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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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 Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 11:52 pm Post subject: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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My first ever attempt at a Planted Tank. I preferred to call it The Poor Man's Pico, because of its low economic value.
Unfortunately, I am going to strip this scape (dont know if it even deserves to be called one  ) and go for a moss-only setup for my RCS. Anyways, wanted to share with you all, more as a token of gratitude to IAH, for all the learning and experience I've gained here. Thank you all 
Tank Details:
Dimension: 12Lx6Wx9H (10 Ltrs/2.5 Gallon)
Substrate: River Gravel
Filtration: Tianrun 200L/Hr HOB
CO2 - None
Ferts - None
Light - 6W LED Bulb
Flora:
Blyxa Japonica (background)
Sagittaria Subulata
Echinodorus Tenellus
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Amazon Sword
Hydrocotyle Verticallata
Java Moss
Fauna:
RCS - 6
Otocinclus - 3 (now moved to a 10G)
Assassin Snails - 5
Pond Snails - dozens, but fast disappearing, courtesy the assassins |
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saikumar
Committed Member of IAH
Joined: Jan 30, 2007
Posts: 2224
Location: HYD-is-good
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:33 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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Well no one can stop if you have decided to. But the above looks good, may be you can allow it to grow up a bit more.
Also you can see RCS more often in this tank than moss tank :)
BTW how old is the setup? looks very clean |
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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:57 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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Thanks so much @saikumar :)
This photo was taken when I was just setting the tank up, and filling in the water for the first time.
I hadn't introduced any fauna yet, maybe thats why it looks clean 
However, the tank looks pretty much the same today, except all of my pygmy chain swords melted away  I guess the 6W light was too much for them initially. I should have increased the light height or something to allow them to adjust
I will try to post a current pic this weekend. |
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DRDHEEP
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Sep 27, 2012
Posts: 577
Location: Marthandam (Kanyakumari district) & Trivandrum
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:15 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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| Light seems to be fine. It isn't a high light tank. |
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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:39 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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Really? That's a relief for me!! Is there a possibility that the chain swords melted because of wrong spectrum? I bought this LED bulb off ebay and it said 6500K.
Here's the link: 5W LED Bulb
I assumed the melt happened due to either of the 2 reasons:
1. High light, but no CO2 and ferts
2. Incorrect spectrum
Do you think there might have been something wrong with the substrate? I assumed no, because I was able to get good plant growth in the same gravel with DIY CO2, but no ferts. Please refer attached image. This was a 7 ltr sump I used to kind of nurse my plants, before they went into the tank. This tank had no fish, just plants. However, I failed terribly, because this was placed on a window sill and the irregular indirect sunlight resulted in all sorts of algae issues I abandoned the nursery idea there, and this is now a QT for fish only. |
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shyamhegde
Frequent Visitor to IAH
Joined: May 17, 2013
Posts: 241
Location: Bangalore
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:29 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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| Nice. also post pic of the light please ? |
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Karthik1521
IAH New Member
Joined: Dec 28, 2012
Posts: 67
Location: K.R.Puram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:20 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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Nice start Abhi
I'm sure the Pros must be nostalgic since this is how most of them start I guess 
Thanks,
Karthik |
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Mortis
Committed Member of IAH
Joined: Apr 14, 2006
Posts: 1968
Location: Mumbai
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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| Most of those plants will grow too big for your tank |
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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 7:17 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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@shyamhegde - sorry I am late, but here's a pic of the light setup you asked for :)
@karthik1521 - thanks karthik, I hope I am on the right track then 
@mortis - you're right, one of the reasons I am planning to re-scape this pico :)
P.S: Please pardon the dirty tank pic. My assassins took care of the adult pond snails, but those buggers had laid god knows how many eggs 
I am seeing a sudden explosion of baby snails everywhere !!! I am literally picking out 100's of them and yet they keep coming. But there is good news too !! The assassins seemed to have realized its an arduous task exterminating these, so they've laid eggs of their own  I am now gonna wait for tiny little assassins to hatch before I rip the current setup |
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garothmaan
Committed Member of IAH
Joined: Jun 11, 2008
Posts: 3504
Location: Mumbai, Bharat (AKA...INDIA)
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| Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 2:01 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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| welcome to IAH Pulsarbhabhi- I say its a very good tank |
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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:54 pm Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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@garothmaan - I had to literally pinch myself to believe reading your post !! It means a lot getting such words of encouragement from veterans like you Thanks a lot Like I mentioned earlier, this is just a novice attempt and I have done way many rookie mistakes. But one thing I am sure of, I am hooked !!  |
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shyamhegde
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Joined: May 17, 2013
Posts: 241
Location: Bangalore
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 12:09 am Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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| Going good. I wonder if that bulb was sufficient enough but plant growth indicates it is. |
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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:53 am Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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Yes, I guess so. There is plant growth albeit very very slow. The cryptocoryne gets a new leaf like every 2-3 weeks and the dwarf sag you see in the foreground has hardly grown. But the Hydrocotyle Verticallata has sent out 4-5 tiny sister stems. I originally had bought 10 stems, and now I have like 15-16
All in all, the slow growth kind of suits my low maintenance requirement. |
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garothmaan
Committed Member of IAH
Joined: Jun 11, 2008
Posts: 3504
Location: Mumbai, Bharat (AKA...INDIA)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:07 am Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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| PULSARABHI wrote (View Post):
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@garothmaan - I had to literally pinch myself to believe reading your post !! It means a lot getting such words of encouragement from veterans like you Thanks a lot Like I mentioned earlier, this is just a novice attempt and I have done way many rookie mistakes. But one thing I am sure of, I am hooked !!
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Seriously its a good tank. And you cant go away from this hobby even after we are all dead. My grave will also have a fish tank above it |
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PULSARABHI
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Aug 01, 2014
Posts: 250
Location: Malleswaram, Bangalore
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:47 am Post subject: Re: The Poor Man's Pico - MY first attempt at a Planted Tank |
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Thanks again sir !! And you got me cracking on that grave stone one 
But jokes apart, such a noble thought !! |
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