Aaronc's Journal - Planted Rio 125

[aaronc]

Hi All

I have decided to keep a journal on my tank and how it progresses, for my reference as much as anything else.

The Story so far....

I got the tank Just after Christmas this year and initially started out with the standard Juwel lighting, 2 x 18 T8s and no co2. ferts etc.

I stuck a cheap plant collection and some bogwood in there. Before I got the tank I had decided that I wanted to have a proper go with a planted tank so I chucked down some TetraPlant substrate down and then 2-3mm pea gravel on top.

The tank stayed like this for several months while I got the stocking right and got some cash together to go a bit more high tech.

After lots of very helpful advice on here from the likes of Jimboo and George as well as the rest of you I decided to take the plunge and go high tech. I upgraded the lighting with an additional pair of 18w tubes and got my mits on a Nutrafin CO2 kit as well as beginning my foray into EI.

I haven't looked back since.

The tank is far from done. At the moment I am concentrating on getting some fast growing stems in there to keep alage at bay whilst having a play with Riccia and Glosso.

From the pictures below you may see that I don't have a huge amount of plants in there, I have recently removed a large amount of water wisteria which was riddled with algae from before my C02 times. I am certainly winning the battle against algae touch wood, although I still have a long way to go.

The tank is currently stocked with:

9 Congo Tetra
5 Clown loach - I know I know, but they are sooo small and cute, a home has been arranged for when they grow
5 Bronze Cories
7 Pearl Danios - They are just stopping by whilst their tank cycles properly.
3 Harlequins - Started with 12, however they werent quite as big as I thought, half ended up as congo food, the other half decided to explore the innards of the filter, to their detriment
4 - Amano Shrimp - They keep their log free of algae but bugger all else

Plant wise..

Camomba
Onion Plant
Vallis
Water Wisteria
Riccia
Glosso
That is about I know the names of, I'm still not up to scratch with my plant IDs.

Well thats enough typing, Im knackered lol

Let me know what you think

Thanks
Aaron

Tank shot, sorry about focus, camera phone jobby

The newly planted Glosso. I think too much of the plant is exposed. Will see how it works, might need to push them further in to get a carpet. Bit of an experiment at the moment.

The Riccia, has taken a battering from some naughty Clown loach and Cories - was a bit of a nightmare to tie down due to the shape of the rock. Might get a hairnet and try again. I have some more Riccia growing in my Quarantine tank

The Congo tetra, have grown massively since we got them. Think they are all males though, which could be fun in the coming months

Here are the lazy shrimp. May have to remove the log, it is the only part of the tank that gets any major levels of natural light so it is usually covered in algae. Trouble is that the clowns like sleeping in this log, although they have been kicked out of some of it by the shrimp

 

[Castellop123]

 

[aaronc]

Hey Corin

Thanks for the post. I am keeping that area free at the moment for feeding them cucumber etc. Just still the glosso grows enough to take rampaging clown loach all over it lol. I do agree though, it is a little bare

Thanks
Aaron

 

[Themuleous]

Glad to see you made the effort with the glosso and planted it separately, your efforts will be rewarded in no time

BTW how do you find the Congo tetras? I keep thinking about a shoal of them for mt new 100g when I finally get it.

Sam

 

[aaronc]

Hey Sam

The Congo tetra are good. They can be very very shy though and seem to spook easily. Adding the Pearl Danios has really improved this, I think some of the confidence of the Danios is rubbing off on them, I thought it would be the opposite and the speedy Danios would make them dart for cover. I had a shoal of 12 to start with, lost a few along the way but the 9 I have left are great.

Aaron

 

[Dave Spencer]

Nice start Aaron, and the Glosso should look something else when it really starts to grow. If you are after any ideas, then take a look at the TA tank below. I have tried Mopani wood before, but I just don`t find that it looks interesting enough. Notice how, in the picture, the wood he uses has Glosso over parts of it to form a really busy and interesting mid ground. It is another way of using the Glosso additional to it being a foreground plant:

Dave.

 

[aaronc]

Hey Dave

Thanks for response, just been reading your Iwagumi journal, looking good.

My BF wanted the mopani wood, I am not over fond on it, should look ok though when the moss covers it.

I am hoping the Riccia recovers, im just letting the stuff that comes off float to the surface and amass there until I get a chance to tie it down again, might have to pick up a flatter piece of slate

Aaron

 

[lljdma06]

My BF wanted the mopani wood, I am not over fond on it, should look ok though when the moss covers it.

I actually like Mopani, but I think it looks best mostly bare with anubias and a spattering of moss attached. The wood can have a nice dark brown-red color which then has a nice tank reverse. It can be very effective, and it is full of little nooks and such, so I don't have to tie down anubias and other plants. It just wedges right in.

The tank looks very good so far. The left side needs more, but I can see your reasons why you're not planting it up yet.

Good luck. EI is great for high-tech setups, so enjoy and have fun pruning copious amounts of plants every week.

llj

 

[aaronc]

Thankfully the Riccia seems to have recovered and is pearling again, was a bit worried as it hadnt done so since I tied it to the rock.

Nothing much else to report today