fryerg
Seedling
Hey there,
I’ve had a tropical aquarium ever since I was young, just keeping it solely as a ‘‘FISH’’ tank.
Recently in the past 18 months I made the decision to up my interest focusing more towards a planted aquarium.
So I’ve been looking around the internet for quite some time reading loads of info about plants and how to grow them. What the best conditions are and this that and the other. Where I stumbled upon UKAPS. Which is an absolutely amazing source of inspiration and a fantastic point of knowledge. I’ve always had plants in my tank but always struggled to take them to there full potential. To be honest before I started to read up on the plants I was pretty clueless on all the inns and outs of feeding the plants and not just the fish!
Space is an issue with my tank, I only have a smallish gap in my living room. The tank is in a gap, which is a solid wall with no space to hide anything in and I don’t really want wires and cables everywhere looking messy.
So the last 18 months I’ve been experimenting to see what I can and can not grow. I’ve never intended to have a high-tech set up. I just wanted to see what I could produce with what I kinda had.
I’ve got a Juwel Rio 180 tank, 101 x 45 x 50cm with the internal filter (have changed the sponges a few times and the power head once as you do) the heater is in this also.
I’ve only got space for 1 light without changing the hood. It’s the one Aquajardin recommended to me for the hood which I have. I trust them so it’s all good.
I’m really lucky because my local fish shop is Aquajardin, Gloucester. It’s about 15 mins down the road, there advice, service and products are second to none, So about 12 months ago I bought a basic dennerle co2 set and it all escalated from there.
I use a DIY method of co2 now which seems to do quite well. I use 4 table spoons of sugar, 450ml of water, ¼ tea spoon on bi carb and 1 tea spoon of yeast which lasts me about 7 - 9 days. Yea I know it’s not the best method to add co2 but hey it’s practically free and it really does seem to do quite well in my tank. My nano flipper I have managed to place it in to my pump. I don’t have any special substrate just tiny pin head sized gravel with a few slow release fert tablets dotted around the place
I also dose when I can ( I‘m a flight attendant and am not at home a couple of days a week normally) 3ml of easycarbo and 5ml of tropica + daily.
The plants are looking better than ever but do you think this could be too much esycarbo and Tropica+?
The plants which I have which seem to be doing well are
Staurogyne Repens
Marsilea Hirsuta
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green and brown
Microsorum Pteropus narrow and normal
Lilaeopsis Mauritiana
Vesicularia Dubyana ‘Christmas’ (It was looking great but everything else has grown and blocked out some of the minimal light that was. So it’s not looking so great at the moment)
Nymphaea Lotus ( I moved it a few weeks back and doesn’t seem to be doing as well as it was)
+ I have tried loads of others some which were amazing and some which were not so amazing.
But this is what is in my tank at the moment.
And my livestock is as follows
11 cardinal tetras
3 Neon Tetras
2 cockatoo Cichilds mega red’s
2 German blue rams
2 electric Blue rams
3 flying fox
7 cory’s
About 6 - 7 amino shrimp
And plenty of snails.
I changed my live stock at the start of the year, I used to keep Angel fish but got fed up of 1 male getting very jealous of a pair.
I also struggle from time to time with small amounts of algae, It’s from neglect on my part where I’m away on trips with work which can’t be helped. It’s normally BBA and Staghorn algae but it’s easily irradiated with a squirt of easy-carbo directly on to it. I know changing the flow or even getting a better co2 system would help. But like I said before I want to see what I can achieve with what I’ve already got. Other than that it’s just a hobby which I enjoy learning about, experimenting and seeing what I can and can not grow + breed.
The right hand side of the tank I changed about 4 weeks ago and I’m just waiting for it to grow in.
I hope you like it + look forward to any constructive criticism. The photo quality isn’t the best either sorry, and yea I know it could do with a trim but I kinda like it this way.
Many thanks Greg.
I’ve had a tropical aquarium ever since I was young, just keeping it solely as a ‘‘FISH’’ tank.
Recently in the past 18 months I made the decision to up my interest focusing more towards a planted aquarium.
So I’ve been looking around the internet for quite some time reading loads of info about plants and how to grow them. What the best conditions are and this that and the other. Where I stumbled upon UKAPS. Which is an absolutely amazing source of inspiration and a fantastic point of knowledge. I’ve always had plants in my tank but always struggled to take them to there full potential. To be honest before I started to read up on the plants I was pretty clueless on all the inns and outs of feeding the plants and not just the fish!
Space is an issue with my tank, I only have a smallish gap in my living room. The tank is in a gap, which is a solid wall with no space to hide anything in and I don’t really want wires and cables everywhere looking messy.
So the last 18 months I’ve been experimenting to see what I can and can not grow. I’ve never intended to have a high-tech set up. I just wanted to see what I could produce with what I kinda had.
I’ve got a Juwel Rio 180 tank, 101 x 45 x 50cm with the internal filter (have changed the sponges a few times and the power head once as you do) the heater is in this also.
I’ve only got space for 1 light without changing the hood. It’s the one Aquajardin recommended to me for the hood which I have. I trust them so it’s all good.
I’m really lucky because my local fish shop is Aquajardin, Gloucester. It’s about 15 mins down the road, there advice, service and products are second to none, So about 12 months ago I bought a basic dennerle co2 set and it all escalated from there.
I use a DIY method of co2 now which seems to do quite well. I use 4 table spoons of sugar, 450ml of water, ¼ tea spoon on bi carb and 1 tea spoon of yeast which lasts me about 7 - 9 days. Yea I know it’s not the best method to add co2 but hey it’s practically free and it really does seem to do quite well in my tank. My nano flipper I have managed to place it in to my pump. I don’t have any special substrate just tiny pin head sized gravel with a few slow release fert tablets dotted around the place
I also dose when I can ( I‘m a flight attendant and am not at home a couple of days a week normally) 3ml of easycarbo and 5ml of tropica + daily.
The plants are looking better than ever but do you think this could be too much esycarbo and Tropica+?
The plants which I have which seem to be doing well are
Staurogyne Repens
Marsilea Hirsuta
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green and brown
Microsorum Pteropus narrow and normal
Lilaeopsis Mauritiana
Vesicularia Dubyana ‘Christmas’ (It was looking great but everything else has grown and blocked out some of the minimal light that was. So it’s not looking so great at the moment)
Nymphaea Lotus ( I moved it a few weeks back and doesn’t seem to be doing as well as it was)
+ I have tried loads of others some which were amazing and some which were not so amazing.
But this is what is in my tank at the moment.
And my livestock is as follows
11 cardinal tetras
3 Neon Tetras
2 cockatoo Cichilds mega red’s
2 German blue rams
2 electric Blue rams
3 flying fox
7 cory’s
About 6 - 7 amino shrimp
And plenty of snails.
I changed my live stock at the start of the year, I used to keep Angel fish but got fed up of 1 male getting very jealous of a pair.
I also struggle from time to time with small amounts of algae, It’s from neglect on my part where I’m away on trips with work which can’t be helped. It’s normally BBA and Staghorn algae but it’s easily irradiated with a squirt of easy-carbo directly on to it. I know changing the flow or even getting a better co2 system would help. But like I said before I want to see what I can achieve with what I’ve already got. Other than that it’s just a hobby which I enjoy learning about, experimenting and seeing what I can and can not grow + breed.
The right hand side of the tank I changed about 4 weeks ago and I’m just waiting for it to grow in.
I hope you like it + look forward to any constructive criticism. The photo quality isn’t the best either sorry, and yea I know it could do with a trim but I kinda like it this way.
Many thanks Greg.
