GlassWalker
Member
This is the tank I'm looking to improve from being on this forum. It is a Fluval Vicenza 260 bowfront tank.
Lights: 2x Aquabeam 600 Ultra Marine White (12W each, 14000k), Interpet 4ft x3 LED bar (18W). Currently on 10 hours a day.
Filters: Aquamanta EFX 1200, APS 1000 EF+
Heater: Hydor 300W inline
Substrate: fine black aquarium sand (Unipac)
Water: originally filled with (hard) tap water, with changes being made with remineralised RO with a long term target lowering the carbonate hardness to 4 dKH with corresponding reduced pH, although I might reconsider this when I go CO2. Target water change of 60L/week although my last one was only 40L as I ran out of RO...
Fertiliser: 1/3 dose of EI per week
Carbon: none added. Tank CO2 estimated to be around 5ppm in daytime based on current pH 7.6 and 6 dKH.
Plants:
lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae - looks like grass so put in foreground. Almost had to plant it blade at a time! A fair bit of it refuses to stay planted though.
pogostemon helferi - interesting leaves, trying this as middle-ground carpet.
didiplis diandra - thin leaved stem plant. Looking at old notes I tried this before and it never survived.
anubias nana - trying this one planted as opposed to stuck on bogwood.
hygrophila ??? - I had three different types, perhaps only one survived and I'm not sure which one it is. Almost impossible to kill this one.
microsorum pteropus "java fern" - got tons of this on bogwood
aponogeton crispus - used to grow massive, but plant still looking very poorly now. Think it did best under liquid carbon in another tank without vallis and wasn't the same when I stopped.
cryptocoryne beckettii - one of my oldest plants, grows slow but steady and took over an older tank. These are some baby plants taken from that one.
vallisneria ??? - not sure which variety it is, but it grows long. My record being about 3ft in a tank that wasn't even 2ft long!
And finally, a plant that may be either lysimachia aurea or rotala indica, or neither. According to my notes those are plants I had in the past, but the one I have isn't a great fit for images of either when I look them up. It is a stem plant with small round leaves, and slow grower (in my tanks).
Hmm... I had cabomba previously, that grew like a weed but I think it all disintegrated during the last major tank shuffle and I don't see any in any of my tanks now.
Livestock (numbers may not be 100% accurate):
2 arulius barbs
19 tiger barbs (assorted colour variations)
17 odessa barbs
6 rhomb barbs (were mis-sold as juvenile arulius barbs which I wanted to keep my others company)
8 glass catfish
I've also tried seeding the tank with Malaysian trumpet snails but they don't seem to be taking to this tank.
Near term "to do" list: I want to go CO2 with this tank. I've identified a local supplier of 2kg CO2 FEs which basically work out a tenner a time. I've got another lead on CO2 kit with someone else selling their near complete setup (just add timers).
A harder decision for me is what to do with the existing plants in the tank? See how they go, or start rearranging them now? I don't have any specific rescape plans at the moment.