70 L Journal

[ghettofarmulous]

Im hoping to get help and advice with my setup. Already some of you guys have had a hand in getting this tank to where it is now.
But seriously if you are a beginner just spend HOURS going through forums and articles and you will unlock a world of awesome.


I started with a fluval adge
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceS_nTQ_ySc&feature=plcp

And this is where i am today.
FTS

Glass intake tubes going to 1/2 inch pvc pipe to Fluvl 205. Clay bead media and filter floss.
6 Bronze corys
1 Bristlenose
3 Neons

Anubias Maximus
Needle Java fern

Sand Substrate

My Tap PH is 8.0.

The water in my tank is 6.5.

Thats a huge drop, any idea what could cause this? My C02 isnt connected up yet as my regulator is leaking at a number of places and rather then buy a new one i bought an API test kit this month.
Also the wood is well soaked and doesnt leak tannins, Im not adding any other chemicals.

Nitrates ~10ppm
Nitrites 0
Ammonia 0
Temp. 23 deg. C
I will be EI dosing when i pick up dry ferts from rorie on Thursday and buy a regulator....

 

[minnnt]

Let your tap water sit for 24 hours and test it then.

 

[ghettofarmulous]

Let your tap water sit for 24 hours and test it then.

I let some tap water sit at room temp for 24 hours as i always keep a 4 liter tub full for top ups between water changes.

Tap water is blue and tank water is orange, When i do a high PH range test it turn up about ph8.
Could it be the wood in my tank? i recieved it in a bundle of crap i got for free, Couldnt believe it was in there. It looked well used when i got it and did not leak any tannins from the start.

Dont get me wrong im happy with the low ph for my corrys but i want to know what it is thats lowering it so much. Im living in aberdeen scotland if anybody has the same experience

 

[ghettofarmulous]

Just bought This regulator. Countdown to co2 injection!

Picking up dry ferts tomorrow but gonna wait until the regulator arrives. When all is good to go I'll spend 50 quid on plants start proper updates.

 

[Jay1983]

Are you sticking with sand as the substrate?? may need to make it deeper for planting as it doesn't look very deep? what plants are you going to get dude?

 

[ghettofarmulous]

I have loads of sand to bring up the level. I might use root tabs if EI dosing is not enough. Ill judge it by the condition of the plants. Just waiting for regulator to be delivered.

At the moment all my fish are sick. There was a film of oil on the waters surface. I don't know what it is. In three years iv never seen this in my aquarium. May have been milk or some kind of grease on something i put into the tank. im always aceptic in my techniques so im pissed off i contaminated my own tank!! A neon jumped out of the tank last night. All my levels are good.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0.2
PH 6.0
temp 23.

I want to put some ludwigia because i want some red in the tank. Since i have loads of Anubias im going to put more in and have an anubias, Java and Ludwiga tank.

All my red root is dying rapid. Hopefully EI will help as iv 48 wats of light over a 12" high tank.

 

[ghettofarmulous]

scrap that.

Iv dead set on a new target. Im going to stock my tank with all Anubias type plants.

and it shall be called Anubias Maximus

 

[StandbySetting]

I like it as it is, the less is more approach works very well in this instance!

 

[ghettofarmulous]

An Update.

Waiting on a drop checker from Hong Kong. Should be here soon.
Had a disaster in the tank. Lost most of my fish due to some chemical leaching from the new pipe work i installed. Iv now gone back to the original Fluval ribbed tubing. Lily pipes will be my next purchase but not for a while yet.

Anyway, I stripped the tank down on Saturday and cleaned it in the shower. Replaced with fresh sand and rescaped a bit. All nice and fresh and water parameters are nice.

Been EI dosing for a time now and my Anubias nana is doing well and flowering like crazy. Before i took the pictures below i trimmed all the old stems off. Iv reduced the lighting period to 2 hours per day as brown algae was starting to be a pain. Co2 will help with this.
I think adding some red root floater will help combat algae too so if anybody has any for sale id be most appreciative

For my immersed set up I am Ei dosing and have a heater at 30 deg. C. and a power head. Lighting is an 11w arcadia lamp on for 12 hours. Lid is covered with cling film to promote humidity. Plants are misted every day and water changed weekly. There are snails in with the plants which provide the nitrate. Any tips on how to get more out of this set up? I’m hoping to grow the plants large enough to swap for other species of Anubias so there again, if anybody wants to trade drop me a line.
im getting new leaves popping up on these plants all the time so im happy so far but still early days.

FTS

New growth

water level

you can see the media in this one

 

[ghettofarmulous]

Sourced a few new Anubias plants! Delighted with them.
Scaping with Anubias is slow and difficult. For a start everything needs to be tied or strapped to hardscape and if you break any of the plant its not like it will grow back anytime soon haha fun times.

So far I have four different Anubias species in the tank. Im dosing EI ferts and pressurised CO2. Never thought id see Anubias pearling!! a constant stream of bubbles, especially the larger leaves.

Please feel free to critique my scape!!

Yeah dude.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

I really like this, not often we see people using a single species in their tanks, beautiful and giving me ideas.

 

[Flute]

A tank full of my favourite plant! It looks stunning

 

[ghettofarmulous]

Thanks guys, I dont think ill be adding anymore plants to the system as im happy.

I have five Bronze Corys in there at the moment. Is there anything else that would suit this tank? It has quite a high flow about it which the corys seem to enjoy.

maybe a B.N's plec or bulldog plec...

 

[Zikofski]

this is very interesting looks amazing, have you got your lily pipes yet i am looking at doing a similar thing but with multiple types of plants, want lily pipes to unsure what to get as originals are like £60 to £140 where as on ebay there £20 don't know weather to take a risk on ebay or just splash out

 

[greenmumma141]

I love all the dif types of anubias! I would go with a small school of a brightly colored fish, maybe espeis???