The Planted Tank Forum banner

9g Desk-top

6K views 36 replies 15 participants last post by  vvDO 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey Planted Tank community,

This is my first planted tank. Looking to learning and document my project. I would love any comments or suggestions.

Equipment:
9 Gallon Schuber Wright
Finnex Ray 2
Ehiem Classic 2213
Cal Lily Pipes
Mr. Aqua bubble counter and CO2 defuser
Cal "pearl" drop checker
2.5# CO2 tank
Up Aqua CO2 regulator


Substrate:
Fluval Stratum

Foral:
dwarf hair grass
dwarf baby tears
water lettuce

Fauna:
Dalmatian Molly
Apple Snail

Stage 1: Dry Start and Aquascape








 
See less See more
9
#8 ·
Update for the homies,

I am still unsure about the flat rock in the left foreground, my main issue with it is the color having so much more red in it. I am planning a risky re-scaping.

Has anyone pulled their plants out during a DSM for 30-60 minutes? I want to improve my hardscape, and maybe change some stuff around. Buying new plants and restarting the DSM wouldn't be completely out of the question, I would only be out a week.


You can see the rock in question in this picture. The drift would on the right, will eventually have some moss on top.


Arial view of DSM, about 5 days after planting. I just started spraying with "Seachem Flourish"


Just noticed that some of the dwarf hairgrass is turning brown, is this a problem, or might they just be adapting to new conditions. They were grown submersed so I thought they might not be used to DSM conditions.

Thanks for looking and help!
 
#10 ·
sorry for the hiatus

I'v just been waiting for the dry start to finish up. I eventually got antsy and decided to fill the tank.

The flat rock is still in the tank but can still be taken out easily. I also buried the big rock and wood piece a little deeper.

Does the flat rock still bother everybody? I could add a similar rock (pictured a few posts up), but I think it is a little to big for the foreground, or I would have to bury it a little bit.






equipment added:
up-aqua regulator
2.5# CO2 tank
spiral diffuser and bubble counter

plants add:
Broad-leaf Ludwig
Water Lettuce
 
#15 ·
Thank you for the critique Jimmy, but could elaborate on why you feel it is "confused." I can try to explain what I was going for. I was going for mountain on the left, with some taller plants behind it. A dwarf baby tear carpet would cover up the left portion, hiding where the rock enters the substrate. On the right side where the wood is I want to add some type off moss, that is what I'v been looking into recently. Basically prairie with a rock mountain on one side, transitioning into a hilled savana with a tree.

I will read more in the aquascaping section :)

Looking forward to an expanded critique.
 
#24 ·
Big update,

The tanks has taken some big steps. I added and then removed some ludwig. The leafs were falling off and with the addition of a very small powerhead, to ward off green dust algae.





For a while I was having hard time with the green dust/glass algae and surface film. I read that poor circulation could cause this, so I added the powerhead for more flow. I also upped my ferts by 2 times. KNO3 went from 0.4 g to 1 g, KHPO4 from 0.05g to 0.1g, and K2SO4 from 0.4 to 1 g.

During the algae battle I was also playing with the scape. I added a laying drift wood piece, removed the flat rock and tilted the big rock up.

After dosing on this schedule for a week, and the gda clearing up, I thought i deserved to get some fauna in the tank. My friend LeMoine,who posted above, gave me some cherry shrimp, and I picked up 3 Dalmatian Molly, tagging along is an unknown fry.






Everything was looking great. The shrimp were happy eating left over algae and the molly where exploring the tank and chasing each other. I was so pleased I wanted to get another shrimp breed. So after about a week of happy cherry and molly, I picked up 4 Amano from my regular aquarium store, along with a mat of HC. I added the shrimp and planted the HC. During the planting the substrate started to get stirred up and the water got a little cloudy.

This is where things turn ugly, I wake up the next morning to find one dead Amano and three dead Cherry. By the next day every single shrimp was dead. Thankfully the moly still look happy. I am starting to think that my filter isn't working correctly or just weak. Since putting the filter on the desk to use the glass pipes, the filter wasn't putting out enough water. The out flow was just a trickel and my water test show very high ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. Plus it was hard to prime and the filter, and would not prime itself. So I picked up an Ehiem 2213!!!! This thing is a beast! I love it. But my water tests are still off the charts. I don't think it is CO2 related, because my drop checker is reading green.




What do you think of the new scape? What happened to my shrimp!? Thought on Ehiem or Finnex canister filters? Was I dosing to much, was it disturbing the substrate or something else that is causing my water test to show deep red and purple?
 
#27 ·
Hey Somewhat,

Thanks for the imput. It could have been poor filter maintenance or disturbing the soil. I plants that huge mat of HC, and I did not clean out the filter for 2 months. But I though I might have been ok because I only had fish in it for a few weeks at the time of the shrimp genocide. Is there one you think might be the main cuplrate? You don't think upping the dose was to blame. I am just trying to get a better understanding. Is a monthly filter cleaning called for, with new medium and stuff? I planed on doing a filter cleaning every other month.
 
#32 ·
Harsh. Im trying my best. I might not be a shrimp expert, but this is my first tank. I have done some studying and talked with a few people in person about shrimp care. I know they are delicate creatures and sensitive to pH, temp and other adverse water parameters.

I am curious what makes you so sure I am using too much CO2? I am at less the 1 bubble per second. The CO2 comes on 2 hours before the light and turns off two hours before. And my drop checker is green.
 
#31 ·
You should read this article:

http://www.sudeepmandal.com/hobbies/planted-aquarium/low-tech-planted-tank-guide/

Honestly, you probably would be best off starting with a non-CO2 tank...things do grow slower, but you have much more time to respond to any problems. For your tank right now, it seems like your problems are compounding and it's getting out of control. Focus on getting your filter right like somewhat said. Keep the mollies in there to get the tank through the cycle. Your 2213 should probably be on the floor and NOT your desk (safety...). You should also read this post on maintaining your filter:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1783711&postcount=111

I would probably ditch the CO2 long term. If it fluctuates, you'll continue to kill shrimp and encourage algae growth.
 
#33 ·
Thanks for the reading material. In retrospect starting with a low-tech tank would have been prudent. But I already have the solenoid regulator and tank. I am going to tough it out with CO2. You can see in my last post that my bps is less than 1 and what the time cycle is like for the solenoid. And you can see in the picture that the 2213 is on the floor. An advice on keeping shrimp in a hi-tech tank? I don't plan on putting anymore in until I find an equilibrium

Nitrate and Nitrite levels are still high. I have cut back on the ferts a little. I'm thinking my filter is still going though the cycle. But this doesn't explain why the shrimp died with the finnex px360, as the 2213 was added after the shrimp massacre.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top