Llj's 36g Planted Journal

[lljdma06]

I hope everybody is well and having a wonderful holiday season. I'm having a blast in Miami, FL, especially since I'm not cold. Some of you may know that for Thanksgiving, my family surprised me with a 36g corner tank in our newly redesigned Florida room. More good news, they gave me the ok to start setting it up. It seems that my mom really liked my planted tanks in IL and wants to help me keep this one.

Here are the stats, pictures to follow later when I no longer have to deal with dial-up.

Tank: 36g bowfront corner tank

Lighting: 2x65 power compact florescent fixture with built in fans and 2 6700k bulbs. I have an extra 10000k bulb lying around, and can switch if it's not a big deal. That gives me 3.86 WPG, whoopie!

CO2: Since it's not such a large tank, I have two Nutrafin units with DIY yeast mix. I will change the mixes alternating every week. Don't have the money to go pressurized yet, but I may not need to. I also have Flourish exel to dose. Shooting for 25-30ppm. It is also easier for my mother to maintain, the pressurized scares her, so we won't think about it until I return in May.

Ferts: I have Nitrates, trace, Iron, Potassium, and Phosphorus ready to go and all the necessary test kits.

Substrate: I got an awesome deal on Seachem Flourite! So I have two 15lb bags standing by. May need a third, but I don't think so. I also have two large pieces of Mopani wood and some pieces of slate.

The tank will be set-up today, but no plants are going in it yet. No lighting either. I've been running the lights separately to see if my timers are working and so far everything's going smoothly. I have to test my water before plants go in. My pH is very, very high and my water is hard, so I have to get my parameters to a decent level before I think about plants. In the past Mopani has done that for me, as well as the addition of Blackwater extract, so I'll see.

I planning on a Thailand/S. E. Asia biotope, featuring cryptocrynes, java ferns, java moss, hygros, and ambulias. I want a carpeting ground cover, but neither riccia, microswords, or glosso are from that region. Any suggestions? Could I try a carpet with java moss?

I think this is going to be a fun project and I can't wait to see it take shape. I hope everybody's having a great holiday and I look forward to hearing from you. Great to be back and posting again. Fixed the computer during Xmas and it's running better now. It's almost 10 years old and a bit twitchy. Sorry for the post length and I will probably bump it on occasion or track it so I can find it. I have no clue where my other journals are.

 

[George Farmer]

Sounds excellent. I look forward to seeing the progress.

You can easily trace your other topics by selecting "view members topics" in your profile options drop down menu or Your threads

 

[jimbooo]

Hi lljdma06, sounds like you are going to have a great tank there. one thing i would be wary of is algae. you have a reasonably high light tank there at 3.86 WPG, with nutrafin units you can get up to 40ppm quite easily with the right mix but the throuble is keeping it constant as due to the nature of yeast type co2 the out put varies with time. with so much light if co2 isn't CONSTANTLY at or above 30ppm you will get algae problems.

i have had algae troubles in my 40G (journal and pic in sig) caused by this and thats with changing the mixture every 7 days. on top of that all your plants mentioned are slow growing low light plants.

basically the plants will only use a small amount of the light you are supplying them leaving the "spare" light to grow algae. varying co2 levels will further help algae to get going as it can adapt to differing water conditions much faster than higher plants getting a head start as such. by the time your co2 level is up again you already have an algae problem.

i have been battling this cycle for ages now and have just got a JBL pressurised co2 kit as i see no other solution.

my advice would be get many more fast growing stem plants to use the high light you have or remove some lights. thats assuming you really cant get the pressurised co2.

as to the java moss carpet the answer is yes you can.

and because i'm in a really helpfull mood here is how you make one.

good luck with your tank.

James

 

[lljdma06]

I'm sorry I wasn't more specific about the plants. I do realize that crypts, java fern, and java moss are slow growing, they will most certainly be offset by large amounts of stem plants. I really don't think the fish will have any room once I'm done.

Here is a list of some stem plants I am considering. I have quite a bit of light, so I can get some of the more pretty species.

Myriophyllum tuberculatum
Limnophila sessiliflora (was known as ambulia, I still sometimes call it that)
Hygrophila difformis
Rotala rotundifolia
Crinum thaianum (not a stem plant, a bulb, but a serious contender as a background plant, especially in the center)
Hygrophila corymbosa (another larger, background plant)

I've worked with H. difformis and L. sessiliflora before and have been pleased with them. The other plants look great on paper (Baensch Atlas), but would love to hear more from people who've worked with them.

The S.E. Asia region limits things quite a bit. If my two tanks in IL are not totally trashed when I return, the crypts may be coming from that tank, so the stem plants above will be planted first, leaving room for a few specimen crypts and java fern in the foreground.

Thanks for the advice Jimbooo about the algae. I will monitor this closely. The plants won't be added for another week or two, giving me time to tweak the CO2. No lights either, other than to take a peek every now and then. Also, I appreciate the link to the moss carpet project. I have three pieces of slate in the tank right now and originally wanted to make a carpet, but I think that will be put off until I return in May. I'd rather get the system stable first, since my mother is going to be caring for the tank while I'm at IL. That means it'll be a ton of stem plants arranged haphazardly with a sprinkling of java fern and crypts.

Right now, the tank is a complete mess. Flourite is fun to work with (note heavy sarcasm). That garbage is still underneath my finger nails! I washed that stuff for two hours and my tank still looks like brown pea soup. Yuck! But my filter is strong and it is starting to clear up.

I will really try to add a picture of pea soup tomorrow! Thanks for the responses so far. Any advice on the plant list or other matters would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lljdma06]

I have chucked the Seachem Flourite. If you went through what I went through, you probably would have done the same. It is now scattered around a rosebush or two in my backyard, so not a complete waste.

For the curious here's the link. My computer won't let me do the hyperlink thing (It's nearly 10 years old and on dial-up). I know how to do it, I just can't do it with this system.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=121313

I ended up stripping the tank, quite an effort and setting it up again! I am using fine gravel, not the best, but at least I can see my tank again. I have root tabs for extra fertilization. I swear! I know Flourite takes 2-3 days to clear up, but three weeks, with carbon filtration, daily cartridge rinsing, and water changes every other day, and still a pea soup, come on! That would try anyone's patience.

The tank is now crystal clear (I love gravel) and CO2 tests at between 35-40ppm!!! Bubble diffusors are cramed with bubbles and I ordered plants from Aquariumplants.com. I have all the necessary ferts and here is what I ordered.

Limnophila sesiliflora
Hygrophilia corymbosa
Myriophyllum heterophyllum
Rotala roundifolia
Hygrophila difformis
Crinum thaianum
Barclaya longifolia
Wendtii, Bronze (Cryptocoryne wendtii v. ‘Tropica’)
Wendtii, Green (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Wendtii, Red (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Microsorium pteropus
Vesicularia Dubyana
Tiger Lotus, Red (Nymphaea zenkeri, I know, I know, not really from Asia, but my mom was with me when I ordered and saw the pretty flower and wanted one. I have an open spot in my tank about 1/2 a square foot, so there could be some room for a stalk to peak out.) Lots and lots of hungry little stem plants. The plants could arrive as early as Thursday, so I'm excited.

Take care and sorry for the long post.

 

[lljdma06]

Plants are here!!! A day early!!!! Whooohoooo!!! Yippie!!!!

 

[lljdma06]

Finally I'm back in IL with a Broadband connection so I can update with a picture of my 36g tank. CO2 is a steady 36ppm. I think that the tank has promise, but I won't know for sure until May. Mom's taking care of it while I'm away. pH is at 6.4 and kH is at 3.00, and doesn't really fluctuate since I started turning off one unit at night. Before I got Wilbur, it spiked once at 47ppm, though I don't think it would have bothered him much.



Favorite plant right now is the tiger lotus. It is growing very nicely and there's a large gap at the top of my tank for a flower stalk if possible.



Only one fish right now. A pearl gouramis named Wilbur. There are snails, however, and they are always fun.



Suggestions are always welcome. My mom's dosing twice a week. Updates are kind of hard, but I'll encourage her to take pictures and send them to me. It's nice having that one, since as expected, my planted tanks here did not do so well in my absence.

 

[George Farmer]

It looks nice (as far as I can tell from the small photos!)

The best thing I can see is the absence of algae, an indication that you have acheived the most important aspect to keeping a planted tank - healthy plant growth.

I'm sure will look even better once those stem plants fill up toward the surface. Have you considered a main focal point? A piece of wood perhaps, with some ferns or moss?

Anyway, well done and I look forward to seeing the progress.

BTW is that two diffusers I spy?

 

[lljdma06]

It looks nice (as far as I can tell from the small photos!)

The best thing I can see is the absence of algae, an indication that you have acheived the most important aspect to keeping a planted tank - healthy plant growth.

I'm sure will look even better once those stem plants fill up toward the surface. Have you considered a main focal point? A piece of wood perhaps, with some ferns or moss?

Anyway, well done and I look forward to seeing the progress.

BTW is that two diffusers I spy?

Yes, the plant growth has been very good and maintaining good CO2 levels is much easier in this system. Some plants to have some growing to do, especially the background.

As far as a focal point is concerned, there really isn't much I can do with it now since I'm in IL and the tank's in Miami. I will know more when I see the growth result in May. There is a nice piece of Mopani in there towards the center of the tank. The moss and such is kind of blocking its view and there are two java ferns attached to it, so I guess I am following your suggestion, but it's not quite there. I'm hoping, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong that by May several plants will emerge as contenders for the focal point spot. I have the Java fern, but that's already been done by far better than myself. I have a barclaya longifolia that is really tiny right now (only had one leaf), but now has about 6 small leaves and is growing. Finally, there is the above Tiger lotus, which is really taking off in my tank. If that grows tall enough, I may move it behind the wood and let any flower stalks rise to the surface.

The most important thing right now is keeping the healthy plant growth and just basic tank maintenance. While I'm in IL, that task falls to my mother, who will be receiving a crash course in maintaining a planted tank. Right now, I'll be happy as a clam if plant growth is good, algae is minimal, and fish aren't dead. I have very small goals.

Yes, I have two diffusers. Kind of silly really, I wanted to put a t-connector to connect the two canisters and then have only one diffuser, but I felt kind of bad to not use one, so I added it in. It looks stupid, the rotalia needs to get a move on.

Thanks for your comments gf. Sorry about the photo size. It's from a camera phone and I really don't have another way to take pictures, unless my mother takes some with the normal camera, and sends some pictures to me.