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[CooKieS]

Plants helps against ammonia leach and consume the nutrients of the soil...dont

No harm and it's a method to prevent algae before


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Seems to be a strange method to me, as the pĺants help against ammonia and in doing that, help to cycle the tank faster.

Plus, plants will grow faster with fresh soil, with all that WC without plants, You're just releasing all the good nutrients from your soil...just my 2 cents.

But hey, if it works for some, should be fine anyway 😉

 

[AnhBui]

Plants helps against ammonia leach and consume the nutrients of the soil...dont


Seems to be a strange method to me, as the pĺants help against ammonia and in doing that, help to cycle the tank faster.

Plus, plants will grow faster with fresh soil, with all that WC without plants, You're just releasing all the good nutrients from your soil...just my 2 cents.

But hey, if it works for some, should be fine anyway 😉

Yeah, it worked for me 😀 I flooded 125x45x55, did water change every other day in first two weeks with filter on and light off


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[alto]

- Eleocharis Acicularis. Foreground.
- Pogostemon Helferi. Mid left, amongst rockwork.
- Alternathera Reineckii Mini. Mid right, amongst rockwork.
- Limnophila Hippuridordes. Background, left.
- Hygrophila Siamenssis 53B, found on AquaEssentails. Background, right.

Limnophila sessiliflora was also on your short list - it's an excellent "tank starter" plant as it seems to grow vigorously from the start - some of the other plants on your list can take a couple weeks to establish before showing much growth so it's always good to have some of these supporting or auxiliary plants in as well

Tank is looking very well 😀

Filling the tank & testing all the components & practising water changes is a good beginning 😉
It's much easier to plant in only slightly wet aquarium soil though, so I'd drain the tank in preparation, then have a spray bottle at hand to mist plants

Eleocharis sp "mini" Plant Handling Video

Tropica did a fantastic job with their Plant Handling Series - well worth watching!

 

[Jim..]

Thank you everybody for your advice and comments 🙂

As promised earlier I tried to take some pictures to show the different colour levels..

6000k

9000k


Due to my fantastic photography skills I can't tell the difference either In real life the difference is huge.. runs off to the photography forum for a crash course

To compensate I took some more from different angles, quantity over quality right? 😀

 

[alto]

Your camera may be automatically (white)balancing

Once you've plants in the tank, the change in light color may be more apparent (in photos) re impact on greens

 

[Manisha]

Really like your angled shots Jim, you probably wouldn't have got those with the tank in the first placement - looks super!

 

[Jim..]

Thank you Manisha 🙂

Your right, I'm really glad I stuck with this location.

Really like your angled shots Jim, you probably wouldn't have got those with the tank in the first placement - looks super!

 

[Jim..]

I have added some additional dragon stone to the rear right and at the base of the tree to try and create more height and depth. Only minor changes so I won't bore you with the pictures 🙄

Plan is to start planting next weekend, so hopefully I'll have something more exciting to show 🙂

 

[BexHaystack]

Pictures aren't boring!

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[Jim..]

Alright then 🙂 But like I said, minor changes..

Before


After Water is really cloudy today, I guess its due to the new rockwork..




I have also siphoned most of the fungi from the substrate and changed wc's to 30% daily.

Hopefully back on Saturday for planting

 

[Jim..]

Evening All

We have plants! Lots of plants!

When searching online it's hard to gauge how many plants might be needed. My initial thought was not to order too many and add to the scape over time. Fast forward to now and there's little room for planting in my tank 😀

But lets start at the beginning. With my delivery due at lunchtime I had plenty time to get things ready, 1st I had to drain the tank..

Boom!


That only took 15 minutes, need to kill some time while I wait for my delivery
..and, by the power of the internet.



Some random close ups.





Plant prep, Eleocharis Parvula and Alternathera Reineckii Mini



Pogostemon Helferi



Limnophila Hippuridoides and Hygrophila Siamensis




Heteranthera zosterifolia



I'll leave you with a FTS. Still need to attach some weeping moss to the branches



The aftermath 😀


Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the pictures

Hopefully back later.

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Jim, Simply stunning. Cannot wait to see the planting grow in

 

[Jim..]

Thank you Greenfinger, I hope it lives up to expectations 🙂

Hi Jim, Simply stunning. Cannot wait to see the planting grow in

 

[Jim..]

So the plan was to tie the moss to the branches. Showing my inexperience here 🙄




Plan B. Hopefully that's safe?


Moss attached.. I had more but ran out of superglue 🙁


Filter and skimmer switched on. Was worried that i'd lose the lot but only had a few floaters, easy to deal with 😎






Co2 connected and timers sorted. Glass could do with a clean but that's a job for tomorrow. I'm off for a well deserved beer 😉

 

[Jim..]

Have done some tests this morning. Not very exciting, more for my own records..

pH - 7-8
NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0.25
NO3 - 5
KH - 14
GH - 22

CO2 is running 24/7 although I'm not 100% this is working correctly 😕 Continuing with daily wc's, approximately 35%

Would you guys add ferts yet or give it some time?

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Jim, Why is your Co2 running 24/7. I would add ferts from the start 😉

 

[Jim..]

I think it's a faulty solenoid, see here.. http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/faulty-solenoid.43271/ Unfortunately it was only a temporary fix. Thought it was better to leave it on than not at all?

I have emailed CO2Art for a contact number as I couldn't find one on their website, hopefully it's an easy fix.

Was also worried that I was getting very few bubbles at the atomizer. Even with the needle valve fully open is was only getting 1 bubble every 4 seconds at the BC.

 

[Manisha]

Looks super ☺

 

[Jim..]

Edit. Was also worried that I was getting very few bubbles at the atomizer. Even with the needle valve fully open is was only getting 1 bubble every 4 seconds at the BC.

To add.. After checking out videos on youtube I realised that the bubbles from my atomizer was no were near what it should be. I have removed the bubble counter and can now adjust the flow properly. Unfortunately I now think there is a problem with the BC and Solenoid

Edit.. have just got off the phone to Co2Art who have been a great help

 

[Jim..]

Day 6. Warts and all.

Evening All

Co2Art have sent a replacement bubble counter and solenoid. After installation every thing is working perfectly 😀

Unfortunately I am having a few problems with my plants, Pogostemon Helferi and Limnophila Hippuridoides are slowly melting away 🙁



Heteranthera zosterifolia was showing a great improvement after planting but is now starting to yellow..


Alternathera Reineckii Mini looks ok but has lost some of it's colour


Eleocharis Parvula, agian was looking ok but starting to brown


Have asked for advice on the Plants section https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/new-tank-various-problems.47817/, hopefully I can sort it out and get things back on track