schg's 30c; first planted tank.

[schg]

schg ADA 30c
"アダム"

Current full tank shot:

March 2nd, 2011

[schg]

Equipment
Tank: ADA 30c
Filtration: Eheim Classic 2211
Lighting: BoostLED Par30 7,000K
Heater: ?
CO2: 2.5lb tank, Milwaukee regulator, GLA Inline 8/12mm Atomic diffuser, brass check valve
Extras: ADA drop checker; ADA thermometer

Flora
-Utricularia graminifolia
-Elocharis acicularis

Fauna
-Otocinclus sp x2
-Neocaridina denticulata sinensis x3

Dosing
1 pump of each Pfertz bottle every 2 days

[schg]

Backstory
After going from reef tank to reef tank, without the financial stability we desperately needed in order to successfully operate one, we decided it was best to take a hiatus from the hobby. The decision was made to break down our 33 long, which was the aftermath of our original failure with this ADA 30c as a reef. I never actually got a chance to sell the 30c, so we brought it out of the closet and decided to try our hand at a freshwater planted aquarium, which is also new to us. We are going to learn how to do all of this FW planted business, but our goal is to maintain an attractive and CLEAN looking setup without breaking the bank.

Index
01/05/2011: Intro to thread, explanation of plans, first hardscape.

[schg]

Welcome to my thread on my first planted tank, hopefully this venture will work out well!

At this point in time, I have the majority of my equipment already in hand (although some are just temporary until a better option is within my budget), but I have yet to actually start the tank. My wife and I made a deal where I could only actually FILL the tank once I sell the rest of my reef stuff, and I still have a 4ft 4 bulb TEK light left to sell. So for now, all I have is the hardscape done, which I'm actually quite pleased with. I know the substrate is a little high, so I might take everything down an inch or so, but other than that I think I did well.

The plans for now are a carpet of UG toward the front, some micro mini sword toward the back, christmas moss on the driftwood as well as some mini pellia, and perhaps some anubias nana petite.

Thanks for checking so far!

[swissian]

Looks really nice! The points and the curves together look great!

[GitMoe]

I love that hardscape. Became a huge fan of the 30c size recently. Very interested to see this one planted....

[schg]

Thanks guys!

[schg]

Edited the pictures because I adjusted the slope, so of course I had to take a new picture. To make it up to you, I'll add an angled shot..

[!shadow!]

looks kinda like a driftwood iwagumi

[schg]

Originally Posted by !shadow!

looks kinda like a driftwood iwagumi

lol I guess I can see that, maybe a new trend...

[schg]

Got my eBay special diffuser in the mail...



Will be eventually going with an inline atomizer, but that will wait until I have a real pressurized setup.

[DMRaver]

Oh nice, this is exactly the size tank and setup that I'm about to strart. The hardscape looks great! Nice job. That seems like a lot of filter for only being a 7.5g tank though. Are you for sure going to go with the PAR30 LED? I haven't seen a light like that used on a planted tank yet, looks very cool for a reef. Any pictures of the light and tank together? I'm curious. Lets hurry up and get some plants in there


SUBSCRIBED...

[schg]

Originally Posted by DMRaver

Oh nice, this is exactly the size tank and setup that I'm about to strart. The hardscape looks great! Nice job. That seems like a lot of filter for only being a 7.5g tank though. Are you for sure going to go with the PAR30 LED? I haven't seen a light like that used on a planted tank yet, looks very cool for a reef. Any pictures of the light and tank together? I'm curious. Lets hurry up and get some plants in there


SUBSCRIBED...

Lol yeah, it might be too much, but I was hoping to keep it for when we move and upgrade to the 60p. We'll see... And hopefully ill have good results with the par.




Aesthetically, im very pleased with it, lets just hope the growth is good. Thanks for the kind words, I have someone who might buy my light soon so ill be able to start my ug then!

[DMRaver]

Originally Posted by schg

And hopefully ill have good results with the par.

Do you have a meter to take PAR readings with the light at that level? The more I look into that bulb the more I'm starting to like it. I'll be very interested to see how it works for you. The PAR graphs that BoostLED has on their site are for the 40 degree optics, but the all white LEDs come with 90 degree optics which would reduce the intensity right? But if the levels are in the 80 - 120 range that should be very good lighting.

P.s. the exposed conduit and rough electrical looks kinda industrial. very cool, haha, I dunno if that's what your were going for, but it works.

[TLE041]

The driftwood and tank are a perfect combination. UG would be a perfect carpet for this. I can picture a massive school of microrasboras and shrimps too.

Also, the green Eheim pipes are a definite no. Make sure you get some lily pipes (like the ones from Aquatic Magic).