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My first successful planted aquarium

2K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Rainbow bristlenose 
#1 ·
I think I’ve finally finished creating my masterpiece. Would love some feedback on how I can improve this or tips on things to expect to go wrong. Other than the cost of the tank, stand and canister filter, I only spent $135 in total on the Nemolight, soil, substrates, and plants. Who said planting aquariums is an expensive hobby???
 

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#4 ·
I can’t believe how quickly my plants are growing and I’m not even using CO2! I’m buying shrimp this weekend so am allowing for the biofilm to develop but it’s looking a bit ugly on the glass. Do you think I should clean it off the glass as there’s enough in the rest of the tank?
 

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#6 ·
Biofilm is essentially invisible. If you see green or brownish stuff on the glass that is algae. Eitherway you can definitely clean it off. The shrimp can not cling to the vertical surface of the glass anyway so they won't eat anything on it.

As for filter inlets, they make stainless steel filter guards. Do a search on amazon and pick one that will fit.
 
#8 ·
I like this idea. Depending on the size of the mesh, it may not keep baby shrimp out. You might want to use a sponge or filter guard with the moss wall around it. I like sponges because they provide another rich biofilm surface for shrimp, fish fry etc to feed on. And behind a moss wall they'd be protected from fish or other predators. Just make sure the sponge is coarse enough that you don't have to change it out every few days.

Interested to see what you end up doing with this--keep us posted.....
 
#9 ·
Thank you. I cleaned it off and it looks much nicer now. I think I’ve got too much lights in the tank and that might be growing some algae. Do you know if algae grows when the ‘moonlight’ function is on on the Nemolight? The tank is still very much alight when it’s moonlight and fish will only swim when I unplug the light.
 
#10 ·
I decided to cut my other pre-filter sponge in half thus making it half as thick as before. I stitched it using cotton thread so it overlapped on the parts which were a little bit too thin and stitched it at the bottom to prevent shrimplets being sucked up that way. This is the end result. I think it looks MUCH better than using cable ties on the standard thickness of a prefilter sponge. I ensured that it fit snugly and all the holes were covered. I’m hoping this is satisfactory for the shrimplets... Anyone with shrimps know if this will prevent deaths?
 

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#11 ·
Update on my 120 litre aquarium.
Plants are growing beautifully and we traded many of our mollies for endlers, tetras and maculata rasporas. Unfortunately they only had three little rasporas in the shop so I’m waiting to add more into the aquarium. Tomorrow will be shrimp day!
 

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