46 Gallon Planted Journal(updated pics finally! 8/3 :)

[kunerd]

What kind of lighting did you go with. I am looking for some that isnt as expensive and found one on the same sight you had linked to and just wanted to know if they were worth it or not?

[organic sideburns]

I picked the single strip 65 watt 50/50 hood..only like 38$ shipped..I really like the color my tank is now because before it was too yellow but now it is more to my liking!. It has an external ballast so to turn the light off you have to hit the switch on the external ballast which is a lil diff. but its no big deal.. Heres a link to the lights I ordered (arrived in a week from California)...:

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=132

[unirdna]

Sideburns,

Consider how plants grow. First they need to make sugar (via photosynthesis), then they use that sugar to build tissue. If the sugar was depleted when you got them, they will need some time to build up reserves again.

It seems to me that plants are always stuck in 5th gear. They take a long time to get rolling, but once they get up to speed you can barely keep up with them. Continue being patient and you will see some results soon.

Also, take photos and compare them. We look at our tanks so often that we sometimes can't appreciate the amount of growth. This is why it seems that our plants grow more while we are on vacation .

[organic sideburns]

I went to this nice fish store last night called Aquarium Center and I picked up 2 batches of glosso and x-mas moss and I was going to pick up more plants but I bought a black top to go over my tank for 70$ and my budget was under 100$ but I like the top because it gives the tank a more elegant look plus holds in more light..


Heres a pic of my fishing line tied x-mas moss rocks..:



Heres a pic of my glosso being "preped"..:



Another glosso shot (I got alot of glosso for just 5 dollars!)..:



Heres a pic of the left side of my newly re-scaped 46 bow..:



Right side..:



Full shot..:



..Soo basically All I did was move the driftwood a lil more and tie moss around the wood and rocks and plant glosso around the open foreground and re-posistion the java fern a lil bit too..Comments/suggestions welcomed!...

Oh yea and as I was planting the glosso I noticed my largest male golden wonder killi had a pencil fish half way in his mouth!!( the pencil fish upper body was sticking out and it was fighting to get out!..) so I quickly snapped a shot of it ( not the best shot but you can see it atleast..:



I caught the killi with my net and he released him so i kept the pencil fish in the net but he died shortly after...:

[unirdna]

That killie didn't have a chance of swallowing the pencil fish, especially backwards .

Looks like a top-notch job of planting the glosso . I hope it grows well for you.

[organic sideburns]

I hope the glosso grows well also..I need to start fertilizing soon so anyone have any suggestions on what ferts to order?..Thanks alot!..If anyone has any more plant suggestions for the tank just let me know!

[organic sideburns]

Okay heres what I am going to order tonight..Look right? Is this all I need to start fertilizing or do I need something else?..Thanks in advance

Potassium Nitrate 1 lb
Mono Potassium Phosphate 1 lb.
CSM+B Plantex 1 lb
PotassiumSulfate

All from Greg Watson

And some kind of trace/iron?

[BSS]

Hey O.S.,

Just getting a chance to catch up on your journal. I like trying to keep up with other 46g owners. Tanks looking great, and it looks like you have the bug . Welcome to the club!!

Regarding your Greg Watson order, you *might* need some Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4..or is that Di-Potassium?). Also, if I were to do it over again, I might get the CSM+B w/ iron. I got the stuff you are planning on, and haven't really noticed a major problem. But it seems like lots of folks dose extra Fe, so that might take care of it for you. No real 'solid' recommendations, but something to consider.

Keep it goin'!
Brian.

[organic sideburns]

Yup I def have the bug lol..I will order those ferts now because I really need to get going on the ferts if I want my plants to realy flourish especially my glosso carpet..

[organic sideburns]

K, Just ordered the ferts.. So now I have pressurized c02,3.6 WPG, and E.I. ferts..Hehe I may have been bitten by the bug, since i'm only 16 I hope I can recover soon.

Heres a recap of all the diff. aquascapes i've done in the past 6 months..From when it was first set up to last week..Check it out!:

This is a pic taken a few weeks after it was set up, no background,no ferts,just 110 watts and some basic plants with sand foreground and DIY co2(its pathetic):



Heres a pic of the tank a few weeks before christmas with some new plants added and the DIY co2 and sand foreground taken out..:



Heres a pic of the tank with driftwood added and old plants taken out and new ones added and an extra 65 watt hood over the tank to give it 3.6 WPG plus pressurized c02..:




Heres a pic of the wood and plants moved around..:



And the most updated pic with glosso added and a few moved plants..just waiting for everything to grow in now:

[Jdinh04]

I just planted my glosso this week too, lets see how our glosso matt turns out in a few weeks!

[organic sideburns]

Jdinh, Thats cool that you just planted your glosso also! Whats your tank setup?

[Jdinh04]

My tank was set up in november of 2005, I just rescaped the tank yesterday replacing the existing E.C. with a more natural substrate (shultz aquatic soil). I have the following plants; eustralis stellata, crypt. wendtii green, baby tears, wisteria, pgymy chain swords, blyxa japonica, and glossostigma. Its a what I would say 24 standard size tank? 6,700K of lighting using the jbj compact light fixtures, ehiem 2213 for filtration and using GW's ferts along with excel to fertilize my tank.

I will post pictures of the scape as the water gets clearer, its still a bit hazy right now but it should clear up within the week or so.

[organic sideburns]

Nice, cant wait for pics

..I just noticed my guppies in my tank were all nipped so I took out my female betta and put her in my 20 gal, along with my agressive killis and pair of rainbows so now I can up my harlequin rasbora school, and lemon tetra school, heres my fish list:

1 lemon tetra
3 harlequin rasboras
8 albino cories(3 generations)
4 glass cats
2 male guppies
3 ottos
2 hatchets
4 WCMM

[organic sideburns]

I will slowly up the schools, but I am not sure if I want to get rid of the guppies since I took out all the mean fish just for them plus they are my fav. fish (so preety and peaceful), maybe I will get rid of the 4 minnows and 2 hatchets and up the guppies and maybe some wood shrimp and a dozen ghost shrimp because I am cool like that..

Heres just an updated pic of my tank(sorry bout the size and quality, dunno why it looks so bad), there is some growth and the water sprite is showing some nice green leaves growing over the old brown ones which is really cool!..:



Heres what my tank looks like around 11 at night before lights out (only the 65 watt is on)..:



My glosso carpet, does it look okay? When should it start spreading and growing etc.?..: