Eco complete compared to flourite

[Marcus Russo]

Well many people asked me how does eco complete look upon setting up i decided to set up a 29 [acronym="Gallon"]gal[/acronym] tank and show everyone how it looks. This is set up over a 20 minute period.
http://www.aquatic-store.com








sitting side by side[/i]

And here is a pic of Chris Grafs tank with flourite


Mess #2: Just add Flourite Red. "Water should clear up in 2-12 hours", says the Flourite bag. That would be a neat trick!



Tank Specs

~120g all-glass 6ft rectangular

All-wood stand with one large and two divided closed cabinets

Lighting

2 x Jalli Deluxe dual 96W w/ dual power and exhaust fan (384W total 7100K)

Limited early morning indirect sunlight

Current artificial cycle 11AM-11PM

CO2 System
Milwaukee SM122 pH controller

Milwaukee integrated regulator, solenoid, needle valve and bubble counter

Reactor 1000 mounted externally in return line from sump pump

5 lb CO2 tank

Substrate
100% Flourite Red (about 210 lbs., 3-4 inches deep)

Current Occupants (partial list)
11 x Rummy Nose Tetras (Hemigrammus bleheri)
12 x Cardinal Tetras (Paracheirodon axelrodi)
2 x Bandit Corys (Corydoras metae)
2 x Spotted Corys (Corydoras melanistius)
10 x SAE (Crossocheilus Siamensis)
Dwarf Lotus (Nymphaea Daubenyana)
Red Tiger Lotus (Nymphaea lotus zenkeri)
Jungle Vals (Vallisneria americana)
Brazilian Pennywort (Hydrocotyl leucocephala)
Watter lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)
Riccia Fluitans
Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana)
Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)
Amazon Swords (Echinodorus bleheri)
Microswords (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis)
Bacopa monnieri
Waterprite (Ceratopteris siliquosa)
Cabomba
Tropical Sunset (Hygrophila polysperma)
Rotala rotundifolia

Filtration
2 x Eheim 2224

Filter intakes situated in center of tank

Filter return spray bars oriented to spray down the ends of tank

Sump
Prefab prefilter/overflow box

Acrylic covered on external overflow box to prevent CO2 loss

20g tank located in cabinet

Bio media removed to prevent CO2 loss

Full acrylic cover on tank to prevent CO2 loss

Rio 2100 pump feeding sump water into CO2 reactor
Single 1/2 inch return positioned just below water line spraying downward (no agitation)

Climate Control
Ambient temperature at max 78 deg F (in Texas in summer that's pretty cool)

Pro-Heat II 250W digital titanium heater


Water

40% Amquel treated tap, 60% RO/rainwater

77-79 deg F

Natural pH 8.0

Controlled pH 6.7

KH 5

GH 7

NO3 20mg/l

Fe ~.1ppm

PO4 ~.05-.1ppm


Ferts
Flourish (regular) 30ml every 3rd day

Flourish Iron 15ml every 3rd dady


Future Priorities
Plant changes to move slow growers and less weeds.
Some semblance of aquascaping.
Driftwood centerpieces.
Dreaming of automatic water change system....





WEEK 4
Added 11 Rummy Nose and 12 Cardinal Tetras, and 4 Corys. No losses in a week!
SAEs, rummys, and cards all school and feed together. Quite a sight.
Installed Riccia on two pieces of driftwood.
Added two dwarf lillys.
Ebayed original 10 water lettuce parents which now have 20 babies.
Water sprite out of control!! hehe
GH & KH up slightly for unknown reasons.
Currently dosing 30ml of Flourish Iron per day in addition to normal Flourish 30ml over third day.
Brown algae appears to be cycling out. Snails helping.

http://www.aquatic-store.com/plantedaquariumtanks/chrissgraff/page_01.htm