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nbj12345
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 Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:39 pm Post subject: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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I have kept fish for more than an year now but quiet recently i started leaning towards the Planted Tanks
So did read up a few things and bugged many aquarists with lot of PM's on various forums
and finally made this setup
It is not a professional one though, just an beginner's work
Tank Dimensions : 2ft x 1ft x 1ft (LBH)
Substrate : 2kg aquaclay + 2kg 0f Biobase + topped with 10L bag of 2mm Contro soil
Hardscape: Used rocks which i collected from Cauvery river
Flora:
Dwarf Hair grass
Blyxya Japonica
Cabomba
Egeria Densa
Star Grass
Difformis
Vallisneria Twister
Fauna:
6 Neon tetras
12 Dwarf Danios
a pair of Rummy Nose, Cherry Barb and Ramirize each
and a pair of Golden algae eaters and assassin snails each
Lighting is Sunsun HDD 600 55W PLL lighting
Oceanfree super 1 HOB filter
Initially with no CO2 so chose hair grass for carpet
but after 3 weeks now with a Pressurised CO2 system with ista difffuser
As my tank 's height is less , 12 inch - 3 inch substrate so only 9 inch left out
so had to trim the plants soon
after trimming the plants are growing unevenly into random directions
and most of cabomba are more stems than leaves ,even though they are pearling regularly |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:46 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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After a month of setting up the tank,
the plants are all in not so good condition
and few plants like Blyxya are shredding their leaves ,
camomba leaves are not so green looks like brownish
and thread algae is seen over many plants which i am cleaning manually right now
and saw few green dots all over the front glass,which i scrubbed manually
Please do suggest some good plants for my setup and do suggest any alternations for the scape if it's possible i'll change it
here are pics of my tanks present conditions
PS: sorry for the Bad quality of pics taken from a mobile phone |
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deepakg
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:57 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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| Hi you can add some java moss too. And please shift the HOB to the side. Over all looks good. Whats your water changing schedule? |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:15 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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@Deepak
At first the HOB was at side only (can be seen in the 1st pic) after adding CO2 diffuser i moved it to the middle so as the bobbles of CO2 get circulated well to all parts of the tank
where do you suppose i place Java moss, id do want place moss and add few RCS but couldn't really think of where i can place the moss
and i do weekly 25 - 30% water changes and top up water in mid week |
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Athreyan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:20 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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hi,
First off, your tank & rocks look great! 
You used too much of substrate. I think you could have done with one inch less. But that's not really a problem, except for space occupied & money spent.
I'm always an advocate for dense planting. So start off by planting more densely. Specifically the hair grass. With the amount of hair grass you have, it will take ages to fill out into the entire foreground, and you have a huge foreground space. Planting more densely also helps keep algae in check.
IMO your primary problem for algae is very high lighting. You used 55W of lighting for a 12-15 gallon tank which is more than 4x. And the fact that you didn't have co2 earlier made matters worse. All you may need is a 36W light.
Another thing is, with high lights & pressurized co2, you MUST supplement nutrients. In a low tech setup, it may not always be necessary, but in a high tech setup, it is definitely needed. remember that it is the balance between light, co2 & nutrients that gives success. If you have high lights & press'd co2, the plants' uptake of nutrients is also high. This nutrient level cannot be sustained without supplementation.
please specify:
amount of time the lights are ON. (it is best to keep a regular schedule, and keep them on for no longer than 8-9 hrs a day)
co2 flow rate (BPS) (about 2-3 BPS should be good for you) |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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| Athreyan wrote (View Post):
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hi,
First off, your tank & rocks look great!
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Thanks Athreyan 
plant growth was very good but i did a mistake of using an anti ick medicine into my tank which has made my plants to shred leaves ,my bad 
I'm confused with the fertilizers as i'm not so good with chemistry to make a DIY one
so please do help me out with the ferts
and please do suggest a few plants for my scape as i'm not able decide them on my own
And i just put on the lights for only around 6hours in the evening from 5 to 11
and CO2 right now its at 2BPS |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:03 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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Guys please do help me in making DIY fertz ,
like from where i can buy the required chemicals in Bangalore
and dosing procedure |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:08 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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One more problem is that ,the golden algae eaters are ruining my scape , you can see that in my 1st pic the scape was high in height near the rocks and lower towards the front
but these algae eaters are like making my scape flat as they are like levelling out a mountain 
please suggest any solutions for this problem and help me in retaining my scape as desired |
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Athreyan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:47 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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The duration of your lights is only the second consideration. The first is the amount of light given to the tank. if you give high light, no matter how short a time, you will have algae issues. (Of course this takes into consideration other factors also) So reduce your lighting.
Your choice of plants seems OK. Just plant more of the same. Dwarf hair grass will grow into a beautiful lawn in due course. Just that you have plant much more of it for your scape to look lush.
I'm not sure how medication affects plant health so I will not comment on that.
As for your problem with the slope; this is an inherent problem with any sloping scape. The soil will always tend to slide and even out, especially bare substrate without plants. Your fish may not be the culprit. It could just be your water flow. People solve this problem by inserting plastic pieces into the substrate to act like barriers. I personally have never done a sloping soil setup. the other way around this is to keep plants of different heights in a way that gives the impression of a slope. |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 3:53 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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@Athreyan
Thanks for the suggestions
I'm going out today to buy some more hair grass and other plants
i'll look for 36W PLL light for replacing the current 55W one
@ALL
Please
do help me with the Fertz please
and please do suggest some shrimps except RCS for my tank as someone said RCS are not good for algae clean up |
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Mortis
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:41 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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Athreyan has some good suggestions. Id just like to reiterate and make some suggestions
Increase your CO2 and start adding liquid ferts. This is the main reason your plants arent doing well.
Very high lighting. I dont think you can add a36W PLL in a 55W holder. Instead what you can do is raise your light fitting by 4-5 inches from current position.
Get rid of the SAE.
Filtration and flow : No idea waht the size and flow rate of your HOB is but good flow is necessary in a planted tank to evenly distribute CO2 and ferts all over the tank. Ideally it should be rated at 10x tank volume. I would suggest getting a small 3-400 lph powerhead and adding it to your tank. FAce it blowing across the diffuser so that the bubbles are carried and mixed better with your water |
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Athreyan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:44 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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I suggest the Estimative Index (EI) method of dosing for you as you have a high tech setup.
I'll give you my recipe. Also look up some other threads for more info. Please google 'Chuck Gadd's Planted Aquarium Calculator', download it & find a suitable dosing schedule for yourself.
RECIPE:
Potassium Dihydrogen Orthophosphate (KH2SO4) - 2 tsp
Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) - 6 tsp
Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom salt) (MgSO4.7H2O) - 12 tsp
Mix these salts together in 500ml of bottled water. Remember to boil & cool the water before mixing the salts. Dissolve the salts in the water completely. This should make up your Macro-fertilizer mix.
IME/O you can dose about 6ml on three days of the week with a 50% weekly water change. Your first dosing of the week should be immediately after the water change. you can dose macros when you switch on the lights in the morning.
The above dosing is my estimate for your tank (AFTER it has been planted heavily). But please do some research on what would be comfortable for you.
for Micro-nutrient mix, you can use either a pre mixed product like JBL Ferropol, Seachem trace or mix your own using some appropriate fertilizer. I've used ferropol with decent results. But now I'm on the lookout for some fertilizer that I can mix on my own. Will update you once I find something compatible. There are many threads in this forum that suggest the use of Microsol-B (a product of Vardhaman Fertilizers). I have not used this, so I cannot comment on its efficacy. Its impossible to find it in Chennai! But lately many people have also commented on how Microsol-B is 'not very efficient'.
sourcing these materials will have to be guided by some local aquarists.
PS: buy lots of hair grass!  |
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Athreyan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:50 pm Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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+1 Mortis...
Also, just noticed your photo period. you say it is 5 to 11 pm. That is not very conducive timing. Ideally the light must come on during the day time & be shut off in the evening. It must mimic the natural light period (daytime  ) |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:28 am Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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@Mortis
Thanks Mortis
and for the powerhead can i use only the upper part of my internal filter which i had in my non planted setup
and BTW my current HOB has a flow rate of 250L/h |
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nbj12345
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:38 am Post subject: Re: My first Planted tank.....Help in Making it Better...! |
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@Athreyan
Thanks for the help with fertz
will surely try it out , firstly i have to find out from where i can source the required salts
but until then please do suggest a good off the shelf fertz so that my plants won't completely go down by the time i prepare my DIY fertz
and btw Athreyan ,Had been to buy some more hair grass, didn't get it , but i got my hands on a nice carpet of HC, so now i have added the HC carpet for the fore ground
Is it fine...? |
Last edited by nbj12345 on Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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