My First Attempt at a Planted Aquarium

[noobfish]

Nice job, looks great! Hairgrass is starting to fill in between the plugs too!

What light and ferts are you using?

 

[Rocky998]

Ok, so here we are two weeks later, so I moved the pentazonas, corys and embers over to the new tank a few days after it was set up. The Fluval 307 was also moved before the fish, so I'm running the Juwel internal plus the Fluval. I've subsequently added 5 more embers and 4 otos and finally a male betta. I'll come back to him shortly. The plants have been growing quite vigorously and I've just ordered some more hairgrass for the front area.

I know that there is a lot of debate as to whether a male betta belongs in a community tank but all of the fish I have bought have been done so with the introduction of the betta in mind. He has plenty of hiding places, as do the other fish and so far he's been no trouble. Actually getting him into the tank was a tale in itself. He was ordered online from a UK betta specialist. When the postman knocked on the door he told me that the package was leaking and had been for the previous half an hour and asked if I wanted to take the parcel. Given that not taking him would have meant his certain death I told the postman that I'd take him, in the hope that there may be some water retained in the polystyrene. When I opened the box and polystyrene he was still alive and wriggling about, I had to get my son to fill another fish bag with water from the tank to acclimate him and hope that this wouldn't kill him.

Anyway, he survived acclimating and he was placed in the tank about an hour later. He's supposed to be a navy blue colour but the stress of the journey has meant that he is currently whitish pink on his body with red fins and tail. I understand that his colour should return in due course, even if it doesn't then that won't be a problem. I don't normally name my fish but because of his escapades he's been named Leaky!

Here's some pictures of the tank as it is this evening.

https://imgur.com/Qe9kTbx

https://imgur.com/flchS1d

https://imgur.com/2onCjwO

https://imgur.com/v69nNWm

https://imgur.com/TDDIwvQ

I've also got a video that I took at feeding time this evening but it's taking forever to upload to Imgur, if it ever arrives then I'll add the link to that as well.

Looks amazing!!! Only criticism I have is pure opinion and its that there seems to be almost too much sand. But other than that it looks like a beautiful aquarium! Nice job!

 

[VeryFatbloke]

Nice job, looks great! Hairgrass is starting to fill in between the plugs too!

What light and ferts are you using?

Yes, I'm hoping in time that the hairgrass will provide a nice blanket at the front. I'm using the lights that came with the tank, Juwel Muktilux LED, and dosing liquid JBL Ferropol, in accordance with the instructions on the bottle, when I do my water changes.

 

[VeryFatbloke]

Looks amazing!!! Only criticism I have is pure opinion and its that there seems to be almost too much sand. But other than that it looks like a beautiful aquarium! Nice job!

The sand is 2 inches deep, or thereabouts, which should avoid any issues with hydrogen sulphide. I used JBL's substrate calculator to work out how much sand I needed.

 

[noobfish]

The sand is 2 inches deep, or thereabouts, which should avoid any issues with hydrogen sulphide. I used JBL's substrate calculator to work out how much sand I needed.

Loved the original pics when first set up. The layered effect the light gave the sand looked really cool!

 

[Rocky998]

The sand is 2 inches deep, or thereabouts, which should avoid any issues with hydrogen sulphide. I used JBL's substrate calculator to work out how much sand I needed.

Oh ok. In the pic it looks like a lot... Maybe I'm not used to that much either. Well in any case it looks amazing. Do you have plans for bigger fish (not monster size just like 3-4 inch fish like rainbows and stuff)?

 

[VeryFatbloke]

Oh ok. In the pic it looks like a lot... Maybe I'm not used to that much either. Well in any case it looks amazing. Do you have plans for bigger fish (not monster size just like 3-4 inch fish like rainbows and stuff)?

I don't think the angle of the photo helps as it does look deeper than 2 inches. I did actually measure it with a tape measure after putting it in! There are lots of possibilities for other fish but I'm not sure which direction I want to go in, whether a shoal of larger fish or more cardinals, pentazonas and embers. One fish that I do like the look of is the celestial pearl danio but none of my local shops seem to stock them.

Decisions, decisions! Nice ones though!

 

[Rocky998]

I don't think the angle of the photo helps as it does look deeper than 2 inches. I did actually measure it with a tape measure after putting it in! There are lots of possibilities for other fish but I'm not sure which direction I want to go in, whether a shoal of larger fish or more cardinals, pentazonas and embers. One fish that I do like the look of is the celestial pearl danio but none of my local shops seem to stock them.

Decisions, decisions! Nice ones though!

I know! Its so hard! So many fish but only a few types in a tank...

 

[VeryFatbloke]

I know! Its so hard! So many fish but only a few types in a tank...

My son wanted to visit a fish shop in south west London, which because of the traffic turned into a 3 hour round trip! However, I did manage to pick up 11 Celestial Pearl Danios, they are absolutely tiny, but seem to have settled in well. I tried to get a photo of them but they just don't come into focus on my phone camera. Hopefully I can get some pictures of them as they grow.

 

[Rocky998]

My son wanted to visit a fish shop in south west London, which because of the traffic turned into a 3 hour round trip! However, I did manage to pick up 11 Celestial Pearl Danios, they are absolutely tiny, but seem to have settled in well. I tried to get a photo of them but they just don't come into focus on my phone camera. Hopefully I can get some pictures of them as they grow.

Can they be in a tank with peacock gudgeons do you think? 3 hours is a loooooong ride

 

[FishHobby99]

It's another couple of weeks since I last updated you all. Since then I've added some more dwarf hair grass, some water sprite and a piece of rock with java moss attached. You can see that I'm suffering from a bit of brown algae and I've added 8 oto's to help clear that. I am now well stocked and only want to add one more fish, a pleco of some description. I'll be doing a lot of research first before deciding what to get.

https://imgur.com/5nPHMSr

https://imgur.com/A7Je6kO

https://imgur.com/1EeN4Ya

https://imgur.com/gAssjJL

https://imgur.com/BguNBZL

spectacular! I love it!

 

[VeryFatbloke]

I managed a semi decent picture of 1 of the celestials. Let's see if I can manage any decent ones as they get bigger.

 

[imw]

I managed a semi decent picture of 1 of the celestials. Let's see if I can manage any decent ones as they get bigger.
View attachment 141909

Stunning little fish

 

[VeryFatbloke]

I'm having some issues with algae, but it only appears to be affecting half of the tank. The picture below, taken from the side of the tank shows the front nearest the camera is covered in green algae. I know that I need to reduce the light period, it's currently 9 hours and I'll drop that to 7 for a few days. I also have a dozen Ottos but they don't seem to be making much inroads into the problem. Should I worry about the algae or should I just scrape it off when I do my next water change? Have an added picture of Olaf.

.

 

[Rocky998]

I'm having some issues with algae, but it only appears to be affecting half of the tank. The picture below, taken from the side of the tank shows the front nearest the camera is covered in green algae. I know that I need to reduce the light period, it's currently 9 hours and I'll drop that to 7 for a few days. I also have a dozen Ottos but they don't seem to be making much inroads into the problem. Should I worry about the algae or should I just scrape it off when I do my next water change? Have an added picture of Olaf.

.View attachment 141991View attachment 141992

It doesnt look like much imo but I say just scrape it off. I'm one of the people who believe that a little algae in an aquarium is beneficial so theres that but if you dont like it just scrape it off.