My 50 days old tank

**melc** · 11th May 2009, 00:30

Hi all,

This is my 50 days old tank. My 1st try on planted tank.

At the moment, there are a total of 18 plants in my tank, which I think is heavily planted.

Welcome all comments.

Date setup: 20 Mar 2009
Tank dimensions: 3'x1.5'x1.5' (60 gallons, 227 litres)
Substrate:Contro Soil 30 kg, contained fertiliser.
Filter: Eheim Pro 3, flowrate 1050 liters/hour max.
Lighting: 4 X 25W (I think this is too weak)
Lighting duration: 12 hours / day , 9am to 2pm, 5pm to 12mn daily
PH:7
CO2: 01 bubble per second (Enough????) Using a diffusor, from cylinder. Same timing as lightning
Temperture: 25.5 degree (using a 1/10HP Arctica chiller)
Fertilisation: JBL Ferropol, 10 ml per week, after 30 days set-up.
Water change:So far only once after 30 days, 30% of water change.
Fish:
30 x Cardinal Tetra
2 x Siamese Algae Eater
9 x Yamato shrimps
3 x Ottos
2 x Patty
1 x Drwaf puffer fish

**stewpid** · 11th May 2009, 01:38

i think the co2 might be a insufficient for a 3 footer?cant really tell if the plants are healthy from the pictures though

**Fingerling** · 11th May 2009, 07:06

Hi Melc,

You seem to have all the tank equipment to produce a gorgeous planted tank setup. Ever thought of rearranging your plants to create a theme/structure for your tank layout. Other than that, i think your tank looks pretty stable. Good effort

**melc** · 11th May 2009, 15:00

Originally Posted by Fingerling

Hi Melc,

You seem to have all the tank equipment to produce a gorgeous planted tank setup. Ever thought of rearranging your plants to create a theme/structure for your tank layout. Other than that, i think your tank looks pretty stable. Good effort

Thanks bro. What theme do you suggest? I also think that my tank is a mess now.

**melc** · 11th May 2009, 15:02

Originally Posted by stewpid

i think the co2 might be a insufficient for a 3 footer?cant really tell if the plants are healthy from the pictures though

Hi bro,

My plants are shooting upwards and I am happy that the Riccia on the rock are very green also. However, I suspected that it is either lacking of lighting or CO2 which cause most a small portion of the Riccia is producing O2 bubbles.

What do you think?

**Fingerling** · 11th May 2009, 17:34

The theme is your choice really because there are so many ways you could scape your tank with the lifestock you have. I can suggest maybe you make your driftwood more prominent( placing them somewhere, where they can be seen more clearly ) or get a bigger driftwood to create a hardscape that you like and from there just let your imagination take over.

**sanjaypills55** · 11th May 2009, 22:11

Nice setup!
I would say 30day water change is too little!!

make water changes at least once every fortnight!

**k3nlim** · 12th May 2009, 00:11

Suggest that you might want to cover the left corner because its abit empty. Is the DW the focus point? If so, would suggest that you can get more to place in the background to allow them to poke out. The plants can fill up the empty spaces between them.

**mtinghl** · 16th May 2009, 13:13

Hi melc, Nice looking tank setup. I would work with some foreground plant if I were you to give it more depth to the setup. Its just my personal opinion. Thanks for sharing . All the best to you. Hope it will give you a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.