My Planted Nano

[Sibelius]

The count now stands at around 14, and is still on the up, so I have no idea there are altogether. I hope I can find a LFS that doesn't have any and wants some! Here's some pictures:

 

[Sibelius]

I have a question!: I've read up on DIY CO2, and I'm wondering what recipe I should use. How much yeast, sugar and water for a tank of my size? Also, how do I know I'm not suffocating my fish? I've got a 2-way gang valve to vent off the CO2 at night, and I'm using a lemonade bottle. Can anyone help me with my measurments?

 

[aquazy]

not about your question, but I see a plant that will not live longer then 2 months in you aquarium, becuase it's not a real waterplant

 

[Themuleous]

There is a pinned article of yeast Co2

Sam

 

[Sibelius]

Which plant do you think is non-aquatic?

 

[dingweding]

The count now stands at around 14, and is still on the up, so I have no idea there are altogether. I hope I can find a LFS that doesn't have any and wants some! Here's some pictures:

The plant is pic 3 is marginal, can not grow porperly in tank, although LFS always try to fool ppl, u should beware

 

[Sibelius]

Oh, well, it's doing brilliantly at the moment, and it's been in there ovoer a week, almost two actually. I'll keep an eye on it and remove it if there's any sign of rotting, but for the time being, I'm impressed. The fry count is currently at at least 22, (I think another of the females has given birth.) However, there is some bad news in that 2 of the 3 males decided that aquariums weren't for them, even though my lid is very tight, I've got suspicions that my dad was messing about with my tank whilst I was out, and they got out whilst he had the lid off. Silly man. Anyway, the fry are doing brilliantly, so I'll just keep some when they grow up hopefully.
Here are some more pics. Another new chancge are Windelov ferns on one of the pieces of wood, and just this afternoon I've started up DIY CO2 as opposed to the Sera tablet system. I'm hoping also to change my diffuser to the mini one from aqua-essentials.

I have a question, my CO2 airline runs from the lemonade bottle up to the tank which is at a higher level, then when the piping hits the water, water goes 4 inches or so into the tube, does this stop the CO2 from coming out? I'm not sure how diffusion could be possible like this. Any ideas?

 

[Sibelius]

It's been quite some time (especially in terms of a relatively new tank), so I thought I should update. I have solved my CO2 problems (even without any replies to my questions .) And have fortunately got some money to spend on my tank, through success in a music competition. Since my last update, I've aso added Windelov Fern to one of the piees of wood, and removed the non-aquatic plant.

I had my first shopping experience on Aqua Essentials (very excting for me, sad I know, but there we go, it feels going being able to indulge in some quality!)
In the post are the following:
A mini diffuser (hopefully to be less obtrusive and more efficient than my Sera plastic overpriced one!)
The "FishVet" landscape kit. (scissors, tweezersr and spatula, so hopfully my plant maintenance can improve, and get easier.)
Anubias barteri var. Nana for my leftmost piece of wood, I decided to go for some slightly larger leaves as an experiment.
Cryptocoryne Wenditii "Tropica" (we'll see how that goes, but I though it'd be a good replacement for me non-aquatic plant.
Bacopa Australis, for the foreground.

I've also changed my mind about my fish. The female Endlers seem to nip my more delicate plants, which I don't like, and they're quite messy, so I'm hoping to get an LFS to take them, if I can distribute my fry this way (Endler's are conveniently uncommon in my part of the world!) I've lost my Shrimp, since getting them I found that the shop has a reputation for this, so I'll be going back to my local trusted retailer for some more specimins, as well as getting my otocinclus 2 more friends, and he's always been a solo oto. Then, I'm on the hunt for Corydoras Habrosus, which I've still got my heart set on, and I'll see how things look then. Maybe a Microrasbora sp., we'll see....

anyway, for anyone who's interested, I'll put up new photos, when the aqua essentials goods come through and are in the tank. Any comments, ideas (for stocking, aquascaping or whatever else) are as ever welcomed with an open mind, and I hope you enjoyed reading! (if you got this far!)

 

[three-fingers]

I'd be interested in pics, it's always good to see new tropica plants, so i know what I'm going buy next (i don't even have the space for plants....) . Shame about the female endlers nipping at the plants, though female endlers are exactly what I want for my planted pfk cube..
I've got a mini ceramic diffuser with yeast based co2 in my tank too, and they work very well, good choice . For best results, you should place the diffuser under a filter out flow.
Sounds like a good choice of plants too.

I have a question, my CO2 airline runs from the lemonade bottle up to the tank which is at a higher level, then when the piping hits the water, water goes 4 inches or so into the tube, does this stop the CO2 from coming out? I'm not sure how diffusion could be possible like this. Any ideas?

Mine does that too, just use a check valve to make sure it doesn't go into the lemonade bottle, the co2 will push the water back out though the diffuser .
Edit: Oh, just thought I'd ask, what pH is your tank? Because your endlers are doing well and looking healthy, and I want some but my pH is 6.5 and I have soft water...i may need to add something to the filter..

 

[George Farmer]

Which plant do you think is non-aquatic?

The plant with the purple underside is Hemigraphis sp.

Looks good so far. Well done.

 

[lljdma06]

Which plant do you think is non-aquatic?

The plant with the purple underside is Hemigraphis sp.

Looks good so far. Well done.

That plant is most certainly a non-aquatic, because I've got outside in a pot in my garden. It's a common houseplant in FL. George is right about the genus, it is Hemigraphis colorata, Crimson ivy. Hemigraphis will do well in an aquarium for up to a year, if well-cared for, but it will die eventually. It is often used as a specimen plant for that splash of purple, though I think that there are true aquatics out there that do a much better job in that nitch. It requireds bright light in the aquarium, and IMO will eventually, as it grows, look of place in your tank due to the size of it's leaves. In good specimens, the leaves can be nearly four inches long and two inches wide. I think that's nearly bigger than your tank. There are cryptocoryne species that will literally be nearly that purple in the underside, if you're looking for that and have a much better leaf shape for a smaller tank.

The nit-pickiness continues, on to the next thread. What's funny, is that I'm really not having a bad day. I guess it's just the nature of the threads.

llj

 

[Sibelius]

I'd be interested in pics, it's always good to see new tropica plants, so i know what I'm going buy next (i don't even have the space for plants....) . Shame about the female endlers nipping at the plants, though female endlers are exactly what I want for my planted pfk cube..
I've got a mini ceramic diffuser with yeast based co2 in my tank too, and they work very well, good choice . For best results, you should place the diffuser under a filter out flow.
Sounds like a good choice of plants too.

I have a question, my CO2 airline runs from the lemonade bottle up to the tank which is at a higher level, then when the piping hits the water, water goes 4 inches or so into the tube, does this stop the CO2 from coming out? I'm not sure how diffusion could be possible like this. Any ideas?

Mine does that too, just use a check valve to make sure it doesn't go into the lemonade bottle, the co2 will push the water back out though the diffuser .
Edit: Oh, just thought I'd ask, what pH is your tank? Because your endlers are doing well and looking healthy, and I want some but my pH is 6.5 and I have soft water...i may need to add something to the filter..

Thanks, new photos will be up when my new plants arrive. My pH is between 7 and 7.3, (depending on the time of day due to CO2 - which I vent off at night.) However, it may drop furthur when I put in the better diffuser from aqua essentials.

Which plant do you think is non-aquatic?

The plant with the purple underside is Hemigraphis sp.

Looks good so far. Well done.

Thanks again George, you really did succeed in converting me to tropica! I'm sure the quality will live up to it's reputation! The Hemigraphis sp. is now long gone!

Which plant do you think is non-aquatic?

The plant with the purple underside is Hemigraphis sp.

Looks good so far. Well done.

That plant is most certainly a non-aquatic, because I've got outside in a pot in my garden. It's a common houseplant in FL. George is right about the genus, it is Hemigraphis colorata, Crimson ivy. Hemigraphis will do well in an aquarium for up to a year, if well-cared for, but it will die eventually. It is often used as a specimen plant for that splash of purple, though I think that there are true aquatics out there that do a much better job in that nitch. It requireds bright light in the aquarium, and IMO will eventually, as it grows, look of place in your tank due to the size of it's leaves. In good specimens, the leaves can be nearly four inches long and two inches wide. I think that's nearly bigger than your tank. There are cryptocoryne species that will literally be nearly that purple in the underside, if you're looking for that and have a much better leaf shape for a smaller tank.

The nit-pickiness continues, on to the next thread. What's funny, is that I'm really not having a bad day. I guess it's just the nature of the threads.

llj

I'm particularly looking forward to having the "Tropica" Crypt Wenditii in this tank, It'll be interesting to see how big it gets. Thanks for your comments, and the "nit-pickiness" is just what we all need when wanting to go from average to pretty good with our attempts at planted tanks.

 

[Sibelius]

Good news! My parcel has arrived! I couldn't help but have a peek before I went to school, and did so to check that everything was there. The diffuser was expensive for 7.99, for something of it's size! but I suppose being tiny makes it easier to hide, and this is a good thing! The landscape kit was also expensive at 34.99, but the tools are good quality and very useful. My tropica plants were brilliant as expected, but unfortunately I had to change my plans. The bacopa was larger than I was expecting, so is a background plant in my nano! the Anubias was also too big for what I had in mind, so it on my centre piece of wood, with the windelov fern still on what I call the elbow piece, and my two spires have changed places. My crpyts unfortunately had a little algae on them ,and some dead and yellowing leaves, not what I was expecting, but number that I got in 1 pot was astounding, and I'm sure they'll soon settle in and grow well. I've decided to take the amazon sword out and one other plant which I couldn't identify, the amazon sword would have outgrown my tank, and the other I just didn't like!
As much as I'd like to post pictures now, the wayer is too cloud, and I've got to go to bed, (long day tomorrow), but hopefully I'll have some photos for you tomorrow afternoon.
I'm really proud with my aquascaping (I redesigned the whole tank) and I feel it looks a lot more like a "nature aquarium" than a "fish tank", which is what I had before. I can't wait to find homes for my endler fry, (and their parents) and get some C. Habrosus!

 

[lljdma06]

Looking forward to the pictures Sibelius. Do the tools look quality?

llj

 

[three-fingers]

My crpyts unfortunately had a little algae on them ,and some dead and yellowing leaves, not what I was expecting

Crypts tend to always look like that no matter where I get them from (I've had tropica from a garden centre near me, and occasionally from lfs in pots) . I guess it doesnt matter much though, because your apparently supposed to take most of the leaves off when you plant them "only leaving the 4-5 newest leaves on the plant".

I'm planning on getting some Tropica Cryptocoryne wendtii ''green'' from aqua essentials along with some tropica java moss to replace the Pogostemon helferi (it's growing too slow and is now covered in algae) at the front of my nano, so it will be great to see what it looks like in your nano .