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My First AquaScape + Backstory + stock

Ryan12345

Ryan12345

Member
Joined
26 Jun 2015
Messages
40
A quick backstory:
So this is my first "real" fishtank, i bought it 2 months ago and had it completely artificial, I hated the way it looks and the way the fish interacted with it.
So, after a case of hair algae i decided to start fresh. This is my first attempt at an aquascape, This setup is around 2-3 weeks old, I will share my progress with you as i go.

54 Litre's

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A few months later, After alot of changing, seeing what grows and a few problems.
I have more enthusiasm to get my tank looking better as 2 amazon swords (The 2 above) gave me hope that i could grow something, they arent 100% perfect condition but i put that down to them adjusting to my new t5 HO lights which i got around a month ago (went from the standard starter kit light).
I bought and planted around 5 more amazon swords, they are just coming out of the "every leaf must melt" stage and are growing their new acclimated leaves. My Anubis on the wood is doing OK, just collecting a bit of algae, I have java fern plantlets from the mother plants you can see above which are now in a smaller tank that i hold a few fish and plants i dont use at the time.
Right now my tank may look a mess, but im happy because things are growing, i have a new understanding of growing aquatic plants, you have to give things time to melt or adjust to your tank, my tank is 50% threw this stage and i understand, given a few more months, that my plants and tank will look amazing.

A question to people, The green algae on the left side of the tank.... To scrape? Or not to Scrape?....that is the question...
(Green algae is new to me, i hear its good, but i dont know whether to get rid or not, Will it take nutrients from my plants? i dont mind it building up on the sides though)

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Hey Ryan,
Neat set up:).
Keep looking at hints and tips on this forum and you will be well on your way to an amazing set up. Keep enjoying the journey to improving the plant health and set up. ;). That's the best part of keeping a planted tank.

Imho you need to remove the green algae. It won't likely stay on the glass and may spread to the plants.
 
Hi Ryan, nice set up. You may need to consider a source of carbon as the lighting you have now is much stronger than what you have and you will be subject to algae. You could use floating plants to reduce the amount of lighting. Read as much information as you can on here. Remember If you have a question it has probably been answered many times before and can be found within the forums but don't be afraid to ask if you can't find what you need.
I'd scrape the algae too. Are you dosing ferts? By increasing the lighting you have increased the demands your plants will make.
Cheers, Lindy
 
Thanks for the reply's guys :D
Im dosing ferts weekly with a 50% water change, Using Liquid Co2 daily with Homemade co2.
I will scrape the green algae off asap, never thought about it spreading to the plants.. but makes sense now i think about it.
But overall, im enjoying myself more than i have since i started and i really appreciate the help guys.
 
Just a quick update picture, added a couple of plants, adjusted a few things.
overall plants are showing signs of good growth and seem to have adjusted to the new light, i have had to dose alot more ferts than i initially thought but im glad i realized before my plants started to really suffer.
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Heres a pic of a couple of my harlequin rasbora, i love how red they are..my camera does no justice to how red they actually are.
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Hey Ryan, tank is coming along nicely. in the picture above you can see some algae on the leaves of a couple of plants, i have a couple of questions for you... What is your photo period at the moment? and do you use the venturi on your filter to disperse the DIY co2?
Jim
 
im using an 8 hour photo period and im using the power head on the right to disperse the co2 by feeding it through the impeller so it gets smashed up, im feeding the tube up into its intake. I literally fipped over the other filter with the spray bar last week to try and get some flow through the bottom of the tank and get co2 moving.
 
I took this picture today, this is the tanks 6th day without a clean so i apologize for the algae on the back. Ill clean it and put another picture monday, I just felt an urge to share my progress.
Moved the filters a bit to get the flow working with each other rather than against, added root tabs evenly across the tank, added some duck weed (im fully aware of the nightmare i signed myself up for before adding it), Put some eleocharis sp mini in to carpet, and those other two plants u see at the front, I cant ID them so i could use someones help there, They grow runners at a crazy speed (could be dwarf sag? or dwarf swords?). The java ferns in the middle that i have been attempting to make into a bunch is somewhat getting there, im thinking of pulling them out, sorting them into a nicer looking bunch and then putting them back in. Theres some twisted jungle val behind the driftwood at the back of the tank, i planted it at the right side and luckily it has spread 3 runners directly left along the back of the tank, which im looking forward to see emerge from behind the plants. Im starting to get the right amount of ferts and now with the duckweed diffusing a bit of light, as well as sucking up some excess nutrients, im noticing significantly less (if at all) algae on the plants, as well as the tank.
On a side note, fish are doing well and loving the the comfort of duckweed above them :thumbup:
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Tim, You are correct i believe. Thanks for the ID, i just checked, turns out its gonna grow a little bit bigger than what it is now so decided to move it back slightly to be a mid ground plant, maybe persuade it to grow along the bottom of the log.
Ty MossMan :thumbup:
Heres the pic after i gave it a bit of a clean and a water change.
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its been about 2 weeks since my last update, everything is going well, ordering a full pressurized co2 system next week as DIY co2 is too inconsistent with the temperature fluctuations lately (more co2 on warm days, less on cold) and as im a "put a coat on if ur cold" type of person the heating only gets turned on when it needs to be haha, Yet my fish live in lovely warmed water. Gonna be ordering dry ferts and start EI dosing with the pressurized co2, been doing alot of research the past couple of weeks into this and its definitely the method for me as i like to maintain my tank on a daily basis and am more than happy to dose daily and do a weekly water change as im already doing one every 6-7 days.
Heres a couple of pics, i apologize for the focus, the fish were being a nightmare while i was trying to take the pics.

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Nice one. I too have started the pressurised co2 and EI ferts route recently! So far been happy with plant growth etc - hope it goes well Ryan!

Regards
Rich
 
Its been just over 2 weeks again, started with pressurized co2 yesterday aswell as EI ferts.
So these pictures will be the last ones of the tank using liquid co2 + homemade (which i never did a good job at keeping consistent) and easylife plant ferts.
I have to say, a few months ago i thought it would never have been possible due to where i live, to get hold of a big enough co2 bottle to make it worth while. But after doing a small amount of research i managed to get a full fire extingisher delivered to my door :D

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Been running Co2 + EI for over a month now, absolutely zero algae throughout and amazing plant growth.
I feel like a year's worth of learning, mistakes, frustration and money has led to this.
Now i am not a fool and completely understand that this is not artistically great in any way, i understand the plant arrangement is wrong, the hardscape isnt all that great, ect.
But i am 100% happy and satisfied that i have come this far and ended up with a tank full of thriving plants (which pretty much a year ago i thought i had no chance).
I would like to thank the community of UKAPS for helping me every step of the way, whether that be constructive criticism or through me lurking the forums soaking up the expert knowledge base here consistently for a year. Aswell as giving me a place to share my tank and problems.
Im gonna upload a couple of pics, they arent the best. Ill get better ones soon.
Thanks guys :thumbup:

Top down - While taking water out for water change.
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