I have a new 2 feet tank. I have a box of Duplarit that is enough for this tank. Am going to mix that with Holland sand to form the first 1/3 of the substrate and to topup with Holland sand also.

I have all the macros and TE to fertilize along the EI method. I will mostly have Hairgrass and some Crypts in this tank. And I will only dose them with Excel.

1) What sort of lighting do I need in terms of wattage per gallon

2) Can I follow the recommended EI dosage for a 20-40 Gallons tank ? ie:
1/4 tsp KN03 3x a week
1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
1/16 tsp TE 3x a week
50% weekly water change

3) I am thinking of getting one of the Eheim's Liberty HOB. They have 3 models to choose from:
a) Model 2040, for tank size up to 75 liters. Output 150-380 liters/hour
b) Model 2041, for tank size up to 130 liters. Output 220-570 liters/hour
c) Model 2042, for tank size up to 200 liters. Output 320-760 liters/hour

Which model is recommended for my tank size?



Please advise. TIA.

Hi Roger,

Excel tanks only use part of EI, Please see link.

Low-tech/excel tank - dosing regime

For lighting, T8 or PC will work. I use the later.

I use HOB filters that are twice the capacity of my tanks, You can always adjust them down.

When you said 'part of EI', do you mean I can use half or maybe quarter of the dosage? I am sorry, at the moment I am still not a paid member.

Ok, Here is the sum of the link.

See the "non CO2 method" article.
Excel is like adding 1/3 CO2, so use CO2 methods, eg water changes and some light ferts.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Basically use 1/3 of your suggestion above with Excel.

Appreciate that. Thank you again.