Fish Crazed Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Currently running 6x55watts compact flouro tubes CO2 Cylinder with DIY diffuser Morning Ph level: 7.2 Evening Ph level: 6.8 Kh: 6 I don't have a CO2 test kit as yet, so I'm just going off the ph shift to guess how much CO2 should go in. Is this method ok? Aqua Master Plant Food once a week. 1/3 water change every 2 weeks Hopefully I won't have to disturb it for a very long time so I can get some progression shots. Inhabitants include: 25 Cardinals 2 SAEs 2 Adults L168 2 Adult Peppermints 1 balloon ram 3 blue rams 5 bleeding hearts 1 red & blue 3 pearl gourami 3 sterbai corys 1 panda corys 3 emerald corys 7 rummies 6 black neons 2 glass catfish Hope you like it! Cheers, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy001 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Looks good Tony keep us updated with on going pics. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafishy Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 really beautiful tank! i dig it dude. do you find that the SAEs pick on your plants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10050460 Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 i can tell your tank will look damn bloody awesome in a couple of months time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YAL05T Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Nice work Tony, very similar to what I am soon to start with a 6x2x2. Is that one piece of wood in the centre or 2 carefully placed ones?? Looks good either way Keep us updated with progress shots. Cheers, Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Crazed Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 Thanks for the great feedback everyone! Novafishy - I've found my SAE to be very useful with the BBA. Haven't noticed them picking on the plants as yet. However, they were alot more active on the BBA when they were smaller. They do grow fast though and eat like pigs. Brett - Yeah its actually just one whole piece of driftwood (about 4ft long & 1ft wide). I originally had it comimg diagonally down across the length of the tank, but it blocked out too much light. Half of what you see now is buried under the subtrate. Good to hear you're headed towards the greener pastures mate! I tell ya its hard work with such a large tank, but the rewards speak for themself! Don't make the same mistake as I did initially to try and cut corners. I'm talking proper subtrate mix that is! Does wonders!! Let me know if you'd like more info. One thing I like to ask anyone who is already running CO2 is how come I can't seem to get my stem plants to pearl? The only plant that is pearling consistently is my Java fern. Do the plants require some time before they begin the do this? My CO2 has been up for about 6 days now. Its turned on together with my lights at 8am and off at 8pm. Cheers, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungefreek Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Evening Ph level: 6.8 Kh: 6 I don't have a CO2 test kit as yet, so I'm just going off the ph shift to guess how much CO2 should go in. Is this method ok? I wouldnt buy a Co2 test kit, they are very inaccurate from what i have been told. Just use KH and pH to work it out and that should suffice Also your lighting, did u DIY it? and what bulbs u running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Crazed Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 Evening Ph level: 6.8 Kh: 6 I don't have a CO2 test kit as yet, so I'm just going off the ph shift to guess how much CO2 should go in. Is this method ok? I wouldnt buy a Co2 test kit, they are very inaccurate from what i have been told. Just use KH and pH to work it out and that should suffice Also your lighting, did u DIY it? and what bulbs u running? Hi, thanks for your advice. The lighting setup is by Aqualina. I'm running two 2ft dual compact tubes for the back of the tank and one 4ft single compact for the front. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr troph Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Looking good. I think if you added a group of Discus it would look even more spectacular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 "i can tell your tank will look damn bloody awesome in a couple of months time! " I agree wih this comment. It looks very nice already, has a really good layout, and in a couple of months it will be awesome ! Nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10050460 Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 do you have an update pic on the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 What brand are your 55w CF tubes and what kelvin are they? Thanks, Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimace Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Thats is orsum. I am newly back into the aquarium hobbie (was a dedicated fish freak for afew years back when I was much younger) I really hope one day I can have the patience and time to stock a planted tank and actually maintain it to the best of standards. Get some updated pics happening mate I am sure everyone will appreciate it, I know I will, I been looking at the original pic for over 5 minutes... aquariums hypnotise me or something Cheers Grimace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyr Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 mad tank and Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Nice tank! Got any recent shots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFJ Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 very nice tank...keep the good work up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 One thing I like to ask anyone who is already running CO2 is how come I can't seem to get my stem plants to pearl? The only plant that is pearling consistently is my Java fern. Do the plants require some time before they begin the do this? My CO2 has been up for about 6 days now. Its turned on together with my lights at 8am and off at 8pm. The Liebig theory of plant growth states that “plant growth is determined by the one factor present at a minimum”. This doesn’t encompass that all plants have their “base level” minimum factor. That is a bright green or red plant requires overall higher level of “minimum factor”, before they get to ideal. Where as plants such as java fern (dark green) requires a much lower “minimum level”. Anubius are in the same boat, and what that means is that it will take much less to get to their “base level”, once this level is reached they hold the potential to release visible O2. The other thing that prevents plants from releasing visible oxygen is that the water has to become fully 100% saturated with oxygen before further O2 will be visible. In a nutshell what your tank needs is an over all nutrient ramp up (in balance) so the minimum factors are much higher. The problem with that is that you will increase your chances of creating an imbalance, and allow algae in, such as would grow on your Java fern with higher light. The harder you hit it, the faster 100% oxygen saturation will be reached and the faster the higher level requirement plants can reach the same level as lower nutrient requirement plants. Hope that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Deleted 2nd accidental post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Crazed Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 Well Guys, its been quite some time since I've revisited this thread and I must apologise and thank all those who have kept it going. To my surprise, it happens to be just over a year since I posted the 1st pic. Boy I must say that I have learn't so much about trying to get the right balance of all the nutrients so that both plants and fish can stay healthy. As for the delay with my post, well to be honest the tank went through so many stages that at one point I was ready to throw in the towel. For those who don't already know (like myself at the begining) there are so many factors in which one must experience and understand in order to control and minimise algae growth within the planted aquarium. Factors such as CThompson mentioned are very important insights! The tank is now growing healthy with very minimum fertiliser added. Just mainly root tablets every 3 months and a little Sera Florena just after every water change which happens every 5 days. Been doing regular water changes to try and get my phosphate level down as it was sky high!! Since doing this (about 2 months now) plants have been thriving and algae kept to a minimum with the added hepl of 6 Ottos and 4 SAE (a must have!!). Anyway enough of my rambling.. here s the updated pic. Please feel free to add you comments and and I'll do my best to get back to you. BEFORE.. ...another pic with a few more residents ... after six weeks of dry fertilizers + dinasaur dung for swords on left, courtesy of Dave from Aquagreen Shot on 19/11/07 Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robdog013 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 very beautifaul underwater garden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Looks good!! makes me wanna start a planted tank, what are the things you need to do to keep plants alive and heathy pointers pease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Crazed Posted September 23, 2007 Author Share Posted September 23, 2007 Hey Fongy, the main esentials are a good lighting, CO2, substrate and fertilizer. PM me if you need more details or try the link below for some great info! http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Beautiful tank and some awesome angels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Hey Fongy, the main esentials are a good lighting, CO2, substrate and fertilizer. PM me if you need more details or try the link below for some great info! http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/ thanks fish craze can you get by with a planted tank with out c02? or do you need it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Crazed Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 Hey Fongy, the main esentials are a good lighting, CO2, substrate and fertilizer. PM me if you need more details or try the link below for some great info! http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/ thanks fish craze can you get by with a planted tank with out c02? or do you need it Hey Fongy, I'm no expert when its comes to the technical side of this matter (so please correct me if I am wrong anyone), but from what I've learnt is that if you want to have a tank filled with densely grown plants then yes CO2 would be needed. If you do want to explore the true potentials of what CO2 can offer than you must also be prepared to provide other forms of nutrients such as stronger lighting (around 0.5 watts per litre), a well balanced substrate and fertilizer. An imbalance of any of these will most likely lead to algae blooms and poor growth. A planted tank is like a battlefield between plants and algae. Both are constantly competing for the nutrients in which you provide. Plants will prevail if the nutrients are well balanced and all consumed. Algae is oportunistic, so any unabsorbed nutrients will provide an establishing ground. This is all fundamental and can sound quite straight forward in theory. The real fun is to have a go and discover how delicate mother nature can be! One other thing I'd like to mention is don't start off your planted tank with too many fish as they can limit what you can and can't put in to get your balance right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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