An ambitious plan for a noob!

[Packers]

Hello, I am new to UKAPS and fairly new to planted tanks.

I currently have two tanks, a 25l tank with some pygmy puffer fish and a 90l tank (with lots of other fish!) I decided a while ago that the 95l tank needed a re-scape, and the fish I am keeping would probably be happier with the little shy celestial pearl danios (or galaxy rasboras depending on which source you read) in one tank and the more boisterous rainbow fish in another tank. So I now have a 60l tank too! I need to move my 95l tank from its current location in the kitchen to the living room, and replace it with the smaller tank, so this is an opportunity to re-scape and rejuvenate that tank too. My 95l tank was my first foray in the world of planted tanks and it is a bit naff. I didn't know much when I started and I underplanted it, I didn't think very hard about the hardscape and I knew nothing about flow, lighting, CO2 and fertilisers. To be honest I am still very much finding my feet with this stuff!

These are my tanks at the moment (sorry for the quality of the pictures, I need to get some practice at taking aquarium shots):
95l after 1 year - a feast of green beard and black beard algae!

25l tank with pygmy puffer fish 3 weeks after re-planting (I noticed while loading this that if you look closely in the background you can see my laptop has UKAPS forum on the screen! This is just one small indication of how much aquariums have taken over my life at the moment!)

From what I have read in the past few months, I am starting my second week of dosing EasyCarbo and Aquarium Plant Food UK's EI starter kit, and I think the algae has started to reduce a bit, certainly the green beard algae has reduced. I can't afford a good pressurised CO2 set, so at the moment I have two nutrafin yeast-based CO2 sets. I alternate changing the yeast mixture on one of the units every week. As you can see I currently have internals in these tanks, but I am maturing a Dennerle external filter on the bigger tank at the moment, which will go on the 60l tank along with a koralia powerhead. I've also got an Eheim professional 3 250 ready and waiting to go on the 95l tank (I will transfer the media from the current internal during the big move), and a hydor external filter on the way.

I plan to run these tanks as medium light tanks, with 2 T8 15w tubes on the 60l and 2 T8 20w tubes on the 95l both with reflectors inside the hoods.

So, going from the 95l which has been a bit of an algae magnet (on one 20w T8 tube, little/no ferts) to two new aquascapes feels like a bit of scary leap!

I'm using a substrate of colombo flora base and sand in both tanks. I plan to do the big move and replant hopefully over one day, sharing the old substrate across the two tanks and adding some new to try to preserve my helpful bacteria load as much as possible.

The 60l will have a dragon stone hardscape, with a small beach area of sand at the front and going up between the two main rock groups.

Potential dragon stone positioning

The 95l will have a sumatra drift-wood hardscape, I haven't got a picture of it yet, but the plan is to have the wood looking like it is roots coming down from above, with an area of sand in the middle (but not exactly the middle). The plants will be mainly vallis, crypts, ferns and moss.

One question I do have is this: has anyone had any problems with fish health/stress when increasing the dosing of EasyCarbo and EI fertilisers? Should I be gradually increasing the amounts as these fish have not been exposed to these substances in large amounts before?

Sorry for the incredibly long post - thank you for reading. Any comments or tips would be very much appreciated!

 

[Piece-of-fish]

Hello and welcome to ukaps.
Congrats on entering this amazing hobby. I can sense another great uk scaper from your enthusiasm.
Your tanks look great.
Looks like you have covered everything and just need some time to get experience which undoubtedly will come very soon.
I would advice to read more about liquid carbon and handle it very carefully as it is very strong chemical.
Wish you to get pressurised co2 as soon as possible although yeast does work as well. Pressurised is just much easier anD cheap on the long run.
Fertilisers won't harm your fauna but liquid carbon can if overdosed.

 

[Packers]

Thank you for the welcome, and the advice. I am just following the recommended dosing on the liquid carbon packets at the moment, so I'm not too worried about overdosing.

I had another play with layout of dragon stone this evening:

I've got a bit more height on the largest stone, and from the angle below, I've got a bit more of a path up the centre

Still not completely sure I've got the layout right yet though.

I've spent the evening so far sawing a piece of wood to size to put the 60l tank on. It will be going on the kitchen worktop, which is tiled with horrible fake mosiac tiles, so I am concerned about putting the tank directly onto that. I've got a piece of wood and a piece of foam to go under it to make sure the pressure is even across the bottom of the tank. Does anyone have any opinion on whether I should put the foam between the wood and the worktop, or the wood and the tank?

I'm getting very excited now and I can't wait for the plants to arrive from TGM! Although the hardscape looks fairly Iwagumi-ish, I'm going for more bushy planting as although they are beautiful, I don't think grass-scapes are for me. I love the scapes that Andyh does, if mine can look anything like his I will be happy!

 

[Packers]

Just found a dead fish, a dead cherry shrimp and I am missing another fish. Don't know what I've done, but I'm thinking that maybe the new dosing regime was too much for them? :?: I've posted something over in the fish forum. Now I'm wondering if I should go ahead with the planned re-scape this weekend, or put it off. I don't know whether a radical overhaul with do more harm, or if the subsequent division of fish load between the two tanks will reduce the stress on all of them

 

[spyder]

Shrimp will be affected by Easycarbo before your fish show signs of ill health/stress. Many people dose EI levels into shrimp tanks so I would be inclined to look at the EC than the ferts. Of course there could be other factors.

Take a look in the co2 forums as there are a couple of helpful stickies in there. DIY kits using disposable welding gas cylinders and fire extinguishers.

Also building your own pressurised co2 system is not as costly as you may think. Around £45 for a cylinder, (£20-25 for fire extinguisher), £80 for Reg, Solonoid and needle valve then it's around £30-£40 for some tubing and glassware. Comparing this to an off the shelf boxed kit, you could save upto a good £100 and have a bigger cylinder. £10 per refill? My 3kg system has been running since mid May and still going strong on a 60l.

As for your sponge. Most tanks + Unit combos have nothing between them. I would be inclined to put sponge between board and tiles. You could do both if your concerned.

 

[Packers]

I've lost 3 fish and a shrimp, but I have had no further deaths since doing a few water changes. The fish have been put under a bit more stress in the last 24 hours by being moved into a holding tank while I redo their tank.

I have to say that I had just not anticipated how long it would take to rescape the tank. I had an idea of where I wanted all the hardscape and plants to go, but tweaking everything took quite a long time, and tying on all the java fern and moss just took forever. After planting my carpet of glosso and crypts, I started filling the tank and found that large amounts of it all floated away - so then I replanted! I haven't got a final shot yet as the plants for the 60l tank are currently still sitting in my 95l in an effort to keep them alive until I have time to do the second tank. I'm still waiting for a few plants to arrive from TGM before either scape will be finished, but I hope to have some interim pics up tomorrow or Tuesday. I definately need to get all the major scaping done tomorrow evening or my ever patient housemates are going to start getting seriously annoyed with all the water everywhere

Thanks for the advice spyder. I think I will do as you suggest and put the sponge between the tiles and the board. I dream of one day getting pressurised CO2, but after all the money I have spent on the tanks in the last few weeks, I think that may have to wait a few months. I know that yeast CO2 can be unstable, but my drop checker does remain consistently green, so hopefully I will have a set up that is suitable for most plants.

Thank you for reading

 

[Packers]

Lots of pics (from my phone, so sorry about the quality)

95l tank
Plant list
Vallisneria Nana
Vallisneria Americana "mini twister"
Echinodorus vesuvius
Egeria Densa
Microsorum pteropus (normal and narrow forms)
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Staurogyne Repens
Cryptocorne Parva
Other crypts (can't remember names - from old tank)
Glossostigma elantinoides
Vesicularia ferriei "weeping"
Vesicularia duyana "Christmas"

My favourite view

60l tank
Plant list
Vallisneria Nana
Vallisneria Americana "mini twister"
Egeria Densa
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Cryptocorne Parva
Other crypts (can't remember names - from old tank)
Lindernia rotundifolia
Bacopa australis (plus another bacopa from old tank)
Echinodorus tenellus
Echinodorus quadricostatus
Hemianthus callitrichoides "cuba"

This one has gone a wierd colour, but I like the angle

Unfortunately, I obviously nudged the dial on the heater after I had set my 95l tank up and so the plants were all at 30 degrees celcius for 24 hours (including the ones I was keeping in this tank while setting up the 60l) and so they are all slightly suffering now

The Lindernia rotundifolia, HC, Echinodorus tenellus and vesuvius and the glosso are all looking a bit sad with some melting. I am hoping that they recover now that they are planted and at a more reasonable temperature. I'm running the CO2 higher than normal to try to give them a good start. Should I be dosing EI as well or will the columbo florabase substrate do that for me at the moment? Fingers crossed that everything recovers and starts to do well. The HC was pearling last night

 

[Morgan Freeman]

If it was me I'd be dosing straight away. Looking good so far!

 

[Themuleous]

Lovely tanks

Sam

 

[Alastair]

I like the 95l tank. That looks really nice. Looks a bit pink though

 

[Packers]

Lovely tanks

Sam

Thanks

If it was me I'd be dosing straight away. Looking good so far!

Thanks. I've started dosing now, and during the set up I am doing water changes every couple of days (initially daily). Do you think I will eventually need to do the 50% weekly water changes recommended with EI, or could I do one or two 25-30% changes? This is more of a medium than high light tank so I'm not expecting the levels of growth (and therefore build-up of waste products) that most high-tech tanks get, but I don't know if the levels of nutrients from the EI dosing will build up too much. I know that low-tech tanks get water changes less often than 50% weekly, but there are obviously a few factors involved there.

I like the 95l tank. That looks really nice. Looks a bit pink though

Thanks Alastair. It does look a bit pink doesn't it. I think it is combination of the photo, the powerglo tubes, the brown substrate and quite pink/orange looking wood! I have tied quite a lot of moss onto the wood and added some bolbitus now so that will soften in time. I'm getting some new growth now

I've also ordered some riccia to tie to some stones which can act as soil retainers and soften the border between the sand and substrate. I'm very tempted to try to widen the "river" of sand as well.

I've got a few fish in the tank now and it looks like it has a purpose now Some friends of mine came over yesterday and were drawn into the living room by the view of the tank Even before there were fish in it I kept staring at it! I think I want to call it Fern Gully.

60l tank
Not so sure about the 60l tank - can't really put my finger on it, but something is not quite right. I think maybe the angle of the beach/substrate is causing a foreshortening of the tank. I may extend the substrate all the way along at the back and bring the sand a little further along the front instead. I still quite like the idea of having a kind of triangular shape to the tank.

The error with the heater going up to 30 degrees has led to a major melt of the HC I've also ordered some more of that.

I'm still considering a change in filter. The dennerle external nano only has a quoted flow rate of 360l/hr which I am supplementing with a koralia nano pump. The problem is that any filter will have to sit on the worktop next to the tank which doesn't give it much "head".

Hopefully I'll put a few more pics up at the weekend after the addition of the riccia and replanted HC.