clouser_minnow's new planted tank

[clouser_minnow]

Hi everyone,

My first post! Will show my 4 ft X 1.5 ft X 1.5 ft planted tank which was set up sometime last month.

Before, just after setup (day 1)


After



Have to post an update soon. Just changed some stuff. By the way, having problem with lotus. It seems to be sprouting new leaves but when they come out, they die. Will post pictures.

[richietay]

Can see plants of various colour, looking good. Just feel that the placement and level of plants can be improve. Maybe some tall growing plants for your background and consider fill up the foreground?? can consider connecting the CO2 inlet to your internal filter(if possible) for better distribution. but still given your size of tank, a external canister be better.

Care to share your tank specification??

[clouser_minnow]

Can see plants of various colour, looking good. Just feel that the placement and level of plants can be improve. Maybe some tall growing plants for your background and consider fill up the foreground?? can consider connecting the CO2 inlet to your internal filter(if possible) for better distribution. but still given your size of tank, a external canister be better.

Care to share your tank specification??

oops... need new pictures!! filter used is an eheim professional 1 2228. its super duper old lah. the background plants are growing. put in more but the tank is now "disorganisation at its best". i have more mosses in the fore ground now. but looking for something to spread around like a grass or something. the tank is 4 x 1.5x1.5 as stated in the title, bought last year a few weeks before youth day. the thickness is 10mm. the plants behind the big rock on the right have grown and reached the surface. will be trimming soon. some of the plants have died also. quite sad lah. i dont have a chiller in the tank. during the heat spell some time ago, the tank temp went up to around 32, killing some of the plants. so quite sad lah. added a few more and we'll see what happens next. thank you for the comments!! MORE comments please

btw, having algae problem theres lots of the green spots on the glass. how to get rid of them? i don't fancy scrubbing till my hands fall off . thanks for all the help!!

[richietay]

look forward for the new pictures then, by the way are there any base ferts?

[clouser_minnow]

look forward for the new pictures then, by the way are there any base ferts?

nope! cant afford them:P using just lapis sand. is there enough inside or should i put more?

[benny]

Hi clouser_minnow!

Welcome to Aquatic Quotient!

I think for a start, you are doing quite well. As a beginner, your planted tank looks like a planted tank instead of an aquascape. It has many different types of plants there it does not seem to paint a underwater picture. However, it's a pleasant and colorful. I'm sure it will change as you progress in the hobby.

You might want to consider more plants to ensure there is no excess nutrient during the start up period.

Cheers,

p.s. what inspired you to get into planted aquarium anyway? Just curious.

[kemp]

i agree with benny, you'll need more plants to counter the algae problem that you're having. Might be having excess nutrients

[clouser_minnow]

Hi clouser_minnow!

Welcome to Aquatic Quotient!

I think for a start, you are doing quite well. As a beginner, your planted tank looks like a planted tank instead of an aquascape. It has many different types of plants there it does not seem to paint a underwater picture. However, it's a pleasant and colorful. I'm sure it will change as you progress in the hobby.

You might want to consider more plants to ensure there is no excess nutrient during the start up period.

Cheers,

p.s. what inspired you to get into planted aquarium anyway? Just curious.

thank you very much! well, i just wanted contrasts in the tank, hence the mixture of colours of plants. i've added 50 congo tetras a few weeks ago and 2 have died. pretty nice fish they are. they're really small lah... 1.5"... however, i think my light is not bright enough as the growth rate is slowing down.

what inspired me to get a planted tank? well, a lot of it came from looking in takeshi amano's book, nature aquarium world volume 1. looking on the net at other people's tank, and helping friends out with cleaning their tanks.also, after doing bare tanks for a long time, i wanted to try something new. my first tank was all plastic plants and i've progressed , its about 3-5 years later since that tank decided to leak one night and empty itself all over my porch.its the biggest planted i've done. i like it very much. i think i'll probably title it "untidyness at its best". i need to learn how to do trimming. any tips??

whats the difference between an aquascape and a planted tank??


Thanks for all the help!!


any msn users around??

[SmallFish]

IMO, aquascaping in the aquaria hobby is the careful use of proper substrate, beautiful natural driftwood, interesting rocks, and succulent green plant life, to combine all these materials and arrange them to best suit the aquatic life and natural habitat you are trying to recreate.

Whereas a planted tank is, i guess, a tank with plants 'thrown' into it (most primitive form ). Or just a generic way of saying that you have included plants in your setup.
To say that you aquascape your tank then is to go further, as explained above..

Hope i make sense ....

[benny]

whats the difference between an aquascape and a planted tank??

In my opinion, I think the difference subtle and subjective.

A planted tank is something you can glance at in 2 seconds and look away.

A planted aquascape is something that you find visually interesting and can spend minutes exploring the intricate details for an extended period of time.

I'm sure some will disagree but it's a good discussion. In fact, I think I'll start a topic on this.

Cheers,

[clouser_minnow]

In my opinion, I think the difference subtle and subjective.

A planted tank is something you can glance at in 2 seconds and look away.

A planted aquascape is something that you find visually interesting and can spend minutes exploring the intricate details for an extended period of time.

I'm sure some will disagree but it's a good discussion. In fact, I think I'll start a topic on this.

Cheers,

so essentially a planted aquascape is a subset of a planted tank. however, a planted tank does take a while to look at. it can be fun watching a prawn do its clean ups or an oto eating up the algae.


HELP!!!

what other fish can i put in my tank that will eat algae? i've got some whip tails, a pleco with white fin tips and otos. what else can i put in with my congo tetras?

[Jungle-mania]

I think you have enough for algae eaters for a 4 feet tank. A whiptail is a prolific cleaner.

[clouser_minnow]

I think you have enough for algae eaters for a 4 feet tank. A whiptail is a prolific cleaner.

ah.. ok.. problem is i still get hair algae. they seem to only clean the lower levels of the tank. also, how do you get rid of the algae that grows in round green spots?

[richietay]

your otos might come in handy
by the way, you mentioned there aren't any base ferts, what do you provide the plants for the nutrients?? since there are slight changes to your setup, do you have any updated pictures??

[clouser_minnow]

haha! no.. its a bit untidy at the moment.. okok.. will get a pic up sometime... i've got some initial sticks made by tetra using that instead of the base fert as i cant afford base fert. quite ex when i went to look around for it. anyone got lobang?

planning to upgrade at the year end to a 5x2.5x2.5 or do you guys think its too big?? comments? suggestions??

[clouser_minnow]

here is the update. yes i know. the left side is absolutely awful!! i removed the flower pot. i like the right side though... please give feedback on the set up. both negative and positive comments are appreciated . u guys are a great help!! thanks!! enjoy!!


filter
eheim pro 2 2028
eheim pro 2028

CO2- 2 Bubbles per sec

fauna
approx 45-50 congo tetras
8 oto cats
1 pleco
4 whip tails
2 polka dot loach
ghost shrimp

pictures

Front


right side view


the right 5/8ths of the tank


trying out the macro function

[clouser_minnow]

pics of the fauna, more to follow if my cam batt recharges in time



moved the DW on the top of my rock during the shoot as i wanted a pic of my sword plant by itself and the DW was not helping. so yeah.

sword plant



please comment!!

thanks for all the help everyone!!

[michael lai]

Hi Clouser,
Welcome to the club, I think you are doing fine. This is what I call the experimental stage, go out and have fun. As for your current scape, try some crypt balansae behind both at the left and right of the tank, also don't spread your ammania graclis like that, the red stalk plant. it gets very messy and trim them, they grow fast.

As for aquascape and planted tank, my take is aquascape is a place or scenery you wish to recreate using aquatic plants and stuff, whereas a planted tank is just a planted tank... anyway have fun, if you need help you know the drill.

[taz_boy]

hey clouser, really good effort put in by u. i can see a big difference in the 1st photo and the most recent shot...

u may want to shift the tall stem plants to the right as they look a bit weird in the middle.

[clouser_minnow]

hi everyone!! update again i went to NA yesterday and bought some plants and put them in. heres the left side of the tank. also shifted one of the filters and put more lighting in on the left side and lessened it on the right side. still looking for another PL Light for my 4 footer. C&C are most welcome. this forum has been a great help to me. thank you very much everyone!!
Enjoy! sorry for the poor lighting, pics taken in a rush.

well, heres the right side of the tank.


the whole tank


will do more plant shifting when i have time. timetable very tight so cant shift plants much. will be doing like a valley with some space or short plants in the middle.

Best Regards

Ren