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mark's 1st planted tank . update

plantnoob

plantnoob

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Joined
27 Apr 2010
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502
initially this will be a bit of a slow burner , but once it gathers steam it will be a regularly updated warts and all journal of my 1st ever planted tank . every , success , faliure ,hurdle encountered and achievement will be shared , along with plenty of photos along the way .

il try to keep this part brief :)
my background as a fish keeper has not been with plants . i used to run a 4x2x2 cichlid tank with everything over its life from severums , acaras ,oscars, discus right through to mbuna before i had to give up . i had around 18 months out of the hobby and just recently bought a 2nd hand roma 125 . having drooled over pics of planted tanks for a long time , there was only ever 1 route i was going to take with this tank .

now onto the tank .

at the moment its bare ive just got the tank and am in the process of buying the other bits i need . final specs will be as follows. fluval roma 125 footprint 80cmx35cm , filtered by eheim 2213 with extra turnover/flow provided by a hydor koralia . co2 will be pressurised via 2kg fire extinguisher , lighting will be 2x25w t5 . ferts will be EI using the EI starter kit from the forum sponsor .

here is a brief layout plan . the brown mess is going to be either redmoor or sumatra driftwood . the microsorium will be attatched to a small rock and the rock disguised with plants.

8487288940_1900da3b7d_z.jpg
planting layout by mark pettican, on Flickr
planting list is as follows
1 Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis'
2 hygropjila difformis
3 Limnophila aquatica
4 Microsorum pteropus
5 Staurogyne repens
6 ludwigia sp
7 ludwigia sp
8 Cryptocoryne beckettii 'petchii'
9 Vallisneria americana 'mini twister'
10 Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
11 Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'

thats all i have for now , but i am very much looking forward to entering the world of the underwater garden :)
 
I'm looking forward to it too Mark :)
 
Good idea nice plant list only thing mate you might struggle to fit all those in more refering to the background plants.Maybe leave one out initialy can allways put it in a later if you find you have space.Healthy plants means in no time you will have plenty of cuttings especialy with Ludwiga,Hygrophila.Hygrophila difformis is a nice plant but it needs space with it's structure it's stems tend to jut out a bit.Good luck Cheers mark
 
this is part of the learning curve i guess , knowing how much to order :) the idea with the hygrophilas was to get 1 pot of each and just plant the best stems . i wanted a couple of fast growers in there to help get things established and help stave off potential algae issues in the early stage. i think i would prefer to throw a few stems away than not have enough plant mass to start off with . no doubt i will make some mistakes along the way ( thats where you guys come in :) ). this is going to be very much a learning tank , with a view to a nice optiwhite rimless braceless number ive already got my eye on for next year ;)
 
will do . hefty financial commitments for the next couple of weeks , but after that im a man on a mission :)
 
cheers mate . sell the camera ? no chance ! want to get those plants pearling ,to get some indoor use out of the macro lens ;)
 
a little bit of progress today .to go with the co2 reg and filter previously bought , i have ordered the following.

1x arcadia twin 24-39w t5 ballast
2x reflector
1x hydor external heater
1x new wave 1.6 circulation pump
2x neutro glass co2 drop checkers
1x 100ml 4dkh bromo blue
3 metres neutro co2 tubing
1x easy aqua 4 in 1 super atomiser
1x 3ml pippette for loading drop checkers

£185 i really shouldnt have spent , but im getting fed up of waiting ;)

when all that lot arrives i can get to work on getting flow right . then i just need to get tubes,substrate,ferts,timer plugs and fire extinguisher ( plus anything else ive forgotten) and il be ready for plants :)
 
with new found enthusiasm now that things are happening , i have begun to get the tank prepped . the old fluval light unit has been modified ( or butchered as the mrs called it ) in readiness for the new lights . the power lead has been cut off and i ripped out the old t8 connecters and scummy old reflectors . the new t5 connecters will then be screwed/glued in place and the ballast will sit on the windowsill behind the tank out of sight .

being situated by the living room window isnt exactly ideal , but its just about the only space i had that i could fit it in , so with this in mind i have painted the back matt black and then stuck white card over that to reflect any sunlight away . i have also painted the ends of the tank matt black , 1stly for added insurance against sunlight and 2ndly this tank is only to be viewed from the front . when i start hooking up the lights , co2 , circulation pump etc il do some general setup photos.
 
at last some progress . for various reasons ( not least a manic work schedule), things came grinding to an annoying halt on this project , leaving me sitting looking frustratingly at a tank full of just water and substrate ! ive actually got a rare day off tomorrow , so the plan is to connect up the co2 equipment etc and get to work on a nice even flow in the tank. meanwhile i just ordered the last couple of bits that i forgot to get before , ie lamps , timer plugs and tools . these should arrive early next week , by then i will have figured out spraybar/powerhead configuration and will be able to order plants hopefully a few days after that . been frustrating having to wait , but im really looking forward to it now i can get some greenery in the empty box of water ive been staring at :)
 
as is the norm with my erratic workload , i have been slowed down yet again . today though i am at last hooking up all the gear for the co2 . quick phone snap of reg fitted to FE . i will dust off the camera and do some proper setup shots when all is in its final place in the cabinet .
8588842523_da8be2b457_b.jpg
7245_10200967721417980_1819344055_n by mark pettican, on Flickr

just to check that im putting the equipment in the correct order , im going with extinguisher --> regulator --> bubble counter --> check valve --> up atomiser . or does the check valve need to go directly after the reg?
 
Hi, looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

The check valve is there to protect the regulator / solenoid valve against water ingress so needs to go directly after the regulator/solenoid/needle valve assembly and before the bubble counter. Hope that helps.
 
thanks . i will change it around so that the check valve is before the bubble counter .
 
plantnoob said:
£185 i really shouldnt have spent , but im getting fed up of waiting ;)

when all that lot arrives i can get to work on getting flow right . then i just need to get tubes,substrate,ferts,timer plugs and fire extinguisher ( plus anything else ive forgotten) and il be ready for plants :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, it all adds up. I thought this side of the hobby would be a lighter on the pocket than marines. But it all starts adding up LOL.

Check all your joints for CO2 leaks once connected. I,ve had a few bubble counters which have leaked:banghead: . The only thing I have now is a check valve between my regulator and reactor. I check my fish and drop checkers as a guide to how much CO2 goes into the tank.
 
couldnt raise any motivation when i got in from work this morning , but when i got up this afternoon , i moved the check valve so it is immediately after the regulator , fired up the system and leak tested every joint . so far so good , no obvious leaks anywhere , so i taped the FE handles together and set my bubble rate , which at the moment is a tad over 1 bps . off to work again soon , but when i get up tomorrow afternoon il get the drop checkers loaded and put in the tank and inject some gas so i can see what the levels are like .
 
decided to go with some hardscape after all , as i really want some wood to grow moss on . bought this bit of redmoor off ebay today .

Driftwood Bogwood, Root ,for Fish Tank ,Red moor,Set of Root and Stone(B -531) | eBay

may call for a slight change in the intended plant list

still feels like 1 step forward 2 steps back at the moment . was supposed to be ordering plants today , but have had to hold off as ive been off work all this week with concussion . only thing stopping me planting right now is lack of ready cash . knew it would be slow when i started this journal , didnt envisage this long though :banghead:
 
please excuse the crappy phone pic , and the bubbles everywhere from just re-filling the tank , but i was so pleased to have actually done something with the tank that i couldnt wait to get the camera out and do some decent photos :) rock will be removed once wood sinks on its own , hopefuly quite quickly as i boiled the living daylights out of it :) , the intended scape has now gone out of the window as cant really do a dutch style with wood . not sure wether to keep it at 1 piece or try to find a 2nd piece for the right hand side .im thinking weeping moss and perhaps anubia on the wood , with some s. repens around the base of the wood . still going with the corymbosa rear left corner and the red lugwidia around the wood as a focal point . other than that im stumped for ideas at the moment .

8637929704_6e87f4a982_c.jpg
wood3 by mark pettican, on Flickr
 
thought id do a quick update , ferts are all mixed up and ready to go , and plants will arrive on thursday , so there will be some proper photos done with the camera soon :)

ferts are mixed up as following .

macro: 6 tsp potassium nitrate , 6 tsp magnesium sulphate and 2 tsp potassium phosphate mixed in 500ml dosing bottle
micro: 2tsp chelated trace elements in 500ml dosing bottle
25ml 3 times a week of each on alternate days .

plants coming are

1 pot Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis'
1 pot Hygrophila polysperma
1 pot Cryptocoryne beckettii 'petchii'
2 pots Ludwigia sp.
1 pot Lindernia rotundifolia
1 pot Limnophila aquatica
1 pot Cryptocoryne undulata 'broad leaves'
6 pots Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
1 Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
1 pot Vallisneria americana 'mini twister'
 
just finished planting . will dust off the dslr and do some better shots when the stems straighten etc . not going to win any aquascaping competitions , but that isnt my goal with this tank ., this is about learning to grow and trim plants etc and avoid algae problems ( touch wood )

8686234380_1f0e16aee6_c.jpg
a3 by mark pettican, on Flickr

8686234480_f9d28b464b_c.jpg
a2 by mark pettican, on Flickr

8686234576_0b0089b14b_c.jpg
a1 by mark pettican, on Flickr
 
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