TropicalBoy's 40 litre planted tank

Okay , so I finally decided to a keep a planted tank.I have been in this hobby for over 10 years and have never had a proper planted tank nor sufficient knowledge on the subject.I have been doing a lot of reading and speaking to people as I want this to be a success.

Tank size - 45x30x30
Heater-150 watt Via Aqua
Substrate- 7kg Flourite Red
Lighting - 2x12watt CFL Phillips cool white 6500k tornado housed in plastic canopy.I have glass slides on the tank.
Lighting period - 10 hours
Temperature - 26 degrees
Filtration - Resun Internal Filter (It's recommended to be used with an 80 litre tank)
Fertilizers - Ordered DSD

Plants
Java fern
Anubia Narna
Moss (Flame,Spikey)
Amazon Sword


Fish
4xalbino ancistrus
6x???? Cardinals maybe (still deciding)

I would really appreciate any constructive feedback as I really want this to be a success.

 

hey nice start there dude... i like it, maybe some longish plants at the back to the one side, like vallis or something similar?

im a little concerned about the lighting, did you make any modifications to the inside of the canopy, because the plastic is black, so if you havnt,try maybe lining it with a nice reflective material or painting it white, also because those glass slidee are alos in the way, so we need to try and get as much of that light to the plants as possible.

lastly, i think it would be better if you loosen that moss and spread it out over the surface of the rock more, and then tie it down with string or whatever, tying it in lumps like that is not good, will grow better if you spread it out nicely.

very nice start though

 

Thanx Nadeem

I Will definitely try spreading the moss,
I think if I make the inside of the hood white then tank will be quite bright and would require Co2, not so?
I do not have Co2 at the moment

 

Make it white, and try with only one globe until the plants are established. You've got very easy (low light) growing plants in there

 

Yea TB, i say make it white, do what zoom says, use one bulb til plants are established, even when you do eventually use 2 bulbs, i dont think you MUST USE co2, its a small tank and if it wont get very heavily planted then you can use FLourish excel, a tank that size wont need much so it wont be too heavy on the pocket.

 

I have managed to get white waterproof paint, should I just paint the inside of the canopy or should I use a plastic primer first?

 

You should use plastic primer first!

 

Update:

I have painted the inside of my canopy.I used 1,2,3 primer and then a bottle of white spray.
I have been using Seachem Excel for a week now.
I have recieved my DSD fertilise order on saturday and have started dosing the plants.
Some Vallis have been added as well, Thanx @Apoc
Stock list Updated:
4xalbino ancistrus
5xharlequins
5xneon tetras
5xwhite cloud minnows

I used fishing line to attach the moss to the rocks

Any constructive feedback will be appreciated.

 

No probs.... looks good !

 

wow! really nice growth in only a week or so!

 

Looking good dude!

 

Thank you guys,
I am really trying

 

Hi T-Boy,
You should always place tall growing plants,like vallis,toward the back.The vallis will quickly obscure the 'moss rocks'.I think you should use them,the rocks,as focus points in the tank.Place them off centre rather than one on either side of the tank.
You can also turn one rock,I think the one on the left,on it's side,and the other just behind it.The rocks will form a feature or a point of interest.
At the moment you have everything scattered around without any "purpose" or order.Even in a "natural" scape there is a notion of some order.Plants and hard scape,rocks and wood,should always look as if it belongs in that specific placement.
On your livestock,4 ancistrus is 3 too many.Even one will outgrow your tank in no time and to catch the fish in a planted tank is a pain in the @ss,specially when you've got your scape just right.

 

Nice progress.
a 150W heater is a over kill.