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look how far I've come! 20L journal: new pics 4/11/10

15K views 100 replies 20 participants last post by  kyle3 
#1 · (Edited)
I just have to share the drastic improvement my tank has had in the past 2 months! The project never ends so let me know what suggestions you have for my tank!

2/5/09:

2/18/09:

3/1/09:

3/17/09:
(this picture has one light turned off to cut down on reflection, the shots with all lights on are really washed out. any tips?)









I'm really happy with the rapid improvement I've gotten in plant health. In November i had rescaped dramatically and pulled all of my fast growing rotala. by January I had brown algae and a number of my slower growing plant didn't make it, (that's why the tank looks so sparse in the feb. photo). So I'm very glad i won my battle! :) I look forward to your comments and criticisms!
 
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#4 · (Edited)
LOL I totally forgot to go back and add that stuff :icon_redf

As requested:
up and running since 12/05
AGA 20 gallon long

hagen Co2 ladder with DIY (1 20oz.(approximately) bottle changed every other week or when the bubble count gets low)

36 watts of t-5 (1colormax bulb, 1 6700K bulb)9hrs
20 watts of t-8 "life-glo" 9hrs

ferts: all seachem: root tabs for the swords and lotus, excel every other day, flourish every 3 days, iron every 3-5 days

eco-complete and small black gravel, aquaclear 50 HOB, 75 watt jager heater, AGA glass top

FAUNA: 5 rummy nose tetras, 2 Aeneas corys, 2 Julii corys, 4 otos, 4 amano shrimp

FLORA: Dwarf Sagittaria, Amazon sword(2 varieties, I think black and melon?), Hygrophyla difformis, Bacopa monnieri, Rotala indica, Nymphaea pubescens(lotus)

water parameters:
PH 7.2, KH 4, GH 9, Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5-10, (tap PH is 7.6-7.8)

did i miss anything?
 
#10 ·
Ok I've got some ideas to run by everyone:

1st: I'm toying with the idea of planting HC on the driftwood. I'm not sure if i'm up to it. . . opinions?

2nd: I'm thinking about adding more fish. . . I've always been really big on not pushing stocking too far so my tanks are lightly to moderately stocked and I'm not sure if I should add anything at all. The fish I'm thinking of are 2 more rummys and a pair of Rams. I'm really hesitant but I'd love to have a larger school and I'd love to have Rams for all the obvious reasons :)

thanks for looking everyone!
cheers-K
 
#11 ·
Your tanbks is gorgeous!!!!! Very nice work, and what a dramatic difference in just two months. Do you mind giving your specs? (lights, fert regimen, CO2, etc)?

The one suggestion I can make is to go with a more graceful peice of driftwood. Perhaps a old curvy manzanita that can draw attention to the focal point and give elegance...

That's all I can really suggest - it's a wonderful tank!!!!

And, yes get rams!!!!!!!
 
#13 ·
by the way I agree about the driftwood- it's so straight it seems stiff and rigid. The thing is it's screwed onto one of those slate bases and it would disturb 1/2 the tank if i were to replace it with something more elegant. That's why I'd like to disguise it a bit by growing a plant on it.
 
#14 ·
mmmmk so I've been doing a bit of reading and it seems that seachem is not the least expensive sort of ferts to use- but their "diluted" or less concentrated nature might be a good thing since my tank is not large. plus i'm messing with my established balance if i change it up. . .soooo should i hunt down some dry ferts in the twin cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) or should i leave good enough alone?

thanks for the input!
cheers-K
 
#17 ·
So sorry to hear about your loss. :icon_cry: After losing eight fish these past few weeks, I am feeling your pain. How are the other rummys doing? Well I hope. Seachem is great, but it can get expensive overtime. Use it until it is less cost effective and then look into getting dry fertilizers. I personally loved seachem.
 
#16 ·
today i picked up some flourish potassium - I'm having some "washed out" looking leaves on my dwarf sag. and some fragility in my lily.
my nitrates are up to 15 ppm 2 days after a water change so i think the potassium/nitrate ratio is imbalanced

by the way if I'm saying things about plant nutrients that make no sense at all, tell me please- i read SOO much stuff I sometimes wonder if i'm absorbing the right info.

any how i also got some Hemianthus micranthemoides that I'd like to get growing on the driftwood. so my next task is researching that.

I'm still intending to get a few more rummys they're out at 2 of my LFS and the third had little scraggley looking ones so I have to wait a couple weeks for them to come in. I have noticed since i went from 5 to 4 rummys that they are out and about much less so that confirms for me that the group has gotten too small for them to feel secure.

thanks for your comments and suggestions- hint hint ;)

cheers-K
 
#21 ·
oh yeah and-
another little update: I added the potassium on sunday night tested my nitrates again today and they're down to 10 ppm as of this morning.

also i tied the Hemianthus micranthemoides to the driftwood (boy was that a pain!) so we'll see how it grows in- hopefully it will "soften" the look of my driftwood. after covering the driftwood with it i had a bunch left so i threw it in a jar on the windowsill with a little excel- if i get around to it i think I'll rearrange my 5 gallon and put some in there.
 
#22 ·
Photo update


Full tank shot today-4/10/09 I'm toying with going lidless and raising the lights 3 inches as you can see in this photo.
PROS:
1)immersed growth-Nymphaea pubescens might flower & Bacopa monnieri might as well.
2)Also better viewing
CONS:
1) Lower WPG, however the T-5's (higher intensity than the T-8 that would get the boot) would hit more of the tank's footprint
2)the light is less secure in this arrangement
3) the cat might jump in/ knock over the light

So I could keep the T-5's raised but add back the glass lid to make the light more stable and keep the cat out. But would this block the light? with the light farther from the glass i think it might reflect the light rather than letting it pass through. what do you think?

another shot of the tank sans lid

Also any suggestions on cheap ways to stabilize the light? if you're familiar with my coralife fixture- all I've done is bend the little wire pieces that come out each side down and put them on the inner lip of the tank.

cheers!
 
#24 ·
more photos

I'm not sure if you can tell from the FTS but i gave up on the gradual trimming technique with the rotala - i mowed the lawn :D and traded it at the LFS I also thinned the wisteria out quite a bit it was getting out of hand.

I'm having a little GSA I think it's a combination of low K2SO4 (phosphate) and too much light i had kicked it up from 8hr's to 9, and then 10 hrs (stupid but i just love to watch the tank) anyhow I've cut light as of today to 8hrs and It's on my list to go fetch some phosphates. . . I really need to stop going to the LFS- very dangerous- lol
here are some shots of my new GSA :redface:

you can see that this leaf has a lot more than the one next too it, and who knows why that is?!? :icon_roll

on the Bacopa

and on the dwarf sag. it's also on the rotala, wisteria, and sword plant- but not noticeably unless you press your nose to the glass.

you can see in the picture of the sag. that it has some washed out looking leaves as i mentioned in an earlier post. It's worth pointing out that the dwarf sag. in the shade of the sword plant has GSA on it also but none of the leaves in that area are washed out in color at all. I'm thinking that in the higher light the plant is needing more nutrients one or 2 of which i must be low on. :redface: so I added potassium to my dosing earlier this week and I'll be getting phosphate - hopefully i don't have to dose nitrate too- we'll see what gets it looking better. I want to hear about it if you've got ideas on this :D

thanks for looking and commenting! -K
 
#26 ·
Cool tank Kyle! It looks great and what progress! I'm jealous! Sorry about the GSA.

Have you considered using EI for your dosing? It seems like the simplest and safest way to keep a healthy tank, and not be experimenting with ferts all the time (unless you enjoy the tinkering with ferts of course.) You're already doing weekly 50% WC's and that's the hard part.

You may have inconsistent Co2 which could also lead to the GSA. I've read many DIY'ers use two bottles and alternate weekly refills to keep it more consistent (which you may be already doing.) Tom Barr always seems to point people back to inconsistent Co2, especially people who always play the cause and effect blame game with the ferts. Pressurized is the best of course, but it costs money up front. :hihi:

I think the light looks good raised up. It does look like an accident waiting to happen though. Maybe you can find a better way to secure them. Rather than adding the glass lid, I would lower the lights another inch and bend the bottom of the wire with pliers and a little heat so it can form an inverted U over the inside and outside of the tank lip making it at least a little more secure. I also saw some pretty cool DIY fixture legs made from [strike]plexi[/strike] acrylic on mountaindew's journal

Good luck. Glad I finally made it over to your journal. Worth the trip!
 
#27 ·
thanks freddie! I've definitely considered EI. I think when i finally finish the bottles of ferts i have that's what I'll do, but for now I'm still getting stuff i can find at the LFS. Also i didn't intend on it but it is kind of fun to experiment and see how i can manipulate my little chemistry project ;) lol.

I have read a lot about tom's CO2 theories and i definitely think they've been applicable to my tank in the past. right now i change the CO2 very regularly and i dose the excel to supplement it so that if there are a few days of lower injected Co2 i have a surplus (theoretically) for my plants to take advantage of. establishing the Co2 routine that i have now is what got rid of the algae problem i had last year- so i hope i have adequately addressed any Co2 shortage in this tank. Until i get lots-o-$ I won't be able to afford pressurized :( when i can I'll get a bigger tank to inject it into :D

as far as the light goes i came to the same conclusion you did and i have lowered it to 2 inches above the tank and i bent the wire in such a way that there is some tension pressing out against the rim of the tank. haven't had any problems yet and I've had the lid off for 5 days now. I'm going to check out those acrylic legs tho, thanks for the link!

I'm so glad you enjoyed the journal too! thanks
cheers-K
 
#28 ·
update:
well i still haven't found any phosphate but lifting the light a bit and shortening the photo period seems to have slowed the GSA. doesn't seem to be advancing at all.

I picked up more rummys at the LFS. I was going to get 4 for a total of 8 but they had 5 and i didn't want to leave 1 loaner behind so i bought five and now i have a total of 9, (i know i'm a ridiculous sap but what can i say). They seem to have adjusted well. all of their noses are a deep red and the rummys that have been in the tank seemed totally ecstatic to have new mates. I haven't had any losses and no ammonia or nitrite. they've been in the tank since tuesday evening, so i think they'll all make it.

I also added one more critter- a bamboo shrimp, when he first went in I was a little worried b/c he was very light colored. but the next morning he was a warm brown/red color and he was filtering away sandwiched between two sword leaves. He's as fascinating as my other shrimp and i'm eager to see him grow.

off topic: while i was at the LFS i got offered a job- supplemental income! sweet!

the bacopa is already breaking through the surface of the water. I'm going to do some research and find out if i need to do anything special to get it to flower. yeah!

thanks for reading everyone!
 
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