setting up dp tank ?

[julianchan]

Very nice!

[crazedpuffer]

Are those plants all separate strands? Or are they all bunched together?

[golden_puff]

well i hopefully have sorted the computer out finally and reformatted it so, fingers crossed i will be able to post some pics of the set up once finished anyway your tanks look lovely i am definitely gonna try planted now as if they turn out half as nice as yours i would be pleased

[golden_puff]

went to lfs today and got some substrate fertilizer for my dp tank as recommended gonna set it up tomoz and add a few plants think i might go for some java fern any idea on other easy plants i will also ask at the lfs but any suggestions would be great, what would be the best way to cycle should i use some gravel from my other tank and some media if so how much gravel and media should i use. i have just got a fluval 2 plus filter is that ok as the filter with the tank was very small, can u over filter. i will take a pic when set up oh and what back ground would look best i was thinking plain blue not sure tho ill update tomorrow

[KJB]

To cycle just run the filter on your current tank if you can for a week or two and then switch it over right before you move your puffers in. That should adequately cycle the tank. I find filters supply the bulk of the biological filtration not substrate (in freshwater tnaks) as oxygen levels are much higher in them. If you do not have anything purchased go for fluorite over gravel and then you can skip the root tabs and even the laterite if you wanted (using them still wouldnt hurt). That substrate with moderate lighting (20 watts for a 10 gal) would be fine for Java Fern, Fine leaf Java Fern, Java Moss, Smaller Vals, and Anubias Nana. Between all that you should be in good shape for plants and you can have fun with the layout throwing in driftwood and rocks if you like.

In terms of how powerful of a filter one can use. The major facotr is if your fish cannot handle the current the filter creates. I would say 13 times turnover or less an hour is fine for many fish, some love strong currents. On the other spectrum 2 times is fine and preffered by many species. Use your judgement, I do not know what your filters flow rate is, just feel it out.

Backgrounds are really up to your tastes I like blue, black is good but can sometimes make the tank seem dark(depends on the setup really, I love it with white sand). I also like a white background or tan.

[julianchan]

Excellent! Glad you have things going. I double what KJB says about the filter, and a cupful of substrate from your other tank would probably not hurt seed your tank.
As far as easy growing plants, I would highly recommend wisteria, grows great with about 1.5 wpg, maybe amazon sword. Just be careful with lighting, once you pass the 3 wpg point, you might want to think about CO2 injection to your tank to control the algae. But, a wonderful saving grace is that all my DP seem to ignore shrimp, so amano shrimp and cherry shrimp to help clean the algae in there is a possibility, and they look purdy too........I dont like ghost shrimp too much, they seem to hog the worms my puffers like to eat, and are not scared to push my DP's out the way....So i gut loaded them and fed them to my GSP.....as payback for bullying my DP.

Good luck and happy scaping!

[golden_puff]

thanks for all ur help KJB and julianchan i am a bit disappointed as my wages were wrong this time so going to have to wait to buy anything else plus i had my new snake arrived and have just bought a viv but i will run my filter in my current tank and should have some extra cash in 2 weeks . yer i think ill go with blue back ground, just read the filter box and it says its for a 45-90l my tank is 35 will this be a problem i can adjust the water flow. i had all ready bought some fertilizer stuff for under the gravel is tetra plant completesubstate ok to use thanks for the plant suggestions i will get them in 2 weeks now all i need to do is move my room around to fit everything in might have to move the telly out. i love red cherry shrimp i want to get some for my community tank, i will try them in my dp tank and if any probs i could move them to my other tank poor dps, definitely got ur own back on the ghost shrimp tho thanks again and i can't wait

[apachepufferman]

You can't really over filter a tank. The more water circulation and the more media in the filter helps keep your fish healthy. Also seeing as how puffers are dirtier fish you need to have a larger than "normal" filter for the size of your tank. Your new filter should work really well.

[golden_puff]

that's good to know thanks can't wait now just looking for a lfs that sell them at mo as the 3 near me don't so going to look about