Hi All,
I've been lurking on the site since I found out about it late last year. I have taken a lot of inspiration and tips from it and felt ready to embark on my own finely balanced chemistry experiment.
My tank has been running for about 4 weeks now and I've been taking photo's as I've gone along. Here's an account of my journey into planted tanks. It's not going to win any design awards but I quite like the current 'thrown together' look.
Firstly, this is what I've upgraded from. A 30ltr Bi-Ube complete with fake plants, a broken pot and 5 hardy fish.
(There are actually real plants in this shot, just a temporary home for them.)
The 75ltr tank I used as the basis of my new set-up had been sat in my parent's shed for the last 15yrs. I dug it out at Christmas and gave it a thorough leak test.
All seemed to be well so the experiment began.
Trying it out for size in my chosen location.
Skip ahead to the empty tank with lights installed in the shelf above (more on those next).
A pair of AquaRay Mini LED 400's attached to the bottom of the shelf above the tank and raised slightly all round.
The kit starting to go in with the JBL Manado substrate.
The filter and Nutrafin CO2 kit hidden in the cupboard under the tank. A lot of negotiation took place before I was allowed to drill holes in the fitted cupboards for the various pipes and cables!
Substrate and hardscape.
The tank stayed like that for about a week and then courtesy of aquaessentials.co.uk the planting began.
Full of water and lights on
Close up of plants after first filling
Bad shot of everything set up
A close up shot
My first problem - Not enough CO2.
In my naivety as a first timer I'd thought that having a Nutrafin CO2 kit and some ferts that came with the plants would be enough. Unfortunately the CO2 reaction never really got started and despite changing the yeast a couple of times I never really managed a bubble count higher than 2 bpm. In the first week I was dosing every other day with ferts but was getting lots of melt and browning on the leaves.
By the end of the week I'd ordered some Flourish Excel and had also come to the realisation that the low bubble rate was due to the water temperature in the canister being too cold for the yeast. I bought a cheap bucket from B&Q, filled it with water and threw in an old heater. I added the Nutrafin CO2 canister to it refilled with fresh sugar and yeast. Within 15mins I was getting 55 bpm and a short while later my drop checker had turned a lime green.
The plants seem to be slowly recovering but some damage has been done.
Over the course of the last few weeks I've added new fish from the LFS and have recently transferred the ones from the Bi-Ube.
Here's the tank as of yesterday.
Full Specs
Dimensions:- 76cm x 32cm x 30cm
Filter:- Eheim Classic 250 (2213)
Lights:- AquaRay Mini LED 400 x2
CO2:- Nutrafin DIY solution with Hagen ladder diffuser
Heater:- Jager 100w
Substrate:- JBL Manado
Plants
Microsorum pteropus x2
Lilaeopsis mauritiana x2
Anubias barteri var. caladiifolia
Echinodorus cordifolius ssp. Fluitans
Echinodorus Osiris x3
Bacopa monnieri x2
Sagittaria subulata
Echinodorus ‘Red Special’
Live Stock
3-Spot Gourami x2
Julli Cory x3
Bleeding Heart Tetra x4
Cherry Barb x1
Comments and constructive criticism always welcome. Thanks for reading.
I've been lurking on the site since I found out about it late last year. I have taken a lot of inspiration and tips from it and felt ready to embark on my own finely balanced chemistry experiment.
My tank has been running for about 4 weeks now and I've been taking photo's as I've gone along. Here's an account of my journey into planted tanks. It's not going to win any design awards but I quite like the current 'thrown together' look.
Firstly, this is what I've upgraded from. A 30ltr Bi-Ube complete with fake plants, a broken pot and 5 hardy fish.
(There are actually real plants in this shot, just a temporary home for them.)
The 75ltr tank I used as the basis of my new set-up had been sat in my parent's shed for the last 15yrs. I dug it out at Christmas and gave it a thorough leak test.
All seemed to be well so the experiment began.Trying it out for size in my chosen location.
Skip ahead to the empty tank with lights installed in the shelf above (more on those next).
A pair of AquaRay Mini LED 400's attached to the bottom of the shelf above the tank and raised slightly all round.
The kit starting to go in with the JBL Manado substrate.
The filter and Nutrafin CO2 kit hidden in the cupboard under the tank. A lot of negotiation took place before I was allowed to drill holes in the fitted cupboards for the various pipes and cables!
Substrate and hardscape.
The tank stayed like that for about a week and then courtesy of aquaessentials.co.uk the planting began.
Full of water and lights on
Close up of plants after first filling
Bad shot of everything set up
A close up shot
My first problem - Not enough CO2.
In my naivety as a first timer I'd thought that having a Nutrafin CO2 kit and some ferts that came with the plants would be enough. Unfortunately the CO2 reaction never really got started and despite changing the yeast a couple of times I never really managed a bubble count higher than 2 bpm. In the first week I was dosing every other day with ferts but was getting lots of melt and browning on the leaves.
By the end of the week I'd ordered some Flourish Excel and had also come to the realisation that the low bubble rate was due to the water temperature in the canister being too cold for the yeast. I bought a cheap bucket from B&Q, filled it with water and threw in an old heater. I added the Nutrafin CO2 canister to it refilled with fresh sugar and yeast. Within 15mins I was getting 55 bpm and a short while later my drop checker had turned a lime green.
The plants seem to be slowly recovering but some damage has been done.
Over the course of the last few weeks I've added new fish from the LFS and have recently transferred the ones from the Bi-Ube.
Here's the tank as of yesterday.
Full Specs
Dimensions:- 76cm x 32cm x 30cm
Filter:- Eheim Classic 250 (2213)
Lights:- AquaRay Mini LED 400 x2
CO2:- Nutrafin DIY solution with Hagen ladder diffuser
Heater:- Jager 100w
Substrate:- JBL Manado
Plants
Microsorum pteropus x2
Lilaeopsis mauritiana x2
Anubias barteri var. caladiifolia
Echinodorus cordifolius ssp. Fluitans
Echinodorus Osiris x3
Bacopa monnieri x2
Sagittaria subulata
Echinodorus ‘Red Special’
Live Stock
3-Spot Gourami x2
Julli Cory x3
Bleeding Heart Tetra x4
Cherry Barb x1
Comments and constructive criticism always welcome. Thanks for reading.
