Dutch Style Tank with Collectoritus (45+ species)

[Consigliere]

I've been getting ready for the arrival of a 250G tall tank which I'm planning to use for some discus, schooling fish, and plants.

In the meantime I have a 70G tank that I am using to test all the different systems I am going to put into the tank - UV sterilizer, CO2 diffuser, drip system etc. To get the plants going well, and decide on some species with first hand experience, I got a whole wack of plants from the forums and planted the tank. Added a cleaner crew and a school of raspboras to go with some rosy barbs I had been keeping for the last 2 years from the remnants of a once mighty low light low tech tank with bronze crypts and java fern.

Fish list as far as I can remember is:

4 peppered cories
2 panda cories
2 bronze cories
5 ottos
3 siamese algae eaters
3 flying fox
1 BN pleco
1 golden pleco
8 harlequin rasboras
4 rosy barbs
3 american flag fish
3 currently unknown hitch-hiker fry

Some specs and what not:

Volume: 70G

2 HOB filters, UV powerhead w/ DIY spraybar

5x DIY CO2 diffused through powerheads or filters 24hr + 1/2 BPS pressurized CO2 on for 10hr

160W T5HO with split Giesmann midday/aquaflora + Tek reflectors on for 10hr

Zebra rock + driftwood hardscape

Two layer substrate with PFS on top with root tabs seperated from bottom layer of mulm+gravel+sand + root tab by window screen.

Plant Gro NPK, Plant Gro Iron, Flourish and Flourish Tabs for ferts

Here's the tank 9 days into first big planting:

and after first trim:

Got a bit of green algae spots on the front glass and had a decent size Anubias Nana rhizome melt away for unknown reasons but the stems are growing well, and the rest of the crypts, swords, foreground and mosses are pearling after 3-4hrs of lights on so things seem to be growing well. Hopefully stays this way...

Critique and comments welcome.

 

[lljdma06]

Very nice. I love the color combinations of a Dutch style. The red plants look great. Can't wait to see the scape mature more. I had a Dutch style too. Very fun tanks to work with.

The 250g sounds intimidating. I will say, though, you've probably found a tank that will allow vallis to grow to it's true height. Are you planning arm extensions? I couldn't handle a tank that tall.

 

[Consigliere]

Yes I am starting to wonder if the height will become cumbersome but I am 6'6" so I have long arms and think I will be able to manage with some 12" tools. I'm hoping that if I take enough time with the initial setup I will only have to do things once, but the itch to tinker and try new things is always there.

 

[Steve Smith]

That's a fantastic landscape you're creating there! Very impressive Really want to see it mature, as it will look so lush and full of colour

 

[Consigliere]

Added 5 harlequin raspboras to the school but one had a suspect dot or 2 on him so he got moved to the 10G shrimp tank.

Added 3 panda corys....these guys are great. Favourite fish in the tank by far right now.

Moved the red val. to the left side with the driftwood. Hoping to create a stringly leave path from the crypts up to the val and other grass plant (can't remember species, to lazy to look up) but right now looks like crap there.

Moved the red rubin sword up to the middle and trimmed everything green from it. Moved rotala wallichi (I think) from left side to right where the sword and red val. were originally. Trimmed it in half as well so see if the new digs treat it as well as it has been going so far.

Had a breakout of BBA that I first noticed yesterday. Believe it is my DIY CO2 petering out. Have pressurized but was running low BPS because of 6x DIY CO2. Now have CO2 going 3bps through a UV powerhead for diffusion. Hopefully this works out and the BBA growth is stopped, then I can attack with Excel.

Other than BBA everything is going and growing well. The right side will be trimmed this weekend likely. Anyone wanting these stems some will be available at shipping cost only.

 

[lljdma06]

Shame you are not in the US. I would take the cuttings.

 

[Consigliere]

Been a bit over a week and the tank has had a bit of a downturn. A bit of BBA managed to root itself onto the slow growers when I was transitioning from DIY to pressurized CO2. I have the CO2 situation sorted out now. Also, had a bid of hair algae and GDA break out due to some nutrient deficiencies with the higher CO2. Still working on fine tuning the fert cycle but I think I have it down now. Spot dosed about 70-80mL of peroxide to some the algae as well with the filters off. Started the powerhead after an hour or 2 and then the filters 12 hrs later. Made figure 50-75% water change between the time the powerhead turned on and the pumps turned on. Definitely did a job on some of the algae, but now the plants aren't pearling nearly as much. Repeated this for 2 days and shortened photo period from 10 hrs to 7hrs. Added 12 ghost shrimp and 3 yamato shrimp also as the war waged against algae is being stepped up.

Did some trimming of algaed up leaves. Moved a few things around. Swapped out the small zebra rock on the right for a bit bigger one as the stems were just about making the old one invisible. Will be doing a trim Monday night. Cuttings will be available to Canadians...send PM.

Also, looked up the barbs, they are actually goldens.