# Sandy cove - First tank 60l



## rolexbene (14 Jan 2012)

Ok so after seeing a lot of great tanks on this and other forums I have decided to build my own.
I have kept fish before but never a planted tank so I sure it will be a learning curve, but I have done a lot of research and think I am prepared. I am going for an Iwagumi style tank with a strrp bank towards the back.
I live in London, but whilst visiting my home town in Devon I went to the river and picked up some interesting looking rocks, I also went to the beach and collected a small amount of course sand. I guessing these rock may not be as interesting as some of the usaul Iwagumi style rock with all there nooks and crannies, but I think it will bring a good sense of satisfaction to know that the rocks and sand I have come from home, Also the added bonus of saving money. On this note I will mention that I am a student and have NO money, the way I see it is I will try and sell some assets and this way pay for some of the expensive things I am buying. I was going to try and grow with miracle gro organic, I even bought some and started leaching it but my gut instinct told me it was going to cause me problems. Right so, so far this is what I have...

60L 60x30x40cm Tank from recycling center £10
ADA Aquasoil £35
Hydor 300w inline heater £25
Overhead 36w fluorescent light £25 - (Might retrofit another 36w lightbulb in to this if I need it)
Eheim 2222 Filter £26
10mm Glass Lily & Inflow pipes £20
Plants - Greenmachine £40

Total spend £180


I managed to aquire a large bit of 20mm Ply the other day for free so might have a go at making an ADA style tank at some point in the near futre, I also plan to get a pressurised Co2 system soon but might if need be make a DIY yeast one for the time being. I am growing via the Dry start method so Co2 will not be necessary for a few months till I fill with water (or will it?).

Ok so this is roughly what my initial setup looks like.

tank1 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


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## rolexbene (14 Jan 2012)

Ok so today my plants arrived, I ordered them from TheGreenMachine.co.uk as I heard good things.
Unfortunately they were having problems with supplies so they took about 2 weeks to get here  :? 
Being on a budget I choses my plants from the Budget section of there website, what I ordered were...

5 x Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
3 x Eleocharis acicularis 'Hair grass'
1 x Anubias Bonsai
1 x Ludwigia Repens 'Diamond Red'

Like I said before these cost me around £40 including postage, to me this seems expensive but hey what do I know.
So I got to work wetting the soil with a couple of jugs of water and and then thoroughly spayed down the higher parts of the soil with a spay gun, this was about 80% of the soil as I had made such a steep bank.
I then cut up my plants for planting, the Cuba was incredibly fiddle to do, the root and leaves were so intermingled I had to be incredibly ruthless with a Stanley knife blade to get anywhere, I think I might have over ordered on the Cuba as I started to run out of soil to plant in, but hey at least it will grow faster. I planted the Hair grass at the back and around the rocks and initially left it long, but then decided to cut it down to about 1-2" long. can anyone tell me what the benefits of cutting it / not cutting / cutting roots are?
I am very glad I orded the Anubias Bonsai, it looks lovely. It kinda looks like it is going to flower, I am not sure if Anubias Bonsai's do flower but it has a strange conical shaped bud like thing on it.
anyway here is a picture of the tank so far, sorry for all the mist, bit difficult to take pictures when the cling film is on, would there be any benefit of adding Co2 in this dry stage?


tank3 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


tank2 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


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## Lewisr (14 Jan 2012)

Looks like a promising start, I found the plants responded better to leaving a bit of a gap in the clingfilm and not sealing it entirely. However completely sealing it has worked for many other people but it is something to bear in mind.


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## omen (15 Jan 2012)

Really like the terraced style, and looking forward to how it grows in. What sand/gravel are you using for the foreground?


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## rolexbene (15 Jan 2012)

Thanks for your kind words, the sand at the front came from a beach in Devon called Slapton Sands. The beach where operation Tiger was held, the code name for the full-scale rehearsal of the D-Day landing (Little bit of random history). I went there Kayaking in the summer and was blown away by how nice the sand was, it has so many different elements to it, even has tiny little micro clam shells about 2-3mm in size. I collected some and then sieved it so I just got the smallest stones.
This is kind of what it looks like up close (not my photo), my stuff was taken from much nearer the sea where the stones are much finer.


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## sussex_cichlids (15 Jan 2012)

looks great was not to sure on the rocks in first photo they dint look very natural placements 

I found this excellent guide written by the master of iwagumi Takashi Amano

It has a load of useful info hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did 

A Study of Iwagumi


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## rolexbene (15 Jan 2012)

sussex_cichlids said:
			
		

> looks great was not to sure on the rocks in first photo they dint look very natural placements
> 
> I found this excellent guide written by the master of iwagumi Takashi Amano
> 
> ...




Yeah I know what you mean I changed them around and got the bedded in better and now it now looks better than the first photo, as you hopefully can see in the other photos. thanks for the link to the article.


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## rolexbene (15 Jan 2012)

I have two questions if anyone can help please give me some advice.
Would there be any Benefit of using Co2 at this stage?
I have one of thoughts little ultrasonic humidifiers, should I place it in the tank to create more humidity?
Thanks in advance,
Bene.


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## sussex_cichlids (15 Jan 2012)

Im not sure i was considering this ive read some were this method is used in horticulture in a controlled environment say like a commercial tomato plant do diffuse small amount of co2 to raise the co2 in a polytunnel similar to how we do in a fish tank to increase the growth speed and fruit size


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## rolexbene (15 Jan 2012)

sussex_cichlids said:
			
		

> Im not sure i was considering this ive read some were this method is used in horticulture in a controlled environment say like a commercial tomato plant do diffuse small amount of co2 to raise the co2 in a polytunnel similar to how we do in a fish tank to increase the growth speed and fruit size



Ok think I might give it a go with the Co2 can't do any harm right? I noticed you have bought plants from Java Plants, when it say "dwarf hairgrass £1.27 per 5 plants" what does 5 plants mean, is it 5 steams or 5 pots? I am guessing stems.


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## sussex_cichlids (15 Jan 2012)

depends what your buying with grasses it will be individual  plantlets but with steam plants it will be per steam 
you can see the tall hair grass in my journal Three Peaks taken before i planted it may give an idea


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## rolexbene (15 Jan 2012)

Just added a Humidifier to the tank.

tank4 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


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## greenink (15 Jan 2012)

No need for CO2 will have that in abundance in the air - is pretty much the whole point of an emersed start.


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## sussex_cichlids (15 Jan 2012)

mikeappleby said:
			
		

> No need for CO2 will have that in abundance in the air - is pretty much the whole point of an emersed start.



wouldnt say there no need for it mike it definitely not needed for an emersed start but you can try it it wouldn't hurt
and here i can backup my claim that its used with hydroponics so if you have got some spear to experiment with not going to hurt and never know he may get a faster growth rate using it then if he ant 

http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/co2_calculator.asp

CO2 is an odorless, invisible, and non-flammable gas. It is also safe for humans in the maximum concentrations recommended for plant growth. The average level of CO2 in the atmosphere is about 300 PPM (parts per million). If the level decreases down below 200 PPM in an enclosed growing area, plant growth slows to a halt. Through the years of testing and research, the optimum enrichment level of CO2 for plant growth has been agreed to be about 1500 PPM. With CO2 enrichment, under good conditions, plant growth rates and flowering will increase 20-100%. CO2 can be used from seedling right through harvest.

Taken from http://www.hydroponics.net


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## greenink (16 Jan 2012)

There's me learned! Always good to be proved wrong.


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## rolexbene (17 Jan 2012)

Just a quick update, bought a Co2 regulator (this one http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-v2-pressure-regulator-din477-p-5803.html) today but only paid £25 for it new I have been told by people in the Co2 forum that it is of reliable quality.
Also I managed to get a 2kg fire extinguisher from ebay for £10, it looks new   
Also got my glass diffuser, liked the look of the spiro ones, but now think it is to big and the clip on it broke right away, cheap chinese rubbish, anyway will make do. All in all a pressurised Co2 setup for around £40
Here are some more pictures, I am hoping the Co2 will fit under the table once I press the handle.

DSC_2844 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr

DSC_2847 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr

DSC_2845 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


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## sarahtermite (17 Jan 2012)

I love these rocks - and great that you collected them yourself. I'm not so far from Slapton, so maybe a little field trip is on the cards.....  

Looking forward to seeing how this develops - but the plants are already looking great.


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## rolexbene (17 Jan 2012)

sarahtermite said:
			
		

> I love these rocks - and great that you collected them yourself. I'm not so far from Slapton, so maybe a little field trip is on the cards.....
> 
> Looking forward to seeing how this develops - but the plants are already looking great.



Well if you looking for gravel Slapton is good, but my rocks came from a place called Hembury woods, amazing place especially in the Spring/Summer when the trees are green, got a good river with all the rocks you could ever need. I just picked the most jagged rocks I could find as most are smooth river rocks...
This is a pic I took last time I was there.

223461_10150238128989579_757574578_8710319_4502791_n by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


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## rolexbene (17 Jan 2012)

Got a few questions if anyone can help..

When using pressurised Co2, is there a massive need for specialist Co2 tubing or can I just use regular air line tubing, have any tests been done on it in the past (past threads)?

Does room temperature affect plant growth? Guessing Cuba is quite warm.

From looking at my tank can anyone give me a rough idea of how long my HC will take to give me a full carpet?
feeling impatient already.


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## gmartins (18 Jan 2012)

co2 tubing is much better. regular air line will do for a short period of time, I suppose. but in the long run co2 will corrode it.

cuba is fine with room temps. I have some emersed cuba outside in the garden now (around 14-15ºC) and it is doing great. It flowered the past month - such a tiny little flowers, barely visible 

With lots of light I would bet 1-2 months.

cheers,

GM


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## rolexbene (24 Jan 2012)

Just a quick update on some things I have noticed with the new plant in the tank.
Most of the plants seem to be doing great, although I have not seen much horizontal growth with the HC yet they seem to be getting bushier, the problem lies with 3 individual bunches that seem to be melting, so thought I would post some pictures so see if anyone has any feedback. I am guessing that the shock of being sliced and diced with a razor, on some of these plants was just to much for them to recover. They seem to be growing a kind of white fuzzy mould, should I remove the affected plants from the tank?


plants die by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


plant die2 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr

Also the Ludwigia repens diamond red has started sprouting roots all the way up the stem, is this norrmal?

roots by Bene Tanser, on Flickr


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## sarahtermite (24 Jan 2012)

rolexbene said:
			
		

> sarahtermite said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for the tip - I'll go see what I can find. That photo looks a bit like Spitchwick, which is near me, so I might start my hunt there.

(And if I were you, I think I would uproot those plants with the white mould - they don't look like they're going to come back from that.   )


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## rolexbene (20 Mar 2012)

*Update - Steep learning curve*

Update 8-10 weeks after initial planting, progress has been slow and painful.. I had many issues in this last cople of months. Firstly I was growing using the dry start method, about 50% of my HC decided to die on me, it would develop a stringy cobweb like mould and which would spread throughout the tank, so this has been one of the main set backs. Secondly the Ludwigia Repens from the start was a rapid grower sprouting roots from all over it stems, on about week 4 both bunches simultaneously started rotting, and most of it died, now I have only a few branches still holding on but seem to be growing ok now. The Hair grass seems to be doing very well, a lot of new grown seems to be spreading well. After having so much loose of plant life in the tank, I decided to stock up on some other plants, I bought some Riccia and tied it down to small flat bits of slate, these seem to have thrived both out and now in the water, but even though they grow well there is another problem. The part of the plant that has been tied down to the rock seems to have been rotting away and when I filled the tank with water a lot of the Riccia just can loose from the rock and floated to the surface, Ahhhhhh! always something, think next time I need to tie down let firmly to make sure it does not kill the attached plant matter. I also bought some small portions of Taiwan moss attached to wire mesh, these are great and have no problems. About a week ago I got fed up with waiting so I filled with water, and mostly all seems ok so far....
I have noticed quite a bit of algae developing and am thinking of getting a cleanup crew in ASAP, Would this be ok as I am doing regular water changes???
Also I have over the last day or two (after I gave the HC a little haircut), noticed some of the leaves on the HC starting to go a little translucent, I am really hoping this is not the dreaded melt, and is just a side effect of the hair cut.
P.S. I know my Riccia is randomly placed I am just letting it grow as a back up I the HC fails, I am also waiting for some glass lilly pipes as the ones I ordered already were to small for my filter.

Can anyone give me any advice or comments on my lighting timings?
I am thinking, snails and shrimp for cleanup crew, any advice? Can I get them in now with these water changes?


11 hours on - Dry start Method

Water in:
Week 1 - 4hrs light - 50% water change every 3 days
Week 2 - 6hrs light - 30% water change every 3 days
Week 3 - 8hrs light - 30% water change every 7 days
Week 4 - 10hrs light - 30% water change every 7 days



tank1 by rolex.bene, on Flickr


tank2 by rolex.bene, on Flickr


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## rolexbene (1 Apr 2012)

Everything is starting to grow in nicly now, got some cleaning crew in to help with algae issues and they are doing a fantastic job apart from the snails digging up the odd patch of HC.
My fauna in the tank so far is:
1 otoclinus
15 Red Cherry shrimp
30 Malaysian trumpet snails
Had a friend come round with his camera today and managed to get some good shots of the tank and new inhabitants, so I made a quick slide show of some of my favourite images, best watched in HD on Vimeo or High res images on Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/62027125@N ... 886961470/.


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## creg (1 Apr 2012)

you should be really proud thats incredible for your first tank, had you not said it was i wouldve thought you were an expert aquascaper.  

next time you take some pics could you do a fts with the cabinet and stand in it aswell please? would like to see the full setup


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## greenink (1 Apr 2012)

Looking good.


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## rolexbene (23 Apr 2012)

Ok just a quick photo update as I haven't posted in a while, have had many changes in the tank, too many to remember. Have just started dosing EI ferts, I am having a little trouble with green spot algae, but it does not bother me too much. HC is very healthy, but still a little growing in left due to the patchy start it had. Girlfriend is away on holiday with my DSLR so had to take these photos on my phone, hence the quality.
Here are the pics, let me know what you think.


Untitled by rolex.bene, on Flickr


Untitled by rolex.bene, on Flickr


new tank by rolex.bene, on Flickr


Untitled by rolex.bene, on Flickr
And just for fun this heavily edited shot, using the phones photo editor.


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## dw1305 (23 Apr 2012)

Hi all,
Looks really good. 





> My fauna in the tank so far is: 1 otoclinus


 You need a few more, they aren't happy on their own, they are a bit like _Corydoras_ like that <http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=107>. You also need to feed it/them, they eat a fairly limited range of algae, and can easily starve. I feed mine some extra vegetables, courgette, cucumber, blanched green beans etc. the shrimps enjoy them too.


> 30 Malaysian trumpet snails


 Do you want some Ramshorn snails as well? they are great for cleaning off new BBA etc, that the _Otocinclus_ and shrimps won't eat. I've never had any problems with them eating plants, although others have found that there are some plants they eat.

cheers Darrel


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## rolexbene (23 Apr 2012)

dw1305 said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> Looks really good.
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks, yes was thinking about getting another otoclinus soon he does look a little lonely on his own, was kinda waiting till I went to pick up all my fish although I can't seem to decide what fish to buy, want something small and shoaling to complement the small tank, maybe rummy nose tetras??? Any suggestions? I have been feeding the Oto from time to time with cucumber and corrugate but he doesn't look fat like some of the pictures I have seen of them, How often should I be feeding him? I would love some Rams horn snails if you have any going spare, did try and get some initially, but someone let me down on them. Cheers for the advice Darrel, much appreciated.


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## dw1305 (23 Apr 2012)

Hi all,


> I would love some Rams horn snails if you have any going spare,


I have plenty of spare Ramshorns, PM me your address. I need to clear out a few messages as my PM's are full again, but it should appear when I have. 


> I can't seem to decide what fish to buy, want something small and shoaling to complement the small tank, maybe rummy nose tetras??? Any suggestions?


 _Corydoras pygmaeus_.


> How often should I be feeding him?


 I have some veg in all the time, although none of my _Otocinclus _ seem to do much algae cleaning.

cheers Darrel


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## rolexbene (23 Apr 2012)

Thanks dw1305 I have PM'ed you my address.
Are Corydoras pygmaeus bottom dwelling algae eaters? I looking for an exciting mid tank fish that shoals nicely and adds a bit of colour to the tank, I like the idea of keeping the scale small in order to gain perspective in the tank, any ideas anyone?


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## sarahtermite (24 Apr 2012)

How about forktail rainbow fish? Maybe not the showiest of fish, but I think you'd get some nice interactions between them, and apparently they're not difficult to breed. (Not that I've ever kept them myself, but they're often in my LFS, and I'm always tempted, but I don't have the space atm.)


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## pariahrob (24 Apr 2012)

Lovely looking scape. It reminds me of a place I holidayed in Snowdonia as a kid. Love it.

I'm in the same boat. Trying to decide what shoaling fish to get in a smaller tank. I'll be keeping an eye on your choice in the hope you will inspire me!

Rob


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## Ekennaj (24 Apr 2012)

lovely green fresh looking landscape. Some snails are good algae eaters


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## dw1305 (24 Apr 2012)

Hi all,


> Corydoras pygmaeus bottom dwelling algae eaters?


 No, they are mid level shoaling fish <http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=283>, and ever so entertaining, but I can't claim they are brightly coloured. _Corydoras hastatus_ would be a more brightly coloured shoaling Cory, but I never see mine, to the extent that I was really surprised when I found them in the tank, as I'd assumed they had all died some years ago. 


> forktail rainbow fish


 Good call, I also like "Thread-fin Rainbows" as pairs, but the females are difficult to find. Another breedable small fish are "Norman's Lamp-eye", but I rarely see mine either, so I assume they feel happier with some cover.

cheers Darrel


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## rolexbene (7 May 2012)

Just been doing some trimming and thought i'd snap a pic, lots of red critters and a lovely flower on the Anubias.
Also loads of nice pearling going on here is a quick vid from my phone, pretty pleased with the state of this tank for a first attempt.


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## pariahrob (7 May 2012)

You should be pleased! It looks really very good.


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## Kristoph91 (7 May 2012)

Looks great Bene


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## tekopikin (20 May 2012)

Hi, 
Just stumbled upon your tank from another of your threads. Could you tell me what the benfits of the cling film please?
How's this tanks doing now?


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## rolexbene (21 May 2012)

tekopikin said:
			
		

> Hi,
> Just stumbled upon your tank from another of your threads. Could you tell me what the benfits of the cling film please?
> How's this tanks doing now?



The benefit of cling film is to keep moister in, it only for when staring the tank with the dry start method, this allows the plants to grow in before adding water to the tank. I am sure you can see from the recent pics that the tank is doing great, will keep this thread updated with any major changes that happen to this tank. Cheers


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## wazuck (30 May 2012)

Need to update your pics mate  that one you sent me looks good. Is that the hairgrass your bringing me in he background? Looks longer than I was thinking it would be. Just have to keep my scissors at it.


Keen to go green


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## tekopikin (5 Jun 2012)

Awesome! Top tip. I have to admit your tank simply blows me away! I currently have a 60l tank and planning on aquiring a 3 foot tank. Now I know what I want to do with this 'spare' tank when the time comes - my first Iwagumi tank


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