You need to get the anubias rhizome above the substrate or it will rot and die.It needs to be tied to a rock or driftwood and it will anchor itself there after a while. It also will probably not like all the bright light so shade it somehow if you can.

 

Thanks for the info!

4 videos, 3 accidentally broken off leaves, two forum searches, and a spool of fishing line later, I have managed to crudely anchor the anubias to the driftwood. Hopefully they'll do better now.

I also purchased some stem plants at my local LLS for 4 dollars. They also threw in a random plant as well. I think it might be a crypt, but i'm not sure. I also moved the lights a bit so the anubias won't get too much light. Hopefully that is an ok temperary fix.

Can I superglue the anubias to the driftwood later? I read that some members have done that. The fishing line is kind of unsightly. Thanks!

 

The Rhizomes are starting to green already. Hopefully, they grow to the point where they will anchor to the driftwood.

The stem plants keep coming out of the substrate, so that's a pain. They do seem to be pearling a bit, so that's good. Hopefully, they will shoot out some roots.

The DIY c02 kit is coming today. I think I'll just stick the c02 into the intake valve of the filter until I get a proper diffuser. I haven't stocked the tank yet, so I don't think I have to worry about gassing anybody. Maybe I add an air pump at night just in case? Probably will end up putting a solenoid on it.

More pics tomorrow.

 

For fast growing stem plants I love rotala!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the info! I did trim the roots a bit, and the plants are already sending out new root hairs, so that's good!

This is how the tank is looking with the stem plants and the Anubis attached to the driftwood. Tried to set up the diy co2 with a couple water bottles since I didn't have any 2 liter bottles, but it leaked. Hopefully I'll pick a couple up within a few days. Thanks for reading! As always, constructive feedback always accepted.

 

You are gonna like it when that wisteria goes submersed. I pulled my plants, cut the new growth off and replanted it. The leaves get very delicate and detailed when submersed.

 

Is that what the stem plants are?

 

Apparently my two programmable power strips are know to fail after a couple months. This happened to me after I have had them a few months. They simply won't follow the program. Going to have to manually turn the lights on and off until I can get a new one.

In a separate thread some nice members helped to to come to the conclusion that I won't need to up the amount of time my plants spend under the light, even after adding co2. At least until the tank, becomes stable. I am going to decrease my lighting period to 8 hours a day. I probably should have had it only 8 hours all along. Hopefully this will help the algae problem.

Bump: Btw I do not recommend the Coral life digital power centers. What a waste of $50! (I bought two)

 

I trimmed the stem plants a lot. This algae or whatever is getting out of control. I've been doing daily water changes and it still won't go away.
I added c02 at 1 bubble per second, hopefully that keeps it at bay. I also picked up two more plants, 3 ghost shrimp, and two ottos today. They are so cute! The shrimp are already starting to eat the hair algea on the plants, so that's awesome. This tank is staring to fill in a bit, but needs a lot more work. Hoping to pick up some hair grass after this algea problem goes away.

Thanks for reading!

 

The light is strong, with less plant mass you won't be able to fight it. Get some very fast growing plants. Don't trim the plants unless its dying let it go wild.

If possible raise the fixtures rather than resting over the lids. Also ramp down the photoperiod to 6-7 hours. With 3 hours of siesta in between (3hrs - ON; 3hrs OFF; 3hrs ON)

My first tank was a 10 gallon with same lights but without lid and 3" raised from the top. I had a bit more plants to begin with never ran into algae problem.


I happened to inherit Coral life digital power centers which was like 2 years old. Its doing its job. Bit tricky to setup without instruction booklet.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I will try to raise it higher, hopefully that will help. I'll also try and get some more plants, that might help. I would time it, but the timers won't work right lol. I'll have to pick up some new ones.

Bump: I trimmed them because the stem part was dying on some. Hopefully they'll grow better now.

 

Update!

Changes:
Lighting- changed he cfl's for a four foot shop light I already had. I put two t8 32 watt (6500k) lights in and hung it from a couple brackets

Co2- bumped it up to two bubbles per second

Stock- added 4 ottos and a mystery snail from my other crayfish tank. Snail does a pretty good job eating the algea.

Plants - added some java fern to help fill in the tank a bit. Also a bit of duckeed or something hitchhiked.
Lots of new growth on the plants.

New leaves

Two little specs of duckweed or something.

 

Lots of pearling going on! I was worried that the java fern wouldn't like the extra light, but I guess the co2 has made the difference. Even the anubias and crypts are pearling!

It also seems some of my photos are not within the guidelines. I will have to go through and resize them all.

 

Picked up some more stem plants. The tank is finally starting to fill in a bit. Also got the new timer. I'm going to run the lights for about 9 hours a day.

 

Not sure how I like the stem plant's positioning in the back. I might have to change the layout to accommodate them.

 

No more crazy algea blooms. I think the increased co2 really helped. Everything is learning and growing like crazy! The crypt has 3 new reddish leaves its spurting out. Hopefully I can get some interesting colors from this new growth! The small broadleaf plant also is getting some new red leaves. I just noticed, however, lots of small white worms or something. They appeared all of a sudden. They are all over the glass. I'm not too worried, just curious as to what they are. I thought I remembered something I read that they're harmless. Hopefully they will be gone with a couple water changes.

 

Hey there Jerad,

First off, welcome to the planted world. Like you said, [everyone's] got to start somewhere. Your set up takes me back 20 years; that's a lot like what we used then. Old school for the win!

A few observations-
CO2: It would be better to fill the bottle with water to about 80% and trim your outlet tube. The extra water will help dilute the negative byproducts and slow pH change. Most yeast can't take low pH and will start dying off.

Current plants: You've got a few sword plants in there that will eventually get huge. You're better off letting them grow for now, just keep their size in mind for the future.

Ferts/nutrient supplementation: For setups like yours I normally recommend getting Flourish tabs and cutting them into quarters to be planted about 1" away from your plants/plant groups. I wouldn't recommend using terrestrial fertilizer sticks such as Jobe's brand or time release capsules like Osmocote for your tank with the small water volume and not-so-dense substrate (personal experience there). Flourish and Flourish Trace liquids would be an alternative if you prefer to get hands-on.

Misc: You may want to consider getting some floating plants such as Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) or Red Root Floater (Phyllanthus fluitans) to help soak up nutrients in the water column and provide a little shade until things start growing stronger. Salvinia minima is an option that's common in the hobby, but many states frown on keeping Salvinia due to a few species being terribly invasive weeds. That may not be a problem in the Dakotas where you get hard freezes in the winter, but in this case it's better to be safe than sorry. If you're not keen on floating plants, letting your lily throw out surface leaves wouldn't hurt until you get a good handle on your light/CO2 balance.

Future plants: With your current lighting and CO2 you'll do well with Anubias, Bolbitis, Cryptocoryne, Java Fern, Java Moss, Wisteria, Bacopa, and most species of Ludwigia except peruensis (the big pretty purple one). Rotalas can be a bit finicky with old-school style setups like yours, but the bread-and-butter species should do ok. Dwarf Hairgrass may do well or may do poorly and become an algae trap in your setup. It's a coin toss. Marsilea species (go by XYZ clover in stores) will do well but not grow as fast. Micro Sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis) is another foreground option.

Hope this helps,
Phil

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding co2, I am actually using a citric acid and baking soda method. According to the instructions you can't fill up the bottle too much as the one bottle will slowly siphoning to the other.

I will definitely have to get some proper root tabs. With two 32 watt bulbs and 2bps will some of those species do poorly due to them having reputations as low tech? Perhaps my lighting is not as high as I presumed. I have a 38 gallon to move the swords in when they get of size. Thanks!

 

Ok, thanks a lot for the info! I appreciate it. I will definitely look into that plant list:

 

Planted the Monte Carlo in the ten gallon. Did a small water change and tested the water parameters. PH-6.5 Ammonia-0 Nitrites-0 Nitrates-0

 

It's been a bit since I updated. About two weeks ago I purchased a trio of N-Class Orchid Endler's live bearers. Then, today, I changed the tank around. First, I took out all the plants and fish into a bucket. I put the anubias in my African setup. Then, I used the rest of the Black diamond sand from my African setup and poured about in inch inside. In the middle, however, I stuck with the eco earth. I then used the peice of driftwood to cup the eco earth a bit. It kind of looks like a volcano effect. I then planted the plants on the other side of the wood. I really like the tank more now. I think it will showcase the endler's much better. Also, we have 4 fry! Excited to see the population expand. Hopefully another female will give birth soon. Also, thinking about shrimp and/or dwarf corys. The bottom is looking kind of empty. Thanks for looking!