65l Low Tech

[The young one]

Hi, I have recently started my aquastart 500 and I am going for a low tech planted tank.

I have tetracomplete plant substrate and Roman black gravel on top, I have 2 11w lights which gives me about 1.5wpg.

Plants:
Limnophilia aquatica
Corkscrew vallis
Java moss
Java fern

Fish:
6 Cherry shrimp
2 Khuli loaches

Fish to be added:
5 Female siamese fighter fish
3 Octinocolus (don't know spelling)

This is my first attempt at a planted tank and would be very grateful for suggestions and criticsm.

Thanks in advance
Joe


Pictures:

 

[Jallen]

First off, those are straight vallis from what I can see (vallisneria spiralis is the straight one).

Looks good! Plants look healthy and I like the gravel and wood. The layout is nice also. Are you dosing ferts?
Also, one thing I hate about that filter is that even when I put the air intake down when it was out of the water it would countinue to produce bubbles (had it in my 56 litre - first tank)

 

[The young one]

Cool thanks, it was a corkscrew vallis but the corkscrew snapped off.

Thanks for the comments.

I will be dosing ferts every 2 weeks.

 

[Jallen]

...The corkscrew snapped off??

http/www.darkwhite.info/images/plants/Va...%20asiatica.jpg

That's a corkscrew vallis, the leaves are twisted.

 

[The young one]

Yep I am positive, I snapped it off by accident.

Maybe if you snap it off it stays straight.

 

[Jallen]

Snapped what off??

 

[The young one]

the corkscrew

 

[RadaR]

Corkscrew vallis is called that because the leaves are twisted.
I think you are getting confused with the root-like white spiral that can occur when vallis propagates by sending out runners...
See the twisty roots in this pic

 

[The young one]

Oh ...I knew that!

Well that's the thing I snapped off.

 

[Jallen]

Oh ...I knew that!

Well that's the thing I snapped off.

You have no idea how confused you made me