20 gallon long dirt tank

[tryank]

Originally Posted by magnum

That's impressive. Are you using any fertz or just Idaho soil? I may have to get you to send me some of that haha.

Straight up Idaho dirt.

[tryank]

After moving, the only thing that has really changed is the background (no weird shelf thing on the other side of the tank).

Video time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-1lbtU6p4

[we4wieners]

Tank is very inspiring to a noob such as myself. Are you dosing anything or what is your water change regime?

[zoragen]

Send me those rocks! They are beautiful

Great progress. I love the paper clip idea.

I have flourite & mixed plain gravel & always have trouble keeping new plants anchored.

[callisto9]

Beautiful video. Thanks for sharing! Love all the space they have!

[Msheresy]

Originally Posted by tryank

Right you are, Ken (I know you're Marko but I like that phrase).

LOL!






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tryank]

Originally Posted by we4wieners

Tank is very inspiring to a noob such as myself. Are you dosing anything or what is your water change regime?

I want to start dosing a little Seachem "Flourish." In fact, it's tempting to try my hand at DIY (or DIMyself?) CO2 to see how much of a difference it can make. If I do, I'll start another thread in the DIY forum or something and put a link to it in this journal. We'll see though... And as for water changes, I do them MAYBE once a month, 5 gallons at a time (25% of a 20g). But with the recent move, that's all new H2O!

Originally Posted by zoragen

Send me those rocks! They are beautiful

Great progress. I love the paper clip idea.

I have flourite & mixed plain gravel & always have trouble keeping new plants anchored.

The rocks: from the side of the road that I stuck straight up in the substrate!

Try the paper clip thing and let me know how it works. It worked GREAT for me, obviously.

[LyzzaRyzz]

Great thread! Love the excitement! Your growth has been ridiculous, especially since ive read that HC without CO2 was useless! Maybe your idaho dirt helps more than you think!

[marioman72]

cool stuff and great tank! i run diy co2 on all my tanks def helps quite a bit. u will def notice a diference right away in growth rates.

I always have problems with my HC up rooting im def going to have to try the paper cip method u came up with haha

[tryank]

I'm attributing the successful HC growth to the dirt AND the paperclips. And adequate light. And good water and probably luck. Anywho, LyzzaRyzz and marioman72, you've talked me into trying CO2. Didn't need too big of a shove, really.

I've found a few different recipes for CO2 concoctions littered across the intraweb... Any recommendations or words of wisdom before I get to it?

[TonyK]

Do you have any links to the hood and light your using? I am setting up a 20L right now and would love to have a carpeting plant. I prefr the look of a tank with alot of rock and driftwood but, yours looks great with the carpet.

[tryank]

Originally Posted by TonyK

Do you have any links to the hood and light your using? I am setting up a 20L right now and would love to have a carpeting plant. I prefr the look of a tank with alot of rock and driftwood but, yours looks great with the carpet.

Throw "Zoo Med AquaSun T5-HO Double Light Linear Fluorescent Hood, 30-Inch" into a web search and the fixture model I'm using will pop up. The bulb is "Zoo Med Flora Sun Plant Bulb T5 High Output 24 Watts, 22-Inch." I just have one bulb, but I'm ready to put another one in next to it since it can hold two - probably the 10,000K or "Ocean Sun" bulb. Maybe it will help the HC grow even more, but I'm getting it mainly for the aesthetic factor.

If you try the paperclip tactic with your new 20L let me know how it works. Good luck!

[marioman72]

Originally Posted by tryank

I'm attributing the successful HC growth to the dirt AND the paperclips. And adequate light. And good water and probably luck. Anywho, LyzzaRyzz and marioman72, you've talked me into trying CO2. Didn't need too big of a shove, really.

I've found a few different recipes for CO2 concoctions littered across the intraweb... Any recommendations or words of wisdom before I get to it?

sorry didnt even see this response! there realy isnt much to give for words of wisdom other then the basics of co2 stuff. and the paper clip trick worked wonderfully!

[FaceWise]

I'm glad your tank survived the move, this is a very entertaining journal. I think 48W of T5HO will prove too much light over a tank of this size, but maybe DIY CO2 will keep algae in check. Best of luck, looking forward to future updates!

[BenderBendingRodriguez]

Any updates on the growth?