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40 Breeder Wannabe Dutch | 3 Layer Dip | Large Trim 04/13/14 | Myrio Tube. Red Added

39K views 121 replies 38 participants last post by  taniner 
#1 · (Edited)
This is my first 40 gallon breeder scape. I would appreciate all the advice and love you all can contribute to my scape.


Filtration:
Cascade Canister Filter - 700
Eheim Surface Skim 350

Lighting:
[STRIKE]1 x 36" Finnex Planted+
1 x 36" Finnex MonsterRay
1 x 36" Finnex Ray2
1 x 36" Finnex FugeRay

*Custom 3" Finnex Leg Extenders (Built by TPT member Fuze)*
[/STRIKE]


ZooMed 36" Quad HO t5
(back to front)
1 x 5k ZooMed
1 x UV Red Sun
1 x Giesemann Aqua Flora
1 x 65k ZooMed
*Custom 3" Finnex Leg Extenders (Built by TPT member Fuze)*


Co2/Ferts:
EI Dosing / 50% WC on Sundays
Ista Reactor
5lb tank
Ista Co2 Controller
5 bps (Turn dropcheck light green)

Harsscape:
ADA Amazonia Aquasoil ( 4 bags?)
Manzanita Wood from Tom Barr (plantbrian)

Fauna:

6 x SAE's
5 x Dwarf Chain Loach (Ambastaia Sidthimunki)
12+ x Otocinclus


Flora:
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Variegated'
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
Eriocaulon sp. Parkeri, Shiga
Pogostemon Helferi 'Downoi'
'Micrantherum Umbrosum 'Monte Carlo'
Ludwigia Senegalensis
Tonina Lotus Bloosom
Ammania sp. Bonsai ('True' Rotala Indica)
Rotala sp. Vietnam
Rotala Macranda 'Variegated'
Syngonanthus sp. Belem, Manaus, unknown, dwarf canuck
Hygrophilia sp. Araguaia
Erio Blood Vomit (Trithuria Sp)



FTS: 04/13/14





Before Trim: 04/13/14






03/28/14
(DIY Hanging Kit)





03/18/14






03/17/14




03/12/14







2/12/14




Last picture before the re-scape 2/09/14
 
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#12 ·
thanks! I'm excited and ready to take notes from any members. :)

I'd suggest you hack that plant list in half. My biggest mistake with my dutch tank was trying to cram too many plants into a small tank (60p). Pretty much you get to work with color contrasts and leaf shape contrasts. Planting in "avenues" will also help you out quite a bit, I made the mistake of just planting in "blobs" like you would in a jungle tank, and it didn't work out so great. If you can incorporate some hardscaping to maintain borders, that helps keep things tidy. Can't wait to see what you come up with, that lighting is going to be stunning!
Thanks for the suggestion! got me thinking.

Why do you need some many fixtures? That's a lot of light!
Because the plants told me so... ;)

Looks great ! Cant wait to see it once the plants have grown in more.
What are you using to raise the lights ?
thanks! im excited as well..
I used custom built ones from tpt member Fuze . Tell him I sent yuh :icon_bigg
 
#3 ·
I'd suggest you hack that plant list in half. My biggest mistake with my dutch tank was trying to cram too many plants into a small tank (60p). Pretty much you get to work with color contrasts and leaf shape contrasts. Planting in "avenues" will also help you out quite a bit, I made the mistake of just planting in "blobs" like you would in a jungle tank, and it didn't work out so great. If you can incorporate some hardscaping to maintain borders, that helps keep things tidy. Can't wait to see what you come up with, that lighting is going to be stunning!
 
#11 ·
-____-" lol....

anyways, just incase no one knows my story about the anubias 'snow white'... I believe it got flushed down the toilet after the huge mess of the right root being uprooted... I was siphoning water out to restart the whole hardscape/planting process... and mightve sucked up the tiny little plant in the process....


This particular plant had a lot of sentimental value to me... as it got swamped with black beard algae... so i cut all the beautiful white leaves off and restarted with just a rhizome... that was about a year ago and it was able to bounce back and shoot me two plants... :icon_cry:


heres its last picture, as I had the idea of having a white section with every variegated anubias available...


 
#6 ·
1/06/14 - Day 2

Got some more reds from my buddy Sean (Sjb1987). Make sure to message him and take all his plants! :p


Plants added from Sean:

Ludwigia sp. 'Red'
Ludwigia Senegalensis
Ludwigia Pantanal
Rotala Pearl 'mini'
Erio. sp. 'Shiga'
Hyptis Lorentziana




Green Fire Tetra



FTS.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Looks great ! Cant wait to see it once the plants have grown in more.
What are you using to raise the lights ?

Ooops i missed this......

"*Custom 3" Finnex Leg Extenders (Built by TPT member Fuze)*"
 
#10 ·
So, a few things went on...

Root on the right floated up up-rooting half the section up and clouding the water... I should've took more time in making sure everything was anchored down my soil...

This changed my whole hardscape.. it was a very frustrating process going through. Plants are stable and I'll tweak with it in a week or two..
Very open to suggestions... I know I broke the rule in 'dutch' as alternating colors (green/red/etc..)
 
#13 ·
Look at you and Sean, with your new 40 B's I'll be joining the club soon! Getting my breeder this weekend! And plan on doing a scape similar to both of yours, but with more crypts and buces.

I really love what you are doing with the smaller stems in the middle. I like the intricate look to it and leading to bigger leaved plants on the edges. Looks really nice.

How do you like your LED setup? I plan on building my own so I can have more customization. But overall, what is your opinion on LED versus t5's with your setup here. Do you find that your LED's bring out the plants colors well?

Joshua
 
#15 ·
Woohoo! petco dollar per gallon sell?

nice! i was thinking about doing those 2 species in my 33L! keep me posted!
maybe i'll add in some 'rosanervig' in there ;)

Its hard to say if I like it or not? I've actually struggled with some of my favorite plant species such as Blood Vomit and other red plants...

I've heard of stories on how LED's cant bring out the red color in plants.. If my Ludwigia sp. Red starts turning Green, then theres something to it? :p


But, I was honored to see Mr. Tom Barr's aquariums and with his t5 setups... I was blown away by the colors it brought out of the plants..

Only time will tell how my light setup does..

Great looking scape. Did you do all the lights to hit all spectrums? Im thinking of changing my 55 over and thought about using to different lights myself. the planted plus and the ray 2 ds. I will definitely be watching this thread.
Thanks! In a way, yes. I know the MonsterRay isn't much beneficial to plants, but it does have a tiny bit of the green in it. It certainly does help balance the 7000k and make it a little nicer to the eyes.

I also scaped a tank at work , 75g, and that is the combo we are running atm. Seems like a good balance so far.
 
#16 ·
Lookin pretty good :). I have a feeling your wood is going to disappear once your plants start filling in.

I know the traditional "dutch" is plant only, no hardscape, and the plant quantity rule is 1 plant per foot wide of the tank. But I am of the opinion that if you like the tank, do it.
 
#17 ·
thanks!

yeah... ill do my best to keep up with trimming and replanting weekly to keep the plants at the maintained.


I knew I broke the rule somewhere along the line :p and yes, enjoying this take so far
 
#18 ·
Day 7 - New fixture added t5's

alright... I'm a very big fan of LED's, but over the past year, I've been in the struggle for keeping red plants red :confused:

They've been almost always turning GREEN on me..


I asked a few buddies of mine what red plants are almost impossible for me to turn green?

plant suggested: Ludwigia sp. Red


I thought, if this plant turns red on me... Its time to change fixtures.




After owning this plant for about a week, heres the results:






Im still in the process of learning how what spectrums/kelvins affect the plants overall health?

I've been dosing EI, pumping my co2 like crazy, and doing weekly water changes.. If someone see's something wrong that I might be doing, please chime in. :help:
 
#19 ·
First off, please excuse my poor quality photography... Im very new to working a DSLR.. :hihi:



FTS: 01/12/14



New lights:
ZooMed 36" t5 Quad High Output Fixture
1 x 5k
1 x 65k
1 x 67k
1 x 10k






Added a few more Anubias sp. Nana 'Variegated' from my mothers..

 
#22 ·
Ill text you as usual :p

As long as I stop flushing Snow Whites, should be affordable ;)

This is going to be sick as it grows in man. What are the 4 fixtures your running exactly? the monster, the DD, and what else?

If you want a plant that stays red under LED, I had pretty good luck getting the color out from Ludwigia atlantis with a DD, but be warned, that plant is a freakin' weed and will branch just about everywhere. Although it looks so pretty.

Anyways, I'll be watching this one.
Hi, I had :
1 x MonsterRay
1 x Planted+
1 x FugeRay
1 x Ray2


Im kinda experimenting right now and going back to t5's..Trying to compare the growth between LED's vs t5's.

thanks for the comments!
 
#21 ·
This is going to be sick as it grows in man. What are the 4 fixtures your running exactly? the monster, the DD, and what else?

If you want a plant that stays red under LED, I had pretty good luck getting the color out from Ludwigia atlantis with a DD, but be warned, that plant is a freakin' weed and will branch just about everywhere. Although it looks so pretty.

Anyways, I'll be watching this one.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Day 17 Update

So... Few things happened over the past update.


Got more plants from Sean (sjb1987) : Blood Vomit, Erio Shiga, & Macranda Red 'Variegated'

Got more plants from Han (h4n) : Ludwigia Pink Ovalis, Rotala Mini Butterfly, Macranda Green, Alternanthera Reinecki 'Mini', and another Snow White in replacement for my lost/flushed one -___-.


MAKE SURE TO HIT MY TWO BUDDIES UP AND TAKE AWAY ALL THEIR HEALTHY PLANTS!!!
They will include love with their plants ;) FREE of charge!






Notes:
-New t5 lighting seems to be keeping my red plants red. I could never grow blood vomits under my LED's, but after adding these new blood vomits under the t5, they seem to be doing well.

-Need to replace the hygro pinn. for something else. Just not fitting well. Tonina next to the rotala indica isn't really popping 'Dutch', might need to rearrange plants around.

-need to trim down some plants and keep plants maintained.. still in the process of plant arrangement in dutch.. I know I broke the 'Dutch' rules, but I'm trying to do a '3 layer dip'



As always, I appreciate any feedback that can help this tank at its full potential
 
#26 ·
So... Few things happened over the past update.


Got more plants from Sean (sjb1987) : Blood Vomit & Macranda Red 'Variegated'

Got more plants from Han (h4n) : Ludwigia Pink Ovalis, Rotala Mini Butterfly, Macranda Green, Alternanthera Reinecki 'Mini', and another Snow White in replacement for my lost/flushed one -___-.


MAKE SURE TO HIT MY TWO BUDDIES UP AND TAKE AWAY ALL THEIR HEALTHY PLANTS!!!
Lol, I just finished buying from both of them yesterday :p
Tank is coming along, though I can't comment on the "Dutch" ness of it since I'm not overly familiar with the technical aspects of it.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Day 21 - Moved plants around

Trying to keep the plants, in front of the two roots, low and maintained to the ground so the wood is always to be shown.. I'll continue to keep the Alternanthera Reineckii 'Variegated', Ludwgiga sp. Glandulosa & Sphaerocarpa trimmed.

Got rid of HOB w/ Isara Surface Skimmer and replaced it with a Eheim skim350.. also got rid of the Hydor circulation pumps... Hopefully still have a good amount of flow w.out it



Few more plants added, Proserpinaca palustris, Ludwigia sp. Glandulosa, Rotala Magenta, UG.


I for sure broke the '1 plant per 4 inch' Dutch rule..:eek: but having fun with the colors.

FTS:

 
#36 ·
not gonna lie about it.. t5's are working better for me then LED's. My red plants are actually red! For a particular plant, Blood Vomit, I failed at growing it under my LEDS... I gave the blood vomits a third attempt, under the t5's, and they are flourishing!




If you look up journals of the finnex led lighting, you hardly see 'Red' plants used, majority green.


Finnex LED's can grow my green plants amazingly, but I feel like there still something missing in there, as LED's are still fairly new.. just my opinion.
 
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