5gal Planted / Betta Journal

[holokai]

Betta's ( in nature ) come from stagnant jungle pools ( or even puddles ) and will do better in aquariums with very little or no flow rate at all!

Cheers...

Hi Corin! I know that they like as little flow as possible, and I am willing to go without the filter (I guess I didn't say that before) but if I could use a filter to lessen the amount of maintenance I have to do, AND have a happy fish, I'd rather do that. I know people run Betta tanks with filters, so I'm going to at least try, unless someone convinces it will be bad for the betta.

I should point out that my friends betta tank has a single small decorative piece in the center, so there was nothing to really break up the flow.2 I plan to have a lot of plants and hopefully a large rock or two if I ever find one. I think the flow should be broken up significantly by them.

- Chris

 

[Castellop123]

 

[holokai]

Hi all,

It's been a while since the last update. I decided to use one of the pieces of driftwood I bought, but I took the slate off and re-attached it to a different point. I set up the tank at home and am running the filter with the driftwood in the tank just to start getting the discoloration down to a minimum. Would running carbon at this time help with that?

I also dremmeled the mesh lid that I bought to the shape of the Whisper ten, wo it fits nice and snug. Actually, too snug, so I will be widening the opening a bit. I am happy with the looks so far though.

I also put the light on the tank, resting directly on the mesh lid. I was really surprised at how hot the ballast got, I thought I burned myself at one point. I left the light on for 8 hours and the tank temperature was 85 Degrees. So I will need to stand the light off the top of the tank a few inches. My office is Air Conditioned, so that should help. I plan to keep the tank at about 80 degrees anyhow.

That said, I don't know how I want to hold the light up. I'd prefer a method that didn't involve it sitting on the lid, but I don't know if that is possible. I was thinking perhaps a metal C shaped stand with the bottom under the tank, going up the back of the tank, then over the tank holding the light on top. That said, I don't know how I would make that. But a couple of blocks would probably work just as well for now.

My ETA for set up is Monday the 19th, as I will be gone on business next week. I'll try to post pics of the driftwood and Lid tonight.

- Chris

 

[Themuleous]

Carbon can help with tannin discolouration, but in my experience not a great deal, its just one of those thing that takes time to sort though lots of water changes. You can soak the wood for a few weeks in a bucket prior to adding it to the tank which removes the worset, but I've had bits of wood leach for over a year.

Sam

 

[holokai]

Carbon can help with tannin discolouration, but in my experience not a great deal, its just one of those thing that takes time to sort though lots of water changes. You can soak the wood for a few weeks in a bucket prior to adding it to the tank which removes the worset, but I've had bits of wood leach for over a year.

Sam

Hi Sam, thanks again for the info. I guess for now I'll let it soak in my tank while it's just sitting at home with daily water changes. I have the filter running on it, without any media. Then, when I set the tank up for real, I'll run carbon just to keep the discoloration down. I did hear though that the tannins are actually good for Bettas. Something to think about, I guess.

Thanks!
- Chris

 

[holokai]

Here are the photos I promised. I know they're late.

This is the mesh lid I cut to fit the Whisper ten. Took about 30 minutes with a Dremmel.

And here is the piece of driftwood I was talking about. I like it, but it's cut on the right side as you can see, so I will need to hide it with a plant or two, or bury it in a mound of substrate. I kinda like the mound of substrate idea.

- Chris

 

[cheesy feet]

Could always slant the substrate so it goes from shallow to deep (fromleft o right side)

 

[holokai]

Could always slant the substrate so it goes from shallow to deep (fromleft o right side)

Yeah, that's an option too. It messes up my original plan, but I think I like this piece enough to change it. I'll monkey around with it some more. I'm going to twist the driftwood some to lower the slant and expose some more of the interesting grain in the wood.

- Chris

 

[holokai]

Hey Guys, I've got a question about using plants to cycle a tank faster / avoid algae. I've done some searching and haven't found any information specifically about using fast growing plants to keep the algae down when you first start a tank out.

Can anyone give me a low down on this? I understand that the plants are there to eat up any nutrients in the water to avoid algae using them, but beyond that I don't know the best way to accomplish this.

Should I plan on running to the store right away this afternoon and buying some plants after the tank is set up?

Thanks!
- Chris

P.S. I'll have some pictures up after the tank is set up.

 

[holokai]

Hey Look, I promised pictures tonight and I supplied them too! Hey maybe this is a new me.

Planting tanks is easy, I don't know why everyone complains about them floating away. Sheesh.

Yeah, so, when I decided to add more gravel and then move the front two anubias, I spent 15 minutes planting the bastards. Ignore the temp, the probe wasn't in the tank.

I have three anubias total, plus a loose leaf (Will that grow into a new plant?)

And the only Java Fern that looked even remotely decent.

I actually went to the store to buy entirely different plants. but they were out, and these looked pretty healthy. C'est la vie.

Anyhow, That's that for a bit. Let me know what you think about the layout. I'm thinking some more Anubias around the driftwood and a bunch more java fern in the back right. I'd like to get some kind of fore ground plant to cover pretty much everything else. I might try a tall plant in the back left, to hide the heater and intake. We'll see.

Thanks!
- Chris

 

[Themuleous]

Unless you've kept the rhizome above the gravel, you need to attach those plants to some wood, they'll rot it left in the substrate like you've got them now.

Sam

 

[Castellop123]

Unless you've kept the rhizome above the gravel, you need to attach those plants to some wood, they'll rot it left in the substrate like you've got them now.

I would recommend getting more plants ( foreground plants )... As the java fern and anubias have to be ties to the bogwood...

it's pretty important IMO to overstock with plants...

 

[holokai]

Unless you've kept the rhizome above the gravel, you need to attach those plants to some wood, they'll rot it left in the substrate like you've got them now.

Sam

Hi Sam! The Rhizome is above the gravel. I've kept these bad boys before, and I learned that one the hard way early on. Ok, I just checked, and "above" might not be the right term. They're flush with the gravel, not exactly on top of it.

If I were to Attach them to the wood, what would I use? Fishing line? How long do they take to attach to the wood?

I would recommend getting more plants ( foreground plants )... As the java fern and anubias have to be ties to the bogwood...

it's pretty important IMO to overstock with plants...

Corin, the Java fern is actually in the substrate fairly deep... what is the concern with having it in the substrate? I agree with you about overstocking, but the store I went to NORMALLY has the best selection of plants in the area - this time, they had only these that were decent, and when I asked why they were so low, I was told their supplier hadn't contacted them about any shipments for over a week.

I'll try to check out another place tonight, or during lunch.

Thanks!
- Chris

 

[Castellop123]

Corin, the Java fern is actually in the substrate fairly deep... what is the concern with having it in the substrate?

Yo Chris,

Java ferns grow on rocks and roots in their natural envirement... and they have a rhizome which, if left in the gravel, will rot... Java fern roots also take in nutrients from the water...

 

[holokai]

Yo Chris,

Java ferns grow on rocks and roots in their natural envirement... and they have a rhizome which, if left in the gravel, will rot... Java fern roots also take in nutrients from the water...

Corin, that's concerning... There is no bulb of any kind on the stalks of the Java Fern. Should there be? It basically looks like a leaf off a tree. Is it possible this isn't Java Fern, or is it a bad bunch?

Thanks,
Chris

Edit: Does the Java Fern ever need to be near/on the substrate, or do teh rotos gather all of the plants needed nutrients from the water column?