My Juwel Reckford 25 gallon

[morgan]

Very new still to underwater plant keeping, but have spent countless hours researching there needs and im quite confident
I have 2 tanks , both the same size , but my 2nd tank is for shrimp only

My tank
Volume: approx. 110 litres / 25 Imperial gallons.
Aquarium Size: 80 x 35 x 45cm external measurements
Bio flow 600ltr/hr pump and added a bag of ceramic rings in place of the carbon filter.And a small 300ltr/hr circulator
Lighting is DIY 2x 25watts spiral compact 65000kevlin
100 watt heater
CO2 is now pressurised,ceramic defuser. It was DIY up until 2 weeks ago

Brief introduction-
3rd of April 2012 - Tank was cycled with ramshorns and MTS.Then added a few neons and guppies.


Added 2 albino bristlenose and a hand full of red cherry shrimp.

been messing with tank nearly every day just trying to get it right
if you want to see the past photos of my tanks progression look here
http://s1058.photobucket.com/albums/...cpZZ2QQtppZZ24

this was about 2 weeks ago, lots of trimming to try keep things neat


Today -

[morgan]

Just dug my old Cannon powershot out .

-

just ordered 50 Sagittaria subulata , might remove java moss grass and hc and spread the grass about ,hopefully making a nice carpet . Taking a risk planting in the foreground hoping it wont look too fake keeping it trimmed short.

[CatB]

wow, i love it! the driftwood looks like a tree... a lot of times attempts to do that turn out terribly, but you really pulled it off!

[2in10]

Very well done, the foreground should look just fine.

[morgan]

Thanks CatB and 2in10

Had a few issues with my drop checker not going back to blue at lights off , problem now sorted. may upgrade to a ceramic atomizer.
Stopped upping my CO2 and backed off a touch now as i spotted a shrimp sitting there opening and closing his mouth/pinchers ? well it looked like he was gasping a touch on the bottom.

Nearly now on my 2nd week of my new ei dosing feed. followed the instructions from the supplier to make my mix.

Macro -4tsp KNO3, 1tsp KH2PO4 and 6tsp MgSO4 in 500ml of water
Micro - 1tsp chelated trace in 500ml water.

Both dosed 3 times a week on separate days at 10ml per day. with a 50% water change on sat .

Ill give it a month and see if i need to alter the ratios any.

heres a shrimp
http://screensnapr.com/v/FC0vZ9.png

[The Trigger]

Love that wood dude

[morgan]

Thanks The Trigger , its redmoor, the colour looked great at the beginning. The peice of wood i really wanted got sold 30 mins before i got online . Im still happy with this peice.
Everything you see in this tank,plants, shrimp and fish was purchased on Ebay.

[morgan]

I was using one of these


But i was told they are not correct for aquarium use , so ive now got this


£20 bottle and £5.85 for each refill....

[GMYukonon24s]

That's a beautiful tank and nice growth. I am also a fan of that wood.

[morgan]

monthly update -

Comparing pics ,my plants have not grew a massive amount .
I think im coming close to not having enough CO2 .
Im using a up internal atomizer, which is great.. But because my governor is pre set, My needle valve is fully open.
The pressure needed to run the atomizer is a little less than my governor is set to ,, so im stuck i cannot raise CO2 anymore . my drop checker is still green but not so greeny yellow it used to be .
just having a moan lol ill sort it

pics
Random cherry from the shrimp tank

Flash

Flashless

[morgan]

Since last update tank has been trimmed many times , growth on all plants is perfect. Floaters are kinda taking over but i trim heavy every week , as my atomizer cannot be turned up any more due to a pre set governor.
Got some new shrimp , about 20 Red Crystals. Im really liking them compared to my cherries . Theres no "grading" in my tanks , im happy with whatever i have .They must breed in my other tank before i put them in this tank

Above the water line

Just before a trim

random




my crystal

The crew

[viwwo]

Don't want to scare you but it looks like your crew is meeting to talk about global domination.

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

VERY NICE Tanks!!!

Lots of good growth, and I too really like the Drift Wood!

Keep up the Great Work!
Drew

[morgan]

Ha ha , yeah i thought something was up when the shrimp in the pic above came home with that tattoo on his body lol , looks like a devil face

[morgan]

Originally Posted by BoxxerBoyDrew

VERY NICE Tanks!!!

Lots of good growth, and I too really like the Drift Wood!

Keep up the Great Work!
Drew

Thanks , its pretty much ticking over on its own , shame i cant get the atomizer any faster , might switch back to a regular diffuser to get the extra bpm for my plants ...But the saying "Dont fix whats not broke " makes me think that the tank is doing fine as it is ,,dont touch ..