I appear..... my SEA Tank

[Xema]

It is



What are your opinion?

Grettings from Spain

[leafhorn]

I think looks very very nice and professional. The setup looks a bit tame though.

[zulnaldo]

Welcome xema, btw ur tank looks great!

[zmzfam]

Hi Xema,

care to elaborate on your setup?

[Darkkon]

I think it looks fantastic... one question though will the overcasting shadows from the 2 sides of taller plants block out the light for those below? This is one worry i have whenever my Ludwigia become tall and overcasting.

[Xema]

Well...

leafhorn,

Why do you think that my tank has a tame look?

Darkkon,

I put low light plant under taller plants, like a java fern, anubias, etc...


Some dates of my tank.

Tank Dimensions: 100x30x40
Tank Volume: 120 liters
Lighting Intensity: 78w
Type of Lighting: FL (965 and 840 30w FL and 1x18w 860 FL), I use a DIY lighting hood


No. of Hours your light is on : 10 hours
Type of CO2: pressurized bottle of 12 kg
Method of Injection: Spiral reactor.
Substrate Used :a DIY substrate mix of vermiculite, gravel, humic substrate (peat?), and red clay.
How Thick is your base fert: about 3cm.
How thick is your gravel : 1-2 mm diameter.
Liquid Fertilizers Used : Kelamix complex + potasic sulfate
Frequency of fertilization : When i see some problem.
Tank Temperature: 28ºC
Type of Filter: DIY modular filter
How long has your tank been set up: since the last remodelation... 6 months.

Chemical propeties:

KH: 1
gH: 3
pH: 6,5
NH4:-
NO2: 0ppm
NO3: 5ppm
PO4:-
Fe: In water colum about 5ppm, and in undergravel water about 35 ppm.

This is all

any question?

[leafhorn]

I mean the look not "wild" enough. Maybe its because of the riccia?

[Xema]

Well...

I removed the "riccia cakes", I have replaced for a group of cripts in back part, and marsillea in front part.

[Mortadelo]

Je, je, je... Hi Xemilla!

Ernot told me he gave you all the Marsilea I sent him. Watch the browning of older leaves since this is the main problem with this plant, I hope you have better luck with it. Send me a message if you grow it as nice as this http://www.e-aquaria.com/exp_eleung.html

[leafhorn]

Cool, marsilea is good.

[Plantbrain]

I particularly like the usage of smaller branches.

I think the tame part might mean "perhaps" some more color. This could come from a school of cardinals or some bright red splashes of something like a Ludwigia, something amplify/balance the cool dark layout.
I can be difficult to tell from a photo how the layout looks in person.

You could keep with the cool look and use Xmas moss stones in the front and pull the gravel away from the front of the glass.

I have never meet any one or judge that enjoys a nice view of 2-7 cm worth of the gravel from the front. A nice slope back also gives a nicer prespective/a sense of depth. The moss stones don't need the deep gravel anyway/nor the Riccia and many smaller foreground plants. Larger dark pebbles, mixed with some Riccia stones in an interesting pattern(like veins) also sets off an interesting contrast. Riccia stones plus Dwarf lobelia(or algae balls) is also neat in a similar arrangement.

Swap a few things around or try these ideas. If they don't feel right, switch back.
KH is a bit low and the pH is a bit high. Keep the same pH but raise the KH to 3. The Gourami's will be fine, I've kept these also.

High CO2 in a lower light tank helps more than many think.
Also might want to add some PO4 if you don't already.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[hwchoy]

Tom, it is a SEA biotope, so cardinals are no good. Perhaps a large school of Boraras, even "cheap" fishes like R. elegans.

[Xema]

Hi Mortadelo.... Marsillea is growing very well

Sorry, I forgot speak to bioload...

Fish: 10 Rasboras heteromorpha, 10 Rasboras Espei, 7 Rasboras pauciperforata, 3 R. borapetensis, 5 krptoterus bichirris, 2 botia histrionicas, 1 botia striata, 3 pangio khulii, diferent species of nails (melanoides, trophidiscus, plnorbis, physa, netrita) a lot of Spanish shrimp.

Plantas: Rotala rotundifolia, Micrososrum petropus windelow, Pellia (now monoselenium), java moss, Ceratophylum demeresum, limmophylla sesiflora, a little pic of lialeopsis brasilensis and E. tenellus(from my old amazonic tank), eleocharis sp., marsilea sp..

How you can see is a South East Asian tank, and ludwigia, cardinals aren´t aviables in this tanks.

Grettings from Spain

[subzero]

Wow Xema what shrimp is that? It does not look like Neocaridina 'tiger' or 'bee' to me. Did you get it from Spain?

[Xema]

This Shrimp only lives in stream, swamp, or little river in South Spain. The Spanish name is "Kiskilla", but i don´t know the latin name. It´s a algae and detritus eater.

The shrimp of this pic has a eggs bag in her tail