Ishar's 20 Gallon Long Planted Tank

[ishar]

My vals are growing awesomely- I will have a bunch to sell soon enough. Also my hygro and stargrass are filling in very nicely.

[ishar]

I removed all but two stems of my rotala rotundifolia/indica (can never figure out which it is called) as it kept looking very crappy, but the two I kept look amazing... but we'll see how long it lasts . I trimmed the Hygro and bacopa and used the stems to thicken up the stands. The way this tank keeps going I think I am going to definitely take a more 'natural' look- things growing how they choose and I will just trim it to keep them underwater level. I have not yet decided if I will allow the vals to grow willy nilly among the stem plants or keep them in their own area. I will likely keep them separate though.

Oh, and I lost another neon a while back. I have been SO busy with school I have yet to have a chance to go replenish my school to a level of about 15 I think. Soon though. Soon.

[mujacko2002]

Mabuhay!

that is one beautiful thriving tank!

congrats

[bunker_1]

It looks great Ishar! I will go planted in one of my tanks....someday

[ishar]

Thanks guys- I appreciate the comments .

I just came to post that it takes 3 days.

It takes 3 days for my hygro ceylon and my stargrass to go from a roughly 3-4" stem to about 8" tall, just under water level. This is ridiculous! I will hopefully be setting up my old digicam for a better picture this weekend, but we'll see. If I have the time, I would also very much like to fill out my neon school.

[ishar]

Well I didn't get to fill out my neon school, but I was quite interested in their Silver Tip Tetras. I grabbed 15 of them, so once I get the camera prepped and ready this weekend I should have some good pictures to share with you all .

[ishar]

Well I got those pictures, using my housemate's camera, but his cord wasn't around so I was unable to pull the pics off of the camera.

In other news, I had a crash in my stargrass and some java fern- I think it was a mix of poor diffusion of CO2 and lack of nitrates. I think I have fixed the problem though, so all is well. I have lost 5 of my 15 silver-tips though, and that makes me irritated. But the same thing happened to my neons way back a year ago when I got them. I would have them die off over a month or so then I would have some stay, then I would buy more and bring my school up to the number I wanted.

My riccia and vals are growing so well I have begun selling them, and my auctions are linked in my signature . I have had pretty good success so far .

Also, the few guppy fry that were left in the tank when I took the adults to the LFS when I started this tank have grown immensely- it is amazing how much of a difference a crowded tank makes on their growth rates and colouring.

[mistercoffee]

Very nice tank, much nicer than mine!

[ishar]

Hey now- this tank has been going for a year, and I failed over and over again, and I am still failing at a lot of things. Yours will look awesome once when the plants fill in, don't you worry about it

And that is actually what I came to post about. My powerhead. Koralia 1 model, rated at 400gph. I think this was way too fast of water movement for my tank. I think this is the reason my new tetras died off (I have 5 out of 15 left), because with all the stress of moving around, they had to swim in an intense current all day and at night. Also I believe it was harmful to the plants, as if the water moves too fast they are actually less able to take up C02 and it inhibits their growth. So this morning I unplugged the powerhead, and put my Elite diffuser in a spot where I make sure my CO2 makes it all around the tank, and I am going to hope for the best.

The fish actually seem a lot happier now, actually coming out to swim and such. Unfortunately the diffuser had to be put at the front, left hand side. Nothing is getting shaded by it but it is definitely an eyesore. Here is a long over due picture, yet again, I am sorry for the laptop pic .

FTS


Right Side


Left side- the hygro is pretty red, and I think you can make out one of my jungle vals that is actually quite red as well.


This was a hygro leaf that was trimmed but not removed- it sprouted like three new stems and roots and leaves and everything!! haha This is exactly how the hygro entered my tank in the first place, and I am glad it did


And this is to show how big my crinum thaianum leaves can get. The tank is 12" high, the tank sits about 5" in from the edge of the table, the leaves are hanging about 6" below the table... and the bulb is at the very back of my 12" wide tank

[ishar]

Well I found yet another silver tip dead this morning, so I did a full set of tests to see if that could be the reason (wouldn't really explain why all of my other fish are A-OK though). The results were:

ammonia: 0 ppm
nitrite: 0.25 ppm
nitrate: 40 ppm
pH: 7.2
GH: 11 degrees
KH: 6 degrees

I find these results interesting.

For one, if I check my KH and pH levels and get a rough measurement for my CO2 content I am at around 11ppm, which is a pretty good level. So I like those results. And I like having my pH around neutral right at lights on- means that nothing funny with CO2 is going on at night.

What I don't like is twofold:
1) I have some nitrites. I do not believe the levels to be high enough to kill my fish, however due to decomposition of my soil substrate, I believe it is possible for the plants to remove the nitrite and ammonia from the water during the day time when the lights are on, but at night it can do nothing about it so these levels might accumulate to toxic levels, to the point of killing off my new fish. What is odd about this theory however is that all of my old fish- neons, guppy *fry*, ottos and newish cories are all surviving and eating just fine.

2) My nitrates are very high, and I don't like it. This is weird because my plants cannot seem to survive without the 15ppm NO3 dose daily I am giving- I was giving 12ppm daily for a while and my stargrass eventually completely crashed, almost to the point of complete death in a matter of days. I am not going to change much here- but it does show that my weekly water changes are needed due to fert accumulation.

I am going to test the nitrogen tests as well as the pH test again later this afternoon to soo how the tank changes throughout the day, and also, hopefully, late tonight to see what I get at night. Should have probably done this a logn time ago but, well, I am doing it now :P