[yondertank]

Hello Everyone,

This is my journal for my 40 gallon breeder. This tank has been up over a year as of 01/01/2013.

Equipment:
EHEIM Professional 3 2075 canister filter (uses the media that came with it)
Hydor 300 watt inline filter (set to 78*F)
4 x 39T5HO lighting (2xGiesenmann Aquaflora & 2xGiesenmann Midday on 8 hours a day)
~80lbs of Eco-Complete
AquariumPlants Electronic CO2 Regulator w/ 5# aluminum tank (comes on 30 minutes prior to lights and is at 4 or 5 BPS)
Red Sea CO2 Reactor 500

Livestock:
6x Columbian Tetra
8x Galaxy Rasboras
3x True SAE
1x Otocinclus
6 or so Nerite snails

Plants:
Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides)
Anubias barteri v. ‘Coffeefolia’
Anubias barteri v. ‘Nana’
Crinum Calimistratum
Crypt Walkerii
Dwarf Sag which seems to have reverted to a full size
Ludwigia Peruensis
3 types of moss that I can not recall right now.

Future plans - I salvaged some HC out of my moss after I removed it, some stray HC bits found a home in the moss and started to grow. The HC has established itself into a few nice clumps and I will be dividing those clumps to fill in the bottom right corner more quickly.

I need to prune my crypts in middle - there is actually a piece of drift wood behind that massive clump. I also want to remove the Sag on the right side and replace it with an undetermined stem plant, possibly the Ludwigia if I can get it to grow healthy. The vals are a weed, they grow so quickly and thickly. I thin them regularly but it is getting tiresome and they are invasive with their runners.

I want to put more emphasis on the rocks in the bottom right corner which have moss attached to them, I think the bright green HC will contrast nicely against the black rocks and dark green moss.

Well that is all for now.

Best Regards,
YT

 

[ChadRamsey]

looks good. i like it.

it looks like organized chaos. Well done

 

[Lil' Swimz$]

The crypts are what make the tank! Don't trim them!

 

[yondertank]

Here are some updated pictures:

I did end up pruning my crypts, I removed roughly 30 leaves (the tall ones are the easiest to notice). I also divided up my largest portion of HC and planted it in the bottom right corner and in the space between the two long rocks on the right side (can't see in the photo). The darn HC would pearl or get picked on by my SAEs so I keep having to replant it.

My new plan is to move the crypts to the back right where the dwarf sag is, there is about 3" of space between the large rock and the back of the aquarium and the gravel is almost as up high as the the top of the rock. That will really free up the space in the front and the red/brown will make the black rocks and the green moss/HC pop. I will leave my Crinum Calimistratum in the back right corner, its leaves are now about 3.5 feet long. They frame the top of the aquarium nicely.

I also bought some rotalas which I want to use to replace the dwarf sag in the left hand corner but they won't arrive until Friday and they have to survive the elements.

I plan to take my time with all the plant movements so I do not shock the aquarium too much and cause an algae bloom.

Thanks for your previous comments!

-YT

 

[mitchfish9]

Chad put it perfectly. Organized chaos. I love the rough look as opposed to everything being constantly trimmed and extremely neat. Looks natural. And that crinum is bumping! Can't wait to see the re-scape. Great job!!

 

[watercage]

Do you run all 4 bulbs for 8 hours or do the other 2 come on/off during the photocycle?

 

[glennd]

Good job.I may go with a 40g breeder for my first tank after seeing yours.

 

[yondertank]

Thanks mitch and glenn!

watercage - My light fixture is defective, technically both sets of lights are on for 8 hours a day BUT one of the lights randomly turns on and off. I have 3 bulbs 100% of the 8 hours and then 1 bulb that could be on 30 minutes or all 8 hours (uncontrolled).

My rotalas came this most recent Friday and all of them appeared to have survived which is great. I received one bunch of each of the following:
Rotala Indica (rotala roundifolia)
Rotala Magenta (rotala macrandra v. 'narrow leaf')
Rotala Nanjenshan
Rotala Wallichii
Pogostemon stellata

I pulled out all the sag from the back right, there was A LOT.

That is a 16oz can of tomato sauce - that trash bag is filled about 4" deep. Sag is truly a weed.

I was nervous to replant the crypts right after doing such a big change so I put the rotalas in the corner. I want a clean and simple tank and intend to keep only one or two of the species. I will make my decision based on how the plants adapt and grow in my tank. Color, leaf texture, and growth rate are my criteria I am judging the rotalas by. My level of importance for those attributes mirror that order.

Here is the non-rotala I bought (between the sag and ludwigia). I am nervous about this plant because I have read each stem can get 6" in diameter. If it gets that big I will scrap it.

And the full tank shots:

One important thing to note is after removing so much established plant mass I have fears of an algae breakout with my level of lighting (the sag provided shading also). I have reduced my photo period to 6h 45m while waiting for the stems to get established. I planted them Saturday and I have had new leaves on all of the stems which is promising. I anticipate this reduced photo period will last for the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Assassynation]

Good Job on the layout, I'm currently revamping my 40B. Just waiting for $$$

 

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice plant growth!