I have had this tank set up for about three months or so and have of course re-scaped a few times already. Not really trying to achieve any certain style but it seems dutchish.
I really liked the look when it had java fern in it but was having difficulty with algae because I wasn't regularly pruning and thinning the leaves which hurt flow but I found an excuse to get another tank to put it into which is in this journal; 15 gallon low tech Crystal Red Shrimp tank
Currently the tank has:
Pearl weed (just trimmed all the way down)
Lobelia cardinalis mini
Ludwigia ovalis (recovering, recently chopped)
Ludwigia super red (recovering, recently chopped)
Bacopa (not sure which variety)
Hydrocotyle tripartia
And
German blue ram pair
6 White Cloud Mountain minnows
6 neon tetra
3 otocinclus
Bunch of snails doing their thing
Thanks to both of you! The pearl weed grows like crazy but I'm excited to see the blyxa and ludwigias grow nice and thick.
I added a submersible pump on the opposite side of the aquaclear to try to avoid dead spots
Here are a few random pics of the tank. Sorry for the cell phone pics. Quality is rough. We haven't had an actual camera in years because we always use our phones.
Also notice my janky ass light setup. I "needed" to get this tank setup in place of my older 20long. I used wire hangers that I bent into place. The wire hangers surprisingly fit perfectly into the leg openings on the side of the light. I drilled small holes and used hook screws that have a rubber coating which grips the wire hanger really well. It's difficult to remove the light to wipe off the underside so I feel pretty confident it's not going anywhere. I know it's not the safest thing of course but I have dropped this light straight into the water before with amazingly no ill effects. This light of course makes things hard because of the spread. If you look at the long pic you'll see the spread. Makes stems in the back lean forward. It will be nice to eventually get this tank out from under the counter on a stand with 2x finnex 24/7's.
Well I'm now amazed at how well Shrimp can hide. I put two Amano shrimp in this tank about two months ago and I didn't see them again after about two days so I assumed the rams ate them. Well low and behold I found a living Amano (med size) yesterday. Must have been hiding in the mass of java fern. The rams were trying to eat it but this guy is tuff and fast. It was fighting the rams off and then bolted into the middle of the lobelia cardinalis mini. I think I'm going to put the rams into my shrimp tank (no shrimp in there yet) and get maybe ten amanos in the breeder for a couple of months to let them grow some and let the plants thicken up again.
Been having some issues with my ludwigia repens and super red getting deformed leaves. Have moved things around a bit for better flow and co2 and will be slightly modifying my dosing. Here's a thread talking about it: Twisted, deformed growth
Well seasons changed and the sun starting hitting my tank through a sliver of window and got me some green water
So I took it as an opportunity to completely redo the tank.
The plant bin
I also put my fish in the bin and put in a small pump to circulate the water as this rescape took from 10pm to 3:30am. Long but fun as usual. I decided to use some drift wood this time. I boiled the wood as I find this is the quickest way to water log wood
I also decided it was time to paint the background black which my son helped out with
I wanted the wood to sit a little higher and hopefully focus the attention on the rule of 1/3's so I purchased some cheap gravel and used lava rock chunks to build a hill
found an open box sun sun 304b cheap which I was stoked about. I will be adding a reactor soon for better co2 saturation and distribution. Here's finishing adding back the substrate
which is a mix of ecocomplete, black sand and cheap gravel under the roots.
And now planted
I ended up tossing more than 50% of the original plant mass so it will take some time to fill back in. The focal point is hopefully going to be the ludwigia super red that is positioned in and right behind the roots but it will take a month or so to get bushy again. I may switch this plant out to a different red plant (suggestions welcome) as this plant has been causing me some headaches with poor leaf development. I'm thinking Monte Carlo for the foreground. The pearl weed got old for me pretty quick but I do have some growing nicely in my 15 gallon. Just grew very fast and gets tall as it spreads out. Want something that will stay lower.
Side note; the ludwigia repens deformed growth pretty much went away by me not dosing micros at all for the past ten days or so. I put dosing on hold when the green water came on.
Tell me what you think. Foreground ideas and possible replacement ideas for my lud super red mini.
Monte Carlo sounds like a good idea. I would also look into other smallish foreground plants maybe like Pogostemon helferi to fill out the front area, as a carpet covering that whole area may get boring.
Picture two months from now when the lobelia is thick and taller and the blyxa is a little taller and much thicker and same for the background stems, where would you put downoi? Maybe in front of or near the lobelia for leaf shape contrast? I love the stuff. My image of this scape would be tallest in back left moving to shortest in front right. Thanks for any input.
I don't have much of a clean up crew in this tank ( 3 ottos and snails) so I have decided to make some live stock changes. I am going to rehome the rams so I can keep Shrimp in this tank. I am going to get 10/15 amanos and some variant of neocaridinas. I am going to keep my current small schools of neons and white clouds but add more neons or cardinals to get better schooling. I have just added 2 black mollies, sex unknown. And they went to work quick on some fuzz/hair algae on the blyxa.
hair algae is such a nuisance. Seems any little mistake can get it going quick.
I need some help with scaping ideas for the foreground. Here's what I'm working with
I was thinking crypt parva on the far left side, s repens on the far right side, downoi in between the lobelia and blyxa (in front of it middle) and Monte Carlo taking up all the space in between. Thoughts? And secondly if it was yours what would you put there?
Thank you. I think it is going to look pretty nice grown in.
Oh and an update in just 24hrs with the mollies; these guys are amazing! 70% reduction in hair/fuzz algae on the blyxa and ludwigia super red in just a day. I was watching them eat it and they bite hard on it. Pulled up a couple of the juvenile lobelia plantlets but shouldn't be able to once they are fully rooted again (couple weeks).
My finnex planted+ started flashing red lights today when the timer kicked on. From what I've read it's a bad power supply. The lights ended up turning back on normally on its own after about 10 minutes. I wonder how much time I have left before the power supply goes out completely?
For the foreground, I might consider just a solid carpet of one species. S Repens can get a little unruly if you don’t stay on top of it, so maybe just a solid Monte Carlo carpet would look really good.
I had a full length carpet of s repens in this tank a few months ago but sold it all. Stuff looks great but I want a different feel now. I still would like to find a spot for some though. I want a little more action going on in the foreground. Considering some small stones in the front of the blyxa and maybe far left corner. I have some so I'll play around a bit and see if I like it. Looking forward to getting a few pots of Monte Carlo once I decide on the rest of the foreground.
Check out this thread, post #4 - looks like you can find them for a lot,lot, less....just need to know the voltage and wattage of your fixture. Come with a 2 year warranty.
Check out this thread, post #4 - looks like you can find them for a lot,lot, less....just need to know the voltage and wattage of your fixture. Come with a 2 year warranty.
Look at you coming through like a champ! Lol. My wife was the one who did a quick search and found the problem (she actually referenced tpt, I was proud) and searched the power supply. I'll have to look them up and see. It's a 30" planted+ so I'm sure I can get that info easily. How much was a lot less?
Yes, you are correct. The voltage must be the same as the original power supply; the wattage should be equal to or greater than the original power supply. Higher wattage doesn't mean the fixture will be brighter, or use more power, it just means the power supply won't have to 'work' so hard to provide the power the fixture needs; typically this will result in longer life for the power supply.
Yes, you are correct. The voltage must be the same as the original power supply; the wattage should be equal to or greater than the original power supply. Higher wattage doesn't mean the fixture will brighter, or use more power, it just means the power supply would have to 'work' so hard to provide the power the fixture needs; typically this will result in longer life for the power supply.
Well the finnex power supply finally went out all the way. The new power supply will be here on Monday so temporarily I'll be using these
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