Kayen's 33g Planted Journal 8.8.09

[Kayen]

I got a hagen 33g - 33"Lx12"Wx18"H.
It's kinda in a bad position right now, it just has a powerhead (MJ400) w/ sponge + an aquaclear 20.
Also alot of guppies in there that i need to get rid of.

Anyways, some of you may have seen this thread over in the general planted section... but noone replied to it .

Hell i got bored so i started planning :
Stuff for 33g:

Lighting:
[x]2x32watt CFL 6500k bulbs - $8 (Need two more bulbs)
[x]Sockets x4 - $10 (Rona)
[x]Power Cord x2 - $5 (wherever)
[x]Can of white spray paint - $3 (Rona)
[x] Timer - $7 (Rona)

Filtration:
[x] Elite Mini (Already have)
[x]Maxi-Jet 400- (Already have)
[x] Aquaclear 50 w/ AC30 motor.
[x] Spare AC sponges to cover intake

Hardscape:
[]$10 Rocks (whereever)
[x]$45 Driftwood (Manzanita wood (: from GillsNFins ;D)
[x]$17 2 bags/10kg of Shultz's Aquatic Soil (Good cheap stuff)
[x]Some plain gravel to mix in that i already have. (Hagen Geosystem substrate)

ETC:
[x] Plywood 36"x14" $7 (Rona)
[] 2 litre pop bottle
[x] Silicon tubing
[x] Jar of Yeast
[x] Black background (PJ's) $10
[] Buckets x2 for water changes ~5 gallons
-The tank itself is a standard 33g made by Hagen, so it includes a canopy, which i will be retrofitting.

That's the stuff i need.
33g, dimensions 36x12x18
Stand dimensions: 32x16x25.
So i position the plywood right and move the stand over a bit and try and get a balanced 2" hanging off each end supported by a piece of plywood.

Objective: Decent planted tank - Able to grow Riccia & HC.
Fish: Not guppies? Who wants guppies?
Plants:
[x]Hygrophila Polysperma
[x]Limnophila Sessiflora
[x]Rotala Rotundfolia
[x]Java Moss
[x]Java Fern "Narrow"
[x]Java Fern (Normal)
[x]Echinodorus Tenellus
[x]Riccia sp?
[x]Hemianthus callitrichoides
[x]Pennywort
[x]Some other stem plant - I believe it was hygropghila compacta?
/Copypaste
Yup, i was planning to do this with the Phillips Marathon Daylight Bulbs, as i've had good results with them over my 2.5g.
Also nice suggestion wit the black light.
I'm thinking that 2x27 watt isn't enough, and i might add another 13 watt 6500k bulb + the 13 blacklight bulb in the future.

As for filtration, i'm going with a very basic 2 powerheads approach, and there will be total of around 400gph being pumped out by both, which should be plenty of flow, and prevent deadspots, also providing good flow for nutrient distribution.

Also plants, not sure what to use, but i think i should be able to grow a pygmy chainsword carpet in the front with moss carpets here and there too. Midground of woodwork and rockwork w/ moss and ferns, Looking for a nice centre piece of wood with branches coming out, and a nice rocky base.

In the back, I'll have stems, Rotala, dwarf hygro, and ambulia, unsure of placement yet, also i want to slope the substrate a but as well with in one corner some slate making a nice retaining wall and another species of plants there.
/end Copypaste.

Also, i got most the lighting together for the most part, it's going to be a retrofit of my current canopy -

Just lacking the bulbs, unsure of what combination.
Reflector will be just white spray paint.

Also substrate, i'm undecided between Fluorite black or Eco Complete. Also, if the option is there, do they sell SAS or SMS in Canada?

Also stand needs to fixed which is why i need the plywood -

The tanks been sitting on that for 2 years now .

So yeah, comments, suggestions, etcetc.

[Kayen]

Copy/pasted off another forum.
Quick Question ... would 40 pounds of gravel be adequate for a 33g? Some parts will be really really low, and also i need suggestions on how to make a riccia carpet, and i want to use riccia & moss matted on my driftwood instead. Also i'll have some pics coming up tonight of my aquisitions tonight!
EDIT:

The 3 bags of substrate that i will be using in this tank.

E Tenellus

Some VERY healthy looking java ferns, way better looking than the ones i'm growing in my nano.

Not sure what this plant is - Hygrophila Compacta i believe ( i think that's what he said )

Pennywort - Dwarf.

Also, this is ALOT of Riccia, if i can find proper meshing i probably have half my tank carpeted with this stuff ! Also perhaps one of my branches will be a riccia branch.Also how do i go towards making a riccia carpet? Or should i just do with slate and have multiple mounds of riccia?

All these plants courtesy of devocole - Thanks again! If you ever need more moss just should, it's growing like mad in my nano(albeit with hair algae tangled within, but i guess that's the cost of beaming 64watts over 2.5g ...)

Will get this tank setup sometime this week!

Another edit:
What the tank current looks like with stock lighting etc - no mods done yet, will start gutting the hood tmr - any precautions?

[Kayen]

Done planting.
Will fill it up all teh way soon.
Just water logging hte wood first.

[Chrisinator]

Nice! Can't wit to se it filled up!

[SeaSerpant]

Well it looks like it's going to end up good. Any more pics?
ps.
Why do everybody's first scape always look better than my fourth... fifth? (I've got to stop rescaping.)

[Kayen]

Haha wait a few days.
Waiting for hte wood to be fully waterlogged, because i pretty much threw it in upon it arriving in the mail.
Anyways i'm gonna save up for a T5 lighting system and get a glass top cut for me (: .
Today i was busy most of hte time when i was home just replanting stuff that floated. x_x man is planting stuff in a tiny tank much easier haha.

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/...lestriplight36

- Think one of these is enough to grow everything in my tank?

EDIT:
Ask for pictures, than picture you shall recieve:

[SeaSerpant]

It already looks good. With it filling in and growing out i think it will look awesome! Oh and you can go to aquarium illusions and you can get a glass top cut there. (well they order it in)

[Kayen]

pics :
Full Tank shot

Gourami:

Sick Angel (body fungus that's starting to dissapear)


Oh, and unrelated to this tank, but here's a pic from the remains of my 2.5g -

[sewingalot]

Love that driftwood in the front. What a transformation.

[ZooTycoonMaster]

WOW I love the tank!

How are you diffusing CO2?

[Kayen]

None atm. My sixteenth birthday is coming up soon, so 'm going to save up for pressurized, and i'm going to get 2x39w T5HO over this thing sometime over the holidays.
Thanks for the comments guys!

[Kayen]

Alright update:
I got DIY CO2 .. 2 litre bottle, injected into the intake of the powerhead and it's simply misted, i might add a small sponge at the end so that it will diffuse into the water better.
Also, i got a 2x39 w T5HO unit on top of there ... came with 2 10000k bulbs, so that's what i'm at right now. I'm curious if AG fixtures can handle geisseman bulbs ( i want a midday bulb).
Also got a glass top on there too.
Got both on just about an hour ago.. CO2 was prepared a day ago.
Pics:



This last pic is what it looks more of in real life.
I like the even light coverage.

I need a bit of help though... my timer doesn't have a grounded plug, but hte fixture does, howabouts do i get my light hooked up into the timer ?

(PS. bday money is awesome... haven't even gotten all of it... PS. you guys in Cali wanna hook me up with cheap Rock&Republic Jeans ... or True Religion Jeans? ;D)

[Tex Gal]

You need a ground plug with your lights. You need to find a timer with all three prongs. If you can't find it locally then you need to find one online. They are usually called "heavy duty". I just got one at home depot this week. Are you near one of those. The ground is necessary since you are dealing with water and electricity.

You tank is looking great. A far cry from your old set up!

[Kayen]

Two week update.
Added a C. Wendtii, more e. tenellus, and some HM.
Man Riccia takes over the surface fast.
Luckily i can sell teh stuff easily .

[Homer_Simpson]

Originally Posted by Viettxboii

Two week update.
Added a C. Wendtii, more e. tenellus, and some HM.
Man Riccia takes over the surface fast.
Luckily i can sell teh stuff easily .

Looking good. If you want to get a handle on Riccia, here is an excellent step by step on how to create riccia stones to contain it and add an Amano Aquascape element to your tank.
http://www.projectaquarium.com/plant...arfRiccia.aspx