My Tropical Planted Community Tank

[PaulEbs]

Hey,

I want to start this thread as I'm heading for a top notch Planted tank, and gradually bit by bit it gets a little closer to looking how I imagine it.

It's late and i have work early tommorow so I'll just post my grphx pic with specs, and I'll update later tommorow exactly what I need comments and advice on...

Paul.

 

[voo]

Looking good so far. Especially like the light sand
Makes me wish i had gone for that colour...

 

[Themuleous]

Looks nice Paul needs some more plants but a good start. Like the look of the sand too.

Sam

 

[Liam]

A great improvement on the old set up so much better than that blue gravel, gosh your sand is pristine, mine never looks that clean. Definitely heading in the top-notch direction. Yeah there is room for more plants and a carpet plant though the sand looks great as it is.
Nice work

 

[PaulEbs]

Thank you for the comments...

More plants is deffinatly a must, my plan is to cover the whole of the back [like on the left] with vallis. Buy some big pieces of bogwood to attach more anubias java fern and moss to, and cover loads more of the sand with my ever increasing Elodia stems.

I get paid in about 3 weeks which is why I am posting this thread - I would like to invest in recommended methods by yourselves to achieve the best plant growth.

The tap water is VERY hard here in Wycombe thus incredibly alkaline - which the vallis seem to love! But everything else seems to grow at a snails pace, [apart from the Elodia, which thrives continually].

I am currently using Root sticks for the swords and a few of the giant vallis at the back - but would like to invest in some liquid ferts, and my Co2 creation works, but not as well as it should to provide healthy green pearling leaves.

My anubia has recently shot up out of a dark age and is creating leaves every week...

Although the 2 latest additions to the tank, a couple of Bristlenoses, have seemed to rasp a few holes in the older leaves - I have drawn them away with algae wafers and the newer leaves don't seem to be harmed.


My Swords are doing really well, they have gone from just a few leaves [kindly sent to me by a member of TFF] to big bushes that look as if they might shoot up anytime soon. They seem to spread out a lot rather than grow upwards, is this normal behaviour..?

Basically, I would like some suggestions on what i need to purchase in a few weeks to boost the plants chances of looking beautiful. My budget isn't decided, although I'm recieving an extra weeks pay this month, so possibly just under £300.

Any help, suggestions, advice, kind words, comments, constructive criticism, and so on that you feel you can contribute would be much appreciated.

A few more shots to give you a feel off the tank...

My wish list so far:

• Pressurized Co2 canister + ceramic diffuser
• Necessary water test kits [Kh etc]
• A couple of orders from Java!
• Liquid ferts
• Another 25watt Sun-glo lamp
• and some large pieces of Bogwood

Please let me know what else is essential, or possibly not essential - and tell me what I've missed!

I havn't stated substrate as I don't intend on laying any as of yet.

Oh, and the tank is 40 gallons.

Thank you for reading! I await your comments.


Paul.

 

[voo]

What sand is that you used?
Swords do tend to spread out a lot, they are big plants.

If you was thinking of adding a substrate under the sand i think you should do so before you get much further. Otherwise it'll mean disturbing all the plants that have started growing.

For £300 you could get most of what you wanted i think. Look around for 2nd hand CO2 and you should get it for under £100. Liquid ferts... have you decided what you'll use? Would you consider going down the EI route?

As for lighting, what do you currently have? Maybe go for a different bulb, one that's more redder than the sun glo, like the arcadia tropical?

 

[Themuleous]

Yeh I would agree about the substrate, if you're going to add one then own is the time, don't want to be stripping down a fully functioning tank! BUt root tabs can work, just remember to replace them often as with lots of plants they'll get used up quickly.

Your list sounds good to me, esp the pressurised CO2. As for ferts, I would get either the dry trace mix from aquaessentials or the tropica plant nutrition, its more expensive but by all accounts its worth it. That said this isn't a high light tank so you probably don't really need a top notch fert, I use the AE trace in my EI nano and it works fine so far

BTW AE also do plants now too, and very reasonably priced, but greenline are cheapest but quality can suffer.

Hope that helps

Sam

 

[PaulEbs]

Hey,

Sorry it's taken me a while to have some free time on TFF, but there's been a change of plan due to PFK's generous offer for subscription. My lass suggested that I practice a planted tank with the nano cube PFK are giving away with each subscription - and she even suggested paying for it too!

This means I can relax with the 40 gallon [quite large for a novice planter], and hone all my concentration and care on a smaller 5.5g nano cube that should arrive in the next month.

As plans have changed, my decision is to concentrate on the giant vallis in the 40 gallon which currently thrives from the high ph and root tabs provided. This should cover the back wall and be much less maintanance than turning the whole thing into a planted scape - especially with my angel who seems to have recently acquired a taste for my swords!

- So any advide on growing vallis without liquid ferts and proper substrate or light would be much appreciated - or any info on the way in which they grow - and which cuttings would make it thrive etc.


I am sure once everyone has recieved their nano tank that there will be a whole lot of journals up on here! But I have decided obviously to turn it into a nano planted tank.

This means my price list should drop - and today I made a killing at our LFS:

I managed to get a pack of 6 root tabs, a few months worth of liquid ferts, and a Nutrafin Natural plant system [co2 reactor + bubble ladder] for just £10! Not bad.

So I am guessing all I need to purchase now is a decent substrate, and a type of gravel/shingle that helps plants too, to go over that. Plus I might need to upgrade the 11w light that comes with this free nano?


Any help on building and maintaining + stocking a 5.5g nano planted tank would be great.


Sam - Your nano has given me loads of ideas, although I am thinking either jungle stylee or Zen simplistic.

Paul.

 

[Themuleous]

Cheers Paul, glad it has, that the point of people sharing, so others can learn

As for a layout, I think you're right when you say Zen, for such a small tank simplicity is the key, but you can still make a stunning tank just not complex Keep us posted on your progress.

Sam

 

[PaulEbs]

Nice one, I think simple is the way forward then..

Maybe a centre peice of bogwood or a funky rock or something and carpeting plants that look like grass in the foreground with some sort of lily or flowering plant in the back to give a coloured feel?

I have seen plenty of nano planted tanks on the net and on TFF that I really like the look of, but I want mine to look a little different if you know what I mean?

Does anyone know of any aquatic flowering plants that would work well in this 5.5g?

Also, which would be the best substrate to use? Seachems?

I won't be going down the EI route until I've used all the freebie liquid fert that I got with the Co2 kit - or is this wasting my time?

I will start a journal as soon as the tank arrives as I'll be buying everything I need before then.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[Themuleous]

Sounds good Paul, as for substrate, given that its such a small tank ADA soil wouldn't break the bank and would be worth the money. And yeh a central rock with a carpet of things works really well in a small tank. The only thing is that to get a decent carpet you'll probably need to go the EI route, as HC and glosso need lots of light to carpet properly.

Sam

 

[PaulEbs]

Cheers for the help so far Sam - i am waiting for a spare moment to respond to your PM, but in the meanwhile I thought I'd add on this post that I've decided to carry on with low-tech planting for the 40g while waiting for the nano [as received email suggesting it may not be arriving until the New year!]

We spent £25 on bogwood and it was deffinatly worth every penny...

I've decided to hook up decent yeast based Nutrafin cannisters which are currently producing 29ppm of Co2 with a bubble ladder. The bogwood has brought the Ph down to 7.0 and the plants seem to be loving it.

I'm going to use Nutrafins liquid ferts, plenty of root tabs and hopefully another light unit with 30w light to keep the plants from withering.

Thanks for looking.

Paul.

 

[lljdma06]

Does anyone know of any aquatic flowering plants that would work well in this 5.5g?

Also, which would be the best substrate to use? Seachems?

I won't be going down the EI route until I've used all the freebie liquid fert that I got with the Co2 kit - or is this wasting my time?

I will start a journal as soon as the tank arrives as I'll be buying everything I need before then.

Cheers,

Paul.

Small cryptocorynes given the proper conditions will flower under water. It is an oddly shaped tubular flower sort of resembling a Jack in the Pulpit. You might not be able to notice it. If you have access to it, Volume 2 of the Baensch Aquarium atlas series has a pretty extensive section with photos of the flowers of common aquarium plants. In addition, a larger crypt will also flower and perhaps give you the look you're going for. Anubias do as well. Another option, that may or may not be too big is Barclaya longifolia. It can get big, but it is a pretty slow grower. I've had mine flower in my 10g in IL, and it was a pretty funky flower. It tends to die back every year, but mine has stayed pretty small. Smaller echinodorus species will flower above the surface, as will most stemplants if encouraged to grow past the surface. It may not be a typical nano, but it could be attractive.

Not all nanos need EI, mine doesn't use it, nor do I inject CO2. If you have questions, feel free to PM.

llj

By the way, lovely tank, I look forward to seeing continued updates.

 

[Themuleous]

Bogwood looks like it was worth the money and the anubias plants look really healthy

Sam

 

[cdb2]

What pH is your High Wycombe tap water mate?

I live in a hard water area so would be interested in what pH yours is as you have achieved great results. Prresumably you aren't usuing RO?