300L pseudo-Dutch style Planted Tank

[jose_j]

Hi, I have posted some of this information in the "New Members Introduction" section of the forum, but I would like to open here a thread for this tank. It is a 300 litres densely planted tank. The aquarium was set up 7 months ago. Fortunately I have never found any algae on it and the glasses are exactly like the first day, I have never had to clean them. Hope that good luck will go on, fingers crossed. 2 moths before setting it up I run the filter in my old and first planted tank (80L) and that was enough to get it ready for the 300L aquarium set up.

I really like Dutch style aquariums, but I know that mine is far from them. There are many "rules" in this style and I am not following them. But I like it as it is, so this is the most important thing, as I am not thinking in sending it to any contest, etc. It is a demanding tank in terms of pruning effort, and I am always rescaping it.

Here you have some data and a quick shot of it, hope you like it as well. It is very pleasant and relaxing to sit down in front of it and enjoy the view:



Limnophila aromatica


Ludwigia repens "red" and their pots taken out of the aquarium for trimming


Hydrocotyle vulgaris flower


Sagittaria subulata flower


Proserpinaca palustris pearling


Ludwigia repens "red"


I recently have introduced Alternanthera sessilis



Volume: 300L
Length: 120 cm
Height: 60 cm
Deep: 40 cm

Light: 6 x 50W fluorescent T5s Philips 865 110cm
Photo-period: 4 tubes from 13:00 pm to 22:00 pm + 2 tubes from 17:00 pm to 20:00 pm

CO2: pressurized bottle + inline atomizer working only when lights are on

Filter: Canister. ICA TurboJet TJ3378 14W 1020 litres/hour pump.
Filtering media: filter wool, ceramic rings and sponges.

Heater: 300W heater set to 24ºC

Substrate: Oliver Knott Nature Soil black colour normal size (4.5 mm)

Water: 50% tap water + 50% RO water

Fertilizers:KNO3, KH2PO4, K2SO4, Fe-EDTA, Fertiberia Microplús.

Parameters:
NO3: 10 ppm
PO4: 1 ppm
Fe: 0.5 ppm
TDS: 310
KH: 6

Plant species:
Alternanthera sessilis
Anubias barteri nana
Anubias barteri var "petite"
Cryptocoryne wendtii brown
Fissidens fontanus
Hedyotis salzmannii
Hydrocotyle sp. japan
Hydrocotyle vulgaris
Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila guianensis
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Limnophila aromatica
Lindernia rotundifolia
Lobelia cardinalis
Ludwigia glandulosa
Ludwigia repens red
Microsorum pteropus mini
Microsorum pteropus narrow
Nymphaea lotus red
Nymphoides sp. taiwan
Proserpinaca palustris
Riccia fluitans
Sagittaria subulata
Taxiphyllum barbieri
Vesicularia ferriei
Vesicularia montagnei

Please, excuse my (bad) English.

Cheers,

Jose

 

[Kyle Lambert]

HOLY CRAP am i jealous of that. How did you achieve the carpeted background? What species is it aswell?

 

[jose_j]

HOLY CRAP am i jealous of that. How did you achieve the carpeted background? What species is it aswell?

Hi Kyle,

the background wall is 120x60cm. I did it using plastic net folded sandwich-like and introducing on it mosses. It is fixed to the back glass using several suction cups. At the beginning it was only made from Fissidens fontanus, but then I pinned some mosses and now they have over-competed the Fissidens, so you only can see mosses (Xmass, Java and Ferriei). Currently I also have pinned ferns, anubias, Riccia fluitans and Hydrocotyle sp japan.

This background is a paradise for the shrimps.

Here you have a photo of the initial phase just to illustrate what I'm telling you.



and here is another shot from other aquarium where you can see how the plastic net is folded and attached



Just let me know if you need more informatation, I will be pleased in replying you.

Cheers,

Jose

 

[Gilles]

Cool idea Jose!

 

[Kyle Lambert]

wow, cracking idea. What sort of netting is it? does it have to be a certain size to be safe for fish? last thing i would want is for any fish to get caught up in the net.

I have real difficulty in keeping moss for some reason. Ive got some java on my bogwood but its literally 1 small strand of the stuff!

 

[Kyle Lambert]

wow, cracking idea. What sort of netting is it? does it have to be a certain size to be safe for fish? last thing i would want is for any fish to get caught up in the net.

I have real difficulty in keeping moss for some reason. Ive got some java on my bogwood but its literally 1 small strand of the stuff!

 

[jose_j]

wow, cracking idea. What sort of netting is it? does it have to be a certain size to be safe for fish? last thing i would want is for any fish to get caught up in the net.

I have real difficulty in keeping moss for some reason. Ive got some java on my bogwood but its literally 1 small strand of the stuff!

Hi Kyle,

the net is made from plastic, here in Spain is very easy to find at any hardware store, I imagine that it should be also easy to get for you there. The one I use has a nodal distance of 5 mm, and never noticed any problem regarding fishes or shrimps trapped in the net.

I forgot to say that cable ties are very useful in order to get the net folded and also to attach the suction cups. Fishing line can also be used for this purpose but cable ties are easier to handle and they will remain fasten forever.

Cheers,

Jose

 

[three-fingers]

That's an impressive moss wall! Love the tank, great flower pics too, its always rewarding your plants in bloom.

Is there a reason the Ludwigia is in pots? Seems to like it in there anyway!

 

[martinmjr62]

Jose,wow that is a lovely healthy looking tank
love the moss wall, fantastic idea

Cheers
Martin

 

[harryH]

Hi Jose, your English is excellent by the way.
Brilliant set up, growing plants the way most of us dream of!
Hope you can continue to post pictures of this every now and again, it is the kind of thing that inspires.
Harry

 

[Alastair]

Stunning display....

 

[Sacha]

This is a beautiful tank.

You have some great pearling- especially with the Limnophila. I'm guessing you run your co2 pretty high. Do you have a spray bar? If so I can't see it.

 

[Sacha]

My mistake, I see it now 🙂

 

[jose_j]

That's an impressive moss wall! Love the tank, great flower pics too, its always rewarding your plants in bloom.

Is there a reason the Ludwigia is in pots? Seems to like it in there anyway!

Hi three-fingers, thank you very much for your kind comments. They are hidden in the set up, but there are 7 pots in the aquarium. I use them to get the plants at the rear in a higher position. In the next picture you can see some of them:



They are common flower pots made from mud. In the bottom of each I add some volcanic gravel and then fill them with nutritive substrate. I have used HELP shrimp substrate, its working fine also for plants.

I like the method because you can easily move the pots from one place to another in the aquarium, and also you can elevate them or take them out for trimming.

Hope you also like the method.

Cheers,

Jose

 

[jose_j]

This is a beautiful tank.

You have some great pearling- especially with the Limnophila. I'm guessing you run your co2 pretty high. Do you have a spray bar? If so I can't see it.

Hi Sacha,

CO2 is working when lights are on. I'm using a pressurized bottle (one of these that are used for beer in the pubs and restaurants) and an inline atomizer that split the gas into very tiny bubbles. I think that it is a nice system as you save money in CO2. The bad side is that the water looks a little bit misty, loosing the attractiveness of a fully transparent water.

Cheers,

Jose

 

[jose_j]

Jose,wow that is a lovely healthy looking tank
love the moss wall, fantastic idea

Cheers
Martin

Hi Martin,

I'm glad to see that you like it. As you have seen it is really easy to made and the result is very beautiful and a paradise for shrimps and young fishes.

Thanks for your comments.

Jose

 

[Sacha]

Yep, I have the exact same system Jose.

I use a fire extinguisher, with an inline Up "atomic" diffuser and a spray bar. I get very small bubbles as you describe. I agree it is a shame that you lose the look of completely clear water.

 

[jose_j]

Hi Jose, your English is excellent by the way.
Brilliant set up, growing plants the way most of us dream of!
Hope you can continue to post pictures of this every now and again, it is the kind of thing that inspires.
Harry

Hi Harry,

thank you for your positive feedback, your comments also inspire me as much as a beautiful aquarium picture.

Cheers,

Jose

 

[kirk]

Hi to be honest if it wasn't for the Fish I would think it was a tank At all. It looks like something professional gardeners do at Chelsea. Its wonderfully mate poverty to look at. Cheers Kirk.🙂

 

[Yo-han]

Except for the fact that I don't think Alternanthera sessilis is going to survive for long submersed, this is one of the best Dutch tanks I've seen outside the Netherlands. Everything looks healthy and it only needs to be arranged a little different and maybe some more space between species and it will do quite well in the Dutch competition!