60cm beginner's journal. (Finally set up my tank)

[erwinx]

Thanks to everyone in AQ for the advice (Urban, David and many more....) given in the past few months. I finally set up my 60cm tank which was delivered in August.




1. Paste Oyama paper (in August!)



2. Start putting in soil. Gex Plant Soil and Ocean Free Bio Gravel ($6 for 5kg, how to complain ), various rocks to support the slope




3. 9pm, still building up the slope, now with Ocean Free Bio Gravel at the rear now with more rocks. The elevation at rear left of the tank is about 25cm high and slopes down to rear right at 17cm high. The front of the tank has about 7cm of substrate



4. rock arrangement. Then I left it alone for 2 weeks as no time to go to Teo's Aquatic Farm to buy plants. Note how bluish the photo is as this was with the Up-Aqua light which is rather blueish.



5. Finally got time to go to Teo's to buy plants. Up-Aqua LED at the rear, Evo 24 6500k 3w LED in front so not so blueish anymore (I like 6500k much more, one of my earlier hobbies was photography and all my monitors are calibrated to 6500k because thats the recomendation, at first, also thought 6500k was yellowish, but now find it more 'natural')

Now it the wait and see what grows, what doesn't grow, get something else and replant...


Photography note: I'm new to aquarium photography and I can't get rid of reflections. I used a piece of black cloth to remove some reflections, but I can't cover the camera, so you can see the words "Canon" reflected on the tank.
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Tank and cabinet: 60x45x45 (Green Chapter)

Substrate: Gex Plant soil (powder type), with 5kg Ocean Free Bio Gravel ($6 to fill up space, hosting of beneficial bacteria), and black lava rocks to help build up the slope.

Filter: Eheim Ecco Pro 300 with Seachem Matrix

Fertilisation: JBL Root fertiliser balls, Eiho liquid fertiliser. Seachem Iron.

CO2: 1bps, external reactor. Not sure worthwhile to increase bps because i look at the reactor there are always undissolved bubbles? Got Ocean Free Solenoid, one of the washers was tied to the power cord (!?), didn't notice and installed the Co2 without that washer, heard gas hissing sound on turn on, found the washer, and reinstalled.

Lighting: UP-Aqua LED rear, Green Element Evo 3w LEDs on low power at front (3w LED for penetration, not enough plants for justify turn on all the bulbs).

Plants: All from Teo's Aquatic Farm. Eleocharis, E. Tenellus, 3 types of C. Wendtii, Tiger Lotus and other plants, didn't catch what Mr Teo called them.

[flick]

beautiful rocks! i'm following your thread

some black electrical (gaffer) tape on your "Canon" will solve your problem. Or just masking tape, and colour it black with a black marker.

and probably you need a card to cut off the light spill from your tank lighting, before you take photos. if you have space to stand further back from your tank, maybe you can use a longer lens. maybe underexpose by 1/2 stop to get the black oyama to look black?

[Xanavi]

Photoshop will do the trick too

[ConcaveLiNkiN]

Hi bro,

If you got the time, break your hairgrss into smaller stalks, and plant them close together. They will grow better.


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[limz_777]

dont let any light spill out to front and take it during night , room lights off

[ConcaveLiNkiN]

As you can see, if you split the hairgrass, it actually grows runner that will spread throughout the substrate:

[David]

Gosh...I really admire aquarists like you who actually take time to setup tank and find nice rocks and wood....I am super duper lazy and impatient....hahaha.

Watch your hair grass to tennulus ratio. If they are growing side by side, it's 3/4 to 1/4. If not, your hair grass will be choked out over time.

[erwinx]

Setup time: I spread out my setup time over 1 month, so not so tiring. Tank came in August and then took 1 month to slowly find stuff, then put soil, wait 1 week, put rocks, wait another week, then finally water...

Eleocharis: . I split them up a little bit more.

Tennellus: I've read the threads about the dangers of too much tennellus, so i've only planted a few, just to see how they grow. (Mr Teo gave me way too much Tennellus). The threads I've read recommend replacing tennellus with Blyxa Japonica, but I'm not sure how to find and identify Blyxa at local fish stores... any advice?

Crypts: The green crypts (C. Parva?) are doing ok. The red crypts are melting, guess have to be patient to see if they revive.

Anubias: Following Urban's example, I bought a pot of Anubias Petite (not cheap) and a pot of Anubias Barteri (cheapest), some 3cm black pebbles and put them in shaded areas. Maybe I'll use them to carpet instead of Tennellus.

[Urban Aquaria]

Tennellus: I've read the threads about the dangers of too much tennellus, so i've only planted a few, just to see how they grow. (Mr Teo gave me way too much Tennellus). The threads I've read recommend replacing tennellus with Blyxa Japonica, but I'm not sure how to find and identify Blyxa at local fish stores... any advice?

From what i've seen at the various LFS so far, Echinodorus Tenellus is usually sold in harvested emersed form in plastic cartons... while Blyxa Japonica is usually sold in submerged form in pots within plant sales display tanks.

You can tell them apart most easily by looking at their base/root structure, Echinodorus Tenellus leaves are connected by runners (like hairgrass), while Blyxa Japonica leaves grow on individual thick stems with roots (they are actually stem plants).

[David]

You were at Teo's and you didn't as for Blyxa Japonica?.....He has TONS of it.....

As for Tennellus...even with few stalks....if left unchecked they will spread really fast. The difference is because the Tennellus runners are surface runners while, I think most species of Hair Grass are bottom runners. Tennellus runners are commandoes....thy will climb over, under and sideways any obstacle they come in contact. They trick to it is to clip the runners that you don't want them to go to early.

[erwinx]

Hi David, ok I'll visit Teo's again for Blyxa Japonica when i'm in the neighbourhood. If you are going, maybe can coincide my visit so you can give me advice... am interested in the crypts you got from Teo's that you have in your tank thread

Finally could you tell me what is the red stem plant in middle rear of my tank photo? (sorry if not so clear), I don't think Mr Teo told me the name.

On the extreme right rear, the Zenkeri lotus is not doing well. When I got the plant it wasn't in that fantastic a shape (i think it was the last straggler in a near empty concrete tank). I might need to get a healthier sample or change to something else.

[David]

Hi Erwinx

The next time I will be at Teo's place will probably be end October.

You need to take a close up picture for me to try to ID the plant as well as your Lotus.

[Xatriaz]

Nice rock bro, waiting for the pic when the grass already carpeting


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[erwinx]

Day 8 Update

Here are some photos on day 8. Hope members can assists in confirming the ID of some of the plants.
I added small Yamato Shrimp (The ones at Seaview are smaller/ juvenile? compared to other LFS), and cherry shrimp, 1 horned Nerite snail, and transferred 3 of my otos from my 45cm test/quarantine tank.
The Zenkeri Lotus couldn't make it (was not in fantastic shape when I got it from Teo's either) so replaced with a new one.
Also underexposed the photo slightly so the oyama paper looks better and tried to tweak the colour balance. I am using 6500k Green Element Evo and the more blue-ish Up-Aqua Z-series LED which looks fine in real life, but probably confuses the camera.

The Eleocharis/hairgrass, I did separate some of them but some of them didn't touch because scared to cause a mess of floating hairgrass... not doing so well compared to the Tennellus... but I'll try and spread them a little more and wait and see....

Ammonia 0.5ppm / Nitrite 0.5ppm before weekly water change.




Overall view of the tank at Day 8




Plants for ID (I surfed the net to try to match photos, so the names are my best guess)

From left to right
(1) Some sort of sword plant from Teo's
(2) Red stem plant: Alternanthera?
(3) Stringy stem plant with red tips: unsure?
(4) Green stem plant with green leaves that seem slightly variegated with yellow lines: unsure?
(5) Stringy stem plant with pinkish tips: Rotala Wallichi?




Crypts Left to right
(1) C. Parva - long and green, some leaves melted but doing well
(2) One solitary C. Wendtii Brown somewhere in the middle from my test tank
(3) On the right side- C. Wendtii Tropica? Brown/red stem with green leaves? A lot more melting compared to the C.Parva but I think they have stabilised.



Anubias Nana Petite on pebbles!

[ConcaveLiNkiN]

Are your Anubias Nana Petite on pebbles being shaded by the sword plant? They might not turn out well, if they do not receive sufficient light.

[David]

The Echinodorus looks like a Ozelot Green. Did you asked Teo? Ozelot green is going to grow big unless its the Echinodorus Leopard.

The stemmed plant in the center looks like a Rotala Macrandra broad leave. Just beside it to the right rear looks like a Rotala Indica. The crypto that you are asking looks either a Wendtii Green or the Gecko. this two species look identical just that the Gecko has darken vein patterns all over the leaves.

[erwinx]

Day 15 update:

(1) Rotala Macandra doing quite well. Sprouting deep red leaflets at the base on the stem near the bottom. Trimming soon...
(2) Rotal Wallichi, growth not as fast, but tips are pink so I think they're healthy
(3) Hairgrass: no progress so far
(4) Crypts, new leaves coming out.
(5) E.Tenellus, some of the bunches are sending out runners, need to cut/trim

Ordered some stuff from amazon (free global shipping) and notice that 100ml Purigen qualifies for free shipping, so added that to the order to try out....

[felix_fx2]

FYI,

From left to right
(3) Stringy stem plant with red tips: unsure?

Comparing leaf lengths to what i have it might not be a

Might be LUDWIGIA BREVIPES
Google Image search - LINK
APC's plant finder - LINK

[ConcaveLiNkiN]

Give the hairgrass a little more time. Mine took around 28days to really dense out. The initial growth could really bring the impatience out of us. Haha...


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[sfk7]

Your c. Parva is too tall to be parva. My opinion is that it could be c. Willisii