen cycle in which to maintain as close to possible, equilibrium between the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite conditions in the Aqueons.
Since I add new water to each of these tanks daily, there is really no need to siphon water out of the tanks. I add at least 50% of the volume of each tank each week simply to make up for the water that evaporates each day, due the tanks not being covered; as well as the 50 watt halogen lamp which I use for plant growth which increased such evaporation. And since the water that is added to the tanks has been run through the diatom filter, and each tank is diatomed at least once a week, the water remains crystal clear and pathogen free. The fish also appear to really enjoy the water additions each day, frolicking under the Aquaclear 20's filter stream.
I have also read that the wool fiber used to pot plants can cause significant swings in the PH of an aquarium, so I have removed the pots in which the plants were planted as well as most of the wool fiber. This has had no noticeable affect on the PH of either tank, which in my opinion means that the buffers in the water are powerful enough to stabilize the PH.
The type of substrate used can also effect the PH of an aquarium, as can the addition of rocks and sea shells which tend to make the water more basic. I use mason's sand as a substrate in both Aqueons, while having added natural gravel in the corners of the tanks in order to keep the Vortex diatom from shooting sand all over the tanks on start up. This particular aspect of aquascaping has worked very well thus far.
Moreover, as I stated earlier, I also add at least one 5ML capful of Tropica Master Grow fertilizer to each tank once a week in order to ensure that there's plenty of iron in the water. TMG includes this iron as well as other minerals which help to balance the iron so that plant absorption is optimized. At least, this is what is claimed by the manufacturer.
I've been reading up on lighting for aquariums for a few weeks now. These articles have discussed the different light spectrums including red and blue, as well as the Kelvin rating for specific lights, to ensure that your plants are getting the proper amount of lighting.
I am presently using a 50 watt halogen lamp that I purchased many years ago. The lamp is ideal in that it has several different adjustments which allow it to be turned from one tank to the other; lamp height, as well as location over the tanks.
The standard for good quality lighting is said to be from 1.5 to 3 watts per gallon of water. This translates into about 15 watts each of good quality lighting for my tanks, so the 50 watts would appear to be overkill.
Here's how I handle this situation. I keep the lamp at least 3 feet above the tanks (the tanks are hoodless which has saved me at least $100 - $50 per tank on hoods & lighting). However, as I have already stated, the downside is that the water does evaporate more quickly.
There is a benefit to this though since the water breathes and does not get that musty smell associated with covered aquariums. And the uncovered tanks also help to ensure that if the CO2 begins to overwhelm the tanks, that it can escape into the air, instead of being trapped under a light hood.
I have also found that if I rotate the light from one tank to the other every few hours, the plants continue to grow well, yet the algae growth which used to be a problem has now become almost non existent.
Prior to this I was cleaning algae off the inside of the tank glass with a paper towel at least once a week. Another useful piece of advice that I got from an aquascaping article I read on the Internet, instead of attempting to use some chemical or mechanical device to rid the tank of algae..
For the time being I have chosen not to add any *fish to these aquariums, since my goal is to create an ideal biological filtration system with the plants themselves. A stable environment. Fish, no matter how hardy, are susceptible to variations in PH, water temperature and a host of other variables that can result in their contracting disease.
*Since I wrote this I have added 5 Rasbora Harlequin fish to tank #1 and 5 Neon Tetras to tank #2. The Rasboras are doing well, as are the two remaining Neon Tetras. One Tetra died in shipment and the other two died the day after they arrived. Both were credited to my account and the credit was applied to the purchase of three more microsword plants for tank #2.
While most aquarists may be satisfied using their basic filtration setups, others have realized the tremendous benefits of using a diatom filter to clear their fish tanks of harmful pathogens too small to be filtered through a standard filtration system.
The Vortex diatom can filter out particles smaller than one micron (that is minute), which allows for both the polishing of one's aquarium as well as the filtering of parasites such as dynoflagellates and other pathogens which can cause fatal disease in your fish and plants.
The Vortex is a bit quirky to use in that you must turn it upside down in order to prime it. However, that being the case, once you have done so, it can be moved from tank to tank simply by covering the end of the exhaust and intake tubes with your pinky finger so that the filter doesn't need to be primed again.
And while there are at least two ways in which to prime the Vortex, the best way from my own personal experience is to take your handy aquarium maintenance bucket (you do have one don't you? I use a green Miracle Grow bucket that used to be home to some packets of plant food which is quite handy to use) and pour some of your tank water into the bucket while adding some *diatom powder.
Fill the mason jar of your Vortex with filtered water from the sink and then place the tubes from the Vortex into the bucket. Then turn the Vortex upside down in order to prime it. Once you have the unit upside down, turn on its motor and then flip the Vortex rightside up again once you have suction. Once this has been done, reach into the water with your hand and stir the diatom powder (which is now caked at the bottom of your bucket) so that the Vortex will absorb this powder through its intake and charge it on the fabric inside the mason jar.
Once this has been done, you are now ready to diatom your aquarium.
* While doing the diatom treatment, make certain to wear a filtration mask in which to prevent you from breathing in diatom powder, as if inhaled it can seriously damage your lungs.