Update of 6 ft Planted Tank - Dragon's Domain

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Please have a look and comment on my planted tank....still learning and this is my first planted tank.... will eventually be home for my Isaku Super Red Arowana once the covers come it.

Advise and criticism is welcomed ..... still learning from the pro's here....

Right side of the tank is still not to my liking...hope to improve on it....

Comments on Photo taking skills not appreciated....got a good camera but photographer sucks.... :P

Thanks in afvance.

http://www.arofanatics.com/members/k...ofplantedtank/

[BFG]

What about all the existing fishes once the arowana is placed in? Do you have plans for the existing life stock?

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Good question....will try to catch as much out as possible but quite difficult to catch all of them...the cigar fish and algae crew (Golden algae eaters and SAE) will probably stay there..... currently not that many fish in the tank.....about 6 white mountain clouds...20 rummy nose..... 2 pencil fish.... couple of golden algae eaters and SAE's..... two pairs of apisto's and a badis badis pair and 5 cigar fish

[fleekk]

Hi bro,

Kind of concern of your driftwood once your Aro introduce into the tank. It might hurt himself if it become jumpy.........

Suggest to do away with the driftwood......

[vinz]

Hey Clinton,

Good to see the tank taking shape.

The bare wood... better pad with plants. Other then dashing from fright, the arowana might hurt itself on it while dashing for fish. As long as they are thickly padded with plants, they are fine.

The big tall plants on both sides (Echinodoruses?)... do away with them. The arowana will tend to "pace" the tank and will need the extra space at the ends to do u-turns. If you reduce the width with those plants, you'll find it doing awkward 3 point turns, since fishes don't swim reverse very well. When they are stuck in that awkward manuveur, they will react badly to fright. Ruins the graceful flow of their swim too.

[Plantbrain]

Yes, moss or add Bolbitus the wood 100%.
Dark balck background or painting it different colors may really accent the tank, the plants and the fish.

Generally with Red fish, I go with darker cooler colors for plant choices with some bright greens mixed in.

I tend not to use any red plants since your fish will also be Red.

This might seem distracting over all but can be pulled off nicely I'm sure, still, with a red, I'd stick with moss, Bolbitus, deeper green plants that are not too delicate. Crypts also will make a nice mix.

C. balansae might make a nice color for a taller grass like plant than Vals.

Another dramatic plant, E azurea. Hairgrass also might be considered. E najas, Anubias, Lace plants(need cooler water), Blyxa, looks like you have some, one lily, a green one, perhaps spatterdock would be nice to have a leaf sit on the surface.

Java fern also has a nice color. Lizard tail and making moss rocks is another thing you can do for the foreground and other regions.

But moss the entire surface and leave space.
That's going to be a big fish when full grown.

I'd consider painting the back black, adding some darker plants, going for a cool open look. Consider the central mountain design as the fish can swim around this and it will look cool with Bolbitus and java fern, moss etc growing on all the wood.


Regards,
Tom Barr

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did some padding on the wood but dont want it too covered up....also the tank is quite wide (2.5 ft) and the aro still small..... when bigger probably time to re-scape the tank anyway....

anyway...figured that in the wild, there are driftwoods also and guess the fish will have to learn that drift wood is hard (or as I sometimes say...rubber tree not made of rubber....hit one with car once....quite a hard tree )

[dx]

I have quiry in mind:

what is the expected "life time" of the base fertilizer? by the time the base is no more fertile and your arowana is so big already, what will you do with the tank? overhaul the tank? I understand that when arowana is big it is tough to transfer from tank to tank.

Or, just add in nutrients to the water and carry on as arowana in planted tank?

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Dont really have the answers for your question but from asking around, tank will need an overhaul after about 3 years.... not really difficult to move a big aro.... but need somewhere to put it in whilst the overhaul is done and the tank settling in.... that is the problem but luckly friends got spare tanks and fiber tubs... (hope they still have them when I need it)

[Plantbrain]

I've had tank well over 10 years old, no need to redo the fert's in the base.

Plants will remove the nutrients from the water column FIRST, then if the water column is limited in some nutrient for some reason, thenm the plant will take it up from the substrate. There must be a dozen or so studies in the research done that clearly show this to be the case.

Iron might be the exception but most can add just a small amount of that to last a decade or more.

The other thing you can do, is add cork to the wood/rocks. This makes a nice surface to attach plants/moss too. Silicone the cork to the wood. Silicone comes off the wood if you want later.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[samhon]

oooo u have apisto in ur tank ?

okok, if u wan to find them a new home when ur arowana comes in, pls pm me k, i have over 20 apistos ... so in love with them.

btw, ur tank rocks, when can i have my 6 feet tank ... sighzzzzz

as for base fertilizer, i have heard of tis kind of fertilizer tt is a kind of paste form where u squeeze them into the soil, might work.

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[quote:b75f710769="samhon"]oooo u have apisto in ur tank ?

okok, if u wan to find them a new home when ur arowana comes in, pls pm me k, i have over 20 apistos ... so in love with them.

btw, ur tank rocks, when can i have my 6 feet tank ... sighzzzzz

as for base fertilizer, i have heard of tis kind of fertilizer tt is a kind of paste form where u squeeze them into the soil, might work.[/quote:b75f710769]

I just getting into apisto's...get mine from LCK Farm.... but not wild ones so colouration not that good... what you keeping currently ??? Now got Agazizi Super Red....Candidi and (in chinese) san sian tuan tiow ???