My First Planted

[Reesy1989]

Your Tank looks amazing.

One stupid question tho. I have a fake planted take. My tank has been cycled but has also got plenty of fish in and has been this way for over 2 months now. Could it be detrimental to my fish's (think thats right???) if I started planting live planets into the aquarium now?

Cheers,

Reesy

 

[LondonDragon]

Many thanks guys

Your Tank looks amazing.
One stupid question tho. I have a fake planted take. My tank has been cycled but has also got plenty of fish in and has been this way for over 2 months now. Could it be detrimental to my fish's (think thats right???) if I started planting live planets into the aquarium now?
Cheers,
Reesy

You can start planting real plants at anytime, I don't think fish mind either way, but I just refuse to have anything fake in my tanks hehe
Start with low demanding plants, like ferns and annubias and some crypts, as these don't require high levels of light and you don't need to bother about CO2.
You should however dose some fertilization, TPN+ is great but for a large tank can be expensive.

Have a look here: http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/dosing-methods.htm for some cheaper DIY alternatives.

 

[loraxchick]

your tank....leaves me speachless!!!!!
awe inspiring and beautiful. The most stunning planted ive seen (although there are many many beautiful one's here on this forum). as a noob planter, i am really inspired.

 

[RENDOG]

Comments and "critiques" welcomed....I think that's the word you meant to use

Very very very nice tank. The fact that you take time to specify all of the aquarium's contents is so helpful, informative, and commendable. Whether someone is a beginner or an experienced owner, they can really benefit from reading this thread.

I had tough times with glosso by the way. It would grow and then all of a sudden start dying off and that was with good lighting and CO2 which is what it begs for.

Fantastic pictures too by the way.

 

[21rm]

Hey love the tank. Ive just changed one of my tanks over to planted lately and its so much better lookin than artificial plants.
However, ive a problem with fish poo, lol. how do you keep the bottom so clean without disrupting the plants. my filter wont take up all the poo, so i use a battery handheld vacuum thin sometimes, but it awkward doin in round my plants

 

[LondonDragon]

Just a quick update on this tank, I am putting my rescape on hold so now I am testing a few things, I am running this pretty high light now and high CO2 and also the main reason for keeping it going full planted is to test the auto dosing system which has been running 3 weeks now, during this period I haven't dosed EasyCarbo at all, its working great.

Some photos of what the tank looks like at present:

Thanks for looking

 

[Smoothy]

Your tank looks absolutely amazing I love it

 

[Ipswja]

Your tank is amazing!, I love the dense plants and the fish, all looks amazing!

I also really like how the wood is based in their, great tank all round

 

[wackystarfish]

Absolutley beautiful! Am thinking of converting my Rio125 as you did. However, can i be reeeeeeeeeeeeeally nosey and ask you for a list of all equipment you are currently using. Also, isnt the flow from the internal disrupting the plants? Thanks, Finlay

 

[LondonDragon]

Your tank looks absolutely amazing I love it

Many thanks

Your tank is amazing!, I love the dense plants and the fish, all looks amazing!
I also really like how the wood is based in their, great tank all round

Thanks for the feeback

Absolutley beautiful! Am thinking of converting my Rio125 as you did. However, can i be reeeeeeeeeeeeeally nosey and ask you for a list of all equipment you are currently using. Also, isnt the flow from the internal disrupting the plants? Thanks, Finlay

Many thanks Finlay, you can be very nosey indeed hehehe

List of equipment:
- Juwel Rio 125 off course hehe
- Juwel Internal Filter (with an upgraded pump at 1000lph, might remove internal when I upgrade external filter)
- External Eheim 2224 rated at 700lph (Looking for a Tetratec EX1200 to replace this which is rated at 1200lph)
- Unbranded powerhead 400lph (I am removing this soon as installing a Koralia 1 which is rated at 1500lph)
- Hydor Koralia Nano powerhead rated at 900lph (Might remove this because of the Koralia 1 or might keep it depends on flow paterns)
- Rena Smart Heater 200w (when filter upgrade will install an inline Hydor Heater)
- Lunapet CO2 complete kit, Regulator and selonoide valve, together with glass counter and CO2 diffusor (when filter upgrade will install an inline CO2 reactor)
- EJQ-Trading 2x24w T5 luminaire and an EJQ-Trading 4x24w T5 luminaire
- Aquamedic SP3000 dosing pump (for dosing EI all in one DIY solution)

As you can see I have made a lot of change and will be making quite a few more in future.

Regarding the flow disrupting plants? The more flow a planted tank has the better, you whould always aim for at least 10X turnover in regards to tank volume. It helps distribute the nutrients and CO2 to the plants and "blows" away any dirt in the tank for the filter to pick up.

Don't think I have forgotten anything hehe feel free to ask anymore questions.

 

[LondonDragon]

Haven't updated this journal in a while, here is how the tank was looking before I planted the HC, and moving towards lower maintnance plants in half the tank.

After finishing planting the HC in the tank, I have some of it melting away, but that seems to have stopped and its pearling away everyday when I get home. I was not happy with the EI solution, it was getting my tank a little cloudy and was seeing some algae, so for a test I have been using TPN+ for the last couple of weeks.
Water has remained crystal clear all week and plants have developed much better colours too and the algae is gone.
Going to carry on using TPN+ for a few more weeks and then go back to EI and see the differences, might have to increase the EI solution, maybe it was not strong enough.

Photos right after planting:

Thanks for looking. Comments always appreciated.

 

[DarkEntity]

Looks great, i just dont have the patience to do it lol

 

[kinyo21]

amazing! this is what i aim for one day! keep up the good work im very jealous

 

[LondonDragon]

Thanks guys no need to be jealous just read some articles (I can direct you to some really good ones) and keep planting

 

[JenCliBee]

Looks excellent m8, love the hc carpet