Dear all,
This is my truely first time aquascaping my 3ft tank (50G) which i had for 6 years. Previously, all I ever did was buying random plants and just sticking them into the gravel and not even bothering about CO2 or fertilizers. Now, I am hoping to create a beautiful garden and since CNY is coming, I had to get to work!
I started out cleaning my tank and gravel during the end of January, had my fish transported to a smaller tank. Dried my driftwood that were infested with algae. And also started planning a little for what i wanted to achieve. Was trying my best to learn from the online forums regarding the various DIY stuff which was MONEY SAVING for me.
Got my plants on 4th February, i really didn't know what to buy juz knew that i had to get fast growers to prevent algae and probably get some red plants with a mix of green. And not to forget trying my hands on some moss growing.
I waited for one week to allow the plants to establish themselves and for the water to cycle before doing another 50% Water Change on the 11th of February where i got my fishes. The plants were growing but weren't as fast as i expected.
Today, I saw that all the plants were growing! the only plant that's not growing as fast but it's healthy is my glosso. I am still waiting for it to cover my foreground.
Time for some pictures!
4th Feb
I am having in a clockwise direction, CABOMBA CAROLINIANA VAR. CAROLINIANA at the left background, HYGROPHILA DIFFORMIS, HYGROPHILA POLYSPERMA and LINDERNIA SP. "INDIA with GLOSSOSTIGMA ELANTINOIDES at the foreground. I have also tied some christmas moss (i think it is christmas moss based on pictures from the net) to the driftwood on both sides.
11th Feb
Things to note: I do not think that my moss is growing!my glosso though healthy are still not spreading! Does anybody know why?
Tank Fishes
19 Cardinal Tetras
18 Rummy Nose Tetras
2 Otos
5 Corydoras trilineatus
10 Cherry Shrimps
All the fishes and shrimps are living it good.The shrimps are sort of shy except for one extremely brave soul, who is swimming all around in my tank, unafraid of any of the other tank mates
But i have 1 less active oto which is sort of fat or i should say the stomach is rounder than the one that is very active. Anybody know the reason?
Hope that anyone can give me some advice! Because i feel that the tank is still lacking in variety of plants. Or even advice on how to better shape the aquarium.
PS: How do you delete photos from the gallary? I think i ought to resize my photos. Running out of space.
PSS: I am sorry Moderators if my pictures are too big. I am still new to forum and posting pictures. Sorry!
Last edited by Desmond; 2nd Mar 2007 at 01:34. Reason: Updates!
A bit of bad news for you, the moss will take a couple of weeks to show any sign of growing. So i guess it won't be in time for the new year. I suggest some anubias to fill it up as 'instant' plants around the wood base. They are selling them cheaply as of the moment at clementi. One bag has about 3-4 plants worth.
@ aquastuff.org
Hi Desmond,
Care to share more of your tank's statistics with us. Glosso requires higher lighting in order to creep along your foreground, having CO2 enrinched water & a base fertilizer helps speed up this process of course.
You should plant the glosso in small clumps, about 2-3 cm apart from one another, this will help them spread out faster.
If you have high powered lighting, one reason is that your glosso is still in its emersed form and will take a while to convert to its submersed form. Low lighting will cause the glosso to creep upwards instead.
For your scaping, what you have now are all background plants, try to get some mid-ground plants like crypts to fill up the void in the middle. With fertilization and some maintenance, you'll see the difformis & cabomba trying to outgrow one-another.
By the way, your driftwood looks like it still has algae on it.
Experiment your way around and enjoy this wonderful hobby.
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
This are the statistics of my tank.
91.4cm X 45.5cm X 46cm
Atman External Filter 35W Q/max: 1200 L/H
2 36W Fluorescent tubes
DIY CO2 2L (i plan to up the CO2 level by another 2L)
My glosso do seem to creep upwards now that you have mentioned it. But is my light sufficient for the tank?
I have been dosing fertilizers weekly since i got the plants using Flora Plus. Is it sufficient? Because, what is written on the bottle is that i should dose weekly.
Yes the algae you see on the driftwood are dried and dead. They are signs of my past experience of a planted tank.It is very difficult to remove all of the algae and i was hoping that the shrimps or otos will eat it and also hoping that my moss will gradually grow and cover it.
Desmond
Now that your tank is up and running give yourself time to learn through trials and error. To grow plants you will need base fertilisler if using lapis sand and CO2 supply and liquid fert and proper lighting (eg.3ft PL 4x36w).
Dont worry about scaping your tank now but enjoy keeping the plants and fishes healthy. Thanks for sharing with us your hard work.
eddy, i do not have base fertilizers and I am just using liquid fert. And does that mean i should get 2 more 36W lights?Originally Posted by eddyq
Desmond
I forgot to mention that I was thinking of having the left side of the tank look nearer towards the viewer and right side of the tank much further back and probably more area for the cute corys to graze on.
Besides anubias and crypt, are there other plants that can make the setup look much better?
Desmond
@ aquastuff.org
2 x 36W of FL is not strong enough for the glosso to creep. I'd suggest getting either PL or T5 lights.
It's good that you're planning on the scape but experiment your way through first then see how you want to get things done.
You can get a good plant list by visiting Tropica's website, http://www.tropica.com/plant_print.asp
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
Ideally, the tank should have base fert for stem plants or even glosso their roots goes deep. If not can try those monster root fert. Now I am using ADA Amazonia soil works better than lapis sand.
Greyfox, may I know what does PL and T5 mean?
And the website is good! Thanks! Any idea where i can get the plants mentioned inside? I don't know of a proper shop in which the owners know the types of plants.
Desmond
Eddy, I will get the monster root fert. What is the price of ADA soil?
Desmond
@ aquastuff.org
Hi Desmond,
PL lights and T5 lights are lights which burn brighter than the normal flourescent ones.
Click here to read up on T5 lights.
You can make a trip down to Teo's plant farm or Colorful for a wider range of plants.
Teo's plant farm
50 Lim Chu Kang, Lane 9C, Singapore 710000
Colorful Aquarium
Blk 1, Thomson Road, #01-XXX, Balestier Hill Shopping Centre, Singapore 300001
For pricing wise, it is best that you either go down to the shops to view the price or give them a call instead.
Call Nature Aquarium, you can look for Chan.
Blk 1, Thomson Road, #01-340, Balestier Hill Shopping Centre, Singapore 300001
Tel: 62556051
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
Dear all,
It's been a month since i started the tank. The plants are growing well except for my lindernia sp. and I plan to remove it. Have added 2 crypts inside but I have yet to ID them. My glosso are now growing well but probably not as fast. My moss is not growing! Is it due to the temperature of my tank? I am unsure of the temperature but it is definitely not 25deg. What should i do?
I bought 3 X 55W T5 lights from NA. They are working wonders for my plants. Photo period is 10hrs a day with 3 X 55W T5 and 2 X 36W FL.
Initially my CO2 diffusion rate was set at 1 bubble per 4 seconds as i noticed my fishes were gasping for air. But apparently, algae started growing and I have since increase the rate to 1 bubble per second. Is it sufficient?
Actions to be taken:
The driftwood at the left side of my tank will be removed due to algae growth and with that I will rescape probably my whole tank but I will leave the Cabomba and Hygrophila polysperma the way it is as shown in the updated pictures to form a sort of lagoon. Will be adding one or two new drift wood in though. The crypts will definitely be moved away.
Comments Needed:
I feel that the tank is lacking in red colour. Any comments?
Also, I was thinking along the line of getting some anubias or some more crypts to fill up the left side "lagoon" and probably the right side. Suggestions anyone?
Regards,
Desmond
Maybe can share some of my personal experience with moss.
got 2 tanks, 1 with chiller set to 24 degree and the other is around 29 to 30 degree.
tried java, christmas, spiky and taiwan moss.
java grows easily for both tank. normally around 2 months they cover my entire DW.
Christmas only grow in my tank with chiller but grow slow.
Spiky grows well in both tank but is nicer than java and taiwan moss due to it's nice triangular shape.
taiwan also grow well in both tanks but too big for my liking.
hope this helps.
ya add a few red plants will look nice. I have the same problem too alot of greens. however, my red plants dont usually stay red; will turn green. Farm guy says maybe not enough light. Shop guy says need to add some kind of solution. The latter tried still no effect. now trying the light method.
@ aquastuff.org
Off topic: ljsg, red plants require higher lighting. What the "farm guy" mentioned to you is correct. What the "shop guy" mentioned to you is to earn a buck or two from you.
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
yes i agree. learned the hard way since those solutions are not cheap too.
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