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Drouthie's tank- new pics page 2

Drouthie

Member
Joined
20 Jun 2009
Messages
70
Location
Liverpool
Hi, I thought I'd start a journal so that I can benefit from all your experience and skills. This is my first proper tank so be kind!

1st off the specs:
180L Juwel rio standard internal filter
2 x 45W T5 lamps

No fert, CO2 or any upgrading yet but the plan is to get some reflectors, get an external filter and powerhead, start EI dosing and get a pressurised CO2 system going. These are all limited to funds so I'll get them when I can get good deals/ somebody wants to buy me presents.

Stocking:
7 Trichogaster trichopterus 4 gold 3 opaline, 3 SAE, 1 clown plec and 9 guppies. I will add a shoal of Paracheirodon axelrodi and maybe some Otocinclus affinis

Pretty heavily stocked for a planted tank I think, but I'm hoping I can get it to work.

I'm going for a hybrid between my favourite parts of Japanese style (use of hardscape, structure) and Jungle (stem plants, bushy, lush). OK I admit it, I'm making it up as I go along.

Here is a pic so far sorry about the quality I've only got a point-and-shoot. I think I've settled on a layout for now. I'm pretty sure all the uprooting is responsible for 50% of my algae with no CO2 and poor flow the other. I am sadly cursed with BBA but I've got some EasyCarbo to start spot dosing until I can do more about it.
resizer.png

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39917316@N04/3684963088/?eOrig=3684941718

Comments, criticism and general guidance more than welcome.
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

George Farmer said:
Please consider re-sizing the images to 800 pixels along the longest edge.

OK I *think* I've done that. Hopefully. Not the easiest way to add images, but I can understand why it would cost a small fortune to run this website otherwise!
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

Yeah so far theme for planting is - does it grow?

Unfortuanely the Egeria densa grows really well ( i just hacked it back before the pic) and I hate the stuff. I'm thinking of replacing it when I have a flash of inspriration. I want something big to cover the filter that the gouramis can still hide in- it seems to be thier den.
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

Hi,
Any fast growing stem can do this job, such as many of the hardier Ludwigias for example, or some ferns to fan out across the filter even.

Cheers,
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

Thanks for re-sizing!

It's a really good first attempt. Far better than mine! The wood has potential in particular and I like the open substrate area.

My top tips for aquascaping would be to stick to a theme. The layout right now looks quite messy i.e. mixture of rock types, lots of plant species with no real cohesion.

For newcomers to aquascaping I always recommend finding an aquascape you really like, with plants that you know you can grow.

There's nothing wrong with copying, or at least using many of the ideas from the layout you like. Combining ideas form aquascapes can also work, but sticking to one is a safer option.

This will give you an idea of composition right away, and you will learn how plants grow in terms of their demands and different growth rates etc.

Hardscape (decor) is incredibly important if you are after the Nature Aquarium style.

You have got off to a good start with your wood and rocks, as they are quite dominating. With a little tweaking they could form the basis of a great layout.

Consider sticking to one type of rock. The left hand rock is at odds with the stacked group on the right.

Rocks and wood go great together if done right. If done 'wrong' it can spoil the aquascape before you've even planted it.

So get the hardscape right from the outset and hopefully the rest will follow with appropriate plant choice and layout design.

My immediate advice would be to stick with what you're doing and get to know how to grow plants well, and nuisance algae free.

Once you've done that (it's relatively easy with today's knowledge-base and variety of superb available equipment), consider re-aquascaping with the tips outlined above.
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

Yeah I wanted the harscape to be just that- hard- slightly artificial. I was initially inspired by this scape: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... ricks2.jpg

I want it to look like an overrun garden look- as nature starts to decay man made structures and reclaims it back to itself.
http://www.freefoto.com/images/11/29/11 ... ey_web.jpg

Like these gardens at the chelasea flower show (under wrecks and ruins)
http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/Publicat ... helsea.htm

But to pull this off I really need to get the plants looking lush and shiny- otherwise it just looks like a mess! I'm goining to try and get a lot of grasses going to help with the overrun look.

I could never get away with a nature aqaurium style minimilist look in my living room- ecelectic, studenty, music/pet shop pretty much sums it up.

Ok you probably think I'm mad now.

Sorry its all hyperlinks I couldn't embed the images and I think sticking them up on imageshack would probably infringe the copyright.
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

Oh goodness no. You are mad when 10 out of 11 pages of your journal are devoted to arranging three small rocks into just the right formation. That's mad. You are no where near that point yet. :lol:

A good start. I agree, the wood has a lot of potential.
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

Yay! Me 1 Algae 0 :D :D :D

I got some SAE two weeks ago, got 25+ cherry shrimp off LondonDragon (thanks) then started EI dosing and EasyCarbo. Now the BBA has disappeared off one of my rocks and is greatly reduced on the others and I have seen no new patches on the plants. The glass is now spotless aswell, I used to have to clean it every other day.

I wasn't expecting anything this quickly and was uncertain it would make much of a difference at all.

I'm very chuffed: next step is hopefully a proper CO2 system set up. Then I'm going to have a planting overhaul as it is pretty scrappy as George pointed out. I think I'll get them in bunches or pots as individual stems seem to float off so much and just won't stay down.
 
Re: You've got to start somewhere- 1st time planted tank

The easycarbo has worked a treat and there is no more BBA, however I have a new challenge...

Dark brown spots/holes in my anubias, java fern and only one of my amazon sword. I'm having trouble finding any information googling brown spots anubias. I currently have two (contradicting) hypothesis 1) too much iron, 2) too little iron.

I think it might be too little iron as one of the amazon swords looks great whilst the other looks sad for itself. This could be due to how established the roots are for one but not the other.

Here's some pics in case anyone knows the answer



I'm hoping if I get some root tabs it'll help the situation. I'm not sure whether to increase my trace dosage (currently 0.05g every other day) as I don't want to upset the shrimp.
 
Re: Drouthie's tank- goodbye BBA, hello ?????

Hi,
Dark spots, holes, browning, translucency and any other structural failure of plants is due to poor CO2 relative to the given lighting level. Add more liquid carbon (or lower the light). If you are dosing EI then there is no need for root tabs which are yet another illusion.

Cheers,
 
Re: Drouthie's tank- goodbye BBA, hello ?????

Cheers! I'll lower my lighting period to 6 hours and I'll see how I go. I don't want to up the easycarbo because of the shrimp.

I really can't wait until I can get afford a pressurised CO2 system. Everytime I come across a problem CO2 (or lack thereof) is the root of it :mad:
 
Re: Drouthie's tank- pictures

goodonecopy.png


I've been very shoddy at keeping this journal up to date. One of the main reasons was lack of a decent camera, getting a good shot was a bit beyond my iPhone. I've borrowed a friends D-SLR this weekend so here are the results.

Everything I know about cameras I could write on the back of a postage stamp so any advice on the shot in laymans terms would be much appreciated!

The tank is far from perfect, I know, but I had to bite the bullet and put a pic up because I'm never happy anyway. Its a same the Limnophila Sessiliflora (??) isn't looking its best, I'm hoping to fill it out at back left corner. Also I'm trying to replace a lot of the pygmy chainsword with Monosolenium tenerum for a tidier and lower foreground.

Very much still a work in progress. I have to stop being such a wimp about pruning. If its growing I just like to leave it be.
 
Drouthie's tank

Sorry for the misleading journal title, my CO2 system is not new I just can't work out how to change the name of the thread anymore.
 
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