Ikebana Inspired Tank -20 long-

[BlueJack]

Hey Everyone,

This is my first attempt at a planted tank and it's proving to be very fun! I got this Blue Jack Dempsey when he was 1/2 inch long. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for checking this out, cheers!

I most recently changed this tank to reflect the Ikebana style of arranging plants. Thanks for checking this out!
*Update November '11*



Tank Specs:

20 Long
Eheim 2213 (Best money I've ever spent)
Aquaclear 30(Filled with polyester filter floss)
Aquaclear 101 powerhead (80gph)
Azoo drop checker
6 watt UV sterilizer
Flourite Black Sand
Diy 3 24" T8 Bulbs
DIY CO2


Fertilizers every other day: 1/4 tsp Spectracide Stump Remover (Potassium Nitrate), 30 drops of Fleet Enema (Potassium Phosphate), 1/8 tsp Morton Salt Substitute (Potassium), 4ml Flourish (micro's)


Plants
Echinodorus Amazonicus
Aponogeton Crispus
Anubias Barteri petite
Anubias Barteri nana
Hygrophila Difformis
Hygrophyla corymbosa "stricta"
Ceratophyllum submersum
Elocharis acicularis
Alternanthera reineckii

I had a glass nano diffuser...it lasted a good 2 weeks before I broke it




Added some Hornwort I pulled from a pond (did the h202 sterilization dip) and boiled some driftwood

[dp12man]

You may be new but doing a great job. Just keep on trucking.

Nice tank.

I just got a 40 gallon breeder going wish I went with a 75. Same depth but wider and Jack will like it more.

[BlueJack]

Changed the lighting. Now running 2-6500k & 1-3100k. Also added 2 black skirt tetras. Hopefully they'll bring out my shy blue jack more often.

[Geniusdudekiran]

Maybe it's just me, but that is a HUGE snail!

[BlueJack]

He is indeed. But somehow, he manages to squeeze his way into my aquaclear filter box. I'll be watching my tank when oddly enough,a snail comes floating by, ejected from the overflow. GERONIMO!!!

[MikeP_123]

Haha nice tank and beautiful fish! Sick taste in music =D Sublime allz dayz

[BlueJack]

Originally Posted by MikeP_123

Haha nice tank and beautiful fish! Sick taste in music =D Sublime allz dayz

^ Like button

[BlueJack]

One thing I love about this hobby is there's always room to fiddle around with stuff. I changed my lighting AGAIN, then decided to mess around with microsoft paint and draw up some graphs.

Now I'm using the Zoomed UltraSun(6500K)+Zoomed FloraSun(5000k)+GE Aquarays (9325k). Here's a couple spectrum graphs I overlapped

UltraSun(6500K)+Zoomed FloraSun(5000k)


Flora Sun + GE Aquarays


Ultra Sun + GE Aquarays


UltraSun(6500K)+Zoomed FloraSun(5000k)+GE Aquarays (9325k)


Here's the spectrum for photosynthesis


This is the disaster .jpeg with everything overlapping each other. lol

[BlueJack]

Here are some new pics

[BlueJack]

I wanted to add some color to the tank so I got some Alternanthera reineckii. I hope I can keep it red! Also got some hairgrass. Let's see how it grows in.





Jack Daniel's is goooooood

[TwoStrokeKing]

Nice Tank fish seem happy!!

[BlueJack]

Things are coming together





Cleared out some space and planted some needle leaf ludwigia...they're sooo tiny

[Plant keeper]

wow nice tank. i miss my EBJD.

[dubvstudent]

Nice tank.

That dempsey is getting big, has he started digging yet?
They can be bad for that once they start to mature. Of course, that is more of a breeding behavior and sense he doesn't have any potential mates in there it might not be a problem for some time now.

[BlueJack]

Originally Posted by dubvstudent

Nice tank.

That dempsey is getting big, has he started digging yet?
They can be bad for that once they start to mature. Of course, that is more of a breeding behavior and sense he doesn't have any potential mates in there it might not be a problem for some time now.

Not yet, but I'm waiting for that to happen. He's very calm and peaceful, unlike any cichlid I've ever had. It's probably because he's still a juvenile.