Barneys 160l Planted Tank Using Ada Substrate/ferts - Journal

[xxBarneyxx]

The Silvertips are quiet aggressive amongst themselves but seem to leave the shrimp and flame tetras alone. That being said I would never put them in with anything that had longer fins or with anything that would be stressed by fish constantly fighting. Think of them like smaller tiger barbs

I found another bug in my tank today Guessing if tehre where two that I did see there must be more that I dont. I think all my fish are still there and I still have at least 4 shrimp left but it is very hard to count them all (the all hide really well and the only time you see all the fish is when they are feeding. Trying to count 16 fast moving fish is next to impossible ).

Really should have rinsed/dipped my plants, I only ever worried about snails though (which I can live with), never thought about any other types of critters coming in

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Well since the last update i have had a bit of an outbreak of staghorn algae. I found the reaosn for this today, my outflow pipe had become clogged up which meant the circulation in the tank was rubbish. i have fixed this now and upped the CO2 level a bit which should clear it up.

I got my Whiptail yesterday, today he has vanished (which I expected). I did think ahead and take some pics of him while he was in the bag though Th8ink i will print this picture out and stick it to the front of the tank

While I was trimming/cleaning this morning i noticed one of my shrimp is carrying eggs They look pretty well developed. I tried to take some pictures but she is on the side of the tank under one of teh drop checkers and i cant really fit the camera in the gap between thw side of the tank and the wardrobe. You can just about make out the eggs with the little black dots in the photo below.

Will add some tank shots later, plannign on getting a pair of Ram's today to complete the stocking. Not looking that prety at the moment because of the staghorn

 

[mlawson]

I really like this tank. The Whiptail looks great.

Congratulations on the shrimp eggs, you mightt soon be seeing baby shrimp!

I hope your staghorn algae clears away.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[DevUK]

Looking great! I'm starting to consider some shrimp. Can't see any of my fish eating them. I thought my CAE would maybe have a go which is why I've held off, but I've seen people with shrimp in tanks with similar fish without any issue. Oh well, if I add them and he munches them I guess I can consider it a gourmet meal for him

 

[reggieschuey]

barney its very nice to see your tank flourishing, it great ! , i might add that perhaps you could get some plants that are suited for middle section of your tank. At the moment it seems you have nice foreground and background (stem) plants but nothing really in between. i think it would look really good if you can find some plants to fit between your stems and foreground. That would make your tank looks oh so much deeper . if you know what i mean !

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yep I know exactly what you mean My problem was when I started I had no idea what size most of the plants I had grew to so went by the description that came with them (bad idea ). Turns out a lot of my "mid-ground" plants are still MASSIVE! I do actually have some mid-ground plants in there that should hopefully fill in and give a bit of a transition from the front to the back but they are growing a lot slower then everything else.

The aquascapping on this tank was pretty much no exsistant just because I did know how all the different plants grew The next tank should be a lot nicer. it has actually grown a lot since the last pictures but I dont really want to take loads of pictures when it has loads of staghorn algae in it (and my riccia needs a good "mowing" as well ).

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I had a nice suprise this morning (no unfortunately the algae hadn't all vanished and I didn't find myself laying next to Kate Beckinsale either ). I did wake up to find that one of my Crypts has started flowering though Will post so pics as soon as I get home.

 

[DevUK]

Congrats! Although, Kate Beckingsale would have been much nicer. I'll lend her to you if you like...

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Congrats! Although, Kate Beckingsale would have been much nicer. I'll lend her to you if you like...

LOL thanks! (though at this point I would almost be tempted to prefer an algae free tank instead.... almost... ).

 

[DevUK]

Congrats! Although, Kate Beckingsale would have been much nicer. I'll lend her to you if you like...

LOL thanks! (though at this point I would almost be tempted to prefer an algae free tank instead.... almost... ).

Thats pure dedication that is. Maybe we should start a religeous sect. "The Cult of the Planted Tank" anyone?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Took a little longer then I planned to get the photos up as I have been really busy with work. The tank in general is doing really well. The staghorn seems to be dying off now I have sorted out the CO2 and water flow again. I did have to trim some of the plants back a lot to clear the bigger patches but it is a lot better then it was last week.

The riccia on the slate has grown to a point where it is pulling free of the netting so I need to take it out and redo it. i'm thinking of alternatives to the riccia as I dont want to have to redo it ever 3 weeks

I will take some full tank shots at the weekend after I do some gardening but for now here is some pictures of the flower. It is my Cryptocoryne Balansae that is flowering and that is actually on the other side of the tank, the stalk the flower is on is about 3ft long!

I didnt get a picture when I first saw it but this was it after about 4-6 days.

These are some pictures of it today.

 

[Themuleous]

Quality, there is nothing in my book at least more satisfying that getting a plant to flower they must be having a good time in your tank

Sam

 

[Liam]

I am pretty sure that that flower is an aponogeton flower, it looks exactly like some aponogetons I grew, its beautiful either way, the only crypt flowers I have seen are sort of flute shaped with short stems.

Your tank looks great,

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You know what... I think your right.

I thought it was a Cryptocoryne Balansae but I have just looked up some pictures of Aponogeton's and it does look more like these, I think it might be a Aponogeton Crispus or possibly an Aponogeton Ulvaceus because the leaves are "crinkly". I will take some pictures of the leaves when I get home.

 

[Rhea]

Nice looking tank, I'm struggling with the ADA ferts at the moment so good to have something to aim for
What is your dosing schedule?