My venture into my new 760 ltr planted tank .

[Mark Evans]

i was just looking at the reccomended light levels in the tropica book and the anubias are the only plants that dont have a high light dot!!

I personally think all plants would like high light, it's just that some do just as well without. tropica catalogues also state various 'heights' for plants, which are wrong.

There just guide lines.

I've grown anubias in high light, and it loved it! 😀

 

[Mark Evans]

I thought i'd best elaborate.

ooking at the reccomended light levels in the tropica book and the anubias are the only plants that dont have a high light dot

This is sensible from tropica.

They don't want people/hobbiest going out buying plants such as anubias, banging them in high light spots and then them getting covered in algae. They presume, the hobbiest may not be up to scratch with dosing co2 etc etc, so to be safe they say low light plant. Aquafleur are the same.

it doesn't mean though, it's not a high light plant if dosing co2 are correct and vice versa

 

[sanj]

I would agree with Mark, people who specialise in growing plants are still a small proportion of the market, Tropica have to focus on average Joe and provide helpful generalisations.

 

[Always Broke]

I have re set all my auto timers for this weeks new water change and feeds.
Sunday water change 7.00 to 7.09 - need to dose NPK 7.05 to 7.13
Monday - Dose trace 7.05 to 7.10
Tuesday water change 7.00 to 7.09 - need to dose NPK 7.05 to 7.13
Wednesday - Dose trace 7.05 to 7.10
Thursday water change 7.00 to 7.09 - need to dose NPK 7.05 to 7.13
Friday - Dose trace 7.05 to 7.10
Saturday - (perhaps) need to dose NPK 7.05 to 7.13
The feeds and trace get injected into the pump chamber in the sump.
9 mins on my pump empty s 50 to 60% of the tank water
I had a rearrange of the LH end of the tank this morning. This still needs a bit of work and I need to let the plants do there thing now. The centre and RH end are looking much better..
I also increased the hole size in the spray bar in the last 600mm by 2mm . I think this has improved the flow and circulation at the LH end of the tank. We will just have to wait and see. I have also improved the CO2 injection as well so it mixes a little better. Thinking on this all day I am going to build a reverse flow reactor for this out of some 4"or 5" clear tube.

I will take some pictures tonight when it gets dark which will be one week on from planting day.
Very happy so far with the results

Simon

 

[Always Broke]

So last Saturday I was planting my first ever tank.
This is where we are tonight. Pleased so far with the results.













A bit of fine tuning with the mechanics but all the hardware seams to be working.
This week the tank will have no intervention from me hopefully and should run by its self and leave the plants to do there bit.
Remember its not a scape like most of you are into but a place for me to learn how to look after plants and the water they live in at the moment.

Simon

 

[mattyc]

i quite like the look of it, but it will look loads better as the plants grow in

 

[sanj]

I still love the spray bar, i should think you would get great flow.

 

[ceg4048]

Hi Simon,
I'm well pleased with that mate. I really wouldn't be thinking too much about scapes right now at all. At this time we're all about plant health. Nothing more and nothing less. Thinking about scapes diverts us from focusing on the prime directive. We may need to continue to tweak some things as you've been doing, but we'll let the tank tell us what to do next.

Cheers,

 

[Always Broke]

Hi Simon,
I'm well pleased with that mate. I really wouldn't be thinking too much about scapes right now at all. At this time we're all about plant health. Nothing more and nothing less. Thinking about scapes diverts us from focusing on the prime directive. We may need to continue to tweak some things as you've been doing, but we'll let the tank tell us what to do next.

Cheers,

Thanks mate. Would not be here without your help.
That was the plan now,just let things happen and correct as we go.
I have no interest in scapes or fish at the moment . My only interest is learning how to keep the plants properly and take corrective actions when needed. (sure there will be plenty of that needed soon)

Simon

 

[JamesM]

You're getting some really great results so far mate, glad you're happy so far, I know I would be too 😀

 

[Always Broke]

Seamed funny this morning. Got up to watch the water change but there is not one today. Had to think about that for a bit while still half asleep. Stil made sure the Trace dosing pump timer was set correct.
Improved the Co2 mixing a bit using a Ceramic airstone feeding the Pre mix pump. I am sure it works better now.
Just need to keep on top of the quantity as the plants grow.

Simon

 

[ceg4048]

According to the schedule you showed on the previous page, water change is tomorrow. There are still some uncertainties though after you closed the standpipe valves. I recall this post from danmil3s.

i see how that works clever but im not sure how the other end works if you get a power cut does the syphon not brake

Will find out when my water change takes place.

Go to bed early tonight mate, just in case valve closure was a bad idea...
Cheers,

 

[Always Broke]

According to the schedule you showed on the previous page, water change is tomorrow. There are still some uncertainties though after you closed the standpipe valves. I recall this post from danmil3s.

i see how that works clever but im not sure how the other end works if you get a power cut does the syphon not brake

Will find out when my water change takes place.

Go to bed early tonight mate, just in case valve closure was a bad idea...
Cheers,

Tested that, Not that silly. Glad of the reminder though.

Simon

 

[Always Broke]

First bottle of Co2 empty today. As I am using 6.25kg bottles we have not had a lack of Co2 in the first week.
No panic though as I had a second bottle ready to go.

Simon

 

[Colinlp]

Yikes! 6.25Kg in just over a week, blimey I'm glad I'm going low tech I couldn't afford that. Are you running very high levels at the moment?
Hey hey, my tank is coming Saturday sometime, will get my own journal started then

 

[Always Broke]

Nice one. Bet you can't wait for that. I am looking forward to your journal.
First week just piled in loads of it. I also have a much better way of mixing it now and have turned it down a fair bit.Its not that dear at £10 a time ,not that I want to spend a tenner a week on gas though. If I do end up using a fair bit ,say more than one a month I will get the big 25kg bottles just to save on going and getting them.

Simon

 

[Colinlp]

Yes of course I forgot you made changes to the reactor in the sump. 25Kg bottles wont be that much more will they? Trouble is I live out in the sticks and the nearest BOC depot is miles away and are always shut when I leave work so getting refills would be just another pain. I will say though I will miss the growth CO2 gives, I have seen such a difference since I switched mine of a couple of months ago. Give yours another couple of weeks and it will suddenly take off and look fantastic, it's really exciting to see it happen after all your hard work; well that's how I saw it anyway!

Yeah I'm really looking forward to it if only to get all the crap I bought just in time for the promised delivery date out of the way. My missus is giving me a hard time over it now, bags of substrate and gravel/sand, hardscaping, filter media let alone the tap I've plumbed in in the middle of an empty wall looking like a demented plumber escaped from the asylum!

 

[Ajm200]

That is a lot!! My 560l used 500g in 4 days with the dc yellow. Uses a bit less now as I've added fish and keep the dc pale green.

 

[sanj]

wow that is alot of co2 in a week. I run two 5kg and they last 6 months on an 860litre. Having said that i keep predominantly crypts and ferns. So are you thinking that your tank will be using that amount once a month? In my new set up i will not have a sump but leaving optons open for the future, but might think twice if they are that much more co2 hungry.

Hmm... i have one issue with algae and tht is GSA which could mean i need to inject more or improve circulation or both.

 

[ceg4048]

Err..Simon I hate to rain on your parade mate but using a puny girly-man 6Kg cylinder on 800+ L is like eating soup with a chopstick. Call the BOC, they deliver. Remember that the amount of water you are saturating is tank + sump volume. You're also supporting a few kilos of plant mass as well - and you're only at half throttle with the light. The plants can adjust to a lower CO2 level once they transition but your margin for error then decreases exponentially.

Folks who complain bitterly about algae and various other plant problems are the same ones who complain about, or are shocked at the cost of CO2. Look out your window at that giant English Oak across the street. It weighs several tons, right. Well, most of those tons were made with CO2.

Of course, standard procedure when troubleshooting high consumption is the ensure that you have no leaks. Remember also that you really only need a few hours of solid CO2 injection. Turn the gas off a few hours earlier. That will help quite a bit.

Cheers,