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60L - Moss valley

Hendre

Member
Joined
28 Aug 2018
Messages
144
Location
South Africa
Hey guys, short introduction time! My name is Hendre and I am a teenager in South Africa. Fish are a huge hobby of mine and every tank of mine (even fry tubs) are planted to some degree. For the past year and a bit I have been collecting equipment and hardscape blah blah. This is my first serious scape so any help would be appreciated. This is what I have racked up so far :D

First the tank:
IMG_20181021_153924.jpg
IMG_20181021_155137.jpg

I am using a 60cm tank, a perfect fit on my shelf. :)

Hardscape:
  • Dragon rock
  • Spider wood
  • Lava rock
Plants:
  • Cryptocoryne wendtii "green"
  • Bacopa monnieri
  • Monte carlo
  • Hygrophila pinnitafida (single piece growing out)
  • Anubias barteri "small" (More growing emersed)
  • "Taiwan" moss
  • "Erect" moss
  • "Spiky" moss
Livestock:
  • 5x Gertrudes blue eye
  • 12x Khuli loach
  • 3x Otocinclus
  • Red cherry shrimp
Everything is in other tanks right now, but I will pull them all together soon.
IMG_20181021_153936.jpg
IMG_20181021_154015.jpg


Equipment:
  • Tetratec ex600 canister filter
  • Glass lily pipes
  • 2kg CO2 cylinder with regulator and solenoid
  • Black ADA tubing
  • Glass bubble counter, diffuser etc. I have a smaller diffuser somewhere
  • 12W LED lighting rig, it's pretty strong!
IMG_20181021_155034.jpg
IMG_20181021_154229.jpg

upload_2018-10-21_16-33-12.png


The dry start will run until the end of November, or longer. I am very excited!

If anyone has comments or tips for me, I'd appreciate it greatly! :)


Till next time,
Hendré
 

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Hi,

First thing i would recommend is lowering the water level, ideally you don't want any visible water above the substrate, otherwise you will run into issues with mold etc. I've done a couple of dry starts and learnt the hard way, it's called a "dry" start for a reason. Last couple i've done, i've kept water level at least 1cm below lowest point of substrate.

Hope that helps
 
Hi
What is your tank volume.
U may find the Tetratech flow a bit on the low side if U fill with media fully.I run one on my 70l tank and flow isn't great for it when I was having it high tech with spray bar on back wall.U may want to consider a Eheim surfase skimmer on opposite corner from the outlet for aiding flow.
Anyway very silent filter and one of my favourite brands.
Regards Konsa
 
Looks good, water level a lot better. noticing any growth yet?
It's kicking in! MC is starting to grow and moss is attaching to the wood. Most of my emersed buce melted so I threw that in too. Background plants are also growing in well!

Hi
What is your tank volume.
U may find the Tetratech flow a bit on the low side if U fill with media fully.I run one on my 70l tank and flow isn't great for it when I was having it high tech with spray bar on back wall.U may want to consider a Eheim surfase skimmer on opposite corner from the outlet for aiding flow.
Anyway very silent filter and one of my favourite brands.
Regards Konsa
60L, I'll see what I can throw together regarding the canister for sure.
Unfortunately I have never seen one of those available where I live.. I think a 3D printed spraybar should do the trick!
 
Hi
My point was not to put too much ceramics in it.The sponges it comes with are very good pore size.And dont use floss.
Regards Konsa
 
Hi
My point was not to put too much ceramics in it.The sponges it comes with are very good pore size.And dont use floss.
Regards Konsa
My bioload should not be terribly high, sponges and such should work fine. I have a lot of plastic/ceramic media to choose from!
 
Any idea how long you plan on leaving the dry start before flooding?
Probably until the MC has carpeted, I don't want my kuhlis to dig it up! Probably some time early next year when I have my co2 filled and filtration sorted.
 
Sounds like a good plan, i left mine 3 months. Just keep an eye out for any mold etc
 
Allows me to prepare everything else as well! Co2 is ready, just need to build a modified lid for a filter :)
 
That moss looks super healthy! I would be tempted to only fill it 1/3 and have two mossy islands


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Looking good, Moss seems to have transitioned well. Maybe give the stems a trim? Bushier would look better with the other plants. T


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