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Trying a Planted Tank (15g) Picture Update

3K views 39 replies 8 participants last post by  mitch p 
#1 ·
Hello there folks! Thanks for coming to my journal! Hopefully you all will be able to help me and give me tips and tricks as I go through this process! So I will be starting out with a little background information!

I currently have a 75g Mbuna tank that I have had for some time ( started with fry in a small tank and kept upgrading as my fry got larger ). I have every intention of keeping this tank for many years to come! However, I have slowly gotten the itch to try for a planted tank!

Over the past several weeks ( right at about a month or just a little longer ) I have been doing research and slowly gathering all my materials. With any hope and maybe a little luck, I have just about got all things covered and covered well!

My current equipment list is as such:
15g Aquarium (24x13x12)
AquaticLife Dual T5HO Light fixture (will be replacing the bulbs to something more plant friendly)
ZooMed Ultra Sun 6500k light
AquaticLife 6000k Light
Fluval 206 Canister Filter
GreenLeaf Aquariums Atomic Co2 Diffuser
Fluval Co2 88g kit: I know a lot of people would not recommend this, but after talking with the fiancee, we decided it would be better to try a small pressurized Co2 kit like this before going headfirst into a full fledged system. We managed to find this kit with an extra 4 cartridges for about $80 dollars so we decided that would be a good way to test things out. If it works well, we will be purchasing a full system :).
ADA Aquasoil: 3L bag and a 9L Bag
Tools( of course :hihi: )
Ferts: Purchased these from nilocg here on the site. Great guy honestly and a pleasure to do business with :)
Driftwood: I have one more piece of driftwood coming in so that I have some good options with how I want to scape :).
Plastic Mesh for a moss wall background

So currently I think I have a lot of good going on here. Pictures coming in the next post. I would love any suggestions for equipment I could be missing or anything else you can think of! I have done some research on similar PH and difficulty plants and created a list which I will post on here in a :)
 
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#3 ·
Now I wanted your all's opinions on this next step. I have the filter and tank set up and good to go for whenever I set up the rest of the tank. I have taken the output of the filter over the Co2 Atomizer in hopes of diffusing it more with the flow of the water. The output is about 2-1/2 to 3 inches underwater so I don't believe it will be causing much surface movement. What do you all think of this?




The intake is on the other side of the tank:

 
#4 ·
#5 ·
#6 ·
I would follow the guidelines on the lighting sticky I posted the link on, to determine how high your lights should be hung. There are lots of ways you could hang them. Make a shelf the hight you want them, and mount the lights under the shelf. You could run a small screw in the sides (making sure not to touch anything inside, and possibly voiding your warrenty) and get a cable or some fine chain from a hardware store to hang it fro the ceiling. There are some hanging kits out there also. I can't comment on your ferts. I have always used dry ferts.
 
#7 ·
Hmm, I believe what I am gonna do is this: I am going to build a box of wood, about half the height of the stand currently and place it behind the stand. Since the stand is caddy-corner there is plenty of room to hide it behind the stand. I am gonna build this box and buy on of the AquaticLife hanging fixture poles and attach to that. I will then be able to go as much as 3 and a half feet above the tank. I will be picking up the wood shortly to start the build!
 
#8 ·
Got an update today :bounce:! Finally got all the material to build my shelf that will sit behind the tank and allow me to use the Aquatic Life fixture hanger. Not painted yet but my Fiancee is gonna be handling that cause she wants it to be crazy colors lol. Turns out its gonna give me a better place to also rest my Co2 and some other stuff so it is gonna be great! Killing a few birds with 1 one stone! Now to wait for the light hangers to come in and get that set up. Then...its on to plants!








And this last pic is unrelated but seeing as its my first ever wood-working DIY I was pretty happy about the turn out :)

 
#11 ·
+1 on that cat. and the lolcat. love him too.

also, you might want to try electrical conduit screwed to the back of your stand for a sleeker look... could've been much easier than the box (google 'DIY light hanging conduit the planted tank' or something like that)... aaand not to mention i'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I guess since you have that lovely creation all built up and lolcat-ed, I guess I'll just stick around and see. Pictures?

btw this is a very nice start. all the equipment all at once? all new? phew. you must live in a very understanding home.
 
#13 ·
Well guys I have completed the fixture and am still tidying up here and there. Also my CAL Aqua Nano Co2 Drop Checker came in today :). Here are some pictures, I have the lights about 14 inches above the tank now. According to the Par v Distance thread here, that should put me right around high/med light if I am not mistaken.

Enjoy!











The last one is a picture of how it is set up in my room, kind of caddy corner :)
 
#18 ·
Thanks everyone! Stay tuned. Wednesday night is the day to order plants so that they arrive on Friday, which I have the day off :). Here is some research I have done on the kind of plants I am wanting, I tried to find some that similar pH tolerances and etc. I am really in need of some opinions for a carpet plant tho. That is something I have always wanted since I got into the hobby...and now that I am trying a planted tank, I am gonna be trying it! My current pick is Dwarf Sag, but I wanted your all's opinions on this? Anywho here is my list, PLEASE lend me any advice or comments or even just a thumbs up for trying this! Like I have said before, I have been trying to research before buying or doing anything with this tank!



NAME PH
Carpet
Carpet: Dwarf Sag (All over) 5.0-7.5
OR
Echinodorus tenellus(All over) 5.0-7.5
(Pygmy Chain Sword)
Micro Sword 6.0-8.0
(Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis)

Foreground
Staurogyne repens 6.0-8.0
(much like carpet)

Cryptocoryne, parva 6.0-8.0

Heteranthera zosterfolia 5.0-7.0
(extremely fragile)

Sword, Amazon Compacta 6.0-8.0
(Echinorodus bleheri 'Compacta')


Background
Amazon Sword 6.5-7.5
(medium difficulty)
Hygrophila balsamica 6.0-8.0
(Hygrophila balsamica)

Anacharis 6.5-7.5



Driftwood
Anubias, Nana 6.0-8.0
(Anubias barteri v. Nana)
 
#19 ·
Also, finally got the new bulbs in the light fixture ( the 6500k and 6000k ones ) and here is a picture of the light on for the first time hanging over the aquarium.



And then also, for the sake of sharing ( if I am not supposed to show non-planted tanks on here than I apologize and please someone tell me and I will immediately take them down :) ), here is my 75g Mbuna tank immediately after a thorough cleaning and rescape today! Still a little cloudy from stirring up sand but thats ok :)







 
#21 ·
Kool setup. I would only suggest on changing the Fluval CO2 setup. I started with that myself a year and 1/2 ago and it was a money pit, trust me. Those small CO2 canisters drain very rapidly and you will be spending so much money it will be to costly. I also do not recommend running the CO2 24/7, that is unnecessary. I would return it and see if you can find a used paintball setup here in the Swap&Shop section or a nice 5lb tank and a regulator and put on a timer and let the CO2 go on at the same time the light go on and off. I hope this helps.

I have nice Red Lugwiga for sale when your ready @ $2 a stem also in the Swap& Shop section. Good luck.
 
#22 ·
I wanna do that so badly :icon_bigg but this was my logic. Until I know I am gonna get positive results seeing as this is my first time, I figured a 5 month tester with the fluval setup would be ok. The fiancee and I decided it would be better then investing in the $200 setup around here where I live ( some more ) and me not be able to have a successful tank. So we went the cheap route with the fluval to test it out. Once I have the tank really going, you better believe I am investing in one with a solenoid and everything.
 
#31 ·
Really starting to "hit the books" on the plants I want. I def think I may want to "try" a small grouping of Crypts to see how it goes. However the other stuff will probably come from the list I posted earlier. Also may be getting some R.Ludwiga to go in there. Post up pics if you have em of your plants guys! I need more ideas!! Also want to get some more ideas for the scape :icon_lol::angel:
 
#33 ·
So after some research today, it looks like the Co2 regulator will be out of the question for a few weeks :icon_frow .They get a little pricey for the ones with solenoids. I think the fluval will last me a few weeks and let me put a little money aside to get one tho. Its either plants or the regulator at this point and I am really ready to start on the plants! Does anyone know if there will be problems switching from the little fluval to the a larger cylinder?
 
#35 ·
Been playing around today with different combinations of plants. This is what I am thinking my plants are gonna be. Any comments? Suggestions? Too many plants? Too few? :D


Final Plant list:

Moss Wall:
Versicularia Montagnei (Christmas Moss) - 3 Orders

Carpet:
Dwarf Sag ( 10 per order) – 3 orders

Foreground/Mid:
Blyxa Japonixa
Cryptocoryne Parva- 3 orders
Amazon sword- 3 Orders

Background
Ludwigia Peruensis- 4 Orders

Driftwood:
Anubias Nana:



Total after shipping:

$142.14
 
#39 · (Edited)
So today marks 2 weeks of the tank being up and running! All seems to be going well! I kinda decided to just crowd the tank without real mind to where everything besides many of the background plants going into the back. I felt this had a very "messy" and natural look about it. Some of you may not like it hehe. I have some photos of Day 1 that it was set up and then some from today. I think I messed up on the plants tho :(, its pretty over-planted. I had read that its best to start by over-planting and I unfortunately think I went a little too far. I did so thinking some would melt and die, but none did. I lost a leaf here or there but nothing too bad /shrug I guess lol? Any opinions on the matter? Any who, in the pictures you will clearly see some growth from day 1 when I pruned things such as the dwarf Sag down, and the Amazon Swords. They are literally grown out of the tank a few cm :hihi: . I have had the Co2 pumping a little more than I prolly should. Around the 2 bps maybe 2.5 bps. I did this to combat any algae that may crop up and so far so good! Have not had a problem with algae yet but I am sure its coming.

Dosing is currently done daily due to the high light and high Co2 of Micros and Macros and Green Bacter. However, I think I am gonna need to get some Fe into the tank in slightly higher amounts then I currently am doing. But that is ok. I think I am just gonna go for Seachem Iron on that one, if you have any suggestions please let me know.


Edit: Also forgot to mention that my Christmas moss wall is growing crazily. Any one have any reasoning for this? I have read everywhere that its supposed to be slow growing. Without exaggeration , some of the clumps of moss have grown 2-3 inches in the past 2 weeks and are even already starting to come through the holes in the wall. I hope its not just growing super fast and not doing it in a healthy manner. My first idea was that its the Co2 but idk.

Please ignore the string around the rock and driftwood and anubias xD also the small amount of AS on some of the leaves. Done my best lately to get everything like that cleared up.

It is prolly no where near perfect to you all, but I am so proud of this and so happy with it that its perfect to me!

So here are pictures from Day 1:














This one is from maybe day 3? Or 4?
 
#40 ·
And here are some pictures from today after a water change on the Planted tank and the Mbuna tank :). Comments and opinions are always welcome! And sorry for the crap photos, all I have in the camera department is an iPhone :icon_frow

Love this plant BTW Red Nesea and Some Ludwiga R.




All the dwarf sag is growing and doing it quite well! Maybe if you look hard enough in some of the pics you can see some baby runner leafs xD.





 
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