[Project AA]

Nice Tank !

Looking forward to seeing how it the project goes

[pics: 20l planted fluvel edge]

Awesome D.I.Y on the light the tank looks fantastic

[It started with a fish.......]

Nice Work!

Thanks Liam , we have just focused on plants suitable for newbies and as we learn we are slowly replacing them with more challenging plants here and there. But the thought we had for the start up was to learn the basics first then try a few more challenging ideas

[It started with a fish.......]

:thup: well done! it looks really nice.

Wish i had a lovely big tank with space like that.

I think i would be wanting to go wild on the plants too

thanks willow. I can't speak enough about the joy of under water gardening it just makes the fish habit that much richer.

[It started with a fish.......]

Welcome!

The best part of fishkeeping is setting up a new tank I reckon. Can't wait for photos!

Yeah I agree. Today we started on a new project. A low tech planted tank about twelve gallons worth , It looks a mess at the moment with all our sick plants in it but I'm more passionate about recovering that tank into a good environment than the bigger tank,

[It started with a fish.......]

:an!gry grrr, it looks great! Puts mine to shame... :oops:

lol Sheepnana i read every post on here and joined some overseas sites, and based on what all of you lot etc have recommended that;s how far we have got So far.

We are still doing plenty of things wrong and are learning, but its not about how it looks compared with say the ones on You Tube world aquascaping contests , Its how much you make it your own and enjoy it i recon

[It started with a fish.......]

Here's the photos.

[Hello from the deep south!]

Just Joined here myself ....my kids got me into it.....i see you are already thinking of upgrades too. Good luck with it when the times right its very exciting I recon.

[It started with a fish.......]

[It started with a fish.......]

welcome

any pics????

Cheers

Will get something sorted as soon as the new light goes on there then I can Update whether it makes a difference / is any good.....getting it tomorrow , Quite excited It is like Xmas :slfg:

It will take about two weeks for the plants to adjust by the sounds of things

[It started with a fish.......]

Welcome

Yes, the plants can get very addictive. I'm still trying to convince the wife to let me buy more, and she's still telling me to be patient and let the current plants grow some more first... :nilly:

Tanks Sheepsnana , Totally.

Case and point , I got four Sag of Trade me yesterday and seeing how small they are in the scheme of things it was very tempting to double up , Same goes for Java Ferns , I got one big one on a log then went and got four smaller ones.

Next Minute I wanted to get more Java Ferns because they look so great ! But I divided the existing ones instead...patience is so key in this undertaking.

[It started with a fish.......]

Welcome and enjoy your time here. Try to make sure there are not three fish feeders at work.

Thanks Alan.

Yes good advice on the feeding. We will have set up a roster which includes the plant ferts and Water Changes , plus the API testing. Both Lads are very intensive with their observations of how the environment responds to changes.

[It started with a fish.......]

Kia Ora guys,

Actually catching Guppies with plastic bread bags as kids with My brothers progressed to digging a huge hole in Mums Back Lawn and filling it With Carp and Rudd from the Local Pond....till we were told they were noxious pests lol

Now I have my own kids Through them I've fallen back into the fish habit.

My two eldest boys sold there Ipods and play stations , purchased a 60g tank off trade me which sat in the garage empty for a few months till I realised they were serious about fish keeping and offered to throw a few dollars in to get the bare empty Tank up and running ( They told me about this new fandangled NTS and i said bah humbug and went off and stocked the tank with 5 Danios , added two bristle noses a few days later then ten glowlight tetras )...

To cut a long story short it was humbling to update the old skills and find out the lads were absolutely right, Three weeks of intensive water changes and adding established substrate through Potted plants for the good bacteria and we were Cycled.

Along the way we got into plants and had a tank full of terestrial / bog plants from the local chain pet store ( that was a month ago , It's funny how you think people who look after animals MUST KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND BE TRUST WORTHY kinda like the vets etc.....except some of these folks should be selling used cars)

Sick of struggling Plants and algae issues we have gone high tech and done a Major Over hall

the twin T8 24WT Lights are being replaced by a Key K3 LED 90 Watt Unit

Soda Stream adaptors and Solenoids.......

Gravel has been totaly replaced with 28kgs of Flourite Black Sand with Silica Sand over lay.

Flourish Excel Comprehensive and Activate and I'm guessing we will need some Epsom Salts from what Ive read here....

It's been a great learning curve and family bonding hobby......worth every cent of the thousands if we get the kind of Aquascape we are after ( the bare bones look real good )

All in all I've ended up more interested in the Plants than the fish. The Lads like both So they get well looked after between the three of us.