# mark's 1st planted tank . update



## plantnoob (18 Feb 2013)

initially this will be a bit of a slow burner , but once it gathers steam it will be a regularly updated warts and all journal of my 1st ever planted tank . every , success , faliure ,hurdle encountered and achievement will be shared , along with plenty of photos along the way .

il try to keep this part brief 
my background as a fish keeper has not been with plants . i used to run a 4x2x2 cichlid tank with everything over its life from severums , acaras ,oscars, discus right through to mbuna before i had to give up . i had around 18 months out of the hobby and just recently bought a 2nd hand roma 125 . having drooled over pics of planted tanks for a long time , there was only ever 1 route i was going to take with this tank .

now onto the tank .

at the moment its bare ive just got the tank and am in the process of buying the other bits i need . final specs will be as follows. fluval roma 125 footprint 80cmx35cm , filtered by eheim 2213 with extra turnover/flow provided by a hydor koralia . co2 will be pressurised via 2kg fire extinguisher , lighting will be 2x25w t5 . ferts will be EI using the EI starter kit from the forum sponsor .

here is a brief layout plan . the brown mess is going to be either redmoor or sumatra driftwood . the microsorium will be attatched to a small rock and the rock disguised with plants.


planting layout by mark pettican, on Flickr
planting list is as follows
1 Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis'
2 hygropjila difformis
3 Limnophila aquatica
4 Microsorum pteropus
5 Staurogyne repens
6 ludwigia sp
7 ludwigia sp
8  Cryptocoryne beckettii 'petchii'
9  Vallisneria americana 'mini twister'
10 Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
11 Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'

thats all i have for now , but i am very much looking forward to entering the world of the underwater garden


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## Ady34 (18 Feb 2013)

I'm looking forward to it too Mark


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## MARKCOUSINS (18 Feb 2013)

Good idea nice plant list only thing mate you might struggle to fit all those in more refering to the background plants.Maybe leave one out initialy can allways put it in a later if you find you have space.Healthy plants means in no time you will have plenty of cuttings especialy with Ludwiga,Hygrophila.Hygrophila difformis is a nice plant but it needs space with it's structure it's stems tend to jut out a bit.Good luck Cheers mark


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## plantnoob (18 Feb 2013)

this is part of the learning curve i guess , knowing how much to order  the idea with the hygrophilas was to get 1 pot of each and just plant the best stems . i wanted a couple of fast growers in there to help get things established and help stave off potential algae issues in the early stage. i think i would prefer to throw a few stems away than not have enough plant mass to start off with . no doubt i will make some mistakes along the way ( thats where you guys come in  ). this is going to be very much a learning tank  , with a view to a nice optiwhite rimless braceless number ive already got my eye on for next year


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## MARKCOUSINS (18 Feb 2013)

For sure far better to go heavily planted from the get go!Let us know on developments cheers mark.


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## plantnoob (18 Feb 2013)

will do . hefty financial commitments for the next couple of weeks , but after that im a man on a mission


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## Ian Holdich (19 Feb 2013)

Sell your camera mark! 

Good luck with this mate.


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## plantnoob (19 Feb 2013)

cheers mate .  sell the camera ? no chance !  want to get those plants pearling ,to get some indoor use out of the macro lens


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## plantnoob (23 Feb 2013)

a little bit of progress today .to go with the co2 reg and filter previously bought , i have ordered the following.

1x arcadia twin 24-39w t5 ballast
2x reflector
1x hydor external heater
1x new wave 1.6 circulation pump
2x neutro glass co2 drop checkers
1x 100ml 4dkh bromo blue
3 metres neutro co2 tubing
1x easy aqua 4 in 1 super atomiser
1x 3ml pippette for loading drop checkers

£185 i really shouldnt have spent , but im getting fed up of waiting 

when all that lot arrives i can get to work on getting flow right . then i just need to get tubes,substrate,ferts,timer plugs and fire extinguisher ( plus anything else ive forgotten) and il be ready for plants


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## plantnoob (23 Feb 2013)

with new found enthusiasm now that things are happening , i have begun to get the tank prepped .  the old fluval light unit has been modified ( or butchered as the mrs called it ) in readiness for the new lights . the power lead has been cut off and i ripped out the old t8 connecters and scummy old reflectors . the new t5 connecters will then be screwed/glued in place and the ballast will sit on the windowsill behind the tank out of sight .

being situated by the living room window isnt exactly ideal , but its just about the only space i had that i could fit it in , so with this in mind i have painted the back matt black and then stuck white card over that to reflect any sunlight away . i have also painted the ends of the tank matt black , 1stly for added insurance against sunlight and 2ndly this tank is only to be viewed from the front .  when i start hooking up the lights , co2 , circulation pump etc il do some general setup photos.


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## plantnoob (22 Mar 2013)

at last some progress . for various reasons ( not least a manic work schedule), things came grinding to an annoying halt on this project , leaving me sitting looking frustratingly at a tank full of just water and substrate ! ive actually got a rare day off tomorrow , so the plan is to connect up the co2 equipment etc and get to work on a nice even flow in the tank. meanwhile i just ordered the last couple of bits that i forgot to get before , ie lamps , timer plugs and tools . these should arrive early next week , by then i will have figured out spraybar/powerhead configuration and will be able to order plants hopefully a few days after that . been frustrating having to wait , but im really looking forward to it now i can get some greenery in the empty box of water ive been staring at


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## plantnoob (25 Mar 2013)

as is the norm with my erratic workload , i have been slowed down yet again . today though i am at last hooking up all the gear for the co2 . quick phone snap of reg fitted to FE . i will dust off the camera and do some proper setup shots when all is in its final place in the cabinet .

7245_10200967721417980_1819344055_n by mark pettican, on Flickr

just to check that im putting the equipment in the correct order , im going with extinguisher --> regulator --> bubble counter --> check valve --> up atomiser . or does the check valve need to go directly after the reg?


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## RobS84 (25 Mar 2013)

Hi, looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

The check valve is there to protect the regulator / solenoid valve against water ingress so needs to go directly after the regulator/solenoid/needle valve assembly and before the bubble counter. Hope that helps.


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## plantnoob (25 Mar 2013)

thanks . i will change it around so that the check valve is before the bubble counter .


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## WetElbow (26 Mar 2013)

plantnoob said:


> £185 i really shouldnt have spent , but im getting fed up of waiting
> 
> when all that lot arrives i can get to work on getting flow right . then i just need to get tubes,substrate,ferts,timer plugs and fire extinguisher ( plus anything else ive forgotten) and il be ready for plants


 
Yeah, it all adds up.  I thought this side of the hobby would be a lighter on the pocket than marines.  But it all starts adding up LOL.

Check all your joints for CO2 leaks once connected.  I,ve had a few bubble counters which have leaked .  The only thing I have now is a check valve between my regulator and reactor.  I check my fish and drop checkers as a guide to how much CO2 goes into the tank.


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## plantnoob (26 Mar 2013)

couldnt raise any motivation when i got in from work this morning , but when i got up this afternoon , i moved the check valve so it is immediately after the regulator , fired up the system and leak tested every joint . so far so good , no obvious leaks anywhere , so i taped the FE handles together and set my bubble rate , which at the moment is a tad over 1 bps . off to work again soon , but when i get up tomorrow afternoon il get the drop checkers loaded and put in the tank and inject some gas so i can see what the levels are like .


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## plantnoob (5 Apr 2013)

decided to go with some hardscape after all , as i really want some wood to grow moss on . bought this bit of redmoor off ebay today .

 Driftwood Bogwood, Root ,for Fish Tank ,Red moor,Set of Root and Stone(B -531) | eBay

may call for a slight change in the intended plant list

still feels like 1 step forward 2 steps back at the moment . was supposed to be ordering plants today , but have had to hold off as ive been off work all this week with concussion . only thing stopping me planting right now is lack of ready cash . knew it would be slow when i started this journal , didnt envisage this long though


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## plantnoob (10 Apr 2013)

please excuse the crappy phone pic , and the bubbles everywhere from just re-filling the tank , but i was so pleased to have actually done something with the tank that i couldnt wait to get the camera out and do some decent photos  rock will be removed once wood sinks on its own , hopefuly quite quickly as i boiled the living daylights out of it  ,  the intended scape has now gone out of the window as cant really do a dutch style with wood . not sure wether to keep it at 1 piece or try to find a 2nd piece for the right hand side .im thinking weeping moss and perhaps anubia on the wood , with some s. repens around the base of the wood . still going with the corymbosa rear left corner and the red lugwidia around the wood as a focal point . other than that im stumped for ideas at the moment .


wood3 by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## plantnoob (22 Apr 2013)

thought id do a quick update , ferts are all mixed up and ready to go , and plants will arrive on thursday , so there will be some proper photos done with the camera soon 

ferts are mixed up as following .

macro: 6 tsp potassium nitrate , 6 tsp magnesium sulphate and 2 tsp potassium phosphate mixed in 500ml dosing bottle
micro: 2tsp chelated trace elements in 500ml dosing bottle
25ml 3 times a week of each on alternate days .

plants coming are

1 pot Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis'
1 pot Hygrophila polysperma
1 pot Cryptocoryne beckettii 'petchii'
2 pots Ludwigia sp.
1 pot Lindernia rotundifolia
1 pot Limnophila aquatica
1 pot Cryptocoryne undulata 'broad leaves'
6 pots Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
1 Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
1 pot Vallisneria americana 'mini twister'


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## plantnoob (27 Apr 2013)

just finished planting . will dust off the dslr and do some better shots when the stems straighten etc . not going to win any aquascaping competitions , but that isnt my goal with this tank ., this is about learning to grow and trim plants etc and avoid algae problems ( touch wood )


a3 by mark pettican, on Flickr


a2 by mark pettican, on Flickr


a1 by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## plantnoob (27 Apr 2013)

revised plant list is now Gymnocoronis spilanthoides , ludwigia repens " ruben" , limnophila aquatica , echinodorus ozelot , crypt becketi "petchi" , crypt undulata broad leaves , Hydrocotyle leucocephala and HC


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## Manrock (27 Apr 2013)

Those plants look great. Be interesting to see how they fill out. Just an observation but I would change the green outflow pipe, spray bar, suction pads and piping for black ones. They will 'disappear'!

Keep us posted - really enjoying this Journal.


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## plantnoob (27 Apr 2013)

thanks . i do plan on getting an eheim installation kit , which has black pipework . the ugly powerhead on the right is just a temporary measure as i felt i needed a bit more flow once the plants were in . il get something more subtle soon


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## Lindy (28 Apr 2013)

Why don't you use clear acrylic? If your lighting hits the black pipe it will show up grey.


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## plantnoob (28 Apr 2013)

hardware will be tidied up in due course . with this being my st planted tank , im more worried about healthy plants tbh .  once that side is mastered i will move onto a cleaner looking more discreet setup.......... which of course will require a braceless optiwhite tank


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## plantnoob (29 Apr 2013)

really must stop being lazy and do some decent photos instead of using my iphone   snapped these just before lights out . amazed at the difference in the ludwigia after just 2 days  , its grown above the wood at the back already . now that the Gymnocoronis spilanthoides has straightened up , it just needs to fill in . although i removed 1 troublesome stem that simply refused to stay in the substrate , and i got the hump with constantly re-planting it . the Hydrocotyle leucocephala seems to be taking really well too .  have to say im really enjoying it at the moment    still getting a tiny bit of wjite fungus on the wood , but its almost ran its course now .


IMG_0055 by mark pettican, on Flickr


IMG_0057 by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## Ady34 (30 Apr 2013)

Looking great.
Pleased all is going well now Mark. It's certainly looking much less chaotic and purposeful after a few days of straightening stems, it's always the way, very rarely do things look as we envisaged just after planting....a bit like waking up on a morning, a shower and a shave changes the way we look and feel 
Cheerio
Ady


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## plantnoob (30 Apr 2013)

cheers ady . really pleased with the way the ludwigia repens is taking , looks to have grown more even today , its making a beeline for the surface . rekon il be giving it a trim soon . the hc on the other hand is doing my head in . it really doesnt like staying put !  il persist with it for a while  , but im considering swapping it out for eleocharis acicularis . will stick it out for a while with the hc 1st though


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## plantnoob (6 May 2013)

quick update 1 week in . the Gymnocoronis spilanthoides had reached the surface , so thats had a pretty hefty trim , the limnophila aquatica has had an even more savage cutting back , with only the nicest new growth being kept , the rest ruthlessly disgarded. ozelot has been reduced from 2 plants to just the 1 , and is now doing better . slow but steady  . new growth on the Hydrocotyle leucocephala , although tbh im undecided if i like it or not . for me it just doesnt really seem to fit . star of the show so far is the ludwigia repens rubin . really doing well , lovely red tips . i know its time to trim it , but i just cant bring myself to yet , its looking too nice   touch wood , so far no algae or diatoms , crypts looking healthy still too . 1 failiure though has been the hc . it was looking really bad , all yellow and rotten , so i have removed it and will most likely replace it with hairgrass .  as you can see in the full tank shot , the trimmed up plants really need to grow back in , deffinately starting to see the potential though . overall so far i think this has been the tank that i have enjoyed most out of all the setups ive had over my time .


iphone1 by mark pettican, on Flickr


iphone2 by mark pettican, on Flickr


iphone3 by mark pettican, on Flickr


iphone4 by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## Ian Holdich (6 May 2013)

Looking great mate, shame about the HC. Ime HC struggles with new aqua soils...maybe something to do with the ammonia. I think the hairgrass will look loads better. If I was you I'd buy the tropica 1-2 grow stuff.


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## plantnoob (6 May 2013)

thanks mate . ammonia shouldnt be an issue with the aquasoil really , as it had been in the tank for about 5 weeks with twice weekly waterchanges , and a filter seeded with mature media before i planted it , so i would have expected the leeching to be done with by now  , although to be fair i have no experience regarding this, so i could well be wrong . flow at substrate level is good and strong , plenty of co2 bubbles getting down there too . perhaps the flow was too strong , lifting the hc and it couldnt root properly ? either way i figured that the best thing to do would be to remove it rather than leave it in and risk triggering algae problems.


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## biffster (7 May 2013)

to me that looks champion it will grow in to shape 
give it a couple of weeks


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## plantnoob (9 May 2013)

thanks . the aquatica is starting to bounce back from its hacking down ,  the ozelot is going well , steady rather than quickly though . it now sits around 4 to 5 inches high , and has 11 leaves with another new leaf just sprouting . cant wait for that to get some real height to it , its going to be a beauty of a plant .  crypts still nice and healthy , had the odd leaf melt , which were removed , but they seem in pretty good shape .


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## plantnoob (14 May 2013)

had a slight outbreak of hair algae . found to my surprise that the filter pipes were clogged with thick black sludge . must of sucked lots up when i planted/refilled and disturbed the aquasoil too much . spent a couple of hours when i got in from work today taking all the pipes off and cleaning them through , along with the filter . the affected plants were limnophila aquatica , Hydrocotyle leucocephala , the crypts and some on the wood . looks like i caught it early as it wasnt long like the pics i found online , but really short . i took out the affected plants and wood gave them a good wash and got all the algae off , put them back in and then did a water change . i have also upped the co2 as much as i dare ( got 10 copper tetra in the tank now ) . no visible algae present now , hopefully the maintainence along with increased co2 will sort it out . going to have to keep a close eye on things


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## plantnoob (16 May 2013)

time to get some serious plant mass in the tank , and get it heavilly planted .  the Gymnocoronis spilanthoides at the left rear corner , i just dont really like , so it getting replaced with a couple of pots of nomaphila stricta . where the Hydrocotyle leucocephala is i am going to swap that out for blyxa japonica . the Hydrocotyle leucocephala will be moved over to the right hand side and kept trimmed low in the front . a little clump of Staurogyne repens  around the base of the wood , and a carpet of eleocharis acicularis filling in the foreground . most probably going to tie some moss to the wood too .  will post some pics in the next few days once plants arrive and the rescaping is done


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## plantnoob (18 May 2013)

been busy with the tank since getting home from work this morning . wasnt really feeling the Gymnocoronis spilanthoides rear left corner , so that has been swapped for nomophila stricta , some blyxa japonica front left , a good spread of eleocharis acicularis to hopefully get a nice carpet going , and although you cant really see it yet , some rotala rotundifolia in between the ludwigia and the lim aquatica . 10 cherry shrimp have also been introduced .


iphone b by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## plantnoob (18 May 2013)

the more i look at it , the more im thinking this is a prime spot for a fern/annubia of some description


plantspot by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## Ian Holdich (18 May 2013)

Yep, well spotted mark, I suggest some mini narrow leaved java fern or anubias nana bonsai. Looks healthy mate, well done so far.


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## Ady34 (18 May 2013)

Looking good!
I say Anubias will look great there, maybe if theres room you could even squeeze in a fern behind an Anubias nana petite to add more height and depth transition? Or alternatively use 2 species of Anubias, a petite in the foreground and a larger leafed taller variety behind? The darker leaf colour of Anubias will add a nice contrast to the brighter greens of the existing plants.
The blyxa and hair grass will work really well and add to the nice shape the planting has currently.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## plantnoob (18 May 2013)

cheers ian . have to admit  , ive surprised myself at how well its going . helped no end by the 1st class advice i have received on here in the planning stages , so a big thank you to the members here is in order .

cheers ady . im liking the idea of a fern/anubias mixture . i rekon if i used a fern towards the rear and a couple of smallish anubias in front that i could get 2 or 3 plants on there no great drama.  have to say , im so pleased that i bought the blyxa to go in the front left corner . it was looking a bit bare and that has filled it in nicely . i love it    looking forward to the hairgrass filling in , a lush green carpet is what i crave in the tank more than just about anything


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## plantnoob (24 May 2013)

hairgrass has been in around a week now . shot up in height really quickly , so a couple of days ago i gave it an aggressive trim , down to around 1cm . its already back up to about triple that in height again , more so in places , and ive started to see the 1st few runners . the little tiny stems of rotala rotundifolia have gained around 2 or 3 inches height in the week too . got another couple of pots of hairgrass coming , jut to fill out a slightly larger area , and some anubias nana for the wood .

battling a slight hair algae problem though , have been for a week or 2 . nothing major , but enough to bother me . i know i could probably get some algae eating fish to keep it down , but id rather eliminate the cause instead . at the moment im fighting it by keeping co2 high , lighting period short , maunal removal and extra water changes . may try some excel too .


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## plantnoob (29 May 2013)

still struggling with what i believe to be poor distribution of co2 . hygro is melting badly , hair algae choking the hairgrass .  going to be making some drastic changes to my co2 injection/distribution method next week , using a 1200 lph powerhead to drive a co2 reactor and back out into the tank via a full length spraybar along the rear wall to try and get even flow / distribution .  on a plus side though got a cracking anubias nana fro AE today  


anubia by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## plantnoob (10 Jun 2013)

in my ongoing struggle with co2 ive had a fair few plants melt away . lost the hygrophila , blyxa and limnophila . slowly making changes bit by bit , and i think im slowly getting there . not quite nailed it yet , but things seem to be slowly turning a corner .  i know the pump is an eyesore , but thats temporary until i get an external pump to run the reactor .  looking a bit bare at the moment , but ive got some moss coming from a member here for the wood , a big tub of riccia coming for the foreground , and il get a few more plants soon enough . on the plus side the anubias nana added just under a fortnight ago has sent out 2 new leaves , and flowered .


IMG_0158 by mark pettican, on Flickr


IMG_0164 by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## plantnoob (22 Jun 2013)

added more plants yesterday , only to have a nightmare setback today . the powerhead slid down the glass overnight and blasted aquasoil and plants everywhere . the bacopa in particular took a real battering . all looking a bit jungle-like and chaotic at the moment . really need to get rid of that ugly powerhead , and get an external pump .


IMG_0191 by mark pettican, on Flickr


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## Achintya (23 Jun 2013)

for better circulation over the tank you can do 1 thing.
if you use diffuser place a small powerhead just over the diffuser.the co2 which will come out from diffuser will mix with powerhead and run all over the tank.actually i do the same thing and get a good result of it.


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## plantnoob (23 Jun 2013)

co2 is injected via an external reactor , ( powered by that powerhead) and fed into the tank via the full length spraybar .


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## Achintya (23 Jun 2013)

is spray bar really needed for planted tank?good water circulation is good to combat with algae.you may use the same without spray bar.


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## plantnoob (23 Jun 2013)

i was having poor growth , along with hair algae problems and even some green spot algae on the front glass . since swapping to the reactor / spraybar setup ive had no gsa and hair algae is all but gone . id say that speaks volumes about its benefit


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## Achintya (23 Jun 2013)

good to hear about your planted tank.all the best.


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