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7 gallon DSM planted tank journal - ADA 30C

3K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Mike00726 
#1 · (Edited)
Well here it is, my first ever planted tank using the dry start method. Decided to go with an Iwagumi style design with only one stone to keep things simple and minimalistic. Since the initial setup, the tank has been getting misted with distilled water every other day and the top covered tightly with cling wrap to retain humidity. Temperature of room fluctuates between 18 to 20C. Light has been programmed to stay on from 7pm to 7am (12 hours). So far the plants have been responding quite well to whatever I've been doing (beginner's luck?). I've never seen anyone dry start anything other than foreground plants like HC so I thought I'd experiment (with Limnophila Sessiliflora) to see if it can be done successfully. I also plan to introduce some nano fish and shrimps after the tank is flooded and fully established.

Here are the specs:

Start Date

January 4th, 2017

Tank

ADA Cube Garden 30C cushioned by Garden Mat

Lighting

ADA Aquasky 301

Cabinetry

IKEA Besta (23 5/8” x 15 ¾” x 25 ¼”)

Filtration

Eheim 2213
ADA Lily Pipe Mini V-2 inflow
Do!aqua Violet Glass Mini MP-1 outflow
ADA Clear Hose (10mm and 13mm)
Eheim 494 Hose
Eheim 494 Double Taps (3 sets)
SharkBite ½” x 3/8” barb reducer coupling (Model # UC009LFA)

CO2 System

Ista CO2 Controller with Solenoid, Bubble Counter, & Check Valve (Model # I-641)
Ista CO2 Aluminum Cylinder – 1L – Face Side
Ista CO2 Cylinder Support Base
Do!aqua CO2 Music Glass Mini Diffuser (15mm)
ADA Pressure Resistance Tube
ADA Clear Parts Set
Mini drop checker (unknown brand)

Temperature Control

Hydor 200W Inline Heater (1/2”)
ADA J-05WH thermometer

UV

Cobalt Micro-UV (3 watts)

Hardscape

ADA Unzan stone

Substrate

ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia (powder)
ADA Power Sand S
ADA Bacter 100
ADA Clear Super
ADA Tourmaline BC

Flora

Hemianthus callitrichoides ‘Cuba’ (from Tropica 1.2.Grow!)
Eleocharis sp. ‘Mini’ (from Tropica 1.2.Grow! and Hortilab)
Hydrocotyle tripartite ‘Japan’ (from Hortilab)
[strike]Gratiola viscidula (from Hortilab)[/strike] removed and replaced with HC (from Tropic 1.2.Grow!) on January 31, 2017
Limnophila Sessiliflora (from Hortilab)

Fauna

TBA

Week 1


Week2


Week3: Stems supported by bamboo skewers. Grew too tall in emersed form to support themselves.



Week4: Ditched the bamboo skewers and cut the stems (Limnophila Sessiliflora) down to their original height of approximately 5/8 inch. Also removed the Gratiola viscidula (GV) in the upper right corner and replaced with HC. The GV didn't seem to flow well with the rest of the tank. It also reminded me of a garden weed from my yard. Don't think I will use this plant again in the future.



Week5: Gave everything a trim except for the HC. Light was cut back to 10 hours because I've noticed a tiny bit of green algae growing at the front of the tank. Hopefully my RODI unit comes in soon so that I can flood this sucker.



Week6 Continued to give everything a trim except for the HC. RODI unit on backorder. No stock till next week so that means this dry start will drag on for at least another 2 weeks!


Week7 Just found out today (Feb 24th) that my RODI unit has been shipped. Looks like this tank will be flooded any day now.




Inside the cabinet: These pics were posted to assist another member with the same cabinet




 
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#4 ·
Thanks! 3 months...that's a lot of patience. Good for you.

You can dry start most plants in the hobby, but most people only do it with carpet plants as they can be the hardest to get growing nicely, cus you need them to cover a large area and them being at the bottom they don't get great access to flow, light etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for your advice.
 
#5 ·
Update: Tank was submerged about 3 weeks ago but finally got around to upload some pics. Sorry for the bad quality images. All the pics since the start were taken with my smart phone (Samsung Note 3). Hopefully by the time I start my next project I'll have a better (DSLR perhaps?) camera to use.

Final pic of dry start taken on March 7, 2017 right before flooding. Total number of days in dry start mode = 63.


Flooded March 8, 2017 with distilled water. CO2 at 2 bubbles per second started one day later on March 9th. Photo period: 8 hours.


Taken on March 13, 2017 after five 50% daily water changes using re-mineralized (Salty Shrimp GH+) RODI water. TDS measured at 105 ppm, pH at 6.2, GH 8, KH 0, ammonia 0.5, temperature 21C.



 
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