Lucy's First Planted Tank.

Well folks, this is my first attempt at a planted tank, so anyone out there with observations or advice please shout up! I feel I need all the help I can get.

Basic set up information.

So, here's the basic kit list to start with

Stand (old cupboard, well reinforced!)
Tank - 40" long X 15" wide X 18" high, about 42 gal. (177L)
Lights - Arcadia luminaire with 4 X 39W T5 lights
Filter - Eheim Ecco 2236, 300L capacity
CO2 - D&D pressurised kit.
Glass ceramic CO2 diffuser
CO2 drop checker
ADA Amazonian substrate
Tropica+ Fertiliser
Plants - 48" starter pack from Java.

Progress so far.

The back and one end of the tank were painted black as they will be against walls. It took about a day to get all the equipment set up and the substrate in, basically to the point where I was ready for plants and water.



I filled the tank just a couple of inches deep with water before planting, then added the rest very slowly with a small pump (a lot easier than tipping buckets!). I was amazed at how clear the water stayed, no clouding at all. This next photo was taken literally minutes after I finished filling the tank.



The tank has now been running for just under a week. In the first few days I did notice some discoloration of the water, a slight yellow tinge which I put down to the substrate leeching something. The plants have lost some leaves, but nothing that concerns me. The lights are on for about 7 hours a day, and the CO2 runs the same, although I am not convinced I have it set right as yet. The bubble count looks about right, but the colour in the drop checker does not seem to change. I'm not going to 'fiddle with it' as yet, as the plants are clearly happy. Some have grown several inches in just a few days!

As for design/aquascaping - well I don't know as yet! I have some pieces of bog wood soaking in a tub (if I can stop the dog from stealing them, that is!). At this stage I just want everything to grow fast enough to out-compete the algae. I'm hoping that by the time the tank settles I will have gained enough experience and insight to have a better go at designing something I like.

Anyway, I'll try and keep this thread updated as the tank progresses. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Lucy.

Seeing as there are no fish in the tank yet, crank the CO2 up to get the drop checker yellow and your plants pearling like mad.

You have got quite a lot of light over this tank, so I would use two tubes for the entire photoperiod with the other two coming on for a mid period of three hours or so. Your priority is to get your fast growers pearling like mad to keep the algae in check (you will get some). Controlling your light and frequent, large water changes will be a big help as well.

Looks like you have done some homework and it should mature in to a very nice tank.

Dave.

Thanks Dave,

One of the reasons I'm struggling with the CO2 is that the yellowing of the water makes it difficult to see exactly what colour the drop checker is showing! It's definitely clearing, so this should get a bit easier soon. Will plants be 'happy' enough to pearl before they have their roots established etc? They've only been in there a few days remember. Having said that I had to trim one species last night, as they had reached the surface already. That's a growth of about 3-4" in 5 days! A similar looking bunch is growing at the same sort of rate. I replanted all the 'tops' so space will get filled up fast at that rate!

As for the light, that's basically what I am doing. I run 2 of the tubes for about 7 hours now (started at 6 hours) and use the second pair for about 2 hours in the latter half of that period. As of yesterday I have started adding the ferts at about 1/2 dose. I'm using about 2ml of tropica+ every other day. Again, this is perhaps cautious, but I'm very much learning as I go.

I've been told to leave it 3 weeks before adding inverts, and 6 before adding fish, since the substrate will leech things the plants are happy with but would be harmful to fish. As yet I have no definite plans for stocking, so open to any suggestions, as long as they include neons!

Thanks for your comments.

Bubble count is misleading - in short, you need a bubble count that makes your drop checker yellow. I have the D&D setup and for my 15-gallon it suggests I need 4 bubbles per minute. For whatever reason I actually need more like 45 bubbles per minute. Every tank is different and you basically need to find the bubble count that suits your equipment and your tank.

Given there are no fish I would up the bubble count each day until you do reach the 'green' holy grail of drop checkers! I am also assuming you are using 4dkh water and bromo blue in the drop checker - other 'options' just don't get the accuracy.

Hi nry,

Nope, at the moment I'm using the indicator that came with the boyu drop checker. As you say, no fish at the moment so accuracy is not too critical. I'll invest in better indicators when this runs out (don't think it will last long!).

As for bubble rate, I'm not sure what was recommended in the kit but I was following advice from others to start with about a bubble every 2 seconds. The indicator looks yellowish (hard to tell with yellow water at the moment!), but the colour is not very strong. Am I right in thinking that if I add more indicator I will get a stronger colour but not affect the reading otherwise?

Also at the moment I'm not sure that the diffuser is performing as well as it should. Again, this could be me not knowing quite what to expect, but I have also heard that brand new diffusers can take a little while to 'settle down'. The bubbles coming out of it seem to come from just one or two spots on the ceramic plate, and are large enough to drift up to the top of the tank without completely dissolving. The bubbles do seem to be getting smaller and more spread out on the diffuser so hopefully this will sort itself out, but until it does there doesn't seem much point in pumping more CO2 in.

Is your diffused CO2 getting blown around the tank by the filter outlet, because this will help a lot.

Do yourself a favour and get your CO2 cranked up a bit and your plants pearling like mad with a fertiliser routine to suit the growth. I have said it before: preventing algae is far easier than removing it.

Dave.

I parked the diffuser under the filter intake, on the basis that any stray bubbles and the CO2 'soaked' water would get drawn in and then dispersed around the tank.

What do you think, would it be better under the outflow instead? I'd need to get some new hose as it's a much longer run to the other end of the tank.

I use the method of diffusing in to the filter inlet on one of my tanks. I like this method because I don`t like the look of bubbles blowing all over the tank.

Having microbubbles blowing around is considered the most efficient way, because there are pure CO2 bubbles coming in to contact with the leafs, but I would stick with how you are diffusing at the moment.

If you are struggling to read the CO2 dropper, try having the ball with the indicator liquid proud of the water with the bell still emersed. I find it easier to read the colour more accurately this way.

ADA Aqua Soil is an excellent substrate but, as you probably already know, wait for the Ammonia spike to go down. Mine took almost a month with 50% water changes every three days.

Dave.

Dave Spencer said:

If you are struggling to read the CO2 dropper, try having the ball with the indicator liquid proud of the water with the bell still emersed. I find it easier to read the colour more accurately this way.

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Simple but brilliant idea - thanks!

Dave Spencer said:

ADA Aqua Soil is an excellent substrate but, as you probably already know, wait for the Ammonia spike to go down. Mine took almost a month with 50% water changes every three days.

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Blimey, that bad?! I was told to wait three weeks before adding shrimp, and six before adding fish (from someone who does know what they're doing too!). I am using Denitrol, so don't know if that will speed things up? To be honest I haven't started testing for ammonia yet, on the basis that I know it will be high so to early to bother! I was planning on largish weekly water changes, but nothing that drastic. Not sure my back will handle lugging that much water about lol.

Just a query on something here, but inverts before fish? As a reefkeeper I am used to inverts being more sensitive than fish to poor water conditions, so I would have thought it should be the other way around. Anyone got any opinions?

Thanks for all your help Dave.

Loooking good!

Hi All,

Just a quick photo update. Here's the tank exactly three weeks after planting. As you can see it has filled out quite a bit! It has had a fairly good trim at least one a week, with a lot of the trimmings being re-planted. The first signs of algae are just starting on some leaves, but I still have a trace of Ammonia, so will wait a few more days before adding some tiger shrimp.

Let me know what you think!





And the left hand side -



And the right -



Hope you like!

That is pretty dense! Smart move replanting the cuttings. There's always room for more plants.

llj

so what fish did you put in? or was it just shrimp..? Pics.?

and this ones 3 years old.

ianho said:

and this ones 3 years old.

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Hey, I admire your enthusiam, though.