Fish Tank Overhaul.(pics!)journal

[whambamtymam]

Finally! after 2 days of driving around to different fish shops and getting whatever i needed( well the basics) I finally managed to get down to setting up my tank.
Well i got an old 3ft tank from my moms friend who kept gold fishes..Boy was the tank filthy and smelly!
Last week i gave it a good scrub(with vinegar) and starting thinking of what i was gonna do with it.
"hey!,why not a planted tank?".I'm kinda a noob at planted tanks so any inputs would be good. thanks!

So here it is the clean tank that was once covered in algae and muck!

Here was a bunch of stuff that i needed.

Rushed out to get some nutrients:

Heres the first layer of the substrate nutrients:

I covered the substrate nutrient with a small layer of 2-3mm gravels and then with a little "drainage" system around the perimeter of the tank i managed to get like what it seems a single layer of fine sand.

Filled it up with some water(treated with tetra aquasafe) and placed my internal filter in:

Planting in my beloved grass:

Filling it up morethanks mom for the help!)

here you go a close shot of the grass:

Finally filled!(took about 1hr with a small bucket):

Time to place my cover in and voila!..THE sort of finished tank!

what do you think? 8)

 

[Lynz781]

Well done to you! I love how you have planted that grass. Will look forward to seeing the tank once its established! What fish are you gonna get for in there?

 

[whambamtymam]

Well done to you! I love how you have planted that grass. Will look forward to seeing the tank once its established! What fish are you gonna get for in there?

thanks. I would definitely put more pics up in future.Next purchase should be a C02 canister.$120 abit too much for one?

I was thinking of fishes that wont mess my plants.. so probably tetras or gouramis.

 

[Lynz781]

I don't use CO2 for my plants so couldn't advise on the price. I'm sure someone who does know will be along shortly.
I thought gouramis ate plants? When I had a dwarf gourami he ate my elodea. Tetras would look great in there.

 

[AndyOleszczuk]

I am looking forward to seeing it again in a few months, will be keeping my eye out to see what it is like. Btw, what sort of grass is that ? Looking good

 

[whambamtymam]

I don't use CO2 for my plants so couldn't advise on the price. I'm sure someone who does know will be along shortly.
I thought gouramis ate plants? When I had a dwarf gourami he ate my elodea. Tetras would look great in there.

My dwarf gouramis in my other tank picks on the leaves but you could tell he is just trying to find some scraps of food. they dont seem like the kind that would savage the plants .

Yea love them tetras.

 

[whambamtymam]

I am looking forward to seeing it again in a few months, will be keeping my eye out to see what it is like. Btw, what sort of grass is that ? Looking good

I didnt really catch the names of the grass. but i guess its some sort of hair grass.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Looks good! Here is a link to a DIY Co2 Injector. It's total cost is probably only 10-15 dollars. I made one, but be sure to add an overflow bottle!

 

[tnhowery]

Looking Great! I wish i had the patience to be that meticulous with planting. BTW It looks like dwarf hairgrass. Keep us updated!

 

[paul_219]

Very nice tank. I wonder did it took you to put this tiny grass.

 

[Phaedra]

Great job! I've never had a planted tank before, so it'll be interesting to see how it fills in. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for future pics!

 

[Themuleous]

Interesting layout, what are your plans/aims for the scape?

Sam

 

[helsekia]

oh i love it,cant wait to see the next batch of photos well done on a good start

 

[cahnnarel]

Very nice indeed Look forward to seeing it develop

 

[G_Sharky]

very nice...can't wait to see that grass fills up...BTW the way you planted the tank reminded me of a rice field......good job on the aquascape....