Nicks 4X2X2

[Theplayboy]

great looking tank, will look better when its filled in, cant wait.

Why do you regret using EC by the way?

 

[Nick16]

EC is awful. expensive, non nutritious, particle size is all over the place. the only plus point is that it doesnt cloud too much!

would never use it again. still its better than the mud tropica produce.
instead of using EC, use akadama, has the same properties and is soo much cheaper.
still swear by JBL's substrates though. would love to hear some reviews on manado.

 

[Biulu]

EC is awful. expensive, non nutritious, particle size is all over the place. the only plus point is that it doesnt cloud too much!

would never use it again. still its better than the mud tropica produce.
instead of using EC, use akadama, has the same properties and is soo much cheaper.
still swear by JBL's substrates though. would love to hear some reviews on manado.

You are lucky to have so many options... The only substrates I can get here are Sera Flore depot, Seachem Fluorite and Azoo.

 

[lljdma06]

Where's the update? I want pictures.

 

[Nick16]

the tank is in such a state at the moment. im ashamed to post pictures. but i will try to later on.

Im think i might go for a complete re-shuffle and re-scape to see if i want to be in this hobby.
On the plus side, I have fixed my Ex1200. having had no co2 and only 1 filter for 2 weeks the tank is a horrible mess.

 

[lljdma06]

the tank is in such a state at the moment. im ashamed to post pictures. but i will try to later on.

Im think i might go for a complete re-shuffle and re-scape to see if i want to be in this hobby.
On the plus side, I have fixed my Ex1200. having had no co2 and only 1 filter for 2 weeks the tank is a horrible mess.

Might not be as bad as you think. We know why tank isn't where you want it to be, it's not really your fault that the equipment was faulty. It's not like you don't know what you're doing and once things are fixed, you will know exactly what needs to be done to regain the balance in the system. In my years in the hobby, I've had stuff break down all the time.

llj

 

[Nick16]

think i might go crypt jungle

but i have 24 inches of height to make use of so its going to be tricky i fear. im going to get some C.balansae in there, but thats the only taller crypt i can think of tbh.
most of them get to the height of becketii for example, which i already have.

i might wack in some echinodorus sp. but its finding some that stay 'light and wispy' rather than the heavier going amazon swords with their huge leaves.

Click here

i have some of the above growing in a no co2, low light, no ferts tank and its not the same plant i swear! the leaves start right from the base rather than at the end of a stem. it might be to do with the growth conditions but i doubt it!

i would love to get hold of an ech that is quite 'thin and light' if you get me?

oh, im also going to wach in a rubra lotus bulb for a dash of red. hopefully to bring the focal point in towards the wood.

 

[lljdma06]

I have C. spiralis in my tank which is 21" deep. There is about 4-5 inches of crypt leaves laying on the water surface, so C. spiralis may be an option for a tall background crypt.

Crypt jungle sounds like a nice option.

Oooo, tall and light. Try vallis nana. That grew over 2ft tall for me and doesn't mind no CO2 and low-light. Here it is below.

 

[Nick16]

i was talking about something tall and light for my 4x2x2, hi tech. i was just saying that the parviflorus is in another low light tank.

might have to try and hunt down some spiralis. doesnt look too dis-similar to balansae...

i cant have vallis in a hi tech tank, its a total weed. look at what happened with my 240 in my signiture!!!
had to rip it all out!!

 

[Nick16]

current pic. not much has changed. sorry for the poor excuse of a planted tank at this stage!

 

[lljdma06]

Nick! What do you mean "poor excuse". It looks alright to me. The only thing I notice is that the foreground hasn't spread like you anticipated it would. I see spread, but not a lot. A couple of people here would probably give their right arm to have your tank.

llj

 

[Nick16]

i have tried blyxa, acicularis, tennellus and they are having none of it, yet i could grow it all in my 240L with the same tap water and pretty much the same equipment and dosing regiemes (just scaled up slightly)

therefore i just put it down to the depth of the tank. flow is fine (could maybe do with upping the K.nano to a K1, but thats not urgent)

think its going to have to be crypt.

oh and i guess a non nutritious substrate doesnt help. ive learnt my lesson now, inert substres and deep tanks dont work well. Back to good old aquabasis next....

 

[lljdma06]

My substrate is inert, but your tank is slightly deeper than mine.

 

[Nick16]

i used osmocote as usual but i dont think it has enough impact on its own.

Crypts and swords will be easy to gorw as they are strong plants which utilise everything, co2 light ferts. but its the low lying carpet plants i cant seem to grow in this tank.

its wierd that its the crypts that are growing strongest, yet are the biggest root feeders in my tank.....

 

[lljdma06]

i used osmocote as usual but i dont think it has enough impact on its own.

Crypts and swords will be easy to gorw as they are strong plants which utilise everything, co2 light ferts. but its the low lying carpet plants i cant seem to grow in this tank.

its wierd that its the crypts that are growing strongest, yet are the biggest root feeders in my tank.....

For me, it comes down to which plant becomes the "dominant" plant in the tank. The foreground plants cannot compete biomass-wise with the larger crypts. In my low-light, the crypts fill the role of fast-growing vallis or sag, and grow faster than the other plants that I have. The dynamics change a bit, at least, that has been my experience. In my 8g, the moss wall, of all things, was the dominant nutrient consumer, and usually mosses are slow growers, but I had so much of it in such a small area. The moss wall was followed by the Hydrocotyle verticilata, the Susswassertag, then the Marsilea with regard to nutrient consumption and growth rates. This is just what I have observed, though, I've no interest in doing in-depth research. Tom Barr, I am not.

You might not be able to grow carpeting in this tank, but have you tried Marsilea species? I have found this plant does well when paired with crypts and swords. Again, just my experience.