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A record of my low tech experiment

tim

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22 Aug 2011
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Location
Middlesex.
Hi folks, just starting this thread to record the progress of my little low tech experiment.
Tank specs 48ltr fish box acrylic tank, boyu 3x8w t5, cristalprofi 700 external.
Setup this a couple of months ago after reading this thread
Co2 in a low tech | UK Aquatic Plant Society and being a little disheartened with co2 of late, when things go wrong they do so bloody quickly :lol: I decided to have a little experiment :)
No pics from initial setup but overjoyed with plant growth over the 2 months, I rescaped it 2 days ago for an island scape.
11210148844_5df88d7657_z.jpg

Will update as often as growth happens.
Cheers Tim.
 
That is very nice, no liquid carbon dosing?
 
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looking sweet!

P.S can we have a plant list please :)
:oops: tennelus, bolbitus, rotala rotundifolia, various crypts and anubias, myrophillium, little bit of didlipis diandra, various moss (I'm not sure on species) echinodorus rubera ? Najas sp roraima, juncus repens, plus cladophora tied to the wood and a few lava rocks (I'm good at growing algae so should work out well :lol:)
That is very nice, no liquid carbon dosing?
None mate I hate the bloody stuff it kills my shrimp,moss,liverworts I'd rather put up with a bit of algae nowadays tbh. I'm totally hoping the surface ripple will add enough co2 it worked out well on round one of my experiment, tank was a jungle in 2 months :thumbup:
 
Tim, looking nice mate.Been away from here for too long:(
You still running blue jelly island?
Just got a 33x33x35 cube for the living room and i'm going to be transferring the stuff from the shrimp tank to this, so watch this space for a new set up.
Cheers
Martin
 
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Looks great, will be interesting to see how the tank matures!

I've used soil bases along with DOCs from leaves, mulm and high stocking levels to try and increase CO2 in low tech tanks in the past (as per the Walstad method), with great results as far as healthy plant growth, but sometimes with uncontrollable algae growth (which I put down to fluctuating CO2 levels). In these tanks I always tried to maintain minimum surface agitation, in order to reduce CO2 loss, as I estimated (and used the inaccurate liquid tests) average CO2 levels to be significantly higher than normal equilibrium levels.

Maintaining high surface agitation should help keep CO2 constantly at equilibrium level, provided 24w of T5 isn't driving photosynthesis too fast for that anyway.

I'm definitely with you on liquid CO2! Best used for cleaning ceramic diffusers IMO.
 
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Tim, looking nice mate.Been away from here for too long:(
You still running blue jelly island?
Just got a 33x33x35 cube for the living room and i'm going to be transferring the stuff from the shrimp tank to this, so watch this space for a new set up.
Cheers
Martin
Hey Martin, yes mate blue jelly island is still running, good to see you back on here mate.
 
Great little set up tim and very lush. Another low tech convert ;)

Very nicely done
Cheers al, yours and big toms low tech scaping ability has been an inspiration mate.
Looks great, will be interesting to see how the tank matures!

I've used soil bases along with DOCs from leaves, mulm and high stocking levels to try and increase CO2 in low tech tanks in the past (as per the Walstad method), with great results as far as healthy plant growth, but sometimes with uncontrollable algae growth (which I put down to fluctuating CO2 levels). In these tanks I always tried to maintain minimum surface agitation, in order to reduce CO2 loss, as I estimated (and used the inaccurate liquid tests) average CO2 levels to be significantly higher than normal equilibrium levels.

Maintaining high surface agitation should help keep CO2 constantly at equilibrium level, provided 24w of T5 isn't driving photosynthesis too fast for that anyway.

I'm definitely with you on liquid CO2! Best used for cleaning ceramic diffusers IMO.
Hi three fingers, thanks for the feedback lighting should be ok it's flexible 3x8 w and can be switched individually so if too much algae pops up ill cut the lighting a little.
 
This is just one of those tanks that can show the possibilities from going to low tech. I think most people get put off initially due to having very strong lights and a poor plant choice. If you get the right lighting for your setup and have the right plants and scape then you can create something like Al's Tom's and clearly Tim you are doing an excellent job.
 
Very nice Tim...the method works well for me, and looking back I guess it always has, so I'm sure it'll also work well for you too...it'll be a jungle in no time...:)
 
This is just one of those tanks that can show the possibilities from going to low tech. I think most people get put off initially due to having very strong lights and a poor plant choice. If you get the right lighting for your setup and have the right plants and scape then you can create something like Al's Tom's and clearly Tim you are doing an excellent job.
Very nice Tim...the method works well for me, and looking back I guess it always has, so I'm sure it'll also work well for you too...it'll be a jungle in no time...:)
Thanks chaps :)
Looks great Tim. What substrate are you using?


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Hi john, I'm using the soil discussed in this thread
Shrimp soil | UK Aquatic Plant Society
 
Hi all,
and being a little disheartened with co2 of late, when things go wrong they do so bloody quickly :lol: I decided to have a little experiment :) No pics from initial setup but overjoyed with plant growth over the 2 months
The tank looks great. I think the posters on this thread have hit the nail on the head really, if you don't mind having a scape that grows fairly slowly, and you don't want a Hemianthus carpet etc, there is no reason you can't grow the majority of plants low tech.

I usually want my plants to grow more slowly, rather then more quickly, and I find that over time, and once they've reached a certain critical mass, even classic "slow growing plants" Anubias spp., mosses and Bolbitis heudelotii may eventually end up growing more quickly than you might like.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all, The tank looks great. I think the posters on this thread have hit the nail on the head really, if you don't mind having a scape that grows fairly slowly, and you don't want a Hemianthus carpet etc, there is no reason you can't grow the majority of plants low tech.

I usually want my plants to grow more slowly, rather then more quickly, and I find that over time, and once they've reached a certain critical mass, even classic "slow growing plants" Anubias spp., mosses and Bolbitis heudelotii may eventually end up growing more quickly than you might like.

cheers Darrel
Thank you Darrel a lot of your posts have given me much food for thought :thumbup:
 
Are you using all 3 bulbs? what is the light duration?
Hi lindy, I use all 3 bulbs for 6 hours and I've rigged a 12v led strip to come on an hour before and it stays on for 3 hours after the main photoperiod, I've found the LEDs have stopped jumpers so far in what is a hectic household most of the time.
 
I usually want my plants to grow more slowly, rather then more quickly, and I find that over time, and once they've reached a certain critical mass, even classic "slow growing plants" Anubias spp., mosses and Bolbitis heudelotii may eventually end up growing more quickly than you might like.

I have to agree with Darrel on this one. My first ever plant was Anubias Nana Petite a few years ago. After half a year of slow growth like 4 years ago it had started to develop quite large. Eventually over the years I've split a lot and I have 4 aquariums with Anubias Nana Petite all from that one plant. I've noticed that the original will send 2-5 new leaves a week. If I gather all of the pieces that has been separated I can easily say Its definitely over 4 times the amount I've started with which in my opinion is a lot for Anubias. I found that as I broke off the first portion of Anubias, the grow rate increased too and certainly if you make a scratch with a clean blade on its rhizome, a a new one will branch out from that point. If you plan it carefully you can potentially shape the Anubias. You can see the original one in my shrimp tank in the sig, all the anubias in that one tank were originally one, I need to split the bigger one too again.

After over 8 months or so my Fissidens that I originally had is also starting to grow a lot faster too. I'm not good with science so I can't provide anything to really back up my observations but Its definitely something to think about. Its really just about letting things run on its own in my humble opinion.

Michael.
 
Hi all,
My first ever plant was Anubias Nana Petite a few years ago. After half a year of slow growth like 4 years ago it had started to develop quite large. Eventually over the years I've split a lot and I have 4 aquariums with Anubias Nana Petite all from that one plant. I've noticed that the original will send 2-5 new leaves a week. If I gather all of the pieces that has been separated I can easily say Its definitely over 4 times the amount I've started with which in my opinion is a lot for Anubias......... I'm not good with science so I can't provide anything to really back up my observations but Its definitely something to think about
I think it is the "critical mass" thing.

You start with a small plant, it doesn't grow very quickly, but it slowly adds leaves, because new leaves grow and the old leaves persist. Over time the plants growth rate increases a little bit, mainly because it now has a large photosynthetic area, and this means more leaves are produced and it still has the the long-lived old leaves. As long as the old leaves aren't removed you can have several cycles of growth with an ever increasing leaf area. Soon or later you divide the plant, and then you have 2 plants and the process continues.

I don't tend to get much algae on Anubias or Java Fern, and Bolbitis is almost always algae free, so the same leaves can remain green and photosynthesising for years at a time. Eventually even though they grow slowly you get big plants.

cheers Darrel
 
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