14gtr14's 15g Picture 'journal'

Hi everyone. I thought I'd post this up as I hadn't taken any pics of my pretty new 15 gallon lowish tech tank!

LIGHTING: 2x 11w compact flourescent work lamps from IKEA (£8.99 each)
SUBSTRATE: Playsand+laterite
CO2: I don't inject CO2 but instead dose flourish excel veryday/other day (1.5ml) and dose liquid ferts every other day
HEATING: 100w (maybe a 150w) rena
FILTRATION: Rena Filstar - want to add a HOB if I can get one though.

HARDSCAPE: One piece of hollow wood ( seems like just bark)
PLANTS: Hygrophila Polysperma, Hydrocotyle Leucophala, Ludwigia Repens, Bacopa Australis, Bacopa Carolinia, Crypt Becketii and Wendti, supposedly Marsilea Quadrifolia (but is a bit suspect), Willow moss, Java moss, Weeping moss, Microsorum Pteropus Windelov, Microsorum Pteropus, Microsorum Pteropus Narrow.
LIVESTOCK: 2 apistogramma cactuoides + day old fry!, 8 corydoras pygmaeus, 5 otocinclus, 1 "giant oto"

Any suggestions, criticism, help, whatever is really appreciated!


Greg

Looks great, i really wish i had found those lights before i spent over £45 on two arcpods . There's actually a couple already in the house too, but i never noticed them . Next time i go to ikea though....
The plant selection sounds great for the tank too, i have some of those plants in my 16 uk gal that are doing great with my 20 watt tube (that's 3 years old so really doesn't really give out as much as it used to) , even the supposedly slow growing Bacopa Carolinia has grown loads and my java fern has taken over most of the tank. My Hygrophila Polysperma has grown straight towards the light and formed big leaves there that are almost red, it looks great! I only dose ferts in that tank when i do a big water change too, and use plain gravel with an under gravel filter, so yours will grow much better!

Here are other pics too that I couldn't fit on:

http/i112.photobucket.com/albums/n166/14...ngabout0007.jpg
http/i112.photobucket.com/albums/n166/14...ngabout0012.jpg
http/i112.photobucket.com/albums/n166/14...ngabout0005.jpg
http/i112.photobucket.com/albums/n166/14...ngabout0003.jpg

I feel there's too much green and no definition...if you can see what I mean. The plants have only been planted over the last couple of weeks, so not established yet, some a bit more than others.

I was thinking about adding a reddish plant. But what? Barcalya Longifolia? Tiger Lotus?

Oh also, I'm ordering plants from AE in the next few days, but I'm stuck between UG, HC or Pogostemon Helferi. Any opinions? Remeber there are already rounded leaves in the foreground (Marsilea and bacopa) so it's slighlty pushing me away from HC.

Thanks

I was thinking about adding a reddish plant. But what? Barcalya Longifolia? Tiger Lotus?

Oh also, I'm ordering plants from AE in the next few days, but I'm stuck between UG, HC or Pogostemon Helferi. Any opinions? Remeber there are already rounded leaves in the foreground (Marsilea and bacopa) so it's slightly pushing me away from HC.

Click to expand...

Your hygrophila will probably turn a nice red, but if it doesn't you can buy a red variety of it. A tiger lotus would look great, i almost bought one yesterday but it wasn't in best condition so i avoided it.
I'm using Pogostemon Helferi in my nano as a foreground carpeting plant (hopefully), and it gets my vote because it's so easy to separate and plant from the tropica pot. You would need a few pots of it though .

how does PH propogate? I was just goind to start withe the one pot and see how it does before ordering more. Just in case it doesn't do well, and a £6 each!

The Hygro is starting to go a really nice red on the new shoots since I changed the lighting from the 15W hood to the 22W of IKEA lighting

I really like tiger lotus' but I was scared in case it would over run the tank or block out too much light Anyone had experience with barcalya longifolia? IS there any fore-mid ground reddish plants?? I've seem to only come across larger plants (cabomba, hygro etc etc etc)

cheers

greg

recieved my AE tropica order today...wow. Compared to my previous, cheaper orders from other websites, AE really do push the boat out. It really is worth paying that little bit extra for great plants, great packaging and quick postage.

i recieved one pot of Pogostemon Helferi, 2 pots of marsilea hirsuta and a pot of vallisneria nana for my other tank.

The PH is remarkably small in leaf size...which I'm really pleased about. The pictures on the internet I've seen made the leaf size out to be bigger than they actually are. Hopefully it'll do really well!

Greg

PS I nearly died today....walked ino my lfs and they had tiger shrimp, hatchets and african DWARF frogs!!

I had to buy myself some tigers: 6 for £14.95

Looks good mate

cheers!