Low tech, 48 Gallon, first attempt.

[Geraint]

ok.. So here's my first attempt at a planted tank or any tank to be honest. I've been adding plants over the past 2 weeks, so there's not much new growth yet. I added sand on the advice of another thread because I'd like to eventually keep pigmy corries.
I didn’t really have a plan. I just kind of chucked everything in there, which is a bit if a regret after seeing how beautiful some of your tanks are. but we live and learn.
Let me know what you think and what you’d do differently/change.

It looks a bit sterile at the moment so I was thinking of adding some tannins to give it a browner look.
There's a fake crocodile skull in there that i'm stuck with. It was a birthday gift from my sister, and as she visits often and randomly, I cant really take it out. lol.there's a rock on top of the wood as it floats. I'm hoping it'll get waterlogged soon.

Plants include :
Limnophilia Sessiliflora - Very bushy. I planed it 2 days ago, so no new growth yet. I have noticed that the tops will close up in the dark, and the gradually open when the light comes on.
Hygrophila Corymbosa Compacta - Very beautiful and my favourite of the bunch. Only planted 2 days ago. I have my fingers crossed that it’ll grow.
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala - planted 2 days ago. No new growth yet, but I’ve heard that grows quickly.
Hydrocotyle sp Japan - growing quickly. Not as nice looking in my tank as it is in others. I’ll give it some time though.
Eleocharis Parvula - only planted a few days ago. I'm hoping it'll form a carpet, but i'm not holding my breath as I've heard it's difficult and slow to grow with a low tech set up.
Valisneria Spiralis – It’s growing really fast. I planted it about a week and a half ago, and I have lots of new shoots popping up. Its not as tall as I was hoping though.
Pistia Stratiotes – I started off with one. There’s maybe 10 in there now. It grows stupidly quickly.
There’s also 4 plants in the tank that I found in a pond. I’m not sure of their names.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Looking very good so far, you could try filtering through moss peat to get the "browner look".

 

[roadmaster]

Or maybe boil some peat and use some of the rendering at weekly water change.
I store dried birch leaves in 5 gal bucket of water and after a couple week's,,the water in the bucket is tannin stained .
Also throw a few of these leaves in the tank to produce similar result's.
Have also boiled sphagnum peat moss and mixed it in during water changes to help give tank slightly stained appearance.

 

[Geraint]

Thanks.. I'll have a go at boiling the peat meathod. I might throw a few leaves in there to float on the surface. might look nice. am i right in assuming the plants get less light when the water is coloured like this?

I'm reasonably happy with the right hand side of the tank. but not too sure about the left. I might try re-doing that side. I like the layered look where you have hills of plants flowing into eachother, but I haven’t a clue how you all go about planning that.

I’ve seen really beautiful pictures of Hydrocotyle Leucocephala and Hydrocotyle sp Japan, but mine just look like a bit of a mess at the moment. So I’ll need another look at them I think.

And although the Valisneria Spiralis is growing really well, I don’t think it looks right.

 

[Henry]

You could probably do with moving the Valisneria further back, otherwise it will obscure the foreground, making the scape look smaller and enclosed.

 

[Geraint]

You could probably do with moving the Valisneria further back, otherwise it will obscure the foreground, making the scape look smaller and enclosed.

Yeah.. I've moved the Valisneria to the back of the sanded area. It does look a bit better in sand.

 

[Geraint]

Been potching around with it again.. moved the Valisneria to the back as suggested. I also broke the Hydrocotyle Leucocephala up a bit and mixed it into the Limnophilia Sessiliflora which looks nice. I'm left with a big gap on the left, but I might ust leave everything grow for a month before potching with it anymore. if the hairgrass doesn't grow, i think I'll try making a carpet effect on the right out of the Hygrophila Corymbosa Compacta.

I haven't a clue how to pronounceany of these plant names.
I probably need to get myself a better camera.

 

[Geraint]

Well... below is an update on my tank. still not how i want it to look. it perhaps doesn't look too bad from the front, but when viewing from the side (as seen from the last pic), the plants look a little squashed and pushed to the back. there doesn't seem to be much depth.

I added some newzealand pigmy weed at the bottom left of the tank that I found at my local pond. Its an invasive species, but there's loads of it about my area. It does look kinda nice in the pond, forming a dense carpet on the floor. the individual strands have doubled in lengh since i first put them in, but they haven't started speading outwards yet.

Still, none of the wood in this tank will stay sunken on its own. I have rocks holding it all down.

I might add some waterlilies and anubias in hope of filling the tank out more.

3rd picture shows my baby goldfish starting to turn orange.

 

[Henry]

Looking good! Low techs can take a while to get going, so patience is key. Everything looks pretty healthy though, so you're on the right track.

Be sure to dispose of any trimmings you take from that pygmyweed, it's highly invasive in our countryside.

 

[Lindy]

All my wood is tied to slate which is hidden under the substrate to stop things moving around.

 

[Geraint]

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve posted, but I have a few more pictures;

The tanks changed a lot;

- I’ve replaced yet more of the gravel with sand. I love the look it, and it’s so much easier to keep clean.
- The Goldfish ate the Limnophilia Sessiliflora. So that’s all gone now.
- I gave up on trying to get moss to grow. It just turns brown and dies.
- I’ve taken the one bit of wood out and replaced it with a more interesting
- looking piece, which forms a cave like structure that the fish swim in and out of.
- Built up a little rockery on the right hand side.
- Added a couple of water lilies (Nymphaea lotus and Aponogeton Natans) on the left.
- Added a carpet of Blyxa Japonica at the front for a jungle look. Its rooting really well, but the goldfish keep nipping at the leaves giving them split ends.
- A couple of Anubias Barteri plants in the midground.

I have an empty patch in the middle at the back, that I’d like to fill with a tall leafy/bushy plant. I like the fern look, but note sure what to get yet.
You might notice that I have a bit of bushy green algae growing on parts of the wood. I love this look, and I’d like it to cover the lot. However, I’m hoping to bye myself a long finned, bristlenose pleco, which might eat the lot.
The Hygrophila Corymbosa Compacta doesn’t seem to be growing. It’s lost all but the top section of leaves, and has turned from it’s redish green colour, to a bright green colour. I might replace these with some other variant of Anubias at some point down the line.

it's still a work in progress, but it's looking alot more like a planted aquarium now.

 

[Geraint]

My sister popped round with her new camera (I want it), so I took the opportunity to snap a few quality pictures. I didn't have time to clean the tank, but I' happy enough with the way things turned out. I'm still waiting for a few of the newer plants to grow in, so hopefully, in a month or so, It'll look a little fuller.

 

[faizal]

The tanks looking lovely Geraint. Very impressive first attempt . You should be proud of yourself.

 

[Geraint]

An update on the tank. I've put the goldfish out in the pond, and bought some cherry barbs, rummy nose tetras, and pigmy cories. The New fish were dying for the first two weeks, so i freaked out and got rid of the rockery and wood to the right of the tank, because it was impossible to clean, and I've replaced it with sand and more plants, and an additional internal filter. The Hydrocotyle Leucocephala is now doing a job of hiding the heater at the top left I haven't lost a fish in about a month, so I hope its all settled down. Pictures below

 

[Geraint]

Update.

 

[James D]

Hi Geraint, it's looking really good mate. I really liked it at the stage your sister took the photos though, the planting looked really balanced and I preferred the rock work too. Maybe it was just the power of your sister's photography skills!

 

[Geraint]

Thanks James. I agree with you about the rock work. but It was removed after i freaked out when my fish started to die. It was impossible to keep clean, and took up alot of planting/swimming space. Although I'm doubting it was the rockery (I probably added to many in one hit), I haven't lost a fish since that episode.I also think the rockery was a bit to flat againts the back of the tank. it looked to formal.

I also liked the grass (Blyxa Japonica) in the earler look, but the goldfish decided to rip all of that apart one night. I've got one bit left on the left hand side of the tank. It's slowly growing back.

I'm really happy with the way the Hydrocotyle is growing at the top of the tank. I attached a bit to the heater to hide it, and it's branched out across almost the entire surface. I'm hoping the extra shade will help in my fight against the Green Spotted Algae thats growing on my anubias. I've been adding more phosphorus for about a month now, and I've ordered some hydrogen peroxide (6%) to spot treat it. the phosphorus doesn't seem to be working yet though.

I think a small bit of wood for the right hand side is needed, but I'll have to find a bit that fits.

 

[Geraint]

update..

 

[geraltas]

Amazing tank!!!
What about lighting time? ☺

 

[Geraint]

Amazing tank!!!
What about lighting time? ☺

I have two 30W T8 tubes, one white light at the front and red at the back. they're on for 6 hours a day (3pm - 9pm)
I also have a small 38cm, 18 pcs of 5050SMD, 2.5W white L.E.D light on the right hand side of the tank, which comes on in the afternoon at 12pm, and goes off at night at 12am which gives a really nice half and half look in the morning and night. I've also noticed the leaves on the Hygrophila Polyspermathat become much bigger and bushier since adding this.
The Tank is opposite a window, and gets indirect sunlight to its front throughout the day.

I've been struggling with green spotted algae on all of my anubias (on the left side of the tank) for what seems like forever, and it only seems to get worse. I've tried reducing light duration. allowing surface plants to cover areas above the plant. Mono potasium Phosphate. Hydrogen Peroxide and a tooth brush. Nerite Snails.... I'm about to give up with this plant and try something different.

I did have tiger lotus growing all over the place at one point, which i loved, but the reduced lighting and shade from surface plants killed it. If i get rid of the anubias, I'll probably bring back the tiger lotuse, and propogate the Hygrophila in its place. and maybe even try some Blyxa Japonica again.
I'm waiting for summer before i go out and find myself another peice of wood for the right side of the tank.

Not sure what I'm doing with the bottom tank yet.