BeachBum's Townhouse Garden (Mr Aqua 17g)

[BeachBum2012]

Well, its getting close to time to get this bad boy up and running. I said I'd post a journal and here I am. Follow me!!!

Tank: - Mr Aqua MA-720 (17.1g)
Filtration - Eheim 2213
Lighting - Finnex Ray II 7000k model
co2 - Victor Dual Stage custom build setup, cerges reactor
Substrate - ADA Amazonia New with Africana underneath
Misc. - Hydor 200w inline heater, cooling fans???

Parameters:
I don't have any yet. There's no water. You need water to have water parameters.

Flora: As soon as I can find it all
Utricularia graminifolia (UG)
Staurogyne repens (Tropica 049)
Pogostemon helferi (Downoi)
Pogostemon stellatus broad leaf
Blyxa Japonica
Anubius barteri var. nana 'Petite'
Anubius barteri var. nana 'Micro'
Rotala sp. 'colorata'
Rotala macranda var. 'Variegated'
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'
Fissidens nobilis (mini fissidens)
Vesicularia montagnei (Christmas Moss)

Fauna When everything is stable and suck
PFRs - After the tank is cycled for a while. I'm thinking mid December
Schoaling fish - after the PFRs have taken hold and started breeding well. January-April or so.
GBR Pair - After everything has been established for 6 months - April at the earliest.
Ottos - Cant forget the ottos. Maybe zebra ottos if I can find them down the line.

This is about where I am now. I still have to figure out how I'm going to hang my light, I have to build my regulator and solenoid(with photos of course), build my reactor(also with photos) and decide how I am going to do cooling fans for next summer. It gets hot in my house.

On to the pics!!! What took so long?

Box o' fun


Gathering equipment


First attempt at hardscape layout





I could use some help on this part. My layout has always been my weakest point. That and my crappy iPhone photography that is.

I guess this is where I stand for now. I've got some equipment to build and some plants to hunt down. I'll probably fill some time late October.

[Exceliber]

I really like those stones, but I feel like the front two stones should sink a little more, and (if there is one), the pointed edge of the master stone should be facing towards the back and right. As to the driftwood, I'd either take it out, or have it like a branch coming out of the soil, rather than being stuck in the soil.

[BeachBum2012]

Something a little more like this?

[BeachBum2012]

Or this?



Just a minor adjustment.

[stevenjohn21]

I love the rock, im just not sure that piece of wood is right for the tank.

[BeachBum2012]

Originally Posted by stevenjohn21

I love the rock, im just not sure that piece of wood is right for the tank.

Maybe I'll see what I can scrounge up and try some different pieces. Thanks for the input.

[@marko@]

i liked the first wood arrangement, but it would be difficult to work with, IMO. and the fact that it stick up above your light would make it look weird in person (you could obviously crop it out in photos).

[BeachBum2012]

Originally Posted by @marko@

i liked the first wood arrangement, but it would be difficult to work with, IMO. and the fact that it stick up above your light would make it look weird in person (you could obviously crop it out in photos).

Thanks for the input. The light will be hanging before I get everything settled and filled. I just haven't figured out how to hang this Finnex fixture quite yet.

I'm going to try a few more things and keep them documented. I've got a couple of weeks or so before I want to get this filled so its no real rush.

[synaethetic]

I would lay the wood on its side and have the stump hidden beneath the rocks and substrate. Great pieces you have, don't settle for anything less than what you want it to look like, try as many arrangements as it takes. Move the substrate around and such.

[BeachBum2012]

I'm still working on layout but here's a little more fun for today, based on an idea from here. My Fert Kit:


I'll be dosing EI. Macros on Sun(with GH Booster), Tue, and Thur. Micros and Fe on Mon, Wed and Fri. Saturday will be a day off and Sundays will be a 50% water change. My little kit will allow me to measure out 5 weeks worth of ferts at once. I figure 5 weeks will also be a good point to view my results and make any adjustments for the next 5 weeks. Every morning I'll just grab the corresponding jar, mix the contents with some tank water and pour it in. Easy!

[KFryman]

This is the tank I want to upgrade my 15 gallon to in half a year or so!

Also why are you using both Amazonia and Africana?

Subbed!

[BeachBum2012]

Originally Posted by KFryman

This is the tank I want to upgrade my 15 gallon to in half a year or so!

Also why are you using both Amazonia and Africana?

Subbed!

That is exactly what I did. I have a 15g long that used to live on this stand. Upgraded to this and am quite happy so far.

I added the Africana in an attempt to get the PH down nice and low. The goal of this tank is to have a pair of GBR at some point and their natural habitat has a PH of around 5. We'll see how it goes.

I'm keeping the 15 as well. Going to be a low tech shrimp tank in the near future. Thats why I went all out on new equipment for this one.

[BeachBum2012]

Well, my ferts came in today. I'm looking for a bit of advice. I want to dose EI as stated above. I'm going to guess that I'm going to have 15g or so of water at most after hardscape and all so I'm going to base my calculations off that.

According to wet's calculator I should dose the following:

KNO3 - 694mg
KH2PO4 - 105mg
K2SO4 - 949mg

and

CSM+B - 434mg

For some reason this doesn't quite seem right to me. I'm not exactly a chemist so I may just be crazy, but can someone confirm this for me? Thanks.

[Ihs]

Not an expert on EI but from what I know and understand of measuring values they seem OK.

Ran a few on another calculator for you
http://www.theaquatools.com/fertilization-calculator

KNO3 - 694mg = 0.649g - calculates to ~7.6ppm NO3 & ~4.8 K
KH2PO4 - 105mg = 0.105g -calculates to ~1.3ppm PO4 & ~0.5 K
K2SO4 - 949mg = 0.949g - calculates to ~ 8.3 K

All calculations where carried out based on 15 US gallons ~57L

You might want a bit more NO3 but IMO its always good to start low and go up slowly.

Other ppl who know more will surely offer their opinion.

[BeachBum2012]

Originally Posted by Ihs

Not an expert on EI but from what I know and understand of measuring values they seem OK.

Ran a few on another calculator for you
http://www.theaquatools.com/fertilization-calculator

KNO3 - 694mg = 0.649g - calculates to ~7.6ppm NO3 & ~4.8 K
KH2PO4 - 105mg = 0.105g -calculates to ~1.3ppm PO4 & ~0.5 K
K2SO4 - 949mg = 0.949g - calculates to ~ 8.3 K

All calculations where carried out based on 15 US gallons ~57L

You might want a bit more NO3 but IMO its always good to start low and go up slowly.

Other ppl who know more will surely offer their opinion.

Thanks a ton. I hadn't seen this calculator before.

It looks like I need to bump my NO3 a bit and drop my K just a bit then.