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「R.I.P」My First Planted Tank

12K views 102 replies 22 participants last post by  NanoDave 
#1 · (Edited)
It has met its end.....


The rescape however is here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=465753

Also, I must have accidentally deleted the last pic before tear down.......oops



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Hi everyone!!

This is indeed my first planted tank, and just to say, I already mastered fish-only tanks, time to move on!!!


The main goal of this first tank is not to immediately try to figure out everything, but to slowly develop a feeling for a planted tank.

This means that this would be a planted focused tank, not so much focused on the aquascaping part.

But just to say, I have been practicing hardscaping recently with my tank, so at least there would be some art :).



Will be beginning to get the final hardscape soon and planning the planted would be next.


So far the only picture I have now is a empty tank with aquasoil (its blurry i know, to lazy to get out my Nikon):



This is my first picture that I posted, so bear with me if it looks awkward.

I will list my supplies soon, I thought it would be a boring way to start a journal with a list.


I hope everyone can help!!
 
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#28 ·
Found my fish inside my Fluval in the tank where I am temporarily putting them. I literally went insane trying to revive them. There all fine now and I put a screen over the intake since I forgot to add one since I started that temporary tank.

SO SCARY!!!
 
#30 ·
The Beginning

After 1 year of researching planted tanks, 3 years of fish-only experience, 9 months of planning, and 10 hours of preparation and planting in all-nighter mode, I started this:








This tank would be somewhat based off of Frank Wazeter's method for his Mini M thread here.

Will post supplies and equipment after I rest from last night's planting.


Speak your mind! Post anything (hopefully useful :icon_roll)! Feedback wanted!
 
#31 ·
A+
All that studying up is going to pay off now, looks great. Plants are good, not too hard to grow and in good scale to the size of the tank, hardscape looks good and love the way you put all the hardware to one side. Good move.
 
#33 ·
A+
All that studying up is going to pay off now, looks great. Plants are good, not too hard to grow and in good scale to the size of the tank, hardscape looks good and love the way you put all the hardware to one side. Good move.
Thanks, studying can be hard sometimes when you don't know where to start :(. I didn't select too many species due to simplicity (yes, I don't have collectoritis yet :)). But I am worried a bit about the glosso as I didn't really plant it correctly and some of it is emmersed.....
 
#34 ·
After a water change, still a bit cloudy:



I have a question, those who used Seachem Equilibrium, is it supposed to be like sandstone which is hard but you can somewhat easily crush? Also, is it supposed to leave some grains which looks like silica sand that would not dissolve after adding it into the water? Thanks.
 
#35 ·
Here are the list of equipment:

Tank, stand, substrate, light:
-29 gallon tank 90cm (L)*30cm (W)*36cm (H). Both stand and tank are from craigslist for like 36 bucks
-ADA Amazonia (used two 9 liters)
-Hagen Glo 36" Dual-bulb with Giesemann Midday and Aquaflora


Filter, filter media, plumbing:
-Eheim 2215
-A output pipe from MarineDepot
-Seachem Matrix Carbon
-The Ehfimech that came with the filter
-ADA Bio Rio
-1/2" vinyl tubing


CO2, fertilizers:
-GLA Nature Beast Regulator
-5lb Cylinder from GLA
-Fluval bubble counter
-Seals
-Rhinox 2000. Its ceramic disc didn't function correctly so:
-Small powerhead with a venturi
-2 Brass check valves
-Fertilizers from GLA: KNO3, KH2PO4, Plantex CSM+B


Water quality, additives:
-Seachem Equilibrium
-Seachem Acid Buffer (our tap has a pH of 8+)
-Seachem Prime
-Seacehm Stability


Maintenance:
-UP Aqua Forceps
-Algae Pad scrubber
-Kent Metal Blades
-Hydor Seltz L20 (for water changes)
-Three 5 gallon buckets
-1 mega net, 1 medium net, and 1 fine net
-Curved Nature 6.5" Scissor
-Small 5" surgical scissors (my mom was a nurse, and the hospital got some extras)


Miscellaneous:
-API Master Test Kit
-API GH & KH Test Kit
-Mopani Wood
-Some stones from the sea


Extra notes:
-I use only tap water for now, but I do have a Reverse Osmosis unit at disposal
-The lighting in the pictures isn't really accurate, still trying to figure out the camera
-Photo-period is 10 hours
-Dosing EI
-Thank you Frank Wazeter for the inspiration to start this aquarium :)
 
#36 ·
Oh yeah, the plants:

List of plants:
-Glossostigma elatinoides (sadly over half of the pots came in emergent form. Yeah, lots of rot and unusable plants)
-Either Rotala indica or Rotala rotundifolia (can't really tell the difference)
-Hemianthus micranthemoides
-Cryptocoryne wendtii 'bronze/Tropica'
-Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
 
#39 ·
Okay, 3rd Day!

There is so far no crypt melt, good :). Either the crypts are already in submersed form or its just not happening yet.
The glosso is starting to take root and so are the crypts.
Can't really tell whats happening with the root system of the rotalas and the HM, but I assume they're okay since they're not dying.

Still tweaking around with the CO2. Can anyone recommend anything else for CO2 distribution? I am planning to replace the venturi with either a better pump or a different system (probably CO2 atomizers from GLA). Would like a glass diffuser but sadly there are no good cheap ones.


Feedback is appreciated!
 
#41 ·
Day 5-No algae seen, plants recovering from shock (the planting didn't go so well). Slowly dosing the macros and micros, and still trying to find a temporarily CO2 distribution method. So far it is a venturi.


Current conditions of the plants (sorry, bad at pictures):

Glosso is spreading runners!!!


Hemianthus is starting to perk up, it stopped getting browned leaves


I don't know yet if the rotala is growing, but I do know that it is not dying because I discovered last night that the crowns of the rotala close.....HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT? Since I am pretty sure dying plants won't do that, they look to be fine, though they are still twisted from the shipping.


Need to organize the leaves of the crypt greens when their roots get established, or else I have to replant them again which is not my favorite task. The crypt bronze are doing fine, beginning to see some sprouting leaves!


A random picture :)



What do you guys think? Any thoughts?
 
#42 ·
For right now you could move the power head so its outflow adds to the Eheim's outflow, might move the CO2 around the tank better. Or not as pretty but reflects what the ADA tanks do and put the powerhead on the other end of the tank low so the water from the filter flows across the tank and down then the powerhead continues the movement and pushes water back to the filter's intake. Right now the powerhead's outflow might be pushing against the filter's flow pattern.

The only stem plant that has straightened out for me has been Persicaria Kawagoneanum. All the rest curve after a day of no light and I have to wait for new growth before they look right. Annoying.

I would tell the vendor that there was a lot of bladderwort on your plants. That is not good. Good that you picked it out, it can be difficult to get rid of.

See if you can push the white stems of the glosso down without messing anything up, it should root there.

Looks good, like your arty photos too!
 
#43 ·
For right now you could move the power head so its outflow adds to the Eheim's outflow, might move the CO2 around the tank better. Or not as pretty but reflects what the ADA tanks do and put the powerhead on the other end of the tank low so the water from the filter flows across the tank and down then the powerhead continues the movement and pushes water back to the filter's intake. Right now the powerhead's outflow might be pushing against the filter's flow pattern.
First of all, well, the pump is only 60gph (not a lot). I placed the it there because the CO2 rises up and gets picked up by the filter's output flow. But I will try the suggested :).

I am currently feeding CO2 into the inlet of a 180 gph pump (this is just an experiment). It works WONDERFUL, got a nice bubble saturation. The downsides are that this is a 180 gph pump and everything is bending right now. Another thing is that it is LOUD when the CO2 gets into the pump. We are actually trying to fix our previous Rhinox diffuser, which could first of all be a lot more aesthetically pleasing and silent :). In the end I might just get a GLA Atomizer for the sake of less hassle and really misty bubbles.
 
#44 ·
The things that work and the things that didn't work.

Work- CO2 on a 60 gph venturi pump is a good when it is under the filter output

Does not work- Rhinox Diffuser (ceramic disc didn't function properly), CO2 fed into a 180 gph pump (CO2 bubbles were just what I needed, but a dust storm was not)


Conclusion- In the future I would almost surely get an atomizer, it is relatively cheap, makes micro bubbles, and shouldn't be as loud as that 180 gph pump. The venturi would be the temporary solution.


Other things- Might get a small wavemaker since my filter's output isn't as strong as I hoped it would be. The reason is my tank is pretty long, but has a smaller water volume compared to tanks of the same size (it has a small width). The filter output would push water through the front half of the tank and then the wavemaker would do likewise for the back of the tank.

I also planted the glosso as Kathyy recommended, will see how it goes.
 
#45 ·
Well, day 5!

I have a problem.

The problem is that a weird brownish film is appearing on the cryptocoryne leaves and some on the rocks. It could be one of the two things: beginning of algae or Aquasoil dust. I thought about the Aquasoil because during the planting I had to replant twice :icon_redf (don't ask) and it probably created a lot of dust.

The other option is algae which I new it would come sooner or later :mad:. I did reassure myself that it is nothing like BBA, more so leaning towards diatoms since it is brown in color and makes a film. The reason it is causing trouble is because it basically covers the crypt leaves. There are probably some on other plants but the crpyts are easier to see on.

I'll post a picture or two later.

Aside from this, I can say that crowns of the rotala is showing new growth!! The glosso are really starting to get going, but it would still take a while to get the carpet. Crypts are sprouting new leaves. The HM however is still stagnant in growth, don't really know if it is dying or growing.


More importantly, when is a good time to add otos? As an extra note, I have to say that I currently have no access to any Amano Shrimps. They sometimes appear in petsupermarket, will be searching for some.
 
#46 ·
Did a bit of research, the film are diatoms. The 10 aquarium that I keep my fish from the previous fish-only project was sitting by the window. The same stuff grew all over the glass and I validated what is was.

Heh, thought it was aquasoil dust :p.


How do you get rid of diatoms?
 
#47 ·
Nothing much to say, but rotalas are growing and pearling and the HM is getting greener growth.

The algae on the crypt leaves are still a bit annoying, I have to wipe it off the leaves daily to prevent it getting choked; but it is not a major concern. Had to replant the crypts in the right side because I didn't plant it well the first time and everything was floating. The crypts are also melting, not too much of a concern for me.

I also found a way to get glosso to grow low: cut the long, tall runners and replant them. This is working BEAUTIFULLY!!

Other than the plants, I lowered the light and increased CO2. I am now dosing full EI. One thing I learned this week is that I hate floating plants more than dying plants.


I'll get some pictures once the water clears up from the Equilibrium.
 
#48 ·
Okay, pics!




Where the tank stands inside the house:







I actually found out that the tank having a small width is a good thing in my situation. Since it is in a junction between the kitchen+dining area and the living room, it provides good walking space.

Comments anyone? Suggestions?
 
#49 ·
Ok, so I have some questions regarding algae.

First, when is it possible to add otos? Since I am getting some diatoms and other types of algae that to them would look like a feast, when is it possible to add them? When ammonia is 0? Nitrite and nitrate?

Second, the algae I am getting are so far only affecting the crypts. Even though they are doing their melting thing, I am seeing young and new leaves getting a thin layer of some sort of brownish algae. Its thankfully not BBA, or other types of filamentous algae. Its kinda like GDA except that it is brown and when you move your finger for example on the rocks, it creates a residue on the fingers.

There is also a root thing with the rotalas which you can see from the pics.


Here are the pics of the algae (sorry, close-ups are difficult). A thing to note is in the first picture, the leaf where you can see the brighter green is the leaf that had been wiped in only the middle for comparison. The algae was fairly easy to wipe. Hope someone can ID this and tell me how to solve these problems!!
 

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#51 ·
Update:

The tank can be described in one word: pea

Luckily I know why it happened: ammonia spike because of adding fish. It just needs a good'ole water change :).


All the plants are growing fine. The rotalas and the hemianthus needed to be replanted because I didn't do a good job of planting them in the first place (hey, I'm a n00b :)). The older leaves of the crypts are still melting, but the young leaves are doing great. Glosso is being stupid and taking over everything :angryfire.

Gonna stock about 6 otos today and some amano shrimps if I can find them.


The algae conditions:
Light green water (not much of a deal to me, just water change).
GDA, some present.
Brown stuff on ornaments and some leaves (I'll see what happens).
Had Spirogyra :icon_eek:, but it went away for no apparent reason :biggrin:.
Had some hair algae but after manual removal it never came back :proud:.
No 'tough' algae (BBA) since my CO2 is pretty good.

The conclusion: You might call me crazy but I am actually very delighted to see the diversity of algae species and their habits!!! My motto: To understand algae, you must experience it!!! So far my plan for taking care of the things above is nothing (well, except for otos). I am just going to let everything settle down and stabilize because the tank just went through a major replanting, change of light intensity (I raised the light fixture), and being stocked with fish. I am just going to wait everything out.

Going to do a HUGE water change on Saturday and clean everything, this would reset nutrient imbalance and other stuff due to my negligence :).

To those who are curious about my fish, they are just transfers from by 10 gallon which kept my fish temporarily from my last fish-only projects. Yeah, not very exciting. But since they were with me for soooo long, letting them live in a tank with plants is my Christmas gift to them :icon_bigg. But I do have a trained tiger barb which is at least 5 years old (yeah, its family now). All its buddies died though, so now he/she is the most gentle tiger barb in the world (never attacks other fish, even plays with them at times).



Pics coming soon!!!!! It's going to be a bit blurry due to the green water


P.S. I have a side project, TRYING TO GET MY ANUBIAS TO SEED!!!!!! Pictures of that too is coming :).
 
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