Comments for 4 ft planted aquascape

[ytlammm]

Hi Aquatic Quotient members !! Pls give your comments for my setup.
This is my first time trying out aquascaping and would like to improve the outlook of my aquarium.

One thing thats puzzling is that my taiwan moss refused to grow, it just turn brown and die off. I have since put a fan to bring down the temperature. But it still doesnt help. Comments ? Should i switch to java moss as i read an article that java moss can survive under temp above 30 deg c?? Btw i am using DIY CO2 for my four ft tank.

Also considering adding hairgrass to fill up the gaps ... Other suggestions ? I have tried HC but it doesnt work out for me.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Sorry for the bad photography as its taken with my SE k750 hp...

[limkopi]

very nice setup

[eddyq]

Please give more informations about your set up eg. lights, gravel + base fertilisler, filter system etc. Then perhap, proper advice can be share.

I think DIY CO2 might not work for 4 ft tank, the reason why the moss not growing well. You are right that cooler water temperture is good for moss. It better to get a pressurized tank with solenoid and guages.

Well done on the scape, 2 sides views like a room divider. For me I do add more driftwoods.

[|squee|]

Nice arch of the driftwood there. More echinodorus perhaps?

And yea, DIY CO2 for a 4ft tank just doesn't cut it. It's better if you used it on a 2ft tank max. If you invest in the pressurised cylinder type, you'll be glad you did it.

[ytlammm]

Actually i hope eventually will not need CO2 as i intend to go low maintenance. So any other suggestion for foreground plants ?

Another problem i faced is the sunlight that coming from the other side of the tank which creates algae problems...which i have to scrub every other wkend to maintain the clear view.

Tank setup
-----------
Filter - Jebao External Filter
Lighting - 2 X 55W PL
Duration - 5 hrs daily (6 - 11 pm) afraid it might get too hot as not open top tank
Substrate - Angel brand ??
Dosing - Seachem Flourish ( twice a month )
CO2 - DIY

Fauna
------
80 plus Cardinals
2 otos
cherries
10 rummies

Flora
-----
Mostly echinodorus
Cabomba
Moss balls
Windelov

Thanks for feedback

[|squee|]

Since you are going low maintenance, cryptocorynes for the foreground will be good. You can't do much about the sunlight I guess, unless you put up curtains.

[ytlammm]

Hi Squee.. eh...does cryptocorynes refer to java ferns, windelov stuff like that ?? If so i understand that at LFS they come with driftwood attached.. can i yank them out and plant it direct to the substrate cos i fing that the driftwood are not natural in shape (usually rectanglish) ?? Can i get cryptocorynes at Y638 ???

DSC00022.jpg

[tcampbell]

Moss does not require Co2, just cooler temps. Below 26 and it grows great, above 28 and it seems to have problems. i have a tank with Co2 and a lot of moss (Taiwan and other - Taiwan can grow anythere!! ) and a tank with no Co2 and 80 % moss. Both doing fine. In Co2 tank it grows thicker but that might have more to do with the WPG rule as I am running 3.5 WPG on it and just over 2 on the smaller one. Smaller one does great all the time.

110 watts of light on a tank that size, there is no reasons to NEED Co2 added. Growth will be slower, but maintance will be easier as well.

Think the moss problem will have more to do with the amount of light then anything else.

[eddyq]

Since this is a low maintaince tank, I would put base fertilister under the gravel. If no CO2 and only limited seachem flourish = plants suffer.

[ytlammm]

Hi tcampbell - my tank spec is 130x300x48 does that mean that my light are insufficient ? Or my duration ? My main concern is the heat generated by the PL lighting.

Hi eddyq - oh yes.. forgot to inform that i put "tetra plant initial stick" fertilisers into the substrate once a month. Will this help instead of putting base fert under the gravel which is quite impossible to do now?

Thanks for your kind feedback

[|squee|]

does cryptocorynes refer to java ferns, windelov stuff like that ?? If so i understand that at LFS they come with driftwood attached.. can i yank them out and plant it direct to the substrate cos i fing that the driftwood are not natural in shape (usually rectanglish)

Nope, Java fern isn't a cryptocoryne. Cryptocorynes are plants whose scientific names start with Cryptocoryne etc. For example, Cryptocoryne wendtii is a commonly found cryptocoryne (crypt for short) in LFSes in a wide variety of colours and forms.

Windelov is a variation of the Java fern. (Java fern Windelov, or scientific name Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv')

Usually for java ferns we take them out and tie them using cotton thread or fishing line to the driftwood we buy and place in our tanks. The wood that they come attached with are meant for easy attachment and selling. You can plant them in the substrate, just don't bury the rhizome. The rhizome is the vertical thick green "stalk" that the leaves are attached to.

A good site to view plants will be www.tropica.dk

[ytlammm]

Thanks for providing info and link.. will go and do some reading up and pop by Y638 to search for crypts

[TS168]

You might want to think of how to get the hot air out of the enclosure.

Plant do not grow well when it hot. Try to draw out the hot air that is trap inside the cabinet....

[StanChung]

110 watts of light on a tank that size, there is no reasons to NEED Co2 added.

A good reason is good plant growth.
Without CO2 plants may find other sources of carbon for photosynthesis but that's holding back the the plants by a lot.
110 W is still pretty decent. I have a 50G tank that's on 100W and it's thriving. Mainly just mosses, crypts and ferns + CO2.

------------

ytlammm,
Keep the temp low and you'll get nice green growth.
Mosses generally look dirty and stale if grown at >28C.

For crypts, if your tank is stable you can introduce them, otherwise it will melt badly and might not recover.
Ferns are hardy and a good choice for low maintenance plants. However they grow very slowly and so should not be the only type when starting a tank. You need some fast growers[use cheap ones] to help balance out the tank in the beginning to prevent/minimize the chance algae outbreak.

[tcampbell]

Yes, at 50 G, 100watts of light would give you 2 WPG which is just above low light level (low light considered 1.5 wpg. )
With 2WPG you can grow most things, though not everything and not supper fast growth. The tank is easier to manage as fert use and growth is slower and less problems with algae.
However the tank he is talking about is a 4 F tank so just around 67G with 110Watts = 1.65WPG which is low light.
Low light tanks, the growth rate will be slow, so dosing excessive ferts and giving CO2 is not necessary. The plant growth does not warrant the use of CO2. C02 is only useful with tanks at or above 2 WPG, where the growth is faster so the plants need extra things added to the tank. Under this it is a low tech tank, so CO2 is not necessary and ferts dosing is very small. Adding C02 just makes keeping the tank more complicate, and extra costs.

Moss does not require added CO2 to grow, just low temps. IT can grow at any light level but below 2 wpg the growth isn't as nice.

[tcampbell]

slowly increase the light to 8 hours a day and see how it goes, after that it can go up to as high as 10 hours a day if you have no problems with 8.

Find a way to get the heat out of the enclosure so that you can do this and keep the tank temps down, andyur moss will thank you for it.
With lower WPG you will need a longer duration of light.

[ytlammm]

I totally agree with tcampbell that moss can grow suberbly well under most conditions and the most important factor is to keep temp low as my other tank with stringy moss thrived without CO2 or fert.

Think to dissipate the heat is to open the enclosure during the night since my lights are on from 6 to 11pm. Thats the most cost effective to reduce the impact to my plants. And eventually will try to increase the duration of light.
Of cos will check out some crypts to add to the scape.

Personally i feel that algae problems have been reduced mainly due to more additions of plants and mature cycle of the water. As for the introduction of CO2, i will keep to DIY for now until a suitable time......

Of cos will give another go at moss to test !!

[ytlammm]

Yes ... moss grown under high temp will turn stale and dirty and eventually slow growth and die off.......