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6.6g New Dirty setup 56k Warning (No longer using dirt)

10K views 44 replies 10 participants last post by  stevenjohn21 
#1 · (Edited)
Haven't had tanks in a While. Used to keep Mini Reefs and it was fun but expensive, and eventually came to the point where the stuff I wanted I could never realistically have, So I left the Hobby for a While.


I like the Dirt tanks Ive seen here, So I went with that.

Picked up what you see above, The Petco 6.6g Bookshelf aquarium, Miracle Gro Organic soil, couple bags of natural brown gravel, Lava rock.



Added the dirt, packed and wet.



Topped with gravel



Moss and Black Lava rock added.



Plant was named "Compacta" Hygrophila corymbosa stricta




Filling it up, I had expected far more brown as Ive read other people have had to fill and drain their tanks multiple times before it started to clear up.

And finally


Im sure itll be cloudy for a couple days. The filter is super silent. Im not really happy with the plants/moss placement. seems far too unoriginal.

Thinking of maybe cutting up the board the fern is on into strips, and making a road affect. possibly surrounding the lava rock with the compacta.

Ideas/comments appreciated.

thanks for reading!.

 
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#4 ·
The round shape of the pebble in river gravel may give you a little grief holding things down. (not a fan)
The tank will shape up as you add more weeds and scapes are always to please the eye of the owner. Welcome to the dirty side of things.
 
#5 ·
Thanks yea I might of made a mistake with the gravel, I'm already starting to hate it :/ unfortunately the only petshop within 15 miles is a petco, and I live in a decent sized city with NO local pet shops.

Salty yea I plan on keeping the stock light, But If I happen to come across something better I'm always open.
 
#11 ·


Took out the brown, Added the black. Added another plant and broke up the moss. I think the sand/dirt layers might be too thick.

But looks alot better then it did, Unfortunately I just don't seem to have a wet green thumb.

And I haven't found a good light setting on my camera yet.
 
#14 ·
What is your light?
Are you dosing ferts?

Looks like you have mostly stem plants. They love KNO3 (potassium nitrate) and need a carbon replacement.

KNO3 sources are:
Spectricide stump remover is 100% KNO3 at Lowe's in some States
Seachem potassium
Dry form which needs to be diluted
30 ml (3 tsp or 1 Tbs) into 1 cup of water. 1ml = 1.08 ppm of NO3 in 10 gallons of water.

Carbon replacements are:
Seachem excel
API carbon booster
Metricide or Cidex

Metricide or Cidex is 60% stronger per mL. For Excel (1.5% Glut.) versus Metricide (2.5% Glut) Mathically is 1.5/2.5=0.6. is Thus dilluting 6:1. A quart is approx $25 on Ebay. Best to use a mask when diluting in well ventilated area for can be hazardous to respiratory system. I have pleurisy but use it.
 
#15 ·
Hi I just set up the tank yesterday, so not quite dosing anything yet.

Lighting is a stock 15w t8, I'm not really happy with it and will likely pick up another strip and at least double the wattage, it surprisingly dim.

Im going low tech, I'll pick up the excel/flourish on my next trip for more plants.

Thanks for your help.

Lava rock was a bit too big, introduced it to a hammer/chisel
 
#22 · (Edited)


Hopefully hitting up a nice LFS tomorrow. One I've seen RCS at in the past. Still unsure on other fauna, including fish.

Camera is pretty limited on lighting settings so I cant really seem to shoot a perfect FTS.

also just noticed if you compare this pic with the one three days ago the plants are already noticeably larger, and the stemmed plants are already near the surface and growing roots half way up. Might have to trim already.
 
#32 ·
I've thought about adding some LED's under the stock hood, but I don't know that it is worth the time and expense. I will probably upgrade the entire light or maybe just deal with this one for now and learn from it, and then later move to a nicer tank and use this one for growing plants using the DSM.

And yes, it is very hard to take good pics. I've struggled with that. To keep my main stone from blowing out, I have to take the exposure compensation way down, and then I lose detail in the shadow.
 
#36 · (Edited)


Redid the rocks, moved/trimmed a couple plants. Picking up some HC/HS soon hopefully to replace the moss and get a mixed carpet/foreground growing..

Id like the shrimp to eventually breed so Ill likely pickup a piece of cholla wood, cover it in the moss and either toss what im not using or give away the rest.

Edit: Picked up some HC, should of bought more. Took out all the moss.

Ive got some trimmings and all the moss in a clear bowl in a window sill for now, Id hate to toss something I just paid for.

Might do a 2.5g let everything grow wild.......

re......sist more ttttttannnkkkssss
 
#37 ·
Tanks doing well, picked up four forktail rainbow fish. I have ten CRS coming tomorrow. Plants are all growing healthy but I made a mistake with the stem plants, I dont like them.

Tough to see what the plants will look like in tank when you bought them in plastic containers.

I dont care for the aquascape either, I used to scape pretty nice mini reefs, but I just dont have the knack for the freshwater version. I think its missing some type of drift wood.

Im likely going to remove the stem plants all together, Sorry no pictures, my memory card reader disappeared :/
 
#38 · (Edited)

I got rid of the stem plants, I sort of liked them, but I don't really have any room for more tanks so I can grow em out.

I had some green slime algae, turns out my nephew fed the fish daily, and so did a parent or two...... So im doing alot of water changes and looking for the chem to kill the cyanobacteria.

At first the tank was dirt substrate with a sand cap, but the dirt level was too high so I couldn't make the sand very deep, and because of that I ended up getting alot of dirt kicked up on the sand bed, wasn't pretty.

So I went to the LFS today, Picked up some floramax gravel, a couple more bacopa plants and another which slips my mind.

I'm still not very good when it comes to aquascaping, and the waters a bit cloudy, but what do you guys think.

Ive got to pick up a few more of the foxtail rainbows currently in the tank, they really color up, I think the two currently in the tank are m/f

Also not sure if that drift wood is necessary, or if its just placed wrong
 
#42 ·
Bought some lace, removed the wood added some smaller plants, I wish I wrote down the types because one of the species is dying quickly(Which is happening for the second time, Why does it keep dying almost instantly, is it because im buying it from petsmarts bagsoplants?)





Also got some Pencilfish


I'm sorry for the terrible photos, I can't take good aquarium pics.
 
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