# 1st attempt at aquascape, 33 litre tank



## O'Neil (20 Jan 2012)

Looking for ideas for my spare 33 litre tank.
I have no co2 as of yet, but due to it's tiny size i will be using Flourish Excel.
Does anyone here have any interesting ideas they would like me to try out?


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## foxfish (20 Jan 2012)

I guesse you need to study the forum to find some inspiration or perhaps you could practice with some emersed growing  ... viewtopic.php?f=56&t=17004&start=10


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## O'Neil (20 Jan 2012)

What i've been thinking is to have Eleocharis acicularis as my background plant with driftwood to form a bit of shape and possibly small caves and crevices for shrimp. 

In the higher parts of the tank i've been planning to use twiggy bits of wood with Java moss.
Tank background will be black.
Java fern growing on the driftwood, with moss.
Substrate will be soil (pond soil) with sand / gravel to hold it down.
Would Flourish excel with daily doing be ok?
Also the only plant food i have is Tropiflora, beyond that i'm lost I am a bit of a noob, what other ferts mite i need.


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## O'Neil (20 Jan 2012)

foxfish said:
			
		

> I guesse you need to study the forum to find some inspiration or perhaps you could practice with some emersed growing  ... viewtopic.php?f=56&t=17004&start=10



Thanks for the link, quite an interesting journal.


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## O'Neil (28 Jan 2012)

Got my ferts and have been EI dosing for a week, i have noticed a change in the java fern but the hairgrass which i now believe to be eleocharis parvula has only sprouted a couple of new leaves.
I have about 2 watts per gallon (US) using carbo and ofc EI.
Am i being impatient or is this considered the norm, or shall i trim a little bit off the top to encourage new growth?


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## Themuleous (29 Jan 2012)

Give it time


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## O'Neil (29 Jan 2012)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Give it time



lol cheers mate u put my mind at ease.


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## doobiw55 (29 Jan 2012)

Good luck with the tank mate and great name lol.


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## O'Neil (29 Jan 2012)

doobiw55 said:
			
		

> Good luck with the tank mate and great name lol.



Cheers mate


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## O'Neil (4 Feb 2012)

Hey guys,

Everything seems to be going ok, Eleocharis is growing nicely so have ordered another 25 from plants alive.
I'm a bit puzzled tho been following the EI dose plan on Fluid sensor and i have noticed that my nitrates are thru the roof, the tank is also uncycled, it's not a big deal as there are no livestock so not to bothered about cycling just yet.
Could my high readings be from from the ferts (KNO3)?

Thanks in advance


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## O'Neil (12 Feb 2012)

Well as it happens my nitrates have dropped sharply obviously due to the weekly water change.
I have however tested various water samples from plain old tap water to tank water and tap water with macro solution added etc etc and the addition of the macro solution has made bugger all difference to the nitrate readings on the test kits (api master).
The only thing I can think of would be ammonia from the soil and as the level dropped to a range i can now read on the test kit, I feel pretty confident that it'll continue to drop further.
Conclusion:
KNO3 doesn't increase nitrate levels (not the amounts in used for the EI recipe anyway).
Oh and as for un-cycled I realised that I have used gravel from a cycled tank and drift wood from long established tanks (DOH).


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## foxfish (12 Feb 2012)

Do you think your test are accurate ? viewtopic.php?f=51&t=20009


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## O'Neil (12 Feb 2012)

Nope, no-way, not at all, lol

I only ever use these kits as a guide as I know these tests are notorious for being inaccurate.


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## O'Neil (23 Feb 2012)

Quick update guys, I've demolished the current setup as the water was permanently yellow, gas was building up under the soil and the plant roots were starting to rot, I think it may have been the pond soil but I have no evidence to support my theory.
Any way I'm much happier with the changes I've made and I think you'll all agree it looks a damn site better than it did.
I will update with pictures tomorrow.


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## O'Neil (25 Feb 2012)

As promised here are the new pics of the 33 Ltr

First I re-arranged the driftwood, this took me a good few attempts.

This one was taken after I added the dry ferts.





I then added cat litter instead of the pond soil.




Partially filled the tank with water and very carefully planted my new HC and moved the Eleocharis Parvula to the far left corner, it's a little hard to see with the murk in the water.




I then topped it up and added two cuttings from my brothers tank, dunno what they are tho......yet.




This is the tank 1 day later, the water is a bit yellowish, not really sure why.
I can only think that i didn't wash the cat litter enough or possibly over done it with dry salts, not to worry tho will be doing plenty of water changes till i get it all settled.




I plan on doing a water change today and will also start the EI doing small and gradually build it up with gradually longer photo periods, will start photo period at 6 hours.
Any advice or criticism is welcome.


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## O'Neil (25 Feb 2012)

Whoops just realised i didn't post any pics of the old tank, here is what it was like a few weeks in.






and below is the old link from when I started

http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=19721


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## somethingfishy (25 Feb 2012)

im in the same boat as you just trying my first planted tank although i have gone low tech ... so far im thinking maybe i should of had a go with a nano first like you ... good luck im guessing like me you are finding the down hill of this learning curve steep indeed


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## O'Neil (25 Feb 2012)

I am indeed finding the learning curve rather steep, but with the resources and help from people on this site i'm defo gonna crack it and i'm sure you will too.
I'll be watching for a journal from you we may be able to learn from each others mistakes/sucesses   
I will be setting up another nano soon that I got from Gary Nelson on here, I'll be doing a journal for that one too, i'll post you a linky when i get going if you want.
I have 3 tanks in total but i'll be sticking with the 2 nanos till i get to stage where i can call myself an Aquascaper as my main tank is a very mature 200 litre and don't wanna disturb my feesh................yet.


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## somethingfishy (25 Feb 2012)

have taken the plunge and posted my first journal aswell 
rolll on the mistakes and successes


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## O'Neil (11 Apr 2012)

Bit of a quick update, will show a proper update when the tank is clean enough to take a photo of..been a bit busy recently : S

The HC is growing, it started off slowly and in the last couple of weeks or so it's had a bit of a growth spurt so i've replanted some in different parts of the tank to help it fill in now that I seem to have the ferts and CO2 in check.
All I need now now is some Blyxa for the back and it may actually start to look like a scape (ish)lol.
Blyxa will have to wait till I have some money.

So slowly getting there : )


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## O'Neil (15 May 2012)

Finally have time to show you the tank a few months on, not as much progress as I had hoped but I am learning all the time from it.
When I get to the point where I think I have this nailed i'm gonna start my 200 ltr aquascaping project.
Also trying to save the pennies so I can buy more HC to help it fill in faster, and some other plants would be nice too.


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## O'Neil (22 May 2012)

Woo hoo \o/ got a little extra work on the side, so ordered some new plants I hope to fill this tank out a bit and speed things up this journal is taking for ever.....to be continued : )


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## ghostsword (24 May 2012)

Will be good to see more pictures.  


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


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## O'Neil (24 May 2012)

Plants just arrived in the post, gonna get myself all cleaned up and get cracking.

Never thought I'd get this excited about plants : S lol


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## Ady34 (24 May 2012)

Porksword said:
			
		

> Plants just arrived in the post, gonna get myself all cleaned up and get cracking.
> 
> Never thought I'd get this excited about plants : S lol


Its crazy how addictive it is.
Have fun!


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## O'Neil (24 May 2012)

K so here it is so far, don't be too quick to judge tho I don't have the time at moment to seperate the Rotala sp green and Rotala Rotundifolia, but i've popped them in there for now just to get them started.

In the far right hand corner I have placed  Bacopa australis with Hydrocotyle tripartita in front of that filling up the gap between the Bacopa and the driftwood. 

Lower down in front of the driftwood I have Pogostemon Helferi.

Quite keen to see how they all grow in and hope to have time this weekend to arrange the Rotala properly cos at the minute it just looks like a fish tank with some plants stuck in the gravel (gonna bug me till I sort it out)   

But here is the pic 





PS please forgive me for the hair algae on the HC


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## O'Neil (24 May 2012)

Oh and btw lads don't worry about hurting my feelings I know it looks crap atm, haha.

As a noob I am completely open to help, advice criticism etc etc, literally anything you can add that will help me along the way will be greatly appreciated.


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## wazuck (31 May 2012)

It's a good start 


Keen to go green


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## O'Neil (31 May 2012)

haha, thank you for your positive comments, the best thing about this tank is what I'm learning from it.

Some of the things I've learned:
1 A solenoid valve is a God like item and I'll include them in all my future tanks.
2 Will never use kitty litter again without a gravel cap, it's just too light.
3 Choose + Prune plants carefully and patience is key when planting.
4 Flow is absolutely crucial
5 If possible avoid placing hardscape to close to the glass at the sides or front, can make cleaning a bitch.
6 If you have a memory like mine.....make notes!!!!!


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## Ady34 (31 May 2012)

Porksword said:
			
		

> haha, thank you for your positive comments, the best thing about this tank is what I'm learning from it.
> 
> Some of the things I've learned:
> 1 A solenoid valve is a God like item and I'll include them in all my future tanks.
> ...


Thats great advice learned from experience and is the only way we move forwards.
How are the plants fairing?
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## O'Neil (31 May 2012)

Thanks Ady

The plants are doing great mate, but still very unhappy with the actual scape....however I sell ten assassins this weekend so I'm going to get a 2nd diffuser and have another go at it with the Nano I got from Gary Nelson and keep this "test" tank going.
Will be a couple of weeks as I need to acquire the following:
Diffuser
In-line flow valve
T-piece for nylon tube
Substrate (possibly ADA Malay')
Mite also try TPN+ (but need to look into it)
Oh and last but probably the most important design my scape 

><


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