My New Tank - Be Gentle With Me I'm A Virgin Poster!

Day 1




Day 14ish

OK - it worked!!

pic 1 - day one
pic 2 day 2 or 3
pic 3 day 15ish
pic 4 day 21ish


I am really struggling to get any height although the red plant in the middle is growing real fast! Can I just cut it off and replant the bits to bulk it out a bit?

I have been looking for some big bits of wood to go in the tank to try and get some more interest, I have a big very dark blue background being printed for me which will hide the inlet and outlet hoses as currently I have just hung a piece of black velvet over the back of the tank - I'll remove the water marks that it turns out are on the back of the tank when I do it!!

I would welcome you comments - good or bad - go on I can take it!!

Gaz

you have done a really good job
nice natural look
what size tank is it and what is it stocked with ?

thanks FF - its roughly 48 long x 20 inches front to back and 24 deep

Fish wise I was given bad info by the LFS so although the tank is still cycling it has 15 zebra danios and 6 red eey tetras.

Plant wise I have no clue as this is my first foray into a planted tank! If anyone can give me any info on whats in the pictures I would be eternally grateful as I bought them all in a bulk lot.

If anyone spies a non aquatic - please let me know!!

Gaz

I was gonna say, if your doing a fish cycle, then there are much better choices then most breeds of tetra as they can be extremely sensitive to pollutants in the water. But looks good otherwise, be on the look out for any diseases from the lfs that may still be in semi-hybernation. If you see nothing after about a month, then you should be home free as far as illnesses go as long as you don't add any new fish

i always do a fishless cycle and as far as the plant growning i would cut it down otherwise it will get all long and bare and look bad chop it n make another bunch replant it thats my 2 pennet

tank looks great tho

Thanks chaps - cycling with fish was down to my ignorance and the advice of the LFS - if I had my time again I would go fishless without any doubt.


I bought a load of plants assuming some would make it and some not - then try and get more of the ones that liked the conditions - some of them are romping away some less so. One of them - looks like a very fine leaved bottle brush - actually flowered! and is growing away like mad - really bushy and green. The tall red one likes it too - time will tell I suppose.

Thanks for the suggestions guys - really appreciated as I am at the bottom of the mount everest of learning curves!!

Cycling of tank not as important in a planted tank. The plants will gobble up the nutrients produced by the fish (Ammonia, Nitrite / Nitrates etc). So this is good so don't worry about it too much. Only minor drawback is that it will therefore take longer for the filters to mature. But then again, who cares, this hobby is about fish keeping and not about filter keeping (some would argue that it is though! )

Get closer pics of plants to keep. There is a choice of about 300 out there so give us a chance! It is OK to trim and replant btw.

I think you have the beginnings of a good, beautiful tank there! By hook or by crook you've done very well. (Hell of a lot better than me when I first started, that's for sure).

Andy

Excellent start, as Andy said the plants will keep the ammonia and nitrite down as long as they are growing well, feed the fish only as much as they can eat in a few seconds.
Plants you have are all aquatic I am pretty sure, you have some fast growing stem plants which are the best at ‘eating’ the fish waste.
You have some Echindorus species common name Amazon swords
Camboba Carolina the green feathery plant at the back, Egeria densa (probably) the long green one, Three hygrophila species difformis, polysperma and another which could be corymbosa. The red small leaved one looks like Rotala Rotundifolia orIndica the grass one is Vallis
You can check the plant identities out on www.tropica.com if you are interested.

yeah it looks really good, definatley better than my first tank!!

and as others have said the plants will be sucking up ammonia like no one's business which helps out your fish and is quite clearly doing the plants a lot of good!

if you've not already read it have a read of the topic 'what's cycling?' in my sig, it'll give you info on cycling with fish and what to do

Phew thats a relief - thanks to all of you for putting my mind a rest at least a little!

I readd your article on fish cycling - very informative thank you. However as I said previously I am a little concerned about doing 20 gallon water changes daily as they seem to stress the fish out more than te elevated nitrite levels. I think I'll carry on as I am for another week as the fish seem really happy and the Zebra Danios are already starting to pair off and look like they are courting - but then that might be wishfull thinking!

Thanks for the info on the plants - glad they are all aquatic as I bought all but the potted ones you see in the second tank pic from a seller on ebay - 100 plants for about £15 and I was worried that some of them may be houseplants in disguise!!

One of the plants - the one that looks like a feathery bottle brush (Camboba Carolina?) is romping away and more flower buds are starting to appear - I'm guessing that this naturally breaks the surface for pollination and that I should let it grow long?
I really like the tall red one (Rotala Rotundifolia) so as roots are sprouting all along the stems I will wait till it hits the surface then try and cut and replant to try and bulk it out a bit.

I am a little concerned about the Amazon Swords and in particular the one with round leaves as the leaves are turning brown and patchy and are always covered in loads of small bubbles that I had taken to be oxygen but is it possible they are gases from decomposition?
Last question - the tank was bought from a failed marine fish keeper so I just want to check that the lights are OK - there are 4 x 30w bulbs of about 40 inches in length - two have little fish pictures on them which Im guessing is a good thing! They are white in colour, the other two are something I recognise from 20 years ago - Gro-Luxe and are more pink/purple in hue. Will these be OK for now until they need replacing?

Thanks for all the help and advice guys - its nice to join a forum and be welcomed so warmly!!

Gaz

Sword plants are 'greedy'. Poke some root tabs into the substrate near their roots about an inch down should sort them out for you.

Re: lighting. With regards plants it is important to know what type they are as the phosophorescent (phew) coating will give off differing spectra. It is therefore difficult to comment on your lights without this knowledge. However, although unsightly, the better lights 'for plants' do look reddy pink. Plants perfer 'red' spectra light, and because it is more pentetrating through water and hence available, blue lighting. (Be ware of blue lighting however as this is perferred by algae).

Andy

looks great, love planted tanks just never got round to doing mine yet, maybe this summer

Nice tank shot u have. Gr8 shots.

Nice tank shot u have. Gr8 shots.

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone - made my day!!

Am at home now so the lights are

2 x Phillips TL-D 30W AQUA RELLE
2 x SYLVANIA GRO-LUX F30W/GRO

Hope that means something to someone!!

Cheers!!

Gaz