Diary of my 1st planted tank (60cm x 30cm x 36cm)

[Xanavi]

About a month ago, I suddenly had the urge to go back to the hobby after several years' break. I had kept fishes in the past but planted setup is totally new to me. After 2 weeks of online crash course and preparation of equipment, I finally started my first planted tank! I hope I can keep track and share with the rest on the progress of my setup through this thread.

[Xanavi]

3 Aug 2013 (Day 1)

Started off with planting HC as my foreground plant. I was quite determined to DSM it after reading up so many articles on HC and how tough it was to grow it, until I paid a visit to Teo's the following day. My DSM only lasted 1.5 days

[Xanavi]

5 Aug 2013 (Day 3)

I don't really have any idea what plants I got from Teo's except for the hairgrass. The plants spent about a day in the fridge (as advised that they can be stored there for a while) before I planted them in the tank. I filled up the tank with using a small airline tube but the water still ended up quite cloudy.

[Xanavi]

7 Aug 2013 (Day 5)

Added in some more new plants such as the Downoi, Staurogyne and crypts. As you can see, no theme, just plenty of random planting. Some of the background plants are growing at an amazing rate. Also started to do daily water changes.

[Xanavi]

11 Aug 2013 (Day 9)

HC appears to be doing ok.
Also replaced the hairgrass with some stem plants because they appeared to be melting away.

[Xanavi]

14 Aug 2013 (Day 12)

Added tiger lotus into the tank. 2 red shrimps were also added in to test the water and also to see if they can get rid of the emerging algae problem. Also started to trim some of the background plants.

[Xanavi]

18 Aug 13 (Day 15)

Have expanded my cleaning crew with the addition of several more cherry shrimps, 2 ottos and a puffer fish to clear the snails. Some addition of new plants too. Current photoperiod is about 6-7 hours a day and most plants are doing quite well.

[Mystikboy]

Hi may I know if you inject co2 into your tank? The plants are growing fantastically!

[kohanson]

Nice! The HC has spread nicely and will sure be lush soon.

[Ingen]

Is your HC growing upwards?

[flick]

beautiful!

I look forward to your updates.

Nice lights. Are those UP AQUA LED lights?

May I know your tank temperature?

[Xanavi]

I have listed the specs / parameters (as at 19 Aug 2013) here for those who wish to know:

Tank: 60 (L) x 30(W) x 36(H)
Substrate : ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia
Base Fert : JBL Aquabasis Plus
Filtration : Eheim Classic 350
Lighting : 2 x UP-Aqua Pro Z Series LED Light 60cm (21.3W)
Photoperiod : 6-7hrs (still on manual, not yet using timer)
Average Temperature : 27 deg
CO2 : ANS Professional Co2 System (2L) from EOA
CO2 rate : 2-2.5bps using ceramic diffuser
Water change: 20% Water changes every 2 days
Fertilizer: Seachem Flourish, Potassium, Phosphate, Iron (in accordance to recommended dosage per amount of water changed)
Test Kits: None at the moment

[Xanavi]

Is your HC growing upwards?

As you can see from the pictures, they are expanding horizontally with vertical growths.
Today is the first time I gave the HC a slight trim.

[flick]

I have listed the specs / parameters (as at 19 Aug 2013) here for those who wish to know:

Tank: 60 (L) x 30(W) x 36(H)
Substrate : ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia
Base Fert : JBL Aquabasis Plus
Filtration : Eheim Classic 350
Lighting : 2 x UP-Aqua Pro Z Series LED Light 60cm (21.3W)
Photoperiod : 6-7hrs (still on manual, not yet using timer)
Average Temperature : 27 deg
CO2 : ANS Professional Co2 System (2L) from EOA
CO2 rate : 2-2.5bps using ceramic diffuser
Water change: 20% Water changes every 2 days
Fertilizer: Seachem Flourish, Potassium, Phosphate, Iron (in accordance to recommended dosage per amount of water changed)
Test Kits: None at the moment

Nice. Thanks.

27 degrees sounds good without any fan. Will you consider using a fan for your planted tank to lower temperature further? Might be good for that red leafy plant behind your driftwood.

[David]

Where you plant your cryptos is very important. These plants do not like to be moved around and they respond by melting down.

They need good water circulation and not too strong lights on them on the onset.

[Xanavi]

Nice. Thanks.

27 degrees sounds good without any fan. Will you consider using a fan for your planted tank to lower temperature further? Might be good for that red leafy plant behind your driftwood.

I have thought of it but no real plans install one at the moment. I am staying at high floors and my place is quite windy, the morning temp is ard 26 deg and I haven't observe anything greater than 28 deg since I started the setup.

[Xanavi]

Where you plant your cryptos is very important. These plants do not like to be moved around and they respond by melting down.

They need good water circulation and not too strong lights on them on the onset.

Thanks for the tip, always learning new things everyday. The lighting probably is a bit too strong on them in some parts of the tank but I am quite satisfied with water circulation in the tank.

[David]

No problem, just sharing. If lights are strong, it may take a longer time for cryptos to kick in. If that is the case pluck out existing leaves leaving just one to two leaves.

They will eventually melt. Plucking existing leaves also hasten the kick in process. Patience is the key to cryptos and because of this, do not plant fast growing foreground plants next to them.

[Xanavi]

18 Aug 13 (Day 21)

Did a little rescape as I felt the background plants are getting too messy and probably a bit oversized.
Shifted some midground plants as well to created a wider HC carpet. Plugged in some new patches of HC to fill up the void.

[Atham]

Your tank is growing up Nicely.