RoyKoh First attempt

[RoyKoh]

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 39x28x43 cm Classica Aquarium Tank (XL-390)

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 8W
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : Should be Normal FL x2
Age of light bulbs : 3 month
No. of hours your lights are on : 8hour

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 1bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) : DIY
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : Diffuser

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : NA
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) : NA

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : NA

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : NA

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) : Overhead Filter (Stock)
When was the filter last washed : 1 week ago
Filter media used : Active Carbon, Wool, Glass Ring
When was the media last changed : 1 Week ago
What was changed : Wool

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : Since Jan 11

Water change frequency : Weekly
Amount changed : 40 %

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : Gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : None

Tank Temperature : 30°C

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): NA
GH (dGH): NA
pH : 7.6
NH4 (ppm): 0.25
NO2 (ppm): 0
NO3 (ppm): NA
PO4 (ppm):NA
Fe (ppm): NA

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
7x Platy
2x Albino Cory
2x Yamato
1x Pleco

Describe your problem :
First time planted tank setup, but think there are alot of room to improve after watching some of our members' aquascaping, and after saw Amano's tank, I really hope to achieve something like those but mine is a Tank Set which come with Stock Filter, Stock Lighting and a non-detachable hood.

2011-03-12 11.22.57_SG.jpg2011-03-12 11.22.25_SG.jpg2011-03-12 11.21.50_SG.jpg2011-03-12 11.20.43.jpg

Pics of my first time setup. Top filter, lights, front view, side view

There are also snail problem, keep increasing in number..

Thanks

[DYLAN]

The plants you bought probably had snail eggs in it thats why..

[saltynay]

Snail problem is from overfeeding, personally I don't see snails as a problem they fill a niche in the biosphere.

[RoyKoh]

beside snail problem . I plan to redo the whole tank . But don't know how to start . I don't how to do a nice aquascape with my tank with the filter and lighting I have

[ben loh]

Just wondering why do you carbon for.. In my view, there is no need to place any carbon as it will take away the nutrient that the plants need..

[jeffteo]

Finally get to see your tank.

If you really want to redo. Think of the design of the scape you want first, natural or Iwagumi(rock) scape.
Dream and sleep over your design till you are sure of what scape you want to portray before you start.
Then start to source for the stones or driftwood depending on what type of scape you want and the plants you want to try on.
Research on what type of plants for the foreground, mid-ground and background if you don't have any plants in mind.

I feel that for the soil, invest in a good one like ADA/GEX brand. Do it right at the begaining so that you will not have much problem later.
Don't rush to get the material, slowly choose till you are happy. It can take weeks to prepare but it is OK. Patients will yield good results

Just my tiny 2 cents.

[tatguy]

BTW i think 30 is a little too high for tempreature. Try to lower it to at least 27-28. You could do this by adding fans or using a chiller. Main cause of the heat is most probably your tank cover. The lights of an aquarium produces quite a lot of heat. If you cover up your tank without any means of cooling the trapped air would just heat up more and more. Aquariums at high tempreature cannot dissolve enough air in the water and this in turns affect both plant and fish health. and there is alot more which you can most probably find in some of the posts everywhere here.

Another thing is overhead filter is not really sutiable for a planted aquarium. Get a canister or at least a hang on filter.

As for the chemicals:
Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): try 1-3(from personal experience,may vary)
GH (dGH): about 3-5
pH : 6.4-7
NH4 (ppm): best to be 0(a fully cycled tank with enough benificial bacteria should be able to break down all NH4/NH3 into NO2)
NO2 (ppm): 10-15max(NO2/NO3 should be readily taken by most plants)
NO3 (ppm): 10-15max
PO4 (ppm):1~1.5should be also taken by plants,you do not need to supply this normally unless your tank really super clean. fish poop or something similar will release it
Fe (ppm): about 1 ( maybe up to 1.5 if your plants are high requirement)
Also need potassium,K : this helps plant take in nutrients. make it about 10-15ppm

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
Personally for a small tank like yours i fell that you might have added a little too many fishes for such a sparsely planted aquarium. I would suggest at most 10 and recommended 5-7 fishes of similar charateristics to a neon tetra. (fish which doesnt poop too much)

For an aquarium like this i think need about 14watts at least if you intend to do a densely planted aquarium which needs CO2. If not you could try low requrement plants like nana,java ferns,java mosses,tennallus etc. when using these low requirement plants you actually do not really require CO2.

However for a first timer i suggest you get a 2 feet aquarium to play around with .as a larger tank is easier to maintain due to the larger volumn of water. If anything goes wrong the concentration of toxins would not be so high that it is as dangerous when it is in small tank.

Another tip is when re-doing your tank, at least add some base fertilizers at the bottom of your gravel or soil, make sure the fertilizer is added about the deapth where the roots of the plant your are intending to plant can reach. for me it is an average of 5cm for smaller plants. Some good ones include JBL base fert and laterite(not sure if i spelled correctly). You might want to add small volcanic rocks to make the base of your soil have more area for bacteria to grow to break down decaying matter in your soil. after you finish laying the volcanic rocks and base fert, cover them with the gravel of your choice. recommended to use aquasoils like what some of the bros mentioned above, GEX/ADA. For a starter i would recommend GEX or ADA(I) as these are not too over power in nutrients and thus would not cause algae outbreak too soon .

MOST importantly, try to lower your tempreature. I think the cover of your tank could be removed by un-screwing it or just leave it open and use a proper 1 feet lamp for 1 feet aquariums.

feel free to post more questions, i will try to answer them as best as i can

And the plants you have look like they are still in emerse form. it might be the cause of your snail problems as when plants change from emerse to submerged form, some of them make their leaves die off to regrow into submerged form leaves. During this process, the decaying leaves make good food for snails and thus population boom. Try to get already submerged ones if possible.

All this is from personal experience ( i helped my school set up planted tanks for farming different plants), may vary from the views of other bros here. If you really want to stick to your orginal tank set, you are pretty limited to low requirement plants ANd the tempreature...well its still a problem, maybe you could put your tank in a air conditioned room if you do not wish to get a new light or remove the tank cover

[hayabusa]

hi bro, try using a bare tank.. i think it's the best for planted. avoid using covers/lids as there is little to no ventilation in the aquarium, your lights produce a lot of heat and it isn't ideal for planted. for a cleaner look, maybe you can invest in a canister and with a bare tank, you can use a fan which is less costly compared to a chiller. you can get a 45cm tank below $40 at most LFS to start out, slowly lay out a concept in your mind and take your time. most importantly, don't make impulsive decisions.