I am shaker and a doer and not a quitter. I always try and learn from my mistakes, so this was my attempt at setting up a 5 gallon low tech, low light hex tank. Keep in mind that this was my third attempt. The first attempt was with 23 Watt Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb, DIY c02 injection, and fluorite substrate. That proved to be a disaster as all the plants and everything else in the tank died, the water turned a brown murky color that no amount of water changes could resolve. The second attempt was a
Diana Walstad Type Natural Planted tank approach with 10 watt compact fluorescent corallife colormax supplemented with indirect sunlight. Again, the results were disasterous. A Betta that got fin and tail rot and died despite being medicated. The tank reached a point of no return. Plant growth went from bad to worse and nothing seemed to survive in the tank(ghost shrimp died within a matter of days, and endler's live bearers dropped like flies) even though ammonia and nitrites tested zero. Only the ever increasing population of snails seemed to do well. This forced me to tear the tank down and start over.
The third attempt was a low tech low light setup as per
Tom Barr's suggested Method with some twists and variations.
Lighting: 14 watt compact fluorescent 6400 K - Split Photoperiod 4 hours of light with 2 hours off and 4 hours light again.
Substrate: Thin layer of Schultz Aquatic Soil mixed with a dusting of garden peat moss, leonardite, and pieces of finely crushed up Seachem Fertilizer Tablet, capped with Seachem Onyx Sand and thin layer of pool filter sand.
Plants: Cardamine lyrata,Anubias barteri, dwarf sag, java fern, ambulia, Cryptocorne Wenditii red, and onion plant(Crinum thaianum), and tiger lotus.
Fertilization: Pinch(like in pinch of salt) of nitrates, potassium, phosphates, nitrates and a few sprinkles of magnesium and calcium sulphate with every weekly 50% water change. Daily dosing of Excel for carbon: approximately 5-7CCs as measured using a syringe.
Inhabitants: Started with a single zebra danio but had to get rid of him as he was too agressive towards the otocat. 1 otocat, 2 cherry shrimp, and 2 amano shrimp.
Tank Temperature: 30 degrees celcius.
To date the cardamine and dwarf sage have all but melted and I am not sure if this is due to the Excel dosing or high tank temperature. The anubias also developed a hole in its leaf which may indicate a potassium deficiency. Otherwise all the other plants(onion plant, tiger lotus, and ambulia) are growing like weeds. The only other issue was a diatom algae bloom a month after the tank was setup that the otocat made short work of.
Here is a picture of the tank one month after it was setup. I apologize in advance for my poor camera/picture taking skills. However, I make no apologies about the aquascaping. The main goal is to set up a "healthy tank" with healthy(doesn't matter if it is slow) algae free plant growth with healthy fish/shrimp.
FWIW, it is too early to say how this tank will pan out. My guess is as good as anyones and I ain't guessing. One thing is for sure, if this does not pan out, there will be a 4th attempt using a aquasoil or a combination of Aquasoil and Eco-Complete. Like I told you folks I am not a quitter and don't take failure lightly, although I consider any failed attempts as learning opportunities.
