# Nursery Update



## altaaffe (27 Apr 2009)

I created a nursery system at the top of my Oscars 2m tank which I now successfully grow a number of plants.
The tank is covered with 2 perspex covers with 2 luminaires each of 2x39W T5.

The 2 trays are lined with Betta filter matting which the roots seem to like and the water is the return from a Tetratec EX1200.  I feed no ferts, no CO2, etc - everything comes from the main tank.  Water return to the tank is by holes drilled in the trays and this provides the surface agitation for this tank also.

The tank & plastic covers:





Tray one with newly placed mat seeded with Staurogyne plantlets and a little HC:




Tray two with some older plants (will get ripped apart and redone once the other tray has taken hold):




As an aside - I also feed a tank I'm experimenting with via an overflow, this also double as my shrimp breeding tank:


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## aaronnorth (27 Apr 2009)

nice setup, tray 2 is very nice as well.
How big is that tank? It looks huge!


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## altaaffe (27 Apr 2009)

aaronnorth said:
			
		

> How big is that tank? It looks huge!



It's a 2 metre tank giving around the 700 litre mark.


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## Graeme Edwards (27 Apr 2009)

Thats a cool bit of plant propagation there. Keep them away from that Oscar though, they are not by any means plant friendly,


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## a1Matt (27 Apr 2009)

inspiring  8)


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## vauxhallmark (27 Apr 2009)

I LOVE it!!

Just the right balance between a 'Heath Robinson' style solution, and a nice looking living area display.

And what a brilliant way to link two parts of the hobby that you are interested in - keeping large messy fish and growing plants - it's like a little ecosystem where both aspects help the other - oscars (and tankmates) providing 'nutrients', plants providing 'waste removal'. 

Hats off to you   

Mark

PS - those rainbows are *enormous*!


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## a1Matt (27 Apr 2009)

vauxhallmark said:
			
		

> I LOVE it!!
> 
> Just the right balance between a 'Heath Robinson' style solution, and a nice looking living area display.
> 
> ...



Thats exactly what I meant when I said inspiring!


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## aaronnorth (28 Apr 2009)

a1Matt said:
			
		

> vauxhallmark said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## altaaffe (29 Apr 2009)

Thanks All. 



			
				vauxhallmark said:
			
		

> PS - those rainbows are *enormous*!



They're all about 4 years old now, bar the one right in the middle of the first shot which is actually a Boesmani / Lacustris hybrid - I didn't have the heart to euthanise it just because it was a hybrid after all it had managed to survive and it is only ever going to stay in this set-up.


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## vauxhallmark (29 Apr 2009)

Lookin good   

Mark


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## ghostsword (25 Nov 2009)

Indeed this is a fantastic idea. Placing plants on trays above some part of the tank. 

I have a 125 rio, small tank, but high, and will try to replicate this setup, especially as one could use a spray bar coming from the filter to feed the tray. 

Even a 20cm long tray would be more than enough, and provide shade for fish that like shade, such as neons. 

One to replicate.


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