21 replies to this topic

[Ilangi]

This tank has been up and running since August 2004. I took these pics just before pruning all the stem plants that had reached the surface.











When my camera fully charge and I've the time to sit in from of the tank for a while I'll take a few photos of the fish:

Discus (3), cardinals (25+), rummy nose (25+), royal whiptails (2), bristlenose (2), corydoras sterbai (4), siamese algea eaters (7), glass catfish (4), harelquin rasbora (5)

[Brett]

I really love it!!

Sure the plants need a bit of a haircut, but they look great.

Can you post the specs Ilangi so we can learn from your good fortune/ hard work.

Cheers
Brett

[Ilangi]

Thank you Brett

My tank is 48" x 18" x 24" (tall - approx 330 Litres)

It has an Eheim 2217 canister filter (1000 l/ph) fitted with two eheim pre- filters

42kg of Seachem Fluorite Red substrate.

CO2 Injection, dissolved by an aquamedic reactor and controlled by a Milwaukee solenoid and PH Controller. PH is stable at 6.7, KH is buffered to 4 dGH using a small bag of aragonite in the filter.

I have mounted six 48" 40watt fluoro globes in the hood (2 x Aqua-glo, 2 x Power-glo and 2 x Resun Red Spectrum) total of 240 watts on for about 12 - 13 hours

It is heated to 29 degrees by an external hydor 300watt heater.

I use Azoo products once a week for fertilisation (thinking of changing to Tom Barr's Estimative Index )

The plants use up all the Nitrates that my fish produce so I do a water change of 30% every fortnight, but I clean my pre-filters twice a week)

I have three discus in the tank (between 4 and 5 inches)

about 30 rummy nose

about 30 big cardinals

2 royal whiptails

2 bristlenose (both male I think)

5 Siamese flying fox / algae eaters

4 glass catfish

4 sterbai corys and

3 Harlequin Raspbora


The tank has been up and running since August 2004.

This is my first planted tank - so I have limited experience, but I'd be happy to answer any question that anyone might have :wink:

[no regrets]

very nice tank mate :wink:

[duck]

Great looking tank.

[Brett]

Well you have obviously done your home-work and not spared any expense.

The results speak for themselves, very nice

Not familiar with Azoo products, are the ingredients listed?

Who said fouro lighting is not adequate for 24"deep tanks, just need to cram enough globes under the hood

Keep up the good work and I will be around to pick up some cuttings tomorrow

Cheers
Brett

[Ilangi]

Cuttings are available fortnightly guys so just send me a PM to let me know what you're after and I'll keep some aside for you!

The tank has changed a bit since its last prune. I sold the anubias nana that was growing on a piece of wood in the far right corner and all the stem plants have been cut down quite low, so they should get very bushy soon :twisted:

In the coner that was cleared when the anubias was removed I planted some glosso (don't know if I have enough light to get the carpet effect going) and I planted some star grass to make a hedge in front of the rock (thanks Jerome) :wink:

The Azoo products were great (especially the Red Plant Nutrients) and are not too badly priced, however I just started the Barr Estimative Index this week to see what results I get. You still need to dose Iron (Fe) and trace elements when fertilising this way as they are only macro nutrients.

I will keep using the Azoo "Trace Element" (10 drops/day) and Azoo "Chelate Ferrie" (twice a week).

The Chelate ferrie is well priced and using an Fe test kit I find it holds the levels between 0.5 and 1.0 for much longer than the Seachem "Flourish Iron" - so you can get away with dosing the Azoo once a week 8)

PS: If you are interested in Azoo products, Perth Aquarium & Display Centre stock the full range. Just tell Liam that Natale (pronounced: nut-ah-le') sent you and he should do you a good price :wink:

[Brett]

I have moved this post, hope you don't mind Natale

[Ilangi]

Not at all Brett

[anchar]

Looks lovely Nat! Thanks for sharing the specs too.

Andrea

[Ilangi]

Update - this is to show any difference the Dry Ferts have made:



Note: I removed the Anubias nana on the right and have planted some Glosso, you can just see it starting to fill in. Also all of the plants just had a prune this morning except for the Rotala macaranda, which I hacked right back last week and I'm waiting to bush out.

I was dosing the dry ferts and iron twice a week and trace elements every day, but I will step up the dry ferts to three times a week as of today.

I will post another update/pic down the track to show the results :wink:

[duck]

Keep them pics coming, looking good.
Once that glosso starts up it like a weed

[Brett]

Fabulous,

What is the green plastic thingy?

Cheers
Brett

[Ilangi]

The green plastic things are my pre-filters. They are deep cups that hold a smaller, inner cup which contains a very loose net balled up into a donut shape and a layer of filter wool. This prevent my 2217 Cannister filter from choking up with leaves and allows me to change the filter wool weekly instead of every 3 months when I do my cannister's maintainence :wink:

Next time you change the filter wool in your planted tank's filter look at how full and dirty it is. After a week mine are always really "muddy" and the idea of clean water passing through that a couple times an hour did not seem like a good thing to me, so the pre-filter makes the regular replacment of my mechanical filtration possible and leaves the cannister for pure biological and chemical filtration. I use a 100g pouch of Seachem Purigen to keep the yellow tinge of tannins away and it supposedly polishes better than a diatom filter (except I've never used a diatom, so I couldn't tell you if that claim is true). However it is a product that I think especially benefits planted tanks. It is a bit pricey but can be recharged up to 10 times (you must follow the instructions exactly!!!)

I was hoping to bury the fluoro green pre-filters deeper in the substrate and eventually hide them with crypts, but I never siliconed them down so they have been pulled up a fair bit when first I removed the inner prefilter cup that holds the net and wool :x and it has been impossible to try and push the gravel aside to get the outer cup to lay flat on the glass again :?

(I don't know why Eheim didn't make them a more camoflaged colour)

My intention know is to eventually find a plant or small piece of bog-wood that will hide them completely.

[Graeme]

Your tanks growing really well
Im rather jealous!!!

Graeme

[Kimbo]

that tank looks awesome!!

[Blakey]

Hows that glosso looking?

[Ilangi]

A few more days to go before it's been exactly 1 year since I set this tank up... So I thought I'd show you what it looked like on the night I first planted it out and what it looks like now 8)





I think the only plants from the original planting are the vallis and the stricta

[Brett]

I think the piece of wood is the same, what happened to the rock???

Brett

[Ilangi]

Oh yeah, the rock and the wood are the same... I meant the only "original" plants...

The rock is hidden behind the zosterfolia, and is also hiding the rooty stems of the stricta, it is actually the home of my bristlenose... he sits on top in the shade and munches on whatever grows on it :wink: