My first attempt at a planted tank!

Hi to all my fellow fish keepers!

After recently relocating, I obviously had to empty my tank to move it. I thought it would be a great idea to try something new with my aquarium, like putting some live plants in it. :bigsmile:After looking at some pictures of planted tanks, the idea of having my own planted tank really inspired me to look further into this interesting matter. So I did some research and asked a few questions about this kind of setup, and so the process got started.

I found a very helpful and reputable pet shop from where I obtained most of the needed equipment to get me started on my new and exciting journey of putting some live plants in my tank. My setup has been running for almost three weeks now, after starting it up again after the "GROOT TREK".

I started off by adding some Seachem Fluorite black substrate (61kg) to form a nice environment for plant roots, and added 2 pieces of Dragon rock, 2 pieces of Driftwood (Mopani wood) and 1 piece of vineyard to my hardscape collection. After arranging everything in the tank to satisfaction, I added some live plants. I am not shure what type of plants I bought, I only know about the Java moss that I added.

I then proceeded to tie some of the Java moss to my hardscape and planted the tank. The water is still very cloudy after planting a week ago, but I'm trying to do 20% water changes every week and cleaning my filter sponge after every water change. I also added some Seachem Clarity to further help clarify the water.

PH, Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates all look within spec. MY GH and KH is a bit low so I will have to add some buffer later on. Furthermore I added 2 Zebra Danios and one Neon Tetra to get the nitrogen cycle going and that is also why I am closely monitoring the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels in the tank. I use three methods in combination of checking the PH, NH4, NO2 and NO3 levels by means of Seachem's alert tags that constantly monitors my NH4 and PH. I then also make use of a PH test kit which I had bought before, and also a Sera 5 in 1 combo test strip kit.

Now for the technical data that some of you might have been wondering about. My setup consists of a 1.2m 240Liter aquarium nested on a self built steel frame boarded up with pine wood to create a cabinet under the tank for much needed storage. The canopy, also homebuilt of the same material houses 144watts of fluorescent lighting power. In the cabinet below the tank is a Cascade canister filter and an in tank power head to further aid water flow. 300Watts of heating power set at 26 degrees, and a Style king airpump to aerate the water. Now for my newest addition to my aquarium is my Co2 setup which consists of a 5kg fire extinguisher fitted with a regulator supplying the diffuser. A glass Co2 checker is used for keeping me informed about the Co2 ppm. I also fertilise with Seachem Flourish Excel to get the plants going after planting.

I hope you enjoyed reading my thread, any questions, suggestions, criticism are welcome as this was my first attempt and I would certainly like to know what everybody thinks about my workmanship. I will also add a picture ofcourse for you to take a look at.

Stay tuned for some more updates in the future!

 

Very nice ... congrats on the move - both location and tank type.

"Seachem Clarity " - trust you have loads of mechanical filtration.

Later Ferdie

 

Your tank is going to look great when it has settled down.

I do find it a little strange that the water is still cloudy. I do find the little corner air filters doing a great job when running in a tank.

Good work. Do keep us updated.

 

Nice intro...will keep an eye on the development and progress of this beauty

 

Can't wait to see tank when it cleared.

 

Thanks guys! I think the problem with the water clarity might be because I do not have enough mechanical filtration. My canister filter only has two baskets mainly filled with bio filtration media. The bottom basket only has ceramic noodles and the upper basket has 500 grams of matrix and on top of that only one filter sponge. I used to have two canister filters, one for bio filtration and the other for mechanical filtration. The filter I used for mechanical filtration started leaking into the powerhead and it burnt out. I then threw it away because it started leaking through the powerhead aswel. I will definitely have to purchase another canister filter to get my mechanical filtration up and running again, but it will have to wait for some time because of the pricetag on a new filter. I will consider purchasing a Fluval canister filter and they retail for about almost R2000. So maybe I will buy it for my fish for Christmas if I can save up enough $$$ by then:cheesy:. I will take more pictures and close up ones too after I am satisfied with the water clarity!

 

Well done Andreas

 

Hi @Andreas, good job with the layout. I have had massive water clarity issues as a result of my DIY substrate and the mount of wood I have. What did was take a normal internal filter (mine was 1200LPH but smaller will do)pulled out the filter materials a crammed it full of filter floss. This I would clean daily. The water polishes up in no time.

 

PS: I run this in conjunction with the canister for the biological effect, cleaning the floss every day will no doubt leave it devoid of good bacteria.

 

looking good so far

 

Thanks guys!. GregM you just gave me a great idea today! I only have a powerhead, so I came up with this idea also involving some filter floss. I will relocate my powerhead only for time being, and use a 2Liter coke bottle with the bottom cut open... Then stuff it with filter floss and attach it to the powerhead. And voilla! A quick and simple temporary mean filter machine LOL. And that way I can visually inspect the filter floss because of the transparent material of the coke bottle:idea:

Ps I will post a pic of this funny looking filtration invention this weekend when I'm actually at home.:laugh:

 

I just received a pic of my tank at home, and the water has cleared!!! :bigsmile: And on top of that my plants are showing signs of growth already! I will post some pics on Saturday taken with a none mobile phone camera.

SUPER EXCITED NOW.!

 

Nice. Keep us posted.

 

hows the tank coming on ?

 

Will take some pictures now guys. :idea:
Fish:
3 Guppies
2 Pearl Danios
3 Leopard Danios
2 Zebra Danios
6 Neons

Adding some fish gradually every weekend in order for nitrogen cycle to adapt to added bio load.

My planted setup is now only just 7 days old! Some plants grew exceptionally well in the 7 days after planting. I add flourish excell and Co2 on weekends. I got 72watts of lighting power on a 9hour timer daily to enhance plant growth and another 72watts on standby for tank viewing.
Currently running a Cascade canister filter 700LPH and a 700LPH powerhead. I added some filter floss to the canister to clear the water and it looks okay - ish now. I will add a Fluval 306 and use each filter for separate applications in the tank. One for bio filtration and the other for mechanical filtration.

What aspects are taken into consideration upon deciding what qualifies as a hight tech setup? Does my tank qualify as a high tech setup though? Any thoughts?

Comments and suggestions are gladly accepted guys! Please share your thoughts on my setup and enjoy the pictures!

 

Yo Andreas tanks looking good bud.
What is that vine looking stuff rapped around some of your drift wood

 

@Spike, looks like elastic bands... not too sure though.
@Andreas, really like the more natural look you have achieved, looking boss.

Greg

 

I used normal white string to tie the Java Moss to some of my hardscape. Once the moss starts holding on by itself, I will remove the string from the tank. I would still like to add some Anubias and ferns and also attach it to some of the hardscape...:idea:

 

Nice looking tank Andreas. For your tank to Qualify as a high tech tank you need pressurized Co2, 1 Watt ore more/liter of water fore lighting, some watercollem fertilization and weekly wc

 

Thanks for the complements! @Pieter Henning, I do have a pressurised Co2 system and indeed make use of Seachem fertiliser products for the plants. I just calculated my lighting power vs the amount of water and I have 1.7watt/Liter of water. (240L and 144wats) and I do 20% water changes weekly...:cheesy:
Should I enter the Tank Of The Month competition for the month of November? What do you guys think