26 Gallon Puffer Playground Journal! (New pic 1/6)

skiboarder72 · 10-15-2006, 05:31 PM

Hello all, I am a newbie at all of this but I have done a TON of reading over the last few weeks and I thought it would be cool to start a little journal on the tank for a few reasons. First, I think it would be awesome to get feedback from other forum members on my tank and setup. Second, I love taking pictures with my D50 and this gives me a place to show them all. Third, it might help others to decide on certain plants by the way mine grow.

Anyways here are the stats on the tank!

26 Gallon Bow Front (painted silver/black)
1x65w 24" Odyssea CF Sunpaq 6700k/10000k Bulb
1x15w 18" NO with 5000k Flora Gro Bulb
~3.02wpg for the lazy people that dont like math
8 Hours Photo Period (at 3wpg, 12 at .5wpg)
10# Co2 Tank w/ Azoo Regulator + Solenoid
Hagen Bubble Ladder
Greg Watson Dry Ferts (every other day)
Seachem Flourish (3ml every other day)
Estimative Index Dosing
~40% Water Change Weekly
Seachem Onyx Sand over tan fine gravel
Seachem Plant Tabs

I have 1 male betta in the tank right now. I am thinking about making this a cichlid tank though and moving him to my smaller 5 gallon hex tank.

For plants I have...

Water Sprite
Micro Swords
Amazon Swords
Rosette Cyrpts
Anacharis
Hornwort
Dwarf Sag
Ludwigia peruviana
Wisteria
Java Fern
Jungle Val

I tried to get mostly fast growing things as these are good for new planted tanks (and for newbies like me). I also ordered some flourish plant tabs to put under the root plants to help with growth. Its fun having all this setup in a small dorm room

Here are some initial pictures when I first set it up a few weeks ago.

10/1/06

10/8/06 - New Substrate and new plants

10/14/06 - Final Planting/new CF light + Co2 Added

skiboarder72 · 10-16-2006, 09:29 PM

saw the plants bubbling a little today

water change plus ferts today, a small amount of algea... i think i put too many phosphates in last time anyways

organic sideburns · 10-16-2006, 09:56 PM

Nice, looks great with those new bulbs and substrate!

I love the blue tint the bulbs give off, and thats a neat tank to have in your dorm. Cant wait to watch it grow in.

skiboarder72 · 10-16-2006, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by organic sideburns

Nice, looks great with those new bulbs and substrate!

I love the blue tint the bulbs give off, and thats a neat tank to have in your dorm. Cant wait to watch it grow in.

it is nice... i am gettin rid of the 50/50 light though that gives off the blue light, because i have heard they are not helpful for plant growing, i ordered a 6700k/10000k bulb so that should be a little less blue than the one i have in there but still not bad

the_noobinator · 10-17-2006, 04:58 PM

i have not had any problems with a full 10000K bulb, and i've found that 50/50 light actually looks good with a very light-colored substrate.

skiboarder72 · 10-18-2006, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_noobinator

i have not had any problems with a full 10000K bulb, and i've found that 50/50 light actually looks good with a very light-colored substrate.

it looks pretty good, too bad it doesn't grow that good, since adding the light it has definatly helped but not hugely... the new bulb should help alot (~36 more usable watts

)

skiboarder72 · 10-20-2006, 01:17 AM

got my root tabs, new 6700k/10000k light and hagen bubble ladder (too much fun to watch) in today! updated pictures will come soon, this thing is pearling like crazy now

skiboarder72 · 10-20-2006, 02:07 AM

tank is looking good outside of some small algea problems, here are some glamour shots!

10/19/06
my betta trying to hide

pearl action on a rosette crypt

new bubble ladder

fresh_lynny · 10-20-2006, 02:11 AM

Nice growth! It is coming along swimmingly....and what a stunning Betta~

skiboarder72 · 10-20-2006, 11:00 PM

got the water tested today

pH: 7
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: .1ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm
GH: 180ppm
KH: 120ppm
Co2: 20ppm

Look good to me

Did a little substrate change today... seachem onyx... pix will be up soon as soon as this water clears up!

LoJack · 10-20-2006, 11:17 PM

what is the purpose of the bubble ladder?

skiboarder72 · 10-20-2006, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoJack

what is the purpose of the bubble ladder?

to make something fun to look at of course!

actually thats true, and it disolves your co2 into the water

skiboarder72 · 10-22-2006, 04:40 AM

Big update today:

I couldn't resist the $7 seachem onyx sand on clearance at petsmart... Bought a 7kg bag and used some of it to cover the top of my substrate. I love the new look, it really gives great contrast with the bright green plants. It took awhile to brush all the sand off all the angry plants but I love the results (and the plants will too

) . I also stole some driftwood from my girlfreinds house and it looks great (see the new corner peices). I think it gives the tank a really nice natural look. Anyways I took some new pix and everything. Its really starting to shape up now if you look at the difference between this and the first picture

organic sideburns · 10-22-2006, 05:28 AM

tank looks great, the sand really makes a diff. and the plants look very healthy, cant wait to watch them all grow in!

updates looking sharp

oh and how'd you take that 4th pic, the pic of your tank with a weird angle?
I have a 46 gal bow and need all the help I can get with taking pics of bowfronted tanks!

SunkShip · 10-22-2006, 01:47 PM

The tank looks really good with the onyx sand and I can't wait till the plants fill in. What a happy betta! :-)

10-15-2006, 05:31 PM	#1
skiboarder72 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 454	26 Gallon Puffer Playground Journal! (New pic 1/6) Hello all, I am a newbie at all of this but I have done a TON of reading over the last few weeks and I thought it would be cool to start a little journal on the tank for a few reasons. First, I think it would be awesome to get feedback from other forum members on my tank and setup. Second, I love taking pictures with my D50 and this gives me a place to show them all. Third, it might help others to decide on certain plants by the way mine grow. Anyways here are the stats on the tank! 26 Gallon Bow Front (painted silver/black) 1x65w 24" Odyssea CF Sunpaq 6700k/10000k Bulb 1x15w 18" NO with 5000k Flora Gro Bulb ~3.02wpg for the lazy people that dont like math 8 Hours Photo Period (at 3wpg, 12 at .5wpg) 10# Co2 Tank w/ Azoo Regulator + Solenoid Hagen Bubble Ladder Greg Watson Dry Ferts (every other day) Seachem Flourish (3ml every other day) Estimative Index Dosing ~40% Water Change Weekly Seachem Onyx Sand over tan fine gravel Seachem Plant Tabs I have 1 male betta in the tank right now. I am thinking about making this a cichlid tank though and moving him to my smaller 5 gallon hex tank. For plants I have... Water Sprite Micro Swords Amazon Swords Rosette Cyrpts Anacharis Hornwort Dwarf Sag Ludwigia peruviana Wisteria Java Fern Jungle Val I tried to get mostly fast growing things as these are good for new planted tanks (and for newbies like me). I also ordered some flourish plant tabs to put under the root plants to help with growth. Its fun having all this setup in a small dorm room Here are some initial pictures when I first set it up a few weeks ago. 10/1/06 10/8/06 - New Substrate and new plants 10/14/06 - Final Planting/new CF light + Co2 Added Last edited by skiboarder72; 11-30-2006 at 05:29 PM..

10-16-2006, 09:29 PM	#2
skiboarder72 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 454	saw the plants bubbling a little today water change plus ferts today, a small amount of algea... i think i put too many phosphates in last time anyways __________________ Fire & Water... 40g Breeding Adventures

10-16-2006, 09:56 PM	#3
organic sideburns Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 690	Nice, looks great with those new bulbs and substrate! I love the blue tint the bulbs give off, and thats a neat tank to have in your dorm. Cant wait to watch it grow in. __________________ *My 46 gallon Bowfront Journal ((please comment)):* http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...ewer-pics.html

10-17-2006, 04:58 PM	#5
the_noobinator Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 608	i have not had any problems with a full 10000K bulb, and i've found that 50/50 light actually looks good with a very light-colored substrate. __________________ 30gal extra high: click to visit profile 10gal: click to visit profile

10-20-2006, 01:17 AM	#7
skiboarder72 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 454	got my root tabs, new 6700k/10000k light and hagen bubble ladder (too much fun to watch) in today! updated pictures will come soon, this thing is pearling like crazy now __________________ Fire & Water... 40g Breeding Adventures

10-20-2006, 02:07 AM	#8
skiboarder72 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 454	tank is looking good outside of some small algea problems, here are some glamour shots! 10/19/06 my betta trying to hide pearl action on a rosette crypt new bubble ladder __________________ Fire & Water... 40g Breeding Adventures Last edited by skiboarder72; 10-20-2006 at 11:20 AM..

10-20-2006, 02:11 AM	#9
fresh_lynny Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (59/100%) Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 3,254	Nice growth! It is coming along swimmingly....and what a stunning Betta~ __________________ Eheim Chickie #203 Filstar Pimpette # 56 not-so-newby anymore? 90 gal acrylic, Coralife Aquapro 150x2 Metal Halides, 55x2 50/50 PC, 3 lunars, Hydor inline, 9w TurboTwist UV, Pressurized CO2, Rhinox 5000 glass co2 diffusor, Rex Grigg CO2 all-in-one, Milwaukee pH controller, 2 Eheim Pro II 2026's, Filstar XP3 backup, lilies, Eco Complete, Greg Watson dry ferts, EI mod http://www.paparazzi-weim.com

10-20-2006, 11:00 PM	#10
skiboarder72 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 454	got the water tested today pH: 7 Ammonia: 0 ppm Nitrite: .1ppm Nitrate: 20ppm GH: 180ppm KH: 120ppm Co2: 20ppm Look good to me Did a little substrate change today... seachem onyx... pix will be up soon as soon as this water clears up! __________________ Fire & Water... 40g Breeding Adventures

10-20-2006, 11:17 PM	#11
LoJack Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Posts: 127	what is the purpose of the bubble ladder? __________________ Is Hokey Pokey Really What It's all about ?

10-22-2006, 04:40 AM	#13
skiboarder72 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 454	Big update today: I couldn't resist the $7 seachem onyx sand on clearance at petsmart... Bought a 7kg bag and used some of it to cover the top of my substrate. I love the new look, it really gives great contrast with the bright green plants. It took awhile to brush all the sand off all the angry plants but I love the results (and the plants will too ) . I also stole some driftwood from my girlfreinds house and it looks great (see the new corner peices). I think it gives the tank a really nice natural look. Anyways I took some new pix and everything. Its really starting to shape up now if you look at the difference between this and the first picture __________________ Fire & Water... 40g Breeding Adventures

10-22-2006, 05:28 AM	#14
organic sideburns Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 690	tank looks great, the sand really makes a diff. and the plants look very healthy, cant wait to watch them all grow in! updates looking sharp oh and how'd you take that 4th pic, the pic of your tank with a weird angle? I have a 46 gal bow and need all the help I can get with taking pics of bowfronted tanks! __________________ *My 46 gallon Bowfront Journal ((please comment)):* http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...ewer-pics.html

10-22-2006, 01:47 PM	#15
SunkShip Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Northern New Jersey Posts: 83	The tank looks really good with the onyx sand and I can't wait till the plants fill in. What a happy betta! :-)

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