The Planted Tank Forum banner

Who says low tech can't look nice ! Check these tanks out !

6K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  tritan 
#1 · (Edited)
First off I don't work for this LFS but he let me take some pics of his low tech tanks so I could show you guys that low tech doesn't mean ugly and cheesy plants. He uses NO CO, fancy substates, or testing equipment, just gravel and weekly water changes and a decent light(2-3WPG). His idea is to get more people into planted tanks by showing them how easy it can be AQUARIUM SERVICES LLC

This is a 125 gallon with nothing more then a decent layer of gravel 3-4 inches, canister filter and a power head for some water movement. Lighting is some flourcent plant bulbs on a strip light . He does have a couple of nice piece of dift wood in there that have mossed over nicely.



You can see the tank from all sides as you enter the store.



Front of the tank I couldn't get rid of the glare from the store doors that where open sorry.



He then has a cherry shrimp tank with hundreds of shrimp in it. Its a 20 gallon tank acrylic, with a CF 32 watt and runs a undergravel filter with Aquaclear 20 powerhead. He just got done getting out some shrimp for me so the water was a bit cloudy but normally crystal clear.:proud:
I laugh at the people that state you can't use an undergravel filter for a planted tank.:icon_lol:



different view. Notice the shrimp on the moss balls.



In the front of the store he has a really big Ray tank with some angels to keep them company. It's in the shape of a pie and I am guessing around 200 gallon range. He does run two metal halide lights due to the lack of space and open top. You can see one ray on the far left againist the glass.



AQUARIUM SERVICES LLC is a great place to vist if you are in the Grand Rapids area of West Michigan. This is why I got into plants, if you see his tanks and here how he takes care of them with such little maintance it will really get you going on a natural as possible planted tank.

I read some of these fourms and wonder to myself do some of these guys every sleep? Some people spend so much time on dosing , CO, KH,nitrates, PH,WPG, if it becomes to much work you won't stick with it or enjoy it plus the cost goes up . I think that's what makes his tanks so different he doesn't test PH, no dosing ,just decent gravel, the right amount of fish, plants,decent bulb and (tap) water changes and you can grow most plants with excemption of some exotics. The 75 gallon has been growing about a year to get that height so his growth is slow and steady, no added headaches of cutting and rescaping every month just set up and enjoy.:icon_bigg

Now don't get me wrong I understand High tech tanks have there place for growing certain plants many semi exotic kinds but I am just curious Can anyone break down what it costs them per month on lets say a 50-75 gallon tank? CO bottles, ferts, test kits , chemicals etc ?


What do you guys think I would love to hear feed back.
 
See less See more
6
#2 ·
People dont say you cant use an under gravel filter in a planted tank. They say you shouldnt with heavily rooted plants as the roots get tangled in the filter plates. Huge difference.

I spend about $10 a month on DIY CO2, as for ferts I spent $30 for a yrs supply from Greg Watson. I change 40% of my water a week in my 125
 
#3 ·
How big are you tanks? And do you think it'd be better to just go with pressurized CO2 if you're spending that much on DIY per month?

I'm thinking low tech tank too, and from those pictures, I think I might be able to pull it off nicely! (I hope!)....but I want to have a nice setup. DIY seems like a PITA....but since I haven't done it, I have nothing to base it upon.
 
#4 ·
I have a 150g very low light (1 - 10k 40W actinic because of the depth - 27.5") that has been up going on 9 years in this location. I don't own any testing equipment. Have approximately 400 fancy guppies of all sizes in there (low bio-load). Use it mainly as a growout tank. Dose the plants once a week with FloraPride and Coralife Iron supplement. Change 50% of the water 2x a year (Nov - May) between topoffs. Have an undergravel filter w/2 power heads (turned off) and a 350 magnum cannister (off). Over the UGF is 2 - 4" gravel with most of the plants growing in the deep gravel which is not all towards the back... wherever it landed when I set up. There are Crypts that have been flowering since April, Saggiteria that's just started flowering, Mondo grass that is growing like a weed, Java fern that just won't stop putting out leaflets, 5 ft Bamboo planted along the back (grown a foot in 3 months). Still have only half the tank planted but its growing great. Never any disease or deaths. Think this tank has cost me no more than $4 a month in all the time it has been set up (set up continously going on 39 years).
Also have a 20gL, 2 - 10g's that are loaded with plants. :icon_bigg
 
#9 ·
Awsome tanks! I'm a newbie to the whole planted tank scene I just set my first tank up 5 days ago. I dont know what many plants are but could someone tell me what the plant is in the second picture from the top. In the upper right coner of the pic with a bunch of rasboas swimming infront of it.
 
#11 ·
those tanks look cool!

i remember growing up and visiting the lfs with my pops and seeing cool planted tanks and would sometimes buy a few stems here and there but they never lasted and i was not educated about any of it. if memory serves right i the display tanks i seen back then didnt have all the gadgets i see today.
 
#19 ·
the plant in the second picture is Rotala rotundifolia or Rotala indica(the name I called it for years).
I talked Otis into a few clippings from this one and its been a week since I got it and seeing some new stems in my low tech tanks with no co.
 
#13 ·
This Diana Walstad El Natural (low tech) tank got water changes of about 10% every 4 months, and the panda corys where breeding like rabbits :eek5:

For those of you who aren't fimiliar with El Natural, it's 1" to 1 1/2" top soil and 1" to 1 1/2" gravel/sand and 1.5 to 2 wpg, and depending on your water source, basically no ferts, the top soil takes care of the best part of that

[/URL][/IMG]
 
#16 ·
Would that place happen to sell those huge algae balls? I'm looking for a couple of big ones for a cheap price. I have two smaller ones that aren't growing worth a darn but everything else in the tank is growing like mad. Even slow growers.
 
#22 ·
these are good examples of low light tanks. they are primaily root feeders and low maitnence plants... mosses vals crypts anubis with some exceptions. the problems with big tanks like this is it takes a long time for them to settle out if you mess up orriginally. i personally have a style of keeping plants similer to this, in my 10g it owns everything,... in my 55g, im still working on it. i basically have high to med light and almost all root feeders + mosses so you dont have to dose the watercollum. the 55g is having algea problems but im on no hurry and slowly killing the stuff. as in any tank you want a ton of plant mass, esp. in low light tanks. the ones that do the best have the most plants.

back on topic....

those are nic tanks. lots of moss in there. i dont know if anyone knows this but dwarf hair grass grows awsome in med light low tech. over time.

thanks for sharing these pics,

- fish newb -
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top