Green Fun - low tech 60l

[Anonymous]

Told ya I'm going to make a journal for this tank

Too keep it short here are the details:

1. Tank

Eheim 60cm x 30cm x 35cm = 63 liters

2. Hardware:

Filtration: JBL e700
Heater: Jager 50w
Light: 3 x Osram 865 T8 15W (older than a year) x 5 hours - I'll replace them with Aqua Medic soon.

3. Fertilization:

JBL AquaBasis
Trace Mix Pro, Easy Life Nitro si Fosfo weekly at water change
JBL Ferropol 24 - 4 drops daily

4. Green stuff:

- micranthemum micranthemoides
- pogostemon helferi
- bacopa monnieri
- hygrophila polisperma
- hedyotis salzmannii
- nymphaea lotus zenkeri
- blyxa japonica
- cryptocoryne wendtii green
- cryptocoryne x willisii lucens
- echinodorus tenellus
- echinodorus quadricostatus
- lomariopsis lineata
- fontinalis antipyretica
- riccia fluitans dwarf
- anubias nana

6. Dudes

- neocaridina heteropoda x dunno as they are always a good snack for my fishes
- caridina multidentata x 3 (were 4 but one decided to take a leap)
- hemigrammus bleheri x 8
- gasteropelecus sternicla x 3
- pseudomugil gertrudae x 5
- paraotocinclus jumbo x 2
- apistogramma cacatuoides x 1 female

7. Decor

- JBL Manado (soon a layer of Amazonia above)
- ADA Forrest Sand Orinoco and some ugly sand underneath.

Evolution:

Low techs are fun ...

Keep in touch,
Mike

 

[russchilds]

Looks brilliant

 

[ghostsword]

I have to say that the 1st picture looks much better, maybe it is due to the clear background. It looks really good.

Maybe more light at the back of the last picture?

 

[Tom]

I'd agree, I'd like to see the last scape with a light background. Looks great though

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately the next one was done with the background a little bit close to the tank, overall a poor quality image ..
Well I need to buy some white paper to cover the background frame.

Thanks mates for your kind words,
Mike

 

[ghostsword]

Now this looks great!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Luis.

Minor update:
I've planted some hemianthus callitrichoides, not the first time growing this in low tech but I don't expect to have a beautiful lawn too soon, now it's bushy all over

Issues
Doing small water changes got me into a problem, the plants stunned their growth and the new leaves are smaller and smaller, checked my ferts and they are alright N 40, P 0.8, Fe 0.5, K I dose often - don't know the numbers though (readings before water change) so I've ordered from a friend of mine some Epsom salts, maybe adding Mg should do the difference, the tank was doing alright until I've stopped doing water changes weekly.

I think my GH is done after 2 years, readings of over 30+ ppm and still no change in the testing water color .. sure .. I own a small lime quarry ..

Facts
I've changed 20l of water and I've got the most beautiful pearling which lasted until the lights went off ..

Things to do

- Large water changes more often .. me always lazy ..
- Dose Mg .. I'll start with 5ppm this weekend and dose 2ppm every other day to see if any difference
- Scrub the stones .. yeah right ..

Cheers,

 

[greenjar]

Mike,

I really like like this tank, and will draw inspiration for my own low tech tank. I currently dose only DIY CO2 and am thinking of stopping this too. I also on the other hand want to start down the road of pressurised CO2 but am battling with myself and the dilemma of choosing between low and high tech setup.....

I would like to follow the advise of experienced members and learn to enjoy and experiment with my current low tech setup, but you know its human nature to want to run before you can walk......

 

[wearsbunnyslippers]

this is simply beautiful, i cant believe this is low tech...

keep it up!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks mates, I'll keep updating this journal with its ups and downs (hopefully more ups than downs).

@greenjar if you want to switch you tank to low tech do it slowly so plants can adjust to the new environment, also remember that plants still need CO2, overstocking your tank and providing large biological filtration may override the CO2 shortage and provide the minimum your plants require. Don't forget that plants in low techs are growing slow sometimes too slow if you don't have enough patience

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't planned a photo session for today but ... here's a new one since I had some spare time:

My first time using a hair dryer

Cheers,
Mike