My first attempt at keeping plants alive...4 foot

Discussion in 'Members Systems' started by byronb, Sep 5, 2012.

  1. byronb

    byronb

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    So I normally buy plants they look great then they die after a month or so .
    I got a 4ft couple of months back and decided to go planted route . I kind of like the wild forest bushy look , the fish seem to love it too
    Lighting:
    1x54w Daylight t5
    1x54 Aquastar t5
    Also have 2x39w daylight which i leave off , I found all the lighting was overkill.
    PFP and pool filter sand as substrate
    2x DIY 2l yeast CO2 bottles .
    2x glas nano diffusers (went nano as the cost me R80 for both imported)
    Ferts , using Excel Flourish when I remember , and Flourish comprehensive when I remember
    Not a clue on plants names , alos have some java and spikey moss
    Fish : 2 clown loaches , coupld of Kribs , some guppies , 2 khuli loaches and 6 rummy nose tetras .
    comments / criticism
    1st pic is 2,5 months ago very brown from the PFP and added more plants as well
    2nd pic is 1,5 months ago then the rest are recent
    before.jpg1 month.jpgtank latest .jpglatest 2 .jpgtl1.jpg

    before.jpg

    1 month.jpg

    tank latest .jpg

    latest 2 .jpg

    tl1.jpg
     
    Bazil likes this.
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  3. Hawk

    Hawk Clown Fish :-)

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    @byronb - Nice dude. It's looking very nice. Congrats.
     
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  4. Bazil

    Bazil Bazil

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    hey @byronb, Tank is stunning man. You did one hell of a job there. That piece of wood looks super in the tank. I am at your first pic's stage. The brown water. How many water changes did you do per month for the water to clear like that?

    +1 on a job well done man!
     
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  5. OP
    byronb

    byronb

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    thanks !
    I did weekly changes of about 40% , also changed the charcoal in filter every week I put loads of it in the canister filter weekly . ( I bought the cheapest charcaol i could get ) . The Water got to 85 % clear , decided to try out the purigen . I only used 250g of purigen in a diy stocking bag , and left that inbetween the charcoal , seems to have done the trick.
     
  6. Bazil

    Bazil Bazil

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    Sounds good. Mine is starting to look a bit better every WC. I do 25% twice weekly. Have Purigen in my filter, but I suspect I'll have to get more because it doesn't cover the whole compartment in the filter. Also the DIY stocking. Not gonna pay R150 for an empty bag for Purigen.
     
  7. Skye01

    Skye01

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    @byronb, Well done this is looking really stunning. What did you do with your other tank? Are your Kribs still breeding in this tank?
     
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  8. mydummyname

    mydummyname Balala shark

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    @byronb i think you done a pretty amazing job here dude!

    awesomeness!!
     
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  9. OP
    byronb

    byronb

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    lol had to sell the other tank under strict instructions from the gf . "only 1 tank !!!"
    Yep Kribs have bred in this tank , to be honest i think my female is a bit of a slapper .. does not stop dancing for the male , and keeps trying to get him into the cave I made them ! My guppies have also bred although not sure how many survived , I think they hiding in the forest. so i guess time will tell ..
     
  10. Wyvren

    Wyvren Retired Moderator

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    @byronb - that is looking great! Keep up the great work!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  11. Bazil

    Bazil Bazil

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    Ha ha. :dancing2: Awesome.
     
  12. Rickus

    Rickus

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    It looks like you have succeeded in keeping plants alive, well done!!!
     
  13. Ryno

    Ryno Kenaal baber

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    Yeah welldone. Looks great
     
  14. WillemNicolaas

    WillemNicolaas

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    Very nice looking tank! Big congrats. Will you elaborate a bit more on your DIY CO2 system. Some pics and how you implemented it?

    :D
     
  15. OP
    byronb

    byronb

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    thanks ..
    The DIY co2 :
    I made 2 identical .
    1x 2l coke bottle , made small hole in cap just smaller than the airhose . pull the airline through the cap about 2 cm deep using pliers . Then siliconed around the pipe on the inside and outside of cap . ran that pipe into small 1l coke bottle. The cap of the 1l make 2 holes both smaller than airline , then the one pipe only goes in about 2 cm deep (outlet to tank ), the other one to about half way down the bottle (inlet from 2l bottle). Silicone the outsides of both pipes to seal properly.
    My mix : I use about 2 cups suger , 1.5 teaspoons yeast , and some baking soda . fill the 2l about 3 quarters , give a good shake . the smaller bottle I fill with water a few cms above the pipe inside it . this way any milky yeast liquid stuff gets trapped in the smaller bottle , which also works as a bubble counter . After about an hour the bubbles start .. This mixture lasts me about 2.5 - 3 weeks .
    Initially I ran the pipe into my powerhead , worked well but then I had the tiny bubbles everywhere in the tank ,was using only 1 bottle making co2 .After I bought two diffusers on ebay , I added a second co2 bottle..
    Will try take some pics.
    I copied this method for the holes in the caps etc
    DIY Yeast CO2 Reactor
     
  16. WillemNicolaas

    WillemNicolaas

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    Awesome man such a genius.
    Some pics will be great thanx!
     
  17. sick -lid man

    sick -lid man

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    awesome tank , the set up with plants look cool what did u use for the base of the tank
     
  18. OP
    byronb

    byronb

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    thanks , What do you mean by the base ? as in the stand or substrate ?
     
  19. sick -lid man

    sick -lid man

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    the substrate
     
  20. Bazil

    Bazil Bazil

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    Read his very first post.
     
  21. Ryno

    Ryno Kenaal baber

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    Hehe and you cant call it an attempt any more but rather a huge success
     

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