Beginner's 3 feet tank update

[cs_sg]

Hello

I took a few snapshots of the 3feet tank.

In mid Dec 2005, this was how it looked like if you remembered.



The 2 pieces of bogwood were attacked by BBA and I had to remove all the moss on them. I also boiled the woods for an hour before reusing one of the 2 pieces.

All moss were removed from this tank as my angels were too busy snipping on them to allow good growth.

This is how it looks like after 7weeks.

Can someone please id this Rotala infront of the bogwood?
There is another bigger leave Rotala behind the bogwood. I'll wait for that to grow taller to capture a picture.





I have removed one of the wood, retied all the nanas and added in 2 types of red plant (Rotala sp.) just before new year. The row of Val nanas at the back of the tank are not growing too well and you can't see them from the picture. The Blyxas have blocked the view of the Vals completely. On the right hand side of the tank, there are actually about 20+ Vals spiralis plantlets behind the Blyxa.





Even though I have used an internal powerhead attached to a rain-bar to diffuse the CO2, I still get BBA on some of the older leaves on the E.tennellus, Vals and crypts. I trim off the infested leaves almost every day.

I may switch to keeping a pair of discus and more pencilfish once this tank has stabilised. (i.e. no BBA).
My angels are growing too fast and this tank will be too small for them in a couple of months' time.

Constructive comments are much appreciated .

[ranmasatome]

i cant see pics leh..

[cs_sg]

i cant see pics leh..

haha... you viewed so fast...
I realised that and changed all file extensions to .JPG already.
Why the image quotes cannot use .jpg in small caps ha?

[ranmasatome]

thats rotala rotundifolia..

[ranmasatome]

if tank too small for angels still thinking of keeping discus ah??

[Weirong]

Your Blyxa are quite big. Just a few or many small ones together?
Looking good but that driftwood doesn't look like it belongs there.

What are the tank parameters? Crank up the CO2 to stop the BBA. I'm getting some BBA on my tenellus myself after I shifted them to another tank. Cranking up the CO2 too.

Are you using the JBL ferts you got the other time?

[cs_sg]

if tank too small for angels still thinking of keeping discus ah??

Yeah, is a pair of discus okay in this 3feet tank?
Still loves the cichlids with bars :P.

I want some bigger fish for this tank. These angels are very aggressive towards my shrimps.

[|squee|]

Nice greens! I like it, just wait for the bare space to be filled up and the rotalas to bush up.

[cs_sg]

Your Blyxa are quite big. Just a few or many small ones together?
Looking good but that driftwood doesn't look like it belongs there.

What are the tank parameters? Crank up the CO2 to stop the BBA. I'm getting some BBA on my tenellus myself after I shifted them to another tank. Cranking up the CO2 too.

Are you using the JBL ferts you got the other time?

This is the side view of the tank. I planted 5 pots of the Blyxa (about 20plants) quite closely initially. You can see that the Blyxa are thrice the height of the E.tennellus. It melted initially until I dosed KNO3. Since then, it has been sending out shoots on the side and I've already trimmed it once to use them for my shrimp tank.

I am not sure know what you mean by the wood doesn't seem to belong there. The placement is odd? or the shape of the wood doesn't go with the rest of the plants? Or its too raw?

I thought it looked out of place because those Vals behind it were just not growing tall at all .

It was supposed to soften this big chunk of bogwood. I'll see if I can find alternatives to the Vals if they still don't grow well in a few months.
Moreover, I can't seem to grow any moss in this tank until I find a balance and stop the BBA completely. I am using petite nanas now and BBA is attacking them since.

Tank parameters?
Last week when I measured, it was:
PH:6.2
KH: 2

I'm having like 2bps for CO2 and I can't increase it anymore. I get alot of mist from the rainbar which distribute it across the back of the tank. Every morning, I get airlock in this internal CO2 reactor. I will need to modify the reactor.

I might just switch to 2 ceramic diffusors at both ends of the tank later. I really hate the look of the reactor and powerhead on the right corner, especially when the background plants (Vals) are not growing tall enough to cover them.

Yes. I'm using the JBL Ferropol.

[Weirong]

This is the side view of the tank. I planted 5 pots of the Blyxa (about 20plants) quite closely initially. You can see that the Blyxa are thrice the height of the E.tennellus. It melted initially until I dosed KNO3. Since then, it has been sending out shoots on the side and I've already trimmed it once to use them for my shrimp tank.

The Blyxas are looking very good!

I am not sure know what you mean by the wood doesn't seem to belong there. The placement is odd? or the shape of the wood doesn't go with the rest of the plants? Or its too raw?

I thought it looked out of place because those Vals behind it were just not growing tall at all .

Your choice of plants is almost similiar to my Swordtail tank (if you remember) and I chose a low setup. The wood you have seems more appropriate for a wilder feel. And yes, it feels raw because it's not supported by enough tall plants.
I feel that some tall hairgrass should fit your current scape more. Easier to grow than Vals too.

Tank parameters?
Last week when I measured, it was:
PH:6.2
KH: 2

Did you add anything to adjust the PH and KH? I have the same tank size and almost similiar plants but I get about 6.6 PH and 4 KH!

I'm having like 2bps for CO2 and I can't increase it anymore. I get alot of mist from the rainbar which distribute it across the back of the tank. Every morning, I get airlock in this internal CO2 reactor. I will need to modify the reactor.

I might just switch to 2 ceramic diffusors at both ends of the tank later. I really hate the look of the reactor and powerhead on the right corner, especially when the background plants (Vals) are not growing tall enough to cover them.

I have had poor experience with internal reactors and have switched all my tanks to use either ceramic diffusors or external reactors. So far so good.
Check your mist distribution. Could be the source of your algae problem.
Be patient with the Vals!

[Justikanz]

Chryl, use Cyperus helferi to replace the vallis if they are still not doing well... I am using the C.helferi now and they seem to be doing good with root monster...

I hope my blyxa can look so lush... They are currently very small in my tank.

[cs_sg]

Thanks, Weirong.

I don't use any chemical to buffer the PH or KH.
Every tank is different even though both of us has the same sized tank. I run my CO2 24hrs/7 for this tank.
Mist distribution?
I thought even distribution across the tank is good?
The weird thing is the BBA attacks all the plants except my Blyxa and HM.

Squeel,
I have some small variation crypts infront of the HM where the bogwood is. This bare space is for feeding the pygmy cories. The bare space was left bare intentionally. :P

Justikanz,
I've not sure if I've seen the C.helferi before in the LFS. Does it have runners? If it doesn't, then I think I may have seen them selling at Rainbow Serangoon.

I'll give the Vals some more time. I love the Vals spiralis especially . Its giving me some hope since I find small plantlets from the runners lately. The only problem is that it doesn't grow taller than my Blyxa (yet).

From these few weeks of observation, I notice that the Blyxa needs some space to 'spread' out the leaves nicely. Planting them too cramped together and too deep into the substrate don't allow this plant to spread nicely once it sends out side shoots. It gets bruised quite easily too so try not to disturb them when they are still trying to root themselves well into the substrate.
I also have Blyxa in my non-CO2 shrimp tank and lower lighting. Those ones are not growing well and new leaves are slightly bigger than those of the E.tennellus. I also don't dose as much KNO3 for this shrimp tank.

[ranmasatome]

wont the discus similarly eat your shrimps?

[Justikanz]

V.spiralis can grow damn tall... Good luck.

The C.helferi does not propogate via runners. See my tank's pic for a rough idea how they look like. Their leaves are smaller and softer than the vallis. Look better, IMO.

[cs_sg]

wont the discus similarly eat your shrimps?

Very possible. Having 2 discus is not as bad as having 10 angels, right?

Once these plants grow thicker, the shrimps will have more hiding space.

Besides discus, anything similar in size but tame enough to keep with the shrimps (yamato and malayan shrimps)?

[Justikanz]

Anything that size will disturb your shrimps... Heck, even tetras, endler's etc will attack shrimps...

I will stick to your plan of thickening the plant growth for the shrimps to hide.

[cs_sg]

V.spiralis can grow damn tall... Good luck.

The C.helferi does not propogate via runners. See my tank's pic for a rough idea how they look like. Their leaves are smaller and softer than the vallis. Look better, IMO.

I went to your fish blog but don't seem to find your C.helferi. Anyways, I googled on the internet and found some pics.
I may try some if I can find them in the store.

Aren't there 2 types of common Vals in the LFS? I always thought the V.spiralis is the 'Corkscrew Val' which doesn't grow as tall as the other common Val.
I made a mistake here?

[ranmasatome]

2 of course better than 12..haha..

oh..what light set is that ah?? ocean free fl lights??

[ranmasatome]

not as tall deosnt mean not tall leh... just not AS tall....keke..

C. helferi bens have the last time i went to see..

[cs_sg]

2 of course better than 12..haha..

oh..what light set is that ah?? ocean free fl lights??

Justin,

Discus more tame than these angels right? Or are they as aggressive?

Its a DIY 2x55W PL lightset. Could be an ocean free casing. I got it 2nd hand from Vincent.