Gentledental4u's 40 Gallon Breeder Journal (56K Warning!)

[gentledental4u]

Hello all you cool peoples out there. I would like to share with you my journey from a brown thumb to a green one. So here goes:::

I've been having a hell of a time trying to survive dental school and during my deepest, darkest days of depression, decided to get myself a fish tank to cheer me up. Something about watching fish swim around and seeing how excited they are when they see fish flakes really brightens up my day. So I bought a 40 Gallon Breeder from Petsmart for 139.99. And here it is:::

In addition to this being a way for me to track the progress of my tank, it is my hope that newbs can look at my journal and learn from my experiences so that they won't have to learn things the hard way!

BTW If anyone ever wants to chat on AIM, my sn is : gentledental4u
and my email is gentledental4u@yahoo.com



San Bernardino Tap Water Parameters::::

PH:::: 7.8

Phosphate ::: .5 ppm

Nitrate:::: 0 ppm

KH::: 10 degrees

GH::: <1 degrees (Desired Ca:Mg ratio 4:1 with 40:10 ppm minimum) "General Hardness

0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard
higher : liquid rock (Lake Malawi and Los Angeles, CA)
"

[Orlando]

Sounds very fun, but I see no picture.

[garuf]

I'm sold already, when do we get instalment two?

[gentledental4u]

Haha! You guys speak the truth! Here are some more pictures.

[ianiwane]

Come'on dental school is hard but its not that bad.

[gentledental4u]

Hey Ian! Remember me? Ray and Boun's friend? Dude, I been trying to get back in touch with you, Ray, Boun, and Karlton...where you guys been? No more fish store trips???

Try going to Loma Linda, not UOP where I SHOULD have gone to~!!! I heard the instructors rub your toes while you are performing Endo. Lucky duck!

After a couple more hours of adding the flourite and driftwood, VOILA!

I tied java moss and java fern onto the driftwood with some black string. Word to the wise: Take the driftwood out of the tank and tie the junk on. Don't attempt it underwater unless you want wet sleeves and your nipples to show through your wet shirt. Remember Deuce Bigalow?

[colinthebassist]

I like your driftwood placement. Will look really nice with some moss on it. BTW 139 bucks for a 40G breeder is a rip off.

[gentledental4u]

Thank you, Colin. I'm implementing the Tyardarmi method of art of placement of wood. You basically move the wood around until your arm gets tired.



COMMON SYMPTOMS OF NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY IN AQUATIC PLANTS

Element

Leaves
show deficiency

Symptom

Nitrogen
Old
Leaves turn yellowish
Older leaves die off quickly in extreme deficiencies.
Iron
New
Leaves grow in pale or yellow
Greenish nerves enclosing yellow leaf tissue
First seen in fast growing plants
Potassium
Old
Pinholes appear in older leaves, and slowly enlarge
Yellow areas, Withering of leaf edges and tips
Calcium
New
Distorted leaf growth
cupped leaves, twisted and bent leaves, twisted and short roots, Damage and die off of growing points
Yellowish leaf edges, extreme Calcium deficiency which resulted in a sword plant where new leaves were growing in almost completely white.
Magnesium
Old
Yellow spots
Often appears similar to iron deficiency since mg deficiency prevents a plant from properly using iron.
Yellowing of old leaves starting from edges while major veins remain green
Boron
New
Dead shoot tips, new side shoots also die
Brittle stems
Similar to calcium
Sulfur
New
Similar to nitrogen deficiency
Manganese
New
Dead yellowish tissue between leaf nerves
Copper
New
Dead leaf tips and withered edges
Zinc
Old
Yellowish areas between nerves, Starting at leaf tip and edges
Molybdenum
Old
Yellow spots between leaf nerves, then brownish areas along edges. Inhibited flowering
Phosphorus
Old
Stunted growth. Sometimes leaves become darker green

[jinx©]

Originally Posted by gentledental4u

Thank you, Colin. I'm implementing the Tyardarmi method of art of placement of wood. You basically move the wood until your arm gets tired.

lol...Tyardarmi...Good one

Looks like you're off to a good start.
I've been thinking of setting up a 40g breeder myself.

[gentledental4u]

Thanks, Jinx. I appreciate your comments. With the Breeder's dimensions, you get a lot more depth, which I like a lot. I had a 55 Gallon before and didn't like how "flat" it felt.

Oh yea, by the way, are you a graphic designer? Cuz that artwork is A++.

I planted some ludwigia repens I got from Petsmart and some apons I got from walmart. My lilies didn't sprout.



Macro-Nutrients of Plants:
Element Form of Concentration Some Functions
Absorption as a % of dry wt.
Nitrogen NO3- (or NH4+) 1-3% Amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, chlorophyll, coenzymes
Phosphorus H2PO4 or 0.05-1.0% High energy molecules ATP, HPO42- ADP, nucleic acids, phosphorylation of sugars, essential coenzymes, phospholipids.
Potassium K+ 0.3-6% Enzymes, amino acids, protein synthesis, enzyme activator, stomata opening/closing
Calcium Ca+ 0.1-3.5% Cell wall formation, enzyme cofactor, cell permeability.
Magnesium Mg2+ 0.05-0.7% Part of chlorophyll, enzyme activator.
Sulfur SO42- 0.05-1.5% Some amino acids, coenzyme A.
Iron Fe2+, Fe3+ 10-1500 Chlorophyll synthesis, ferredoxins, cytochromes
Calcium, Magnesium & Sulfur are generally not limited as major nutrients either; sufficient concentration derived from tap and food sources. In soft water, Ca and Mg may need supplementation; best achieved through the substrate. Calcium is necessary for plant growth, as is sulfur; magnesium is the central atom in every chlorophyll molecule. A lack of Ca shows in dwarfed, gnarled growth and blackened, stubby roots. Missing Mg may result in yellow to white, transparent leaves.
Iron crosses over the border as a macro/micro-nutrient. Ferrous matter is necessary in only small concentration, but is often a nutrient deficiency cause of 'yellowing'. Your tap water may well not contain enough iron material to meet your plants needs or be too alkaline, precipitating it out of solution.
Carbon: Should we mention this, the most abundant plant element in dry weight? Well, I guess so. Except in plant-crowded and otherwise boosted (lighting, chemical supplemented) systems, enough carbon as CO2 enters into aquarium systems through respiration processes and the atmosphere. Carbon can be 'forced' to become the rate limiting "minimum nutrient" factor, as can iron under intensive culture, or calcium or magnesium in soft water conditions.
Carbon dioxide infusion is useful in other ways; principally as a bicarbonate balancer in hard waters. The pH stabilization offered by carbon dioxide infusion goes a long way to promoting luxuriant plant growth.
Hydrogen and Oxygen are the remaining macro-nutrients of aquarium plants. They are obviously not in short supply.
The Minor Mineral Nutrients of Plants
Absorption in parts per million
Chlorine Cl- 100-10,000 Osmosis and ionic balance
Copper Cu2+ 2-75 Activator of some enzymes
Manganese Mn2+ 5-1500 Activator of some enzymes
Zinc Zn2+ 3-150 Activator of many enzymes
Molybdenum MoO42- 0.1--5.0 Nitrogen metabolism
Boron BO3- or B4O72- Calcium utilization, nucleic acid synthesis, membrane integrity.
So What Does This All REALLY Mean?
For folks with boosted lighting (thousands of lux at substrate level), possibly with carbon dioxide infusion, certainly one or more nutrients will move into this role. Carbon, if CO2 is not employed, iron, and in softer waters the alkaline earth elements calcium and magnesium.

[Lee]

fantastic scape! I like your style.

[Lee]

do you have co2? lighting?

[jinx©]

Originally Posted by gentledental4u

Thanks, Jinx. I appreciate your comments. Oh yea, by the way, are you a graphic designer? Cuz that artwork is A++.

Thanks, and let's just say I dabble...I make a few dollars here and there but it's mainly a hobby...lol

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by Lee

do you have co2? lighting?

Hey thanks Lee, so the substrate is fluorite that I had leftover from my earlier attempts at planted tanks back when I was chillin' with Karlton Dawg and Boun Dawg and Ray Dawg in Freakmont, California.

I had also bought the driftwood a long time ago too.

So far, I have DIY CO2 but I'm in the process of switching over to pressurized. I got a 15 lb tank from Airgas for 135 bucks. I have no idea how long it's going to last. But I've got it running at 1 bubble per second for 8 hours a day.

The lighting is also leftover from my high school dayz. It is 2 x 65 watt in the back and 1 x 55 watt in the front. Can anyone tell me if that is enough to grow a nice glosso carpet?????

Here are my full specs:::

Substrate::: Seachem Flourite

Lighting::: 2 x 65 watt 6700K Daylight + 1 x 55 watt 9325K GE Daylight

CO2::: Pressurized CO2 w/ 15 lb. CO2 tank introduced into the tank with a glass diffuser running @ 90 bubbles per minute

Nutrients::: Seachem Flourish [KNO3] [Plantex CSM+B]

Flow::: 1 x Maxi-Jet 900 Powerhead w/ 230 GPH

Flora::: Java Moss, Java Fern, Marimo Balls, Ludwigia repens, Rotala indica, Rotala colorata, Taiwan Moss, Hemianthus Callitrichoides, Aponogeton sp., Vallisneria sp., Riccia, Lemna Minor

Fauna::: 11 x Neon tetras, 4 x Panda Corys, 7 x Espei Rasboras, 3 x Siamese Algae Eaters, 1 x Otocinclus, 3 x Zebra Danios, 5 x Silver Hatchetfish

[Lee]

thats 4.6 wpg. it should be enough. I would stagger the lighting for a morning midday evening effect.