18 replies to this topic

[Draco]

First up big props to Donna for helping me out with some plants. The specimens she has provided me are fantastic and they are now all planted in my tank. I have gone and done a revamp of the tank and it looks a lot better than my most recent revamp. I have quite a number of plants in there, which I will assist in growth with some CO2 tablets and then cut back so that I am not gardening in my tank constantly.

So here is my next hack on doing a semi-planted tank with some hardy plants. I may go but a differnet globe at some point or possibly a second light to really light up the tank.

So here are the pics, let me know your thoughts. I have a blackpool in the middle. I was thinking of getting a bit of glass to put down to reflect the light from the top, but not too sure if I will do this or not. Might see if I can get the java moss to grow through that little bit.




Sorry not very good with the pictures, and I have a fairly old digi-camera without a tripod. Also the water is a bit murky at the moment as I have just finished re-arranging it about 30-40 minutes ago

[Donna]

Looking awesome Draco. I really like the wood peaks and the java fern will look great when it grows up in amongst the wood. I like your black pool as well. I am sure as this scape starts to mature you will change it a number of times and have a lot of fun doing it. I know I have

Keep us posted.

Regards,

Donna

[soko]

nice tank dude interesting to see the co2 tablets work i was looking at doing something similar for my new tank and thought i had to have co2 injection.

[Draco]

Thanks Soko. I still have to find out about them, and if you can get them. I think I read something about it. I do not want to do the whole injection thing or mass CO2 as I have read, that too much CO2 can deplete oxygen levels in the tank, which can be a problem for the fish. Seeing as I have a few species in the tank, each is going to have a specific requirement and I don't want to upset the current balance too much. I will let you know once I have gotten round to trying out the experiment.

Donna the good news so far is that the plants have straightened out slightly and haven't gone brown yet which means that they are currently surviving. Will see how they go over the next couple of weeks.

What I have noticed though is that my fish seem to enjoy their new playground and aren't hiding as much as they did in my previous setup. They seem to be enjoying themselves a lot more. The centre space is probably what made the difference.

[Sazabi]

Not very often I see someone really appreciate the advice of another, and put into practice what's been advised and even less to see a thread to thank that person, where it is due.

I'm impressed Draco well done

(not often I praise someone either not that it matters anyway lol)

[Donna]

Hi Draco,

Good news about the plants. Remember, the ambulia can be nipped off when it gets to the top and put back in the substrate. It will regrow..that's where all those cuttings came from.

One thing I never thought of though, is do your fish like eating plants? Oh well, you will soon find out

I have heaps more cuttings growing again. I have around 6 swords (2 different varieties), ambulia, demersum, java fern, val, water sprite etc etc. If you need some more in a few weeks, just let me know, I can drop them off on my way to VEBAS.

Regards,

Donna

[Draco]

Hey Donna, yes some of my fish seem to enjoy nibbling on certain plants. The tiger barbs and the angels seem to be the main culprits though, as the rest of the fish swim amongst it and tend to leave the plants alone. So far day 3 and the plants are still looking real healthy. Looks like they are going good.

Thanks for the offer of more plants. I will see how these go initially and will you PM you

Sazabi, thank you for the nice comments . If someone is nice enough to give me advice or lend me a hand, the least I can do is thank them in return.

[soko]

im just setting up a 6*2*2.5 as a planted saratoga tank and started using liquid carbon i think this will end up being very expensive so in the long run co2 injection might work out cheaper. i have a couple of swords at the moment and vallis but looking at dwarf hair grass and java fern as well.

[Donna]

Hi guys,

Thought you might be interested in this article by George Farmer.

Regards,

Donna


http://www.practical....php?blogid=234

[soko]

Hi guys,

Thought you might be interested in this article by George Farmer.

Regards,

Donna


http://www.practical....php?blogid=234

thats a good artical thanks for that since my tank is 800ltrs i think i will need co2 injection the liquid carbon is costing me about $20 a bottle and i nearly gone through it in the first week

[Donna]

Hi Soko,

Yep, sounds logical with that much water How do you find the liquid? Do you know how and if it can compare with CO2 injection? Which product do you use?

Thanks,

Donna

[soko]

Hi Soko,

Yep, sounds logical with that much water How do you find the liquid? Do you know how and if it can compare with CO2 injection? Which product do you use?

Thanks,

Donna

i bought the seachem flourish excel ive only used it for a week and the vallis which wasnt looking to good has started to pick up quite noticably i wouldnt know how it compares with co2 but a friend of mine uses co2 and his tanks are like works of art but a lot of time is spent keeping them that way. from what i understand the liquid doesnt make the plants grow as fast so there alittle easier to maintain, apparently you can use them both at once. the other thing im learning about is lighting my lfs says all i need to do is up my t5 globes from the 21watt to 36watts but my mate feels metal halides are essential. he is right into takashi amano, go figure. ive only been into fish keeping for a couple of months now so still so much to learn. but it was planted tanks that caught my eye although my first tank was cichlids which i now know dont go well with plants.

[Donna]

Hi soko,

Yep, planted tanks caught my eye as well. I solved the plant problem though by having dwarf cichlids. They go very well with my eco complete and Amazonia substrates and leave my plants alone.

Aquotix gave me a good quote on a starter CO2 system and I am still considering that. For now I am working on low light, low CO2 plants that make my aquariums look planted. I am doing ok, but know that one day, I will want a spekky planted tank. I will probably go down the CO2 road at some point in time. For now, I am still very much a learner as well, and have been experimenting with lots of different plants. I will give the Flourish a go and see what happens. Metal Halides are quite pricey aren't they? Have you seen the AGA contest tanks? There are some great tanks that don't use MH and they seem to get on okay.

Regards,

Donna

AGA Link

http://showcase.aqua...e=view-showcase

[soko]

Hi soko,

Yep, planted tanks caught my eye as well. I solved the plant problem though by having dwarf cichlids. They go very well with my eco complete and Amazonia substrates and leave my plants alone.

Aquotix gave me a good quote on a starter CO2 system and I am still considering that. For now I am working on low light, low CO2 plants that make my aquariums look planted. I am doing ok, but know that one day, I will want a spekky planted tank. I will probably go down the CO2 road at some point in time. For now, I am still very much a learner as well, and have been experimenting with lots of different plants. I will give the Flourish a go and see what happens. Metal Halides are quite pricey aren't they? Have you seen the AGA contest tanks? There are some great tanks that don't use MH and they seem to get on okay.

Regards,

Donna

AGA Link

http://showcase.aqua...e=view-showcase

yeah that site is awesome. when you have the time a list of low light and co2 plants would be great.

[sydad]

Hey Donna, yes some of my fish seem to enjoy nibbling on certain plants. The tiger barbs and the angels seem to be the main culprits though,

Hi Draco,

I noticed this comment a little late, but feel the need to advise you of potential problems with your tankmates. The tiger barbs (a long-time favourite of mine), tend to be rather obnoxious when placed in with long-finned, relatively peaceful species such as angels. At some point the tigers will almost certainly harass the angels by nipping their fins. I know of no way to prevent this other than by having a sufficiently large group of tiger barbs that will spend their time in group interaction, but even then, it is possible that they will give the angels, at least occasionally, a hard time.

By the way, neither tiger barbs nor angels are particularly prone to plant nibbling given adequate nutrition.

Regards,

Syd.

[soko]

http://www.practical...splay.php?f=150 found this today you guys might find it interesting

[Draco]

Hi Sydad,

Thanks fro the comments re the breeds I have in my tank, however I have had these guys together since October last year. I am probably lucky in some respect as I do not have too many issues with any of the species in the tank. They have all been pretty much tolerant of each other and don't really fight amongst themselves. most of the time it would be a tiger barb asserting itself to another tiger barb, or a tetra to a tetra, etc. They all seem to live very happily together. I have a male betta in there and he is very tolerant of the others and just goes about his business.

The angels were brought in when they were smaller and are now bigger than the barbs, but they don't particularly have any strained relationshp amongst them.

[Donna]

Hey soko,

Thanks for the link. It looks really interesting, and when I am not at work I will enjoy reading it.

Thanks Sydad for those remarks about those species and their typical behaviour. Draco seems really lucky with the mix that he has!

Draco, hope the planted tank is going well. As I mentioned, I have a whole new pile of plants I am experimenting with, will let you know if and when cuttings are available, and soko if interested. Draco, I posted a pic of my not so planted tank in the "Perth Cichlid Society Photo Album" section, it is called "Retirement Tank". It might interest you to see how I have used rocks and wood in a low light tank to help bring the plants off the floor and closer to the light. the rocks cost me 80 cents a kilo!

Regards,

Donna

[Draco]

Hi Donna, yes the plants are going fine. The names of most of them escape me, but the ambulia's seem to be doing well. A couple of them have now started sprouting new branches and some have grown a bit since a few days ago. They all seem to be very strong and most look like they have really strengthened up since I first put them in. Still so luscious and green. Thanks again.