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70L planted - second tank
- Thread starter LFNfan
- Start date
Alrighty, it holds water. But it doesn't hold 70L of water. I filled 56L with a centimetre or so gap at the top. Mkay.
Stand built, and it juuuust fits next to my first tank for now.
I'm going for a peninsula-style setup because the location I'd finally like for this tank means it will be viewable from both long sides and one short end. Whether it ever reaches that final destination is out of my hands.
Hardscape-wise, I've ordered some redmoor wood - a bit of structure and height but keeping it minimalist. Overall I want this tank to feel 'airy' ('watery'?), and a bit of a contrast to my 70L jungle.
I'm going for an inch or two of inert substrate - the same very coarse sand (1-2mm) I have in my other tank. I quite like the look of it, it should go well colour-wise with the wood.
Plants, wise I'm keeping it simple. Hopefully I'll manage to make these happy in my hard tap water.
Stocking will be shrimp and probably snails.
Welcome any thoughts on the planting selection!
Stand built, and it juuuust fits next to my first tank for now.
I'm going for a peninsula-style setup because the location I'd finally like for this tank means it will be viewable from both long sides and one short end. Whether it ever reaches that final destination is out of my hands.
Hardscape-wise, I've ordered some redmoor wood - a bit of structure and height but keeping it minimalist. Overall I want this tank to feel 'airy' ('watery'?), and a bit of a contrast to my 70L jungle.
I'm going for an inch or two of inert substrate - the same very coarse sand (1-2mm) I have in my other tank. I quite like the look of it, it should go well colour-wise with the wood.
Plants, wise I'm keeping it simple. Hopefully I'll manage to make these happy in my hard tap water.
- Vallisneria torta (height)
- microsorum pteropus (java fern) (height)
- anubias nana petite (on the wood)
- weeping moss (on the wood) (is 20 grams of moss a lot or not much?)
- cryptocoryne becketii (somewhere near the pointy bit of the peninsula (possibly))
- a little frogbit, pistia from my other tank
- ??
Stocking will be shrimp and probably snails.
Welcome any thoughts on the planting selection!
My suggestion is to replace torta with Sagittaria subulata 'Needle Leaf' or Cyoerus Helferi. Instead of standard Java fern get your hands on narrow or needle leaf.
Get some coloured buces varied sizes instead of nana petite. Weeping moss is already a winner as you have seen it in my tank.
Come grab some C.nuri ordered or from me again.
Get some coloured buces varied sizes instead of nana petite. Weeping moss is already a winner as you have seen it in my tank.
Come grab some C.nuri ordered or from me again.
Its very easy. Its the carpeting plant in the 350l tank you saw.
Buces can melt a bit at the start and in lower tech can take a bit longer to bounce back. I showed you the kitchen tank which was set up at the new year and its slowly growing back new leaves etc.
Just for piece of mind I guess. Im sure it will be fine.
Buces can melt a bit at the start and in lower tech can take a bit longer to bounce back. I showed you the kitchen tank which was set up at the new year and its slowly growing back new leaves etc.
Just for piece of mind I guess. Im sure it will be fine.
Here's what I'm looking at for a likely final 'composition'. I seem to have ended up with an island layout, mostly because the wood isn't quite right - out-of-the-box - for the peninsula falling-left-to-right layout I originally had in mind (and I don't have it in me to set about with saw and glue)
I think this layout should give me plenty of places to nestle plants, which are en route
I'll probably scoot the heater behind the centre of the red moor wood, hidden behind some java fern.
I think this layout should give me plenty of places to nestle plants, which are en route
- weeping moss
- cryptocoryne becketii
- cryptocoryne nurii
- bucephalandra 'wavy green'
- microsorum pteropus 'narrow leaf'
- sagittaria subulata
I'll probably scoot the heater behind the centre of the red moor wood, hidden behind some java fern.
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Move the filter to the right side and heater too. The long piece going to the left is a bit too strong visualy right now. You could snap it to create a more natural look and then use the snap off piece as a floor piece.
Weeping moss on the branches will look good
Weeping moss on the branches will look good
Plants have landed. My, some of them are real tiny. I'm just waiting for them to melt now and then start growing. I'm thinking: Let's see how they are looking in a month, and then I'll have a bash at finalising the hardscape, adding a background, and planting up in final locations. I'm feeling in a patient mood.
the frogbit I transferred from my main tank, and the salvinia and pistia, got brown roots in the new tank after a few days. Not sure what that was all about but I trimmed the frogbit and new roots are coming out all nice and clean.
A ramshorn hitched in on a plant weight from my main tank into this one, and I've seen it out and about near that white stuff on the wood and generally touring around.
I added some alder cones in too, and next day...brown water. Very brown. Done a few changes since then to lighten the murk.
Speaking of water changes, I couldn't help myself and have decided to ditch pure tap and go with a base of RO, remineralised to 10GH and 2KH (via adding tap along with epsom and gypsum). In the zone for neocaradina when that time comes.
Dosing-wise, I'm using a Solufeed 2:1:4 and Sodium-free Trace Elements Chelated 'All in One'. Targeting 5ppm N and 0.5 Fe.
The 8W light the tank came with seems a bit feeble, but I'm rolling with it for now.
the frogbit I transferred from my main tank, and the salvinia and pistia, got brown roots in the new tank after a few days. Not sure what that was all about but I trimmed the frogbit and new roots are coming out all nice and clean.
A ramshorn hitched in on a plant weight from my main tank into this one, and I've seen it out and about near that white stuff on the wood and generally touring around.
I added some alder cones in too, and next day...brown water. Very brown. Done a few changes since then to lighten the murk.
Speaking of water changes, I couldn't help myself and have decided to ditch pure tap and go with a base of RO, remineralised to 10GH and 2KH (via adding tap along with epsom and gypsum). In the zone for neocaradina when that time comes.
Dosing-wise, I'm using a Solufeed 2:1:4 and Sodium-free Trace Elements Chelated 'All in One'. Targeting 5ppm N and 0.5 Fe.
The 8W light the tank came with seems a bit feeble, but I'm rolling with it for now.
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hard to tell from the picture but I am raising up a first generation mollusc army! They're about 1mm max at the moment, and spreading out across the tank. How many...tens easily - not bad work from just two snails!
I took the weeping moss off the stones I had plonked it on when it arrived - after a month or so it was not doing well. Instead I attached it to some of the hardscape branches with spiralled cotton thread secured at each end with gel superglue. Did this in-situ with the tank half-full (at water change time). Due to my inexperience it was a super-faff and I had a few failed attempts at glueing a piece of sawn-off branch to the main hardscape. In hindsight much easier to remove the hardscape, do the work, and then put it back. Not sure if this will be the final destination for this moss, but the main aim is to see if we can get it growing happily.
I also bought a new light - the 8W in the hood that the tank came with was nice, but not quite bright enough. I now have an adjustable Aqqa one and a see-through hood.
To my eye the layout is too clustered to the right-hand-side. I'm going to further trim the one branch coming out on the left hand side of the large piece of moorwood to allow me to shift the whole piece a bit more towards the centre/left of the tank, to balance things out and make it a bit more rule-of-thirds-y.
Overall this is extremely early days for this tank. I see now just how fast stem plants grow compared to the species I have in this tank now.
I moved some of the crypt and microsorum and saggitaria to the soft-water tank to see if they will grow out more quickly.
End of update!
I took the weeping moss off the stones I had plonked it on when it arrived - after a month or so it was not doing well. Instead I attached it to some of the hardscape branches with spiralled cotton thread secured at each end with gel superglue. Did this in-situ with the tank half-full (at water change time). Due to my inexperience it was a super-faff and I had a few failed attempts at glueing a piece of sawn-off branch to the main hardscape. In hindsight much easier to remove the hardscape, do the work, and then put it back. Not sure if this will be the final destination for this moss, but the main aim is to see if we can get it growing happily.
I also bought a new light - the 8W in the hood that the tank came with was nice, but not quite bright enough. I now have an adjustable Aqqa one and a see-through hood.
To my eye the layout is too clustered to the right-hand-side. I'm going to further trim the one branch coming out on the left hand side of the large piece of moorwood to allow me to shift the whole piece a bit more towards the centre/left of the tank, to balance things out and make it a bit more rule-of-thirds-y.
Overall this is extremely early days for this tank. I see now just how fast stem plants grow compared to the species I have in this tank now.
I moved some of the crypt and microsorum and saggitaria to the soft-water tank to see if they will grow out more quickly.
End of update!
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