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Ollie's 120x45x45: Update 04/08/12

OllieNZ

OllieNZ

Member
Joined
11 Nov 2009
Messages
990
Location
Witney, UK
Hi All
Welcome to my journal. Where to start?
Tank Spec:
120x45x45cm
Lights:
3x 54w T5 avaliable with the option to use 1,2 or all 3
Substrate: John Innes no3 soil capped with Unipac Samoa sand coarse
Hardscape: Cotswold Stone

Time for pics
0383.jpg
0373.jpg
0364.jpg
0422.jpg
0432.jpg
0402.jpg
0412.jpg

Enjoy
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Dry Start (photo heavy)

Thanks Sam,
It wasnt just the amount of rock 50kg+ BTW, its also the amount of substrate 10kgs of playsand as a filler,5litres of soil and 12.5kgs of the samoa and the left hand side is still not as high as I wanted.
I still havent nailed the plant list down yet but will be mostly crypts. Im thinking vallis for back right corner which is where the filter in/out will be, one of the smaller crypt species for accenting around the rocks.

Does anyone know of a crypt that grows to around 8-12inches tall?
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Dry Start (photo heavy)

Good start mate, original stone being used.
What lighting unit is that you are using?
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

Well Its been nearly a week and the only thing showing any signs of growth is a few tips on the moss. Is this what I should expect to be seeing?
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

Probably about right, do you have all the lights on?
I have found the more light the better with a dry start, personally I completely seal the top & just fill with enough water to cover the substrate but, if you have a steep slope then the rear plants might not have enough moisture?
I have found the more humid the better you might need to put a heater in there in a bucket of water.
Those are just my thought as I know some folk don't have any problems with dry starts...
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

Thanks,
I sealed the tank with clingfilm and filled water to substrate level from the start Ive been spraying with plain water daily but have only been using 2 bulbs. I'll start using the third. I've also just whipped up an NPK mix to spray instead of plain water.
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

Hmm you shouldn't need to spray anything if the humidity is up enough, probably opening up the cling film lets all the humidity out?
In my set ups the glass is dripping wet from condensation & the cling film is covered in droplets of water however, I do use a heat pad under the tank.
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

Maloney said:
Hi, Cotswold stone is limestone, wont this affect the PH levels ? just a thought 🙂
Click to expand...

regular water changes should keep that and the tds in check as its a fairly hard stone
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

with so little water though you'll hardly get much of a ph change as at most only a tiny part of the rock would be submerged
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

foxfish said:
Difficult to do a water change when there is no water above the substrate..
Click to expand...
:shh: 😉
I've already checked on the stone issue issue, I have very hard water. http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=17407
foxfish said:
I have found the more humid the better you might need to put a heater in there in a bucket of water.
Click to expand...
I think this may be the issue. I will have to dig out a spare heater :thumbup:
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Emersed Growth (or lack of)

Well I've finally got the tank planted up but it hasn't been without issues.
The emersed phase didnt go well at all. Nothing really grew and I couldn't keep the humidity high enough which killed the anubis. In my efforts to keep the humidity up I accidently left the water level too high and developed a bad case bga which bloomed in a big way when I flooded tank. Anyway a quick pic
053.jpg
Still needs a bit more tidying and somthing to replace the anubis.
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Fishy Pics

A couple of pics of my breeding brevis
Male of one pair
IMG_3872-edit.jpg
The other pair
IMG_3858-edit.jpg
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Fishy Pics

Nice Fish Ollie, these are not plant destructive right?
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Fishy Pics

Radik said:
Nice Fish Ollie, these are not plant destructive right?
Click to expand...
Thanks Radik. Not at all. They are a very good cichlid for a planted tank, the males top out at around 2" and unlike most other shellies they dont really dig. They will try bury their shell on occasion by excavating underneath it but pushing the shell into the substrate for them stops this. They arent really bothered by the flow or co2 but dont tolerate much of temp drop during water changes.
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Fishy Pics

And a few more, also a big thanks to Themuleous for the use of the DSLR
IMG_3873-edit.jpg
IMG_3863-crop.jpg
IMG_3850-edit.jpg
 
Re: Ollie's 120x45x45: Fishy Pics

Ollie, being Tanganyikans, do you have to keep the pH up above 8 ? Can we see a FTS please ? I would LOVE to have a setup with just these. Or other Tangs come to that... Altolamprologus Comprecisseps or Calvus for example, or Leleupis or Julidochromis Marlieri. I don't know how plant friendly they are though (although I realise a planted aquarium is not biotopic for them).
 
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