My Tank With Plants

[brownbread]

Hi there just showing you my newplanted tanik home to 12 neons,a plec and 2 leopard danios comments welcome
http/i77.photobucket.com/albums/j74/bronbread/CIMG1889.jpg

 

[Luke_e]

For some reason if i click that link it opens up outlook express email lol *confused*
Anyway, i managed to open the image via copy/paste.
Tank looks nice, but the tall plant (vallis? I'm not that clued up on plants) should be at the back of the tank, plus its obscuring the plants behind it.
What volume is the tank, also what lighting do you have, co2?

 

[ChrisC]

Hi BrownBread. If that was my tank, I'd do this:

Replace the substrate with sand (ok I admit, I'm a fan of sand in tanks, so sue me. ), but leave small patches of gravel on the surface of the sand, to create a kind of river tank look, which the smoothed pebbles help acheive.

Next, I'd move the right hand side of the left hand peice of bogwood backwards abit so as to create a little more depth. Try putting it on an angle and have plants growing under and around it?

I'd also clump all the vallis looking plants in the back left and back right corners, as they will help visually frame the tank. Next, I'd clump together the other two types of plants (cabomba and something else I don't recognise?) into two bushy, well groomed clumps. I'd introduce some smaller plants to dot around the aquascape like some of the anubias', cypts or e. tenellus. Looks promising!

Thanks,
Chris

EDIT: Also, on a side note, I'd seriously NOT have that airstone on. The air bubbles cause the CO2 levels to drop, which will either (a) counter the effect of added CO2 OR (B) deplete all the co2 starving the plants.

 

[Themuleous]

Tank looks good

 

[brownbread]

it is a 90l tank a 18 watt bulb and that nutrafin c02 emitor
ChrisC what sand would you recommend i tried sand before it was silver sand it caused a big cloud so i empied it out and started again with gravel?#
Als you said to turn the airstone off wont that ill my fish?and what do i do with my fish while im putting the sand in?

 

[Luke_e]

18watt over 90l = 1.3wpg. So you might want to upgrade your lighting if you wish to grow plants which need medium lighting.
As for sand, you need to wash it thoroughlt otherwise you will deffinantly get cloudyness, but even if you wash it for hours.. you'll get a cloudy tank for a certain time.
You dont need an airstone in the tank for the fish, as long as you have sufficiient surface agitation from the filter, this will transfer the oxygen in the air into the water for the fish.
When your putting the sand in, you can empty it and fill some large tubs with the tank water and put the fish in with the filter and decor/plants etc. Or you can keep them in, but this may cause them further stress.

 

[brownbread]

I added the sand and moved the bogwood as you suggested heres the link

 

[ChrisC]

Nice one brownbread! The tank will take a day or so to clear, I'd speed it up with a water change if I were you.

Why not try moving some of the rocks on the left towards the right and leave the left for the bogwood?

The next step is plants for the foreground and midgrounds. Plants like e. tenellus are great for that.

Thanks,
Chris