200L Low Tech

[mikka23]

I received my powerhead today but its far too strong. No amount of positioning seems to make it work. Seems I will have to buy the model down. This was one of the new Koralia powerheads rated as 2800l/h which is stronger than I thought. Would the model down rated at 1600 be too strong as well?

Good news however, my BBA has cleared up a lot despite the fact I haven't been here to dose Flourish Excel. Hopefully get rid of it completely then get some new plants.

 

[Jamepsss]

I received my powerhead today but its far too strong. No amount of positioning seems to make it work. Seems I will have to buy the model down. This was one of the new Koralia powerheads rated as 2800l/h which is stronger than I thought. Would the model down rated at 1600 be too strong as well?

Good news however, my BBA has cleared up a lot despite the fact I haven't been here to dose Flourish Excel. Hopefully get rid of it completely then get some new plants.

I have the 1600 Koralia and it's about right for this size tank.

 

[mikka23]

Received the new 1600 powerhead, it seems to be about right. Also the bba is reducing a lot.

Time to buy some new plans and figure out a layout for the tank. Not really sure what to go for. Im a little worried the wood is a bit low down for the aquaspacing and could do with something with more height. I also attached my anubias to the wood, although I haven't exactly done a great job.
So far the only plant on my list is: Aponogeton ulvaceus

Looking for any suggestions...

 

[mikka23]

Replanted the tank today, moved things around as well. Some of the plants are struggling to stay rooted right now and they need to fill out. Will hopefully post a picture tomorrow. Will need to rearrange the plants when they grow, didn't really take time scape it properly. Loaches certainly seemed to appreciate the change.

Also put my gouramis up for free on the classifieds section.

 

[mikka23]

Here is a picture of the full tank as it currently is set up. Plants need to fill out quite a bit.

Right side is currently in need of the most. At the back I believe there is vallis, front some sort of grass and in the middle aponogeton ulvaceus (i think) which will hopefully grow out pretty large.

Left side is an arrangement of things Im not sure about, some sort of anubias on the wood, ludiwigia of some sort in the middle and crypts at the very front. Other than that I have no idea on plant id.

Not properly scaped until the plants grow fully because im unsure of what size the plants get to. Can't take a decent photo for some reason.

 

[Jamepsss]

Think I can see Egeria Densa in there too. It's taking shape, hopefully you'll have success with most of those plants. I think you could do with a little bit more hardscape, a couple more pieces of wood. Twisty wood like redmoor.

 

[mikka23]

Think I can see Egeria Densa in there too. It's taking shape, hopefully you'll have success with most of those plants. I think you could do with a little bit more hardscape, a couple more pieces of wood. Twisty wood like redmoor.

Yes there is some egeria densa back middle. I am planning on buying a chunkier bit of wood to add some willow moss to. The right should fill out pretty quickly hopefully, as long as the fish can stop knocking them out. I think its mainly the zebra loaches who should calm down a bit as the planting thickens to give them more cover.

 

[mikka23]

A little update, the gouramis have been moved and I have 6 new rainbowfish (2 Lacustris, 2 Wanamensis, 1 Australis, 1 Parva). I am also trying to re-home my penguin tetras but I'm not sure if I will actually be able to catch them, the gouramis were a bit of trouble and they are about 6". Any tips for that?

Ordered some new plants, Vallis for the back, Sag for the front and java fern for a new bit of wood hopefully.

Couple problems I have with my current plants however: the vallis is turning brown at the top and then the top part is falling off; the aponogeton is growing very well but is being eaten by unknown culprit.

PS. any tips for using DCR-SR37 or Hitachi HDC-756E for decent pictures welcomed, I read the thread on here but still seemed to fail miserably.

 

[mikka23]

Tank is looking pretty healthy just now. Really like my aponogeton which has grown incredibly fast, sad that my fish are eating it however

Only thing left to do is attach my anubias and java fern. I previously used thread but it didn't hold for long enough for the plants to attach. Also I don't have any wood for the java fern. I would prefer just a thin bit so it appears as if the fern is basically planted in the substrate, possibly just some rocks. I'm thinking about using glue or fishing line. I read glue is fine to use but it just seems like such strange thing to put in a tank.

Photos to come tomorrow.

 

[mikka23]

I hate trying to get a decent photo with this camera. Here is a shot of the tank and a couple of the aponogeton which is great. Will try a video tomorrow. I have anubias and java fern scattered around floating, mainly behind the outlet. Pictures dont really show the vallis very well.

Will add the fern either around the aponogeton or to the right, when I find some wood of course. Also get my anubias back on the main but of bogwood.

 

[mikka23]

I glued the anubias to the wood and the java fern to some stones which I put behind the dwarf sag. May need to sand off some of the white residue however. Will post a video when I can.

The red rainbows are vivid colored today and spawning. Great to see. Also the aponogeton (which is now massive) has flowered, some white flower which is at the top.

 

[mikka23]

As promised here are a couple videos.

Full Tank


Closer shot

 

[ian]

great looking Aponogeton, and nice looking tank.

 

[mikka23]

The BBA seems to be coming back

I got slack with my flourish excel dosing but would prefer not to constantly dose it anyway. I added extra flow but not sure how effective it is due to the positioning. I positioned it upwards because my fish didn't seem to like it.

Possibly add a garra flavatra but I'm pretty well stocked as it is and didn't plan on adding any more. Any suggestions?

 

[mikka23]

Im looking for some new interesting plants. Hopefully something with thick, large leaves which won't be as affected by the powerhead flow. Not really sure how to arrange things but I definitely want to incorporate some moss and new wood. Any suggestions?

Would putting moss on the stones which I have java fern attached by okay?