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Most Unimaginative Tank on Plantedtank or elsewhere

30K views 137 replies 39 participants last post by  samee 
#1 ·
Here it is. The story continuing from my thread here
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=260722

My 25 gal, 1st planted tank, all the way back in 2008. Thread is here:
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2631

My DIY 45 gal thread is here:
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4052
I read it again after a few years, i just ignored the comments :p ehehe Also go to last page for good pics.

So I eventually moved to high tek, diy setup. I had two shop lights pumping 2.9 w/g in my 45 gal tank with diy co2 bottles. I was really happy as everything was growing. Then I saw that there were holes in my plants and my anabius turned white. Later on I found out nutrients were also important. So I ended up buying dry ferts and dosing EI method.

The tank was going really well, loved it, regret not taking pics though. After a little while I got hit with the two worst things to hit a planted tank, U. gibba and Cladophora algae. I battled these two things for a whole year. They killed all my plants and destroyed my tank. In the end, through succession, my tape grass took over the tank along with clado. Both the algae and the carnivorous plant preferred healthy plant conditions meaning normal plants couldnt out compete them. Nor would high co2 or blackouts do anything. After a year I tore out the entire tank, threw out all my tape grass (buckets worth) and washed my tank and gravel in close to boiling water. I dried the gravel, threw it outside in my balcony in -10c weather for a few days and started over.

I tried scaping but it didnt work. I wanted wood and different levels of elevation. In the end I got rid of the mopani because it took up too much space and didnt look good. My lvl floor didnt work out either, Im not sure, they werent high enough and I just dont know how to do it.

So I loaded the tank with a few plants, didnt even spread them apart in the beginning. Went well and from there on forward its been like that since. My plants take over the tank and theres no space to scape. I feel bad throwing away bags of plants away. I sell them at low prices but as soon as someone hears "high light", no one bites.

So previously I used to take pics at random times. Recently, I take pics every month, I have a huge folder with mini folders for each month. My old HD crashed at lost a few months of pics.

My old setup at its prime. Dont know the name of the nice stem plant in the back left.


Old tank before teardown


New tank setup


Difference in water temperature


So it begins....


July 2011


Aug 2011


Sep 2011


Nov 2011


May 13, 2012


throwing away buckets worth


May 27, 2012


June 17, 2012


July 1, 2012


July 30, 2012


Aug 17, 2012



Sep 3, 2012


Sep 24, 2012



Dec 8, 2012


Jan 1, 2013


Feb 5, 2013


Feb 15, 2013



And a few random images from the timeline




 
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#36 ·
Yea I usually put a few stems up for sale and end up giving a bag full away. I think I need to reduce the plant species so I can manage easier. I have given each specie its own space, but the fast and different growth of each specie has made it really hard. My Rotala H ra is a really nice plant, but some stems are growing horizontally and some vertical, so it doesn't look nice. I have to trim and plant them more dense. Im trying and slowly getting there. Im going to be selling a few plants, hopefully that will make space for the new plants I got. I want to settle everything in their spot first, then tackle on how to trim and make a dense bunch.

Ive had the repens for sale for a long time, its a good amount but no ones biting. I cant throw it away can I? :)
 
#38 ·
New blog post!!! Even though no one bothers to comment. Atleast these pics will stay on the net incase my laptop blows up and I have no pics left.

I usually take pics on Sundays after my water change, but I couldnt wait.

Im getting a magnetic pump and soon LED fixture. atm, I have T8s and there really is no need to upgrade.

My blyxa is going red. Yes, red!! Ive been over dosing on EI, yea you heard it. My current mixture is messed up and need to make a new one. So Im dosing alot to finish it soon. Plants have been changing colour a lil since a week ago.

My rotala butterflys transformed to Rotala Mac Green. Half way to the top they turn back to red butterfly. Its really hard to take pics of these guys.

Blyxa and others for sale!!





 
#43 ·
New blog post!!! Even though no one bothers to comment. Atleast these pics will stay on the net incase my laptop blows up and I have no pics left.

My blyxa is going red. Yes, red!! Ive been over dosing on EI, yea you heard it. My current mixture is messed up and need to make a new one. So Im dosing alot to finish it soon. Plants have been changing colour a lil since a week ago.


I had to check out your journal to see the blyxa after you posted on my blyxa jap. page. I'm starting to see the red in yours also. You should take the same picture in a few ore days so we can see the difference.
I may have figured out the blyxa too. I'll post what I've done and a picture to show you a really red one back there so I don't hijack.
 
#40 ·
Thank you :)

My live stock is 1 SAE and 1 OTO. Thats it. Didnt want to keep fish because I was new with co2, didnt want to gas them. Now that I have a ph co2 controller, its not a problem, but there is no space in tank to have them. Not to mention I need all the space when Im clipping the plants and moving stuff.

I love shrimps and I want them greatly, but they are soo annoying and dumb as they want to go into filters and power heads.
 
#41 ·
I was wondering the same thing about livestock cause I'm not seeing any.

Anyway, this is the first time I'm seeing this journal and the truth is, it's fantastic. Before you can have and maintain a beautiful scape, you have to get plants to grow, clearly you have or are mastering this. Now you have a clear view/idea of how the specific plants grow, you can now effectively plan your scape using a classic style or something all of your own imagining.

Good luck with your scaping.:proud:
 
#44 ·
Thanks everyone :)

Yes thats dgh, in the middle is repens. Ive been trying to sell the repens but no one wants it :( since it has no space to grow, its growing upwards.

Ill be getting LEDs in a week. Im hoping the colour gets redder then. If I see more colour changes in the blyxa, Ill post for sure. I have to post the pics of the flowers right? :)
 
#46 ·
Hey there, thanks.

I just put on my LED fixture,

I regret it

I wanted to cry. I put on the fixture and half the tank is dark...What a waste of almost $300. Now I put on one of my T8s back. Here are the pics

I had C deficiency so many of my plants have washed out colours. My blyxa isnt red but an ugly brown now. Many plants took a toll.

Two T8s


LED


So how are the high light plants suppose to grow in the back side?



LED and a T8



I lifted the LED and tried to get to a point where the whole tank is iluminated. Didnt work, the light fades out quick since its at 90 degrees. I designed this by the help of Nick, who knew all the conditions. He didnt tell my half my tank would be in the dark. Just yesterday I read why Tom Barr and the other pros dont use LEDs.

Dam..
 
#50 ·
Well it gives out crazy PAR, I was told around 150 at the substrate for mine. I think if you hang it and have a more concentrated beam angle, you can do it. But it seems that the tank wont be as bright.

talontsiawd even with the centre brace there was no shadowing. I had very little with T8s and did not notice with LED.

With LEDs, they only work if you hang them or have a wide unit. Unfortunately, I just learned that the hard way. I just trusted Nick too much and he nor anyone else mentioned anything like this.

It does not come with the tank mount either. They did include things for when you want to hang the fixture.
 
#53 ·
I didnt read much. All I know is that they are directional and have a beam like effect. I saw a par chart/image showing the PAR through out the width of a tank. The highest being in the middle and dropping off to the sides. There was still par at the ends of the tank (front and back, 12" wide tank, which my tank is also). So I assumed, visually, there should not be that much of a difference btw the middle and the ends. What Im seeing is a very noticeable difference. This is why I made sure to ask them that I would be placing this on my tank. If they knew it would be like this, they shouldve told me that hanging the lights is the only solution and if I chose to place it on the tank, there would be dark areas. I was willing to sacrifice and hang the fixture had I known.

I checked out alot of tanks with leds but all were hung and not placed on the aquarium. I shouldve questioned that :icon_sad: Oh well, its a learning experience.

I fixed the problem with my previous T8, the waiting game starts of how the increase in par will effect my plants. If there is a difference, I will be making a thread comparing the diff. of plant growth in t8s vs leds.
 
#54 ·
Its a very complicated mess. I stare at the tank alot these days and Im not happy. Theres just too many plant species. My rotala type 2 seem to be struggling because they are in shade at times and in moderate water flow. I think its the water flow thats giving them the hard time. I still have gsa or diatoms on some of the leaves, which I hate, but its much less than before.

I got rid of almost all my mac green from the left side. This weekend Im going to get rid of the right most side. All the h ra and mac green will be gone. Im only keeping mini butterfly there. The aromatica have been trimmed alot. I have to place the nesea to the back. The front left is a small mess, I have no space for all the sp india growing on the front right. The filter output is top left which is a pain because the india and plants on the left sway like crazy and get algae due to the high flow. So I think Im going to switch to a nozzle. I got rid of the repens that were right in the middle of the tank. The bottom left and right side of the tank will be reinki.. mini only. I hope that makes a good effect. It will take a while for them to fill in. I just need to make a barrier for dgh from spreading anymore.

The thing that worries me now is, Im getting rid of ALOT of plant matter, I need to replace it with something or else chances of algae increase. I already gave away 50+ stems of mac green. Theres like 50 to 100 stems of h ra and mac green on the right that I want to get rid off......its gonna be a long day of maintenance.

Heres how it looked like a few days ago. Its the most dense and organized I have been since the beginning. Standby for pics on Monday, its gonna look empty.




EDIT: Oh, I sold my blyxa, it was a monster at around 8 to 10". I kept only two stalks, I think one is the one flowering. It was taking too much space :(
 
#56 ·
Just wanted to tell you I've been watching this thread for months now, and although my latest tank is a 10 gallon this tank was a huge inspiration to -try- to attempt to scape my tank. It is of course no where near this without Co2 but i have enjoyed both your journal and your pictures greatly.

I'm sure anything you do with your tank will grow in and look very, very good with time.
 
#57 ·
Sorry to hear about your experience in LEDs. Its a bit complicated and the many literature out there with all the options and configurations isn't helping one bit.

Your plants obviously love the tank environment. Those are fast growing plants and the crazy pearling the plants are doing shows a happy exchange of CO2 and Oxygen in the tank.

How long do you have your lights on? In my experience, leaving the lights on too long sometimes cause the algae outbreak. Shrimps would take care of them but yeah, they are stubborn to say the least and just love getting into places where they should not be going LOL.

Thanks for the effort in posting pics. Great blow-by-blow accounts. Really enjoyed looking through all of them.

Cheers!
 
#58 ·
Thank you everyone :) Its really great when people post in this thread, makes me feel that Im not talking to myself :)


trailsnale nothing to do with the led. Just with scaping. I had a mindset that I wanted to grow all the rare plants possible. I did, for the most part. It was cut throat in my tank. I lost alot of rare plants that I paid $15 a puny stem for. They were slow growing, high requirement and my other plants just grew and took over and shaded them. Now, Im trying to scape, its slowly looking better but I still need to learn the art to prune.

peachii that says alot! wow, thanks :) Im glad you find it that way. If I ever get the chance to start a bigger tank, I want to do something like Destiny, 2008. I just love the way he made the driftwood. The plant selection is very simple. Yes co2 is the key though. I was hesitant to buy a pressurized co2 before, I was not sure if I was serious enough. But then everyday I used to look at the pics of peoples tank which pushed me finally to invest :) Its soooo worth it vs the diy coke bottle co2.

PapaBear yea its not easy about led, one thing I regret is not going to a fish store and in person, checking them out. Ask around too. My lights are on only 8 hours. Before I used to do 4 hours on, 1 hour off and 4 hours on again. It kept the algae away. But ever since the pressurized co2, I have not bothered.
 
#61 ·
It looks dry and boring. I have to let the aromatica grow so all the ugly thick stems I have, I can get rid off.

The right side is short clippings of true mini butterfly and mac japan red. Lets see how it goes.

Does anyone know how I should scape the ludwig?





I took out prolly over a 100 stems of rotala h ra and mac green, out it on sale for $15 but no one seems interested atm.
 
#67 · (Edited)
I'm on well water so I don't worry about adding water conditioners. I scrape the glass & scrub equipment as needed, hook the Python hose from my tank to my mop-bucket sink faucet & go.

As far as ferts go it takes only ~2min / wk to weigh out all of the dry ferts. I use the attached daily pill organizer to put the macros & micros. I now use an old clear glass mason or spaghetti jar instead of the bottles in the photo. That way I can see to ensure full dissolution. It takes less than 1min / day to dissolve that day's dose...I transfer the pre measured ferts into a jar of hot water (invert jar a few times & create a vortex by shaking then let it sit & in 1min all dissolved). It takes 5 sec per day to dose. Once every couple months I'll pop in some root ferts while draining the tank.
 
#68 ·
hm must be alot of ferts, around 3 times my amount. Same goes for the amount of weekly water change. Id love to have a tank upto 120 gallon but as long its of a height where I can put my hand in and touch the gravel :)I love depth way more than height.
 
#69 ·
Boring update. Will be selling my dgh soon. Wanted to go UG but I keep hearing EI dosing will kill UG.....But others keep it with EI successfully, so I have no idea what to do. atm I have HC floating so I will plant that.



D. Diandra. You can see the diff. LED colours reflecting. Ugly! If you ever go LED, hang the dam thing.


 
#80 ·
Wanted to go UG but I keep hearing EI dosing will kill UG.....But others keep it with EI successfully, so I have no idea what to do.
I really wanted to grow UG, but it seems to be the hardest foreground to grow. So I guess atm Im stuck with HC, its my first carpeting plant and my original love :) Wouldnt mind another carpet.
EI dosing definitely does not kill UG. I have high light, CO2, EI dosing (50% weekly water changes), and aquasoil, and it absolutely thrives in my tank (the 60cm one in my journal). Also, you have a nice tank. I wouldn't call it boring or unimaginative. :)

This is just less than 2 months of growth:



It started like this:

 
#71 ·
Thanks. I sold all my dgh today, felt sad giving it away but happy at the same time. I bought HC a while ago but didnt have space, so I let it float. It ended up becoming a big blob. At the same time dgh was getting really annoying. Doing a hair cut on this is terrible. You cant catch everything with the fishing net since their thickness is smaller. So alot float around and attach to the glass. Even after taking out water and using my hands to take the needles down, theres still many left. Which end up decomposing and probably screwing up my water parameters. So I got rid of them.

I really wanted to grow UG, but it seems to be the hardest foreground to grow. So I guess atm Im stuck with HC, its my first carpeting plant and my original love :) Wouldnt mind another carpet. Although the leaves are really small while the stem plants I have have large leaves. So the contrast seems off, but then again my tanks a mess.
 
#73 ·
Thanks, I had it going red the same as now (its not THAT red but Im hoping to get it there) with T8s. All you need is medium to high light, EI dosing and good co2. The hardest part for me is to keep the tank tidy and clean, which it isnt. Which is prolly the main reason Im geting algae. The gravel has alot of crud in it which I take out at every water change.
 
#75 ·
I cant vacuum because all of the gravel area is occupied by some sort of plant, small to large. Even the areas you see free in the pic are covered by tiny stems of plants I salvaged. I also done have the proper extension to suck the gravel. So I just wave my hand and suck the debris. I feel Im headed towards a cleaner tank, but its hard to say.
 
#77 ·
Did a 80 to 100% water change today. Picked up all the floating crap and debris from the substrate. Ive noticed an increase in gsa or whatever the slimy algae is on the leaves. My bio load is much lower than before. Im tired of seeing this dam gsa/bga algae. I dont know whats wrong....
 
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