Vanish's 75g Community

vanish · Jun 26, 2014

April 16th, 2018 FTS

November 8th, 2016 FTS

February 3rd, 2016 FTS

Last photo before December accident/January 2016 rescape:

ORIGINAL POST

This is my first foray into a planted tank. I run several other non-planted tanks but really love the look of the live plants. I really do not like how fake plants react when fish rub against them. Last week I ordered a starter pack of plants from a forum member. Great decision as far as getting started. I am terrible at aquascaping.

Really, I just wanted to see how each species of plant reacted in this tank before getting too picky with the plant locations.

As of FIRST PLANTING - June 19th, 2014...

Fish
1 Convict
2 Bolivian Rams
5 Bleeding Heart Tetras
1 Glo Tetra
12 Mollies - Black, Dalmation, Creamsicle
5 Cory Cats, Albino

Plants
Water Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis)
Red Ludwigia
Corkscrew Valisneria
Unknown Sword
Sunset Hygro
Scarlet Hygro
Anubias (Larger, unknown strain)
Anubias Nana
Anubias Nana Petite
Alt Reneicki (Mini)
Ludwigia Repens
Micro Sword
Lobelia Cardinalis
Bacopa Caroliniana

Light
Current Satellite Plus 48"
9am to 5pm
19 to 21 inches above the substrate

Substrate
Safe-T-Sorb

Fertlizers
Flourish Comprehensive once a week
Root Tabs under the Swords

vanish · Jun 26, 2014

As of June 26th, 2014

First, a note about the fish. Since I have a few tanks, sometimes fish get moved around. This isn't my ideal set of fish for this tank, but sometimes you have to work with what you've got! I never intended on keeping the mollies, they were a rescue, but they have grown on me. They let me pet them and eat algae off the background and decorations.

Now, on to plants.

I have lost almost all the Scarlet Hygro and Alt Reineckii. There are a few stems with melting leaves left, but I am wondering if I should just remove them. I don't see any roots growing.

I thought the Ludwigia Repens was in the same position, but I am seeing some roots growing from the remaining stems with leaves. The leaves look pretty rough though.

The Anubias Nana and Petitie have almost completely melted away. I don't know what went wrong here. I thought this was supposed to be one of the easier plants to grow.

Corkscrew Valisneria completely melted within days.

I am unsure of the species of this plant. It was marked as "Anubias Graz" Some of the leaves look good, others are yellowing/browining.

There are two other similar plants in similar condition.

The Lobelia Cardinalis seems pretty happy and roots are growing on almost all stems. Bacopa Caroliniana looks pretty decent, too, though it was much brighter when I first planted it.

Water Wisteria looks OK. Most of the lower leaves have come off or look weak, but the upper leaves are bright green. Roots are growing.

Sunset Hygro is in similar condition.

Micro sword is kind of hard to tell. They look like they are browning to me, but since they had so many roots to begin with I can't tell if those are growing.

SO.... What can I do to liven these guys up? I'm new to this, and I haven't really seen a guide to determining the causes for the different issues I am having. Am I short on light? Fertilizers? Why the heck did my Anubias melt away so dang fast?

BuddhaBoy · Jun 26, 2014

Have you tried dosing with excel? My Anubis is flourishing with excel. I also use flourish and potassium.

jmsaltfish797 · Jun 26, 2014

the plants are going through shock from shipping and replanting. just give it a little time. i didnt see any mention of co2 in your equipment. if your not running co2, go pick up some excel and start dosing it. should help everything snap back to health.

vanish · Jun 26, 2014

Thanks folks. I was shying away from C02/Excel as I would prefer this to be a low tech/low maintenance setup, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of a jump start.

AutumnSky · Jun 30, 2014

What light bulb/lights are you using and how long are they on?

vanish · Jun 30, 2014

vanish said:
Light
Current Satellite Plus 48"
9am to 5pm
19 to 21 inches above the substrate

In original

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news, I watched the convict kill a molly recently. I'm really surprised since they've been together for a couple of months. Then I found another one dead this morning, obviously killed the same way.

I've already arranged for him to be adopted tonight...

The Anubias Nana has lost all of its leaves. Should I pull it out, or could it just be readjusting and new leaves might sprout? I can't quite tell if roots are growing.

I kind of struggle with this in lots of places. When a plant isn't looking good, what do I remove completely VS what should be trimmed VS what should be left alone? I'm sure it varies by species.

vanish · Jun 30, 2014

While watching the tank at lunch time today, I noticed some bright green new micro sword leaves! Hooray!

Tiny, blurry photo, sorry, no macro lense!

vanish · Jul 1, 2014

Sad day. The Convict was picked up. I really liked him but I like the Bolivian Rams more.

Did a large water change including cleaning under the stump where the rams had recently started to hide. Only found one under there.

vanish · Jul 2, 2014

Oh my gosh. I don't know where he was, but suddenly he's swimming in front of me!

Yay!

vanish · Jul 3, 2014

Two Weeks

Inhabitants

[STRIKE]1 Convict[/STRIKE]
2 Bolivian Rams
5 Bleeding Heart Tetras, 1 Glo Tetra
[STRIKE]12[/STRIKE] 9 Mollies - 3 Black, 2 Dalmation, 4 Creamsicle
5 Cory Cats, Albino
2 Gold Apple Snails (they are good guys, leave the plants alone, forgot them in the OP)

Everyone seems to be enjoying Big Head Todd's departure. He went to a 4000 Gallon pond at the local Aquaponics place. The rams are once again out and about. He took out three black mollies before he went. I don't know what pissed him off all of a sudden.

PLANTS
My Glut has not arrived yet.

Micro swords got a bit torn up while trying to capture BHTodd. We'll see if they come back.

I thought I had lost all the Alt Reneicki mini. It appears two of them have started acclimating.

Similarly, ONE stem of Scarlet Hygro seems to have sprouted new leaves. There is one other stem still in the tank.

I thought I had lost all the Corkscrew Val. Turns out there is one little one trying to survive the transplant (left). On the right is an adorable fresh growth Sunset Hygro. The zoom really throws off the scale.

Almost all the Lobella Cardinalis have a new leaf or two.

Most of the Wisteria has grown fat new leaves on top. If you compare it with last weeks photo, you can see the Wisteria is two-three inches taller already.

Most of the Sunset Hygro has pretty new pink leaves on top.

There is also ONE stem left of Ludwigia Repens. It is hiding between the stump and the back wall and I had originally missed it when doing last week's survey. It has brand new leaves, too!

The sword in the stump seems like it is adjusting. New roots started after I trimmed off the rotting leaves. The Anubias Nana is gone. There are a couple of pieces of the petite that look like they are trying to hang on.

Questions

1.) I've been told I should have more than 5 Bleeding Heart Tetras. These 5 have been together for a year or so. They are currently cheap, so I could pick up a few more. Is it a bad idea to add new, smaller ones? Is 5 enough? They do nip at each other, but I haven't seen them pick on the rams.

2.) Are there any shrimp that would thrive in this tank? Shrimp as so cool.

burr740 · Jul 3, 2014

LOl "Big Head Todd." Great looking tank, I really like the background.

Keep nurturing that Ludwigia. If it ever takes off you'll have quite a showy plant. Mine got totally out of control, even before heavy ferts/co2. (although I was dosing Excel)

PhysicsDude55 · Jul 3, 2014

Good looking tank! I really love the rock 3d background.

If your 5 tetras don't seem too aggressive I wouldn't worry about adding more. I've had mixed success adding small fish to nippy schools.

I would get some Amano shrimp. They get pretty big (2" or so), and are pretty good at evading hungry fish. You might have to separate them for a few months to let them grow. When they're juvies, they're probably small enough that some of your fish might eat them.

blue-sun · Aug 26, 2014

PhysicsDude55 said:
Good looking tank! I really love the rock 3d background.

Me too! Where did you purchase that background?

AutumnSky · Jul 5, 2014

On the light, that is supposed to be a good one. If you get any more fish, consider quarantine.

xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx · Jul 5, 2014

I would double the amount of Flourish Comprehensive you're dosing to the tank, or you can go with dosing the tank twice a week just to give the plants more available nutrients. Whether you're going with a low tech setup, or a high tech one the plants still need some sort of source for co2, so using some excel wouldn't hurt but make sure not to over do it with excel or you can start losing fish.

What kind of root tabs are using for the swords? The lighting fixture is fine for a planted tank, but your plants are deteriorating not because of "initial stages" but because of a lack of available nutrients in the water. Especially if they're deteriorating within a week, for the anubias plants I would suggest attaching them to something away from the substrate such as a piece of driftwood. Make sure to never bury any part of the rhizome part on the anubias plants, this is why you see most people attaching anubias to driftwood.

vanish · Jul 9, 2014

I hope my glut gets here soon. Tracking says between tomorrow and next Tuesday. It seems like things are growing, but even the wisteria and sunset hygro have lost or are losing most of their original leaves. They do have new leaves but things are looking a bit thin.

In better news, I found this plant I had tossed in my outdoor tank and had forgotten about. I can't ID it, and now I feel like I might have one of my other IDs wrong? You can also see some of the deterioration on the sunset hygro behind it.

ced281 · Jul 10, 2014

Can't say for certain, but it looks a lot like a rotala species that's been grown in low light. Maybe its rotala rotundifolia?

redfirebird87 · Jul 9, 2014

Tank looks nice Vanish. I hope the plants liven up soon.

Everyone can find Sunset but me! I want some!

ced281 · Jul 10, 2014

Also, if you still have the anubias nana, it is still salvageable. My guess is that the nana was grown emersed and so it melted all of its leaves once grown submersed. As long as you keep the rhizome, new leaves adapted to your tank will grow from it. You just need to make sure it gets a decent amount of light to trigger the spawning of new leaves.

Nana is a heavy root feeder from my experience, so it will not grow vigorously until it has secured a nutrient source via its roots. Putting some osmocote plus into the soil right underneath its roots or putting a pond plant spike (fertilizer spike) or a root tab will give it a direct nutrient source that will make it grow at insane speeds.

vanish · Jul 10, 2014

Thanks. I had put root tabs in underneath. The larger nana's rhizome even turned brown, so I decided to get rid of it. The petite looked like it was rotting in the center, so for better or worse I clipped and replanted the good looking parts. One of them has been planted over a root tab, the other tied to a rock. They still look a little sad, but each has a new leaf this morning.

vanish · Jul 10, 2014

Three Weeks

I almost didn't want to post this week because I feel like things are kind of sad. I don't know if it was time yet, but I took some Wisteria cuttings that had roots growing down and replanted them to try to get more plants going, so things actually look MORE sparse this week than last. The cuttings were planted behind the stump and log, so you won't really see them on a frontal shot like this until they grow.

My glut arrives today.

In more detail, I had thought the Lobelia was doing alright, as I had seen new growth and roots. Now, I am not so sure. The one in the middle has suddenly lost almost all its leaves.

Lastly, I just wanted to post this shot because I find the little sunset hygro plantlets so cute. Also, you can see the new leaf on the anubias nana petite.

vanish · Jul 11, 2014

Amano Shrimp ... my rock background goes all the way to the top trim on the tank. I've been running open top and I would be concerned they would climb out. I could put the tops back on (and actually, I might have to if I continue losing a gallon a day to evap!), but I generally prefer it this way. Thoughts?

Rabbit Snails ... just saw these guys for the first time and thought they were pretty sweet. Some people say they eat plants, others say they only eat dead plants, and I have no idea if they would crawl out of the tank. Opinions?

I just love having a diversity of life in my tanks.

vanish · Jul 15, 2014

I suppose I should talk about my DIY "behind the tank filter" a bit in this thread and not just other's.

Its a 6 gallon planter box sitting on a shelf behind the tank containing lots and lots of media (ceramic, pot scrubbies, purigen). There is a chamber for my heater in there, but I haven't moved the heater yet. The hob lid has 5 holes in it, in which I put flex pots. Each plant is in one of those flex pots with hydroton.

I may change the order of the plants as the two cuttings grow in. From left to right: pilea involcrata (friendship plant), epipremnum aureum (pothos - cutting), pilea cadierei (Aluminum plant), tradescantia fluminensis 'variegata' (a wandering jew), last one is unknown clipping.

My hope is eventually they will cover the whole filter and back of the tank, and you won't see any of the filter anymore. This will make cleaning a bit more of a chore, but I've already had comments on how much nicer it makes the tank look.

Here is the unknown clipping, if anyone can ID it.

I'm working on a GU10 track light system for lights. I picked up 4 3x1 GU10 LED lights, 4 swivel light holders and the track from the local ReStore for $8.

AutumnSky · Jul 27, 2014

Last pic of the plant looks like possibly a variety of Vinca vine. Periwinkle.

vanish · Jul 16, 2014

Picked up some more wisteria as well as some Dwarf Sag and a few others from a local forum member last night. Rearranged the plants a bit to try to get some more cohesive groupings going on. Going to give the wisteria a few days to settle in before I trim it. Its pretty ridiculous at the moment.

I hope the dwarf sag takes hold, I like it.

FTS tomorrow.

AquaAurora · Jul 16, 2014

Still no luck IDing the mystery plant?

vanish · Jul 16, 2014

I haven't tried terribly hard just yet.

Still working on getting the lights up for the planter box plants as yesterday got absorbed with moving a friend and then planting all the new plants.

vanish · Jul 17, 2014

Four Weeks

Wow, four weeks already. Look at all that growth? JUST KIDDING. I picked up a bag of plants from a local forum member. Giving those tall wisteria a little time to settle and then I'll trim them down a bit. Also got some Dwarf Sag in front, and rearranged the Sunset Hygro around the stump more. A few tiny java ferns tied to rocks on the log and upper shelf. The right side is a bit barren, but its because I'm waiting to see if certain plants take hold before I go rearranging that.

The sword plants are all growing new leaves and roots. Hooray! Same with the two tiny anubias. I'm unsure of the lobelia ... I like it and its growing lots of roots, but the leaves of the plants are getting some algae. I think I have seen some new leaves, but I'm not certain. I know the light is probably too low for this plant. The bacopa is starting to grow now, but I think its my least favorite.

I think I lost an apple snail last night. Looks like he was chewing on some leaves stuck to the powerhead and got his head stuck. Probably going to have to get a prefilter. The tank also feels a bit understocked at the moment, but two things are happening preventing me from acquiring more fish: 1.) A 150 Gallon tank is in the works, yay Craigslist. 2.) I am waiting to see if my mother angelfish (different tank) recovers from parasites.

Depending on how those things work out, I may be shifting tank locations and fish around.

Before I added these new plants, the two bolivian rams had staked out territories and stayed in them most of the time. Now, they are out and about and playing with each other.

I really like how this section of the tank is coming together:

A couple of the tiny java ferns, as well as another new leaf on anubias nana petite. Sorry I suck at close up photos:

AGUILAR3 · Jul 17, 2014

Love the filter. Any pics of the internals and plumbing?

vanish · Jul 17, 2014

I have a few pics from during the build. I do not have any pictures of the final configuration yet. It will give you an idea of what's inside, but its not exact. Much of the internals are built from $1 plastic baskets from the dollar store, styrene light diffuser from the ReStore and needlepoint plastic grid.

The whole filter can be thought of in three vertical layers. 1.) Submerged media and heater chamber. 2.) Filter floss, pot scrubbies, purigen 3.) plant flex pots

Water is supplied by a 350 GPH powerhead with 3/4" tubing. There is only about 6 inches of head, so this actually more water than the planter outlets can handle. To compensate for this, I spliced in a t-barb fitting and an old Magnum quick disconnect. Automatically, the water splits at the t-barb adding flow to the tank, reducing the flow into the planter. I can also regulate the flow with the quick disconnect ( acting as a ball valve), but it turns out that its pretty close to perfect already. The water flows through a 90 degree watertight fitting attached to a scrap of styrene. There is a slot in the lid, where the fitting slides through the lid with the square of styrene under the lid. This holds everything perfectly in place.

The first vertical basket is not like that in the final version. It is similar, but the input goes into a basket with a plastic grid lid filled with filter floss. This catches all the plant bits and such. It is the easiest part to access, as I only need to remove one plant and slide the lid back 4 inches. The water then hits baffles forcing it down.

Under that basket is ceramic media. The water flows around the ceramic media, then up into a couple baskets of put scrubbies, as well as plant roots. Continuing right, it hits the purigen basket and then hits another baffle, where it goes down to the heater chamber. Finally, it passes through a plastic grid and then into the 1" PVC watertight fittings (find in electrical section).

During normal operation, it is completely silent except for a low hum from the powerhead. The flow is tuned such that a single outlet can handle the entire flow via full siphon if one outlet should get jammed. It makes funny slurping noises when transitioning back and forth between full siphon and not, which acts as a nice audible alarm if something should go wrong. The planter is sitting on a planter tray, which catches any drips (there shouldn't/aren't any during normal operation) and would give at least a little bit of time if something doubly bad (both outlets blocked?) should happen.

If I was to build another one, I would do a couple of things differently. Due to the design of this specific planter (vertical slats molded in), I had to mount the outlets very high where the box is actually flat, as well as at nearly the same level. I would much rather have had the outlets in a vertical orientation, with the lower one being lower overall. The level in the planter is pretty high, within 3/4" of the top and in emergency mode (one outlet running) it gets up to about 1/4" from the top. I would like to have a little more comfort zone.

Here is a pic I took during testing emergency mode (one outlet sealed off):

vanish · Jul 18, 2014

Some newcomers:

A very busy lady bristlenose.

AquaAurora · Jul 18, 2014

What variety of cory are those? And did you get more than 2?

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