Buddha Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 so ill use this post to show updates of my tank as it progresses and matures. its going to be low tech i dont see me adding co2 and id be surprised if i add ferts but we will see how it goes for now. tank 4x2x2 has 210w lighting. plants so far java fern , narrow leaf, tiger lotus, congo fern , java moss ,amazon sword, hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, dwarf sag. The dwarf sag is in the bottom left and needs a bit of time to grow in before it can even be noticed, the hydroctyle is planted all around the the edges of the drift wood and i hope when it grow in will look good. All java ferns and congo fern is on the wood. Im leaving a large sandy area at the right front of the tank where a loan tiger lotus is , id like this to reach the surface, i may have to move it further to the back when it gets bigger. Still need some val for the back left ,some anubias for the bottom parts of the wood will also look good i think and maybe some random crypts between the hydrocotyle, well that's the plan so far. Fish Just 10 harlequins at the moment , will add 10 more and some otos , and maybe some dwarf cichlids. I think less is more, looks good with just a few small fish. Anyway heres the only picture so far ill try get decent ones soon , this gives you the idea of the layout , trying to go for a natural look. to be honest looks better in person ill have to get some better pictures when i update thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 :cophot: :spop: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Going to look great once it all grows in, good work mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGilberg Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Looks very nice. What substrate are you using? Plain gravel will Not be enough for the lotus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I am using plain sand with root tabs and my lotus has gone nuts, 7 new leaves in the last 2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGilberg Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I am using plain sand with root tabs and my lotus has gone nuts, 7 new leaves in the last 2 months. yea root tabs work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted February 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 just using builders mix sand from miter10, yer ill have to get some root tabs, ive only had the lotus a week an its got two new leaves already but the older ones are a bit curled , it either adjusting to the move an my tank or its lacking something.. may have to get some ferts i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 I gotta say i hope i'm wrong but i'm holding my breath for you. With that amount of light (what photoperiod are you using), and no CO2 or fertz, i think you're heading for algae soup... like i say i hope i'm wrong :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Could you please specify how you get 210W of light? I.e, 2 x 54w T5 tubes, 3 x 10w cfl bulbs, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 sorry there i made a mistake its 208w x4 52w pl tubes. ive noticed a lil bit of hair algae , i got some flourish today which ill start using . lights are on 8 hours a day but from yesterday ive cut it to 6 hours a day and only half the amount of light as i need to keep that hair algae under control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 it might be wist for me to just run two bulbs at a time so only 104watts over the tank as most of my plants are low light anyhow. as yea i can see no co2 is going to be an issue .... thoughts..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 imo, yes to the reduction in light. Low tech planted would refer to no pressurised CO2 and not much fertilisation. By going no CO2 at all, you've got to reconsider your balance... Refer to Jennifer's sticky on optimising plant growth for a detailed explanation. But basically, you've got to balance your lighting levels against the low amounts of fertz you're adding and CO2 you're not adding. That means in a practical sense, start off real low in both amount and photoperiod. If things are ok for a period of time then adjust upwards slowly . In my experience things change all the time which makes it hard to adjust things one thing at a time but patience patience patience will reward... hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 This tank is looking awesome, But I can see it is going to end up High tech, which IMO would make it end up looking even better. :cophot: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 soo a small update , didnt relies how much the plants had grown since the last photos i took! the group of 8 harlequins i had from the beginning bred and i left the baby's to fend for themselves and now have over a dozen baby harlequins that are about 1.5cm :dnc1: yuss free fish! theres also 3 flying foxs in there and a pair of blue rams , but id like to add a pair of Agassizi Double Reds, a small group of corys and maybe a couple plecs of some sort , will see.. (ps looks way better in person i suck at taking photos, but you get the idea) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 looks really good. I wish my ferns would grow fast like yours !drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerbabe Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Wow.. loooove the driftwood!!!!!! :happy1: What plants are growing on it? are you using ferts now?? if so, what & how often? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 thanks its actually 6 pieces of wood , was the only way i could get the affect i wanted the plants on the wood are , java fern , narrow leaf java fern , congo fern ,java moss and a small bit of anubias. yup i use flourish now so every Thursday i do a 35-40% water change and then add two and a half caps of flourish so 12.5mls , approx. seems to be going well still no co2 low tech it will stay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Wow, baby Harlequins... how cool is that! I notice you have removed the dwarfe sag though. Why was that? Did you not like the look or did it not do to well in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted April 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 yer i took the sag out cause i decided i just wanted plants growing on the wood and have the rest of the tank open sandy areas, makes the wood which is the center piece stand out alot more. also i found that the sag collected alot of crap , an was slow growing in my tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinox Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 nice tank :cophot: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 yer i took the sag out cause i decided i just wanted plants growing on the wood and have the rest of the tank open sandy areas, makes the wood which is the center piece stand out alot more. also i found that the sag collected alot of crap , an was slow growing in my tank Well I'd say you achived that. Looks very well thought out. Very pleasing to the eye. :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted April 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 thanks! Interesting my tiger lotus has grew 14 new leaves in just 8 weeks that's without root tabs.. an just plain sand substrate.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 same here, my tiger thrives in plain gravel without any 'inserts', just EI dosing... awesome looking tank btw :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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