Duy's 10 Gallon NPT :)

[duy]

Current FTS:
3/15/13

Hello, I'm a new member here so I think ya'll deserve a little introduction. I'm a Sophomore college student at OSU, and I've always been a huge fan of the hobby. I think my dad is to blame for that. He taught me betta breeding when I was younger, and during my high school years I had two planted aquariums of my own. Sadly, they were abandoned once I moved away for college. It's been two years since then, and I've recently re-discovered my passion for planted aquaria and decided to start a small 10G tank.


Plan: Dry Start Method for ~ 1-2 month(s) then flood once root system is established.

Livestock: Clown killifish w/ RCS.
*My hope is that the clown killies will breed and the RCS won't eat the fertilized eggs. Can anyone confirm this to be possible for me?

Plants: Mostly undecided. But so far there's:
- C. Parva (or what I believe is it, was labeled
assorted asian crypts" at local petco.) If possible can someone confirm?



-Ludwigia repens (Same situation with C. Parva, ID?)



-Java fern. I found a piece of hardened clay at the beach once, and when we had a bonfire we threw it into the embers; it baked the clay a nice deep red with awesome cracks and texture. It was awesome, so I attached it to the fern as a base.

\\Comments:
The tank has only been set-up today, and there is a massive shortage of plants. I'm waiting to find a nice sale package or better yet, a RAOK, from a member here because you all have such nice quality tanks and plants . If anyone has such a kind offer and hooks me up for some more plants at a budget, PM me and let's be friends!

Substrate:
Miracle Grow Organic capped with Petco black sand.

Lighting:
12 DIY LED kit from aquastyleonline.com (super fast shipping, suprised me).



2x Blue, 2x Red, 2x Cyan(Green) 6x White. I tried to complete the light spectrum. Can someone comment if this is unnecessary or not, because the light blends to a bright violet white, and if it's unnecessary I'll switch more white in the array.

Stand:
DIY 8" tall stand just because.



FTS:



2-1-2013

I hope I didn't bore you. Please critique and comment, I find it a joy to read every comment.

[jart]

Wow, great start. I don't really have anything to add... you seem to have done your research.

I'm not sure how your fern is going to survive using the DSM. Also, I wonder about the compatibility of your fish and shrimp. But, if you have some moss, perhaps the shrimp can hide there. Good luck and welcome to TPT.

[l8nite]

Definitely Ludwigia Repens, not sure about the crypt - there's a good picture here: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...hp?i=1048&c=11

My dad graduated from OSU, and I was born in Corvallis Go Beavers!

[duy]

Originally Posted by jart

Wow, great start. I don't really have anything to add... you seem to have done your research.

I'm not sure how your fern is going to survive using the DSM. Also, I wonder about the compatibility of your fish and shrimp. But, if you have some moss, perhaps the shrimp can hide there. Good luck and welcome to TPT.

Thanks jart, I had two weeks of boredom so I just lurked a couple forums, including this one, until I pretty much read every single journal haha. The fern actually seems to be doing well, I bought them at the local petco about a week or two ago just to experiment with emersed set-up and grew them in dollar tree trays. They sent out new leaves after I trimmed a couple damaged ones and there's noticeable root growth, so I think they'll be fine.

Originally Posted by l8nite

Definitely Ludwigia Repens, not sure about the crypt - there's a good picture here: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...hp?i=1048&c=11

My dad graduated from OSU, and I was born in Corvallis Go Beavers!

Thanks for the confirmation, I had the hardest time trying to confirm it myself. Ok, the crypt is definately not C. Parva, the leaves are similar but the stalks itself isn't. My crypt has skinnier, showing light green when young but turned reddish when more mature. I'll take closer a photo later today. Haha, it's a nice town, I like Corvallis Go Beavers!

[duy]

Update: 2/5/2013
It's been about one week since the DSM start, but there is noticeable growth happening!

I've trimmed off one or two leaves that were yellowing or starting to look dead so far, but the crypts are growing new green leaves!


And the ludwigia are starting to send new pink roots down into the substrate, with awesome pink new leaves growth along the nodes.


Just spent the last pennies in my budget for more plants, hopefully coming in sometime next week.

[ophiophagus]

be ready for the crypt leaves to die off with the dsm and then again when you fill the tank

[duy]

Originally Posted by ophiophagus

be ready for the crypt leaves to die off with the dsm and then again when you fill the tank

I've been misting 1-2 times everyday, but making sure that the soil does not get too wet either, so hopefully that makes their transition from submersed to emersed easier. I like them and I'm hoping they grow beautifully .

[PeterN1986]

Nice start, the ludwigia is looking really pretty. I just started my DSM for my tank at work at around the same time you did. I am also just misting twice a day (did not submerge substrate) with excel and a dry fert mixture and growth is looking good. Will be interesting to compare our growth rates.

[duy]

Originally Posted by PeterN1986

Nice start, the ludwigia is looking really pretty. I just started my DSM for my tank at work at around the same time you did. I am also just misting twice a day (did not submerge substrate) with excel and a dry fert mixture and growth is looking good. Will be interesting to compare our growth rates.

Thanks. I'm just misting dechlorinated tap water at the moment, but this is a dirted tank so I'm crossing my fingers and hope that they're getting enough nutrients to have adequate, healthy growth.
If this was an experiment, I'd say mine is the control and yours is the experimental tank haha. Since I'm not dosing, we could observe the difference in growth between our tanks and see how much a difference the ferts are making. I agree, it would be extremely interesting. You should make a journal and post the link here!

[PeterN1986]

The journal is in my signature - the 5.5g tank!

[GMYukonon24s]

Looking good! Keep it going.

[Allentan97]

I didnt know you were from corvallis, haha sweet

[duy]

Thanks all for your feedback, I appreciate it. I'm waiting on a couple plants packages estimated to arrive sometime next week, and when I get it I'll definately update this journal for sure. I'm very excited about this project.
Oh nice allen, I see you're in Corvallis too! Haha, its only my second year here so I'm still not familiar with hobbyists and stores around here, I hope you don't mind if I ask you for help from time to time, since you're in my general area

[duy]

Update: 2/11/2013
So lots of new things today, got my first plant package on Aquabid and started planting. To be honest, after the first hour or so I gave up on organizing plants so I just started sticking them where my instincts told me they should be. At this point I'm hoping for nature to take it's course and decide where things should be and how they should grow (chaotic like the wabi-kusa concept), and trim at my own leisure later.

FTS:


Left side:


Right side:


Center:


There was so much stems and runners that I didn't know what to do with myself. I used the left over plants and dropped it in a glass bowl I had lying around and I still had quite a bit left over so I threw them in a bucket and sat it behind my tank. It's the orange Home Depot bucket behind the tank in the pictures lol.
Bowl:





Plant growth:
Java fern: The java hasn't been doing much, just sitting there. Except that I noticed some green where the roots are so it's probably growing, slowly but steadily.

Crypts:
New leaves are sprouting, no further dead/dying leaves, some noticeable roots starting to come out from the rhizome.

Ludwidgia: Healthy growth, new roots are appearing/rooting into the substrate. New shoots are visible and is clearly expanding. New shoots in direct light are dark red/brown, but if relocated into the shade will revert to green. It's clearly growing well, but I hope it'll really take off soon.

[AlanLe]

Usually people dry start HC, glosso.... those foreground plants.