31 replies to this topic

[golden_dase]

G'day folks!

I thought I'd have another attempt at going planted.. considering the 6ft is in my home office and I want a nice view!

The 6x18x20 tank has been sitting empty for about 3 weeks (formally a 6ft Malawi Display), and my wife reckons I should turn it into a planted tank. The tank has been emptied and I've added a layer of 2mm black midnight gravel as bottom layer, and some 4mm black gravel as top layer. I'll be adding some "fertilizer balls" in a few days. Have also added some wood.

Here's what I've done so far:

Full tank shot:  FTS.jpg   125.55KB   136 downloads Left side:  LH.jpg   132.96KB   35 downloads Middle:  mid.jpg   136.99KB   31 downloads Right side:  RH.jpg   136.74KB   53 downloads

Equipment:
1x Eheim 2215 & 1x Eheim 2217 Classic Canisters
Heating: 1x 300w Jager (I might change to inline heating)
1x 6ft T5 Light unit (Picking up from Aquotix in a few days)

Stocklist:
6 Angelfish, 6 Venuzela Cories, 4 Clown loaches, 2 BNs, 2 SAE, 3 Honey Dwarf Gourami.
Discus (adding when tank is a bit mature)

Suggestions/improvements on the initial/wood placement would be great!

P.S: I haven't filled the tank yet, and the glass hasn't been cleaned to look smickkk! So.. excuse the marks on the glass!

Cheers!
Kevin

[STEVEGREEN]

i rekon it looks good kev

im sure the living plants will be the focus so that as a background looks spot on

Cheers
Steve Green

[golden_dase]

Thanks for the input Steve. I want the wood foundation to be good so I can base the planting around the wood, for maximum impact..

Edit: I've "flipped" the wood on the left side. Result:

 FTS2.jpg   127.32KB   73 downloads  LH2.jpg   131.36KB   48 downloads

Look better than initial layout?

Cheers!
Kevin

[dazzabozza]

Nice wood Kev!

[the pulpican man]

thats gonna look sweet full of plants!! nice bits of wood too!

[Brendon]

Am loving the wood, was the wood bought, or obtained from somewhere?

[Krystal]

Looks great so far Kev!

I like the second layout better than the initial one.......more places to attach moss You will be hooked on plants in no time......promise.

[golden_dase]

Many thanks for the input..

Brendon, the wood were all bought from a guy on another forum.. He has heaps left.. PM me for details, if you would like some.

Krystal, get ready for some cleaning out of plants at Aquotix, amongst other things I'll need!


Cheers!
Kevin

[Jaraqui]

This looks very promising, I'm eager to see the final result! Will you be using any fertilizers?

[golden_dase]

I'll be using a home-made version of "Dino-dung", and will be adding other ferts (liquid form etc.) as needed. I will not however, be using CO2 equipment at this stage..
I'm gonna take my time and be very patient with this project... and will update the thread as I go along..

Cheers!
Kevin

[Jezza]

I will not however, be using CO2 equipment at this stage..

i had said that - it lasted a few weeks - then i got a 6.8kg CO2 bottle with regs... and have never looked back...
CO2 all the way i recon...you won't regret it...

o, and the wood looks great...

[Ronny]

Tank looks good already, why would you wanna make it a planted tank?
Chuck in some SAs and you'll be set

Seriously though looks like it has a lot of potential!

[golden_dase]

Pfft.. Angelfish and Discus ARE SA!

So when are you gonna come and help me tie some moss to the wood??

[Ronny]

I meant real SA's

Won't be able to help you for a while, won't be back in Perth for another 2 weeks...

[Hydonia]

Hey Kev...I can lend you my hubby, I know ex-army aren't as good as navy for tying knots, but he could give it a go.

Seriously if you need a hand let me know. Planted tanks are interesting and look much more complicated then "regular" tanks.

[Ronny]

I'm a greeny, we dont tie knots

The way I do it is, if you can't tie knots, tie lots LOL

[golden_dase]

Thanks for the offer of help Alize! If you lived closer, I would've asked you to come help with moss-tying while I build the PCs which I've had on back-order for the last week or so (Yes, I deserve holidays too!).
So much to do, yet so little time!

Ronny.. stick to your "vallis in sand" specialty...

[golden_dase]

Went and collected the Haiyang 6ft T5 LO Light unit from Aquotix, and also a Hydor 300w In-Line heater.. Thanks Krystal! The tank now has 2x 6FT T5 LO units (10x 21w tubes with 6 white, 2 pink and 2 actinic tubes). As always, very impressed with the quality of Haiyang lights..and service/pricing from Krystal/Aquotix.

Tank is now running 2x AquaOne Aquis 1200 canisters, instead of the Eheim Classics. Missus wanted to keep the Eheims for her 5fter project in the loungeroom.. (You guys/gals are gonna laugh when you see what she'll put in there! LOL!).

Whilst I was there, I also bought 3 different mosses to tie to the wood: Java Moss, Flame Moss, and Seaweed (oops, I meant Pellia or whatever it's called!)

The tank has been filled, and the mosses have been tied to the wood (after 2 hrs of effort!). Man, never knew it was a chore to tie moss to wood.. and Yes, I did take the wood out of the tank before tying the moss to them!
Water is still a bit cloudy so I'll take pics and update when the water is nice and clear.


Cheers!
Kevin

[Krystal]

No worries Kevin, Perth will never have enough planted tanks as far as I'm concerned!

I love tying Mosses.....its quite therapeutic Looking forward to the pics.

[Global]

Cant wait for the pic's Kevin, i like what the tank looks like so far!

That lightings going to make those plants go off. Are you going to go for C02 later down the track?