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saltnewbie,

Yeah, getting the algae off the glass will most certainly be a good first step to make the tank more appealing .

I see the Fern and Moss, even the Wisteria although I have to say that it looks more like Water Sprite. But this may very well be the fact that you are still experimenting with the camera settings. Don’t get too frustrated, I am sure the Buddha in your tank would also tell you to be patient ().

What other plants are in there? I seem to identify some Crypts and a Ludwigia on the left, but what are the foreground plants?

Does your tank look as yellow for real? What kind of lights (K) do you have on there? If you are still interested in upgrading, This Company is pretty reliable.

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 02-Jan-2006 06:06

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hey guys, I guess since I got a new digi camera for Christmas I thought I may as well start a log on my ever changing 46 gal planted tank..
It has been set up for close to 6 months..I have 110 watts over the tank right now but I may upgrade if I decide to go pressurized with c02..Any thoughts?..Heres a pic of the tank a week before christmas...


http://community.webshots.com/photo/531503323/527218226TpLInA

As you can see its okay looking but not that great..I think of my self as a preety good aquascaper but I have had problems with this tank (I have or have had over 10 tanks over the last few years set up)... I think a few things I could do to make this tank look better is...:

1.)Clean the algae off my glass which has been there since I set it up so its just old algae ( I dont have any algae outbursts anymore..knock on wood)

2.)Buy new bulbs..I was thinking just replacing my bulbs with 2 55 watt 6700 K. straight pinned compact flourescent bulbs off of any website (links appreciated!..)..I think my tank has a boring yellowish tint as of right now and I would like a cleaner light that shows off the lights and darks of my green plants (Wisteria,java fern/moss, etc.)

3.) I dont know maybe you guys can give me some more suggestions on what I could do to make my tank look better..

Heres an updated pic of my tank ( I took it tonight accualy..)

http://community.webshots.com/photo/531503297/533662822HfrLdb

..As you may noticed the tank has changed a little bit..I bought 3 small pieces of drift wood and placed them in the middle of the tank and attached java fern and java moss to it.. and added 6 stems of wisteria to the right side of the tank..I looove java fern/moss, anubias, some crypts, and even wisteria which is really good because they are all low light plants so I am thinking that it may be easier to keep the tank low light.. and just add tons of java ferns in the middle and wisteria on both sides and it may look really good if I can pull it off right..

Ps: Please excuse the stupid water level line on the pics and the algae thats on the glass the next pic/s will be better I promise!..Any tips on making the pics look better? I am using a Nikon cool pix 7600 and I still manage to take crappy pics..I have tried lots of diff. settings changing the white balance, shutter speed, aperture settings etc. but I still can't take very good pics and I am preety frustrated because I just got this camera..Thanks again!! I hope with the help of you guys I can make my tank look alot better!


Last edited by saltnewbie at 01-Jan-2006 21:41

Yea, I am going to make mats most likely..That is just a rough sketch of my aquascaping tho..Not final!

saltnewbie,

Well, first of all, that is an amazing shot of fish eat fish, even of the quality is not the best. You might want to give this fish a new home as he might eat all others in the tank soon.

Now, I have never seen Glosso like this. It must have been grown either emersed (if that is possible) or in not enough light as it clearly looks like it grew vertically (maybe that is why you got so much, and it is a lot, for only $5). We will see how it does in your tank.

Well, let’s wait a few weeks (maybe 2 or 3) and see how it all grows in, the moss and the glosso. Do I spy some algae at the back glass again? Or is that some remains of the initial batch?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for that explanation LF!..

I went to this nice fish store last night called Aquarium Center and I picked up 2 batches of glosso and x-mas moss and I was going to pick up more plants but I bought a black top to go over my tank for 70$ and my budget was under 100$ but I like the top because it gives the tank a more elegant look plus holds in more light..


Heres a pic of my fishing line tied x-mas moss rocks..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0456.jpg

Heres a pic of my glosso being "preped"..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0457.jpg

Another glosso shot (I got alot of glosso for just 5 dollars!)..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0460.jpg

Heres a pic of the left side of my newly re-scaped 46 bow..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0469.jpg

Right side..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0470.jpg

Full shot..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0473.jpg

..Soo basically All I did was move the driftwood a lil more and tie moss around the wood and rocks and plant glosso around the open foreground and re-posistion the java fern a lil bit too..Comments/suggestions welcomed!...

Oh yea and as I was planting the glosso I noticed my largest male golden wonder killi had a pencil fish half way in his mouth!!( the pencil fish upper body was sticking out and it was fighting to get out!..) so I quickly snapped a shot of it ( not the best shot but you can see it atleast..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0461.jpg

I caught the killi with my net and he released him so i kept the pencil fish in the net but he died shortly after...:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0463.jpg

saltnewbie,

How to measure your CO2 crash course:

An easy way to calculate the CO2 concentration is by measuring the ph and the KH (in German Degrees) as for any cross point of these two parameters a specific CO2 exists. BTW, roughly 17ppm of KH are one degree.

Once measured, the values can be plugged into [link=This Grid]http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link] (scroll down) to derive the CO2, for example: a ph of 6.6 and a KH of 3.0 concludes in a CO2 concentration of 23ppm.

General behavior:
If you increase to CO2 addition to your tank the ph will fall more
A way to increase CO2 concentration without having the ph fall too much is by adding Baking Soda which buffers the KH without influencing the ph.
If your KH is really really small (like less than 1 degree) then adding CO2 in large quantities might cause a ph crash (or at least very acidic ph values).
For our purposes, CO2 concentrations of about 30ppm are ideal (I think).

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Seriously all thats been on my mind latley has been this tank..I really hope I start seeing some growth improvement soon (been about 4 days since the co2 and lighting has been set up..)

..I have only noticed less algae, and greener java ferns so far since I added pressurized co2 but my ludwiga and water sprite isnt showing any improvements..I will be pacient and post pics tomorow after I get back from the biggest fish store I can find around here (Aquarium Center..2500 square foot store..)

I am going to pick up some forground plants, either glosso, hairgrass, or riccia ( w/e they have in stock i'll get!)..Maybe I will pick up a few more stem plants like some taller background plants. Look for pics tomorow night!


LF, I dont know what type of aquaclear filter it is but I will check..I have the peguin biowheel filter w/out the biowheel running with the same sponge set up but I hope i'm not loosing most of my co2 even if there is hardly any aggitaion.. Also what is 20-30 ppm?

Last edited by saltnewbie at 13-Jan-2006 21:31

saltnewbie,

Your tank is already established and as such you should not see any classic new-tank algae outbreaks. Just as tetratech says, the plant mass is important, as is a balanced fertilizer.

Don’t get hung up on the surface agitation. Get a ph and a KH test kit and calculate your CO2 in the morning and in the evening. If you have about 20ppm to even better 30ppm of CO2 then you are fine in that area.

The filter becomes less important as a host for bacteria as most will settle on the plants, gravel, etc. If you don’t like your sponge arrangement then you can always go with a Canister filter.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

Eh, I forgot, are these the AC 70 filters?

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Tetra., I have 2 aquaclear filters running on it right now ( I took out my penguin bio-wheel for co2 reasons). I really dont want algae that would suck..Any other suggestions to prevent an outburst?

tetratech had a few Ramshorn snails that got pretty big and loved to eat his plants
That is correct. I watched as the ramshorn snails tore apart my wisteria and other plants. I wouldn't bother with them until you at least get some good plant mass going.

I found dwarf hairgass to be a challenge. I still have some, but it unfortunately attracts alot of algae and gunk. It takes a delicate balance of things to make it grow clean, you might want to wait with it, but maybe you'll have better luck.

Just a warning, you have alot of light. Make sure you tank is clean and you have a solid biofilter and alot of plants that have food to eat, otherwise Mr. Algae will be staying for a long visit.

My Scapes

saltnewbie,

I initially had glosso and dwarf hairgrass in the front of my 125, then the two got into a fight and the glosso won (means it grew over the grass).

Why do I say that? Well, scratch the grass and plant glosso that will grow from the valley into the other foreground areas as a complete cover.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the quick comment..The back substrate is flourite and its my original substrate with black gravel poured ontop of it because I like the contrast between black and green plants. I am going to add another aquaclear filter on the tank with the same kinda of sponge set up and I am going to remove the penguin filter thats just sitting in my tank and add it to my other tank..Glad you liked the pics tho and I will take another pic in a week to show the difference co2 and high lighting really has! One question, what foreground plants would you add?.. I am thinking of planting gloso along the pathway sorrounded by dwarf hairgrass but i'm not sure about the other foreground spots..Any suggestions?

Hey guys, I did a lil aquascaping tonight..I took most of the river rocks out, moved the driftwood and took out a few plants etc...I also have added the pressurized co2 and new lighting ( 65 watt single strip to go along with my 110 watt hood..a total of 175 watts over my tank!)..Heres a before shot of what the tank looked like around 6 tonight..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0416.jpg

Heres a pic of the tank in the middle of re-aquascaping it..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0435.jpg

And heres the after pic..(a lil cloudy sorry!).. I like it because it kinda looks like theres 2 islands with a pathway going down the middle-left side of the tank. What do you guys think?..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0450.jpg

Left side of new aquascaped tank..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0454.jpg

Right side..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0455.jpg

Heres a snail I found hanging on one of my plants..Is that a bad snail that will eat my plants or multiply tons or is it harmless?..Thanks!..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0433.jpg

And heres my co2 set up..Azoo regulator..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0417.jpg

Uhh..Just a random picture..Its showing my aquaclear filter with a sponge stuck in between the filter output and canopy so theres not much surface aggitation..Does this look okay because I hope I'm not wasting too much co2 through the surface aggitation..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0452.jpg

My new single strip 65 watt CP light hood came in today now i have 175 watts over my tank and pressurized c02 running..I am taking a picture tonight, then another picture in a week to show the difference in growth!..

Well, co2 came in today!.. My dad is picking up the 5 pound co2 tank right now and I will have it running by tonight..I just have to find out how to set it up.. Heres the link to the system I ordered..

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9935&N=2004+113779

Nice pictures saltnewbie,

Regarding tall plants for the background:

I have in my big tank a few groups of Narrow Leaf Sagitaria Subulata, which I thought would reach maybe 6 inches. Instead, 15 weeks after planting, a few groups have reaches the surface of a tank with a height of over 22 inches. I think strong groups of this plant would also form a very nice background.

Aponogeton Crispus is another nice plant that grew in my tank from maybe 4 inches to over 25 inches in just 4 weeks. Its leaves are broader then vals and the earlier mentioned sags.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here are some shots I took tonight if anyones interested..:

Another cool shot of my female golden wonder killi:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7007.jpg

Group shot of all 4 of my golden wonder killis:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7003.jpg

A view of my bedroom showing my 55 gal saltwater ( my other tanks are on the other side of my room):

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7002.jpg

Few shots of my reptiles:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7009.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7005.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7004.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7008.jpg

My 20 gal high tank that is cycling with unwanted plants from my 46 gal bow:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/1-7001.jpg

I guess I would use nana anubias..And I agree that vals are boring just I dont know many tall background plants and vals came to mind first..But I will look into the ones you listed ( I think I am going to my lfs first and try and find most or all the plants on my list and if not I will have to order them..).My c02 system will be here tuesday and my lighting will be here wed. hopefully. I will update pics once I have all that set up..I still have to contact my local welding company to find a c02 tank tho.

saltnewbie,

All the plants you list are very nice.

Edit: and then I wrote some total nonsense as I completely forgot the tank is already established.

New approach:

Glosso will be easier than Riccia because it will crawl and anchor itself to the substrate.
Moss is always good
Which Anubias?
I would create a few (not too many) hairgrass mounds that would be surrounded by the glosso.
Vals are boring (, I had them too, replaced them with Cyperus Herlferi). Look into some other taller grass like plants, how about Crypt Retrospiralis?

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 07-Jan-2006 05:41

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Heres a list of some plants I am thinking about gettting next week when my c02 and lighting is set up.. Any suggestions?..:

Riccia or Glossostigma
Either christmas or taiwan moss
Anubias
Hairgrass
Hygrophila, Green
Tall background plants ( maybe corkscrew val or jungle?)

saltnewbie,

I personally have not been successful with dwarf hairgrass and I actually think it doesn’t look all that great as a ground covering entity. The riccia, that is a nice plant that will need loads of light. How are you planning to keep it down on the substrate (it is a floater, after all)? Are you going to buy pre-made mats that you lay on the gravel?

If you can figure this out then a ground cover with riccia, having a few islands of hairgrass in between, would be a beautiful setup.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

saltnewbie,

Nice documentation of the rescape process

I think once the plants to the right of the valley will get taller the open street will become even more a focus in the tank. I like the idea of an open area to the back as it is a rather easy way to generate depth (see Rock Valley).

What are the red chunkers on the substrate in the back? Looks like small pieces of a clay pot. Is that your original substrate and did you cover it in front with some back one?

About the snail: tetratech had a few Ramshorn snails that got pretty big and loved to eat his plants. I have some that are maybe a little larger than yours but I haven’t found any indication for eaten plants yet. Nevertheless, if I happen to see a snail during maintenance I remove it (I have other types as well, none intentionally) just to keep a check on the population.

About the filter: My first thought was that this is a clever way to reduce surface agitation, but somehow I didn’t feel comfortable with it. Now I know why . The HOB is your only filter, right? Essentially, I believe that reducing the surface agitation in your case also reduces the current flow throughout the tank. Your water will gently run down the sponge and be available to be sucked up by the intake right away. So maybe there are 2 problems:

a) stale areas because current is rather limited
b) inadequate filtration as the same water gets filtered while remote water just sits there

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

update pic of my tank, moved driftwood back, trimmed n replanted a few plants..everythings looking good!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0556.jpg

Decided to try a new aquascape last night, this is what I got...

BEFORE...

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0560.jpg

AFTER...


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0574.jpg

I plan to removed the watersprite and add a diff. plant, either hairgrass, or small stem plant that contrasts well with the red ludwiga and glosso.. Any comments?[link]

saltnewbie,

I somehow must have missed you latest update, I was a little too busy with my own tank I guess

Nice mountain, looks good but could look even better if you had some driftwood branches sticking out. Similar to tetratech's center group.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Neat set-up - is that a whole tank shot or a crop? I only ask because those hatchets look huge! I didn't think they got so large...

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Back in the saddle!

I plan to add some branchey, thin driftwood coming out of both the left and right sides of the tank. I want to replace the watersprite as soon as I can find the right replacement...

Those hacthets are really big! The picture is cropped but the tank isnt cropped.

What hatchets are they?

I know that there are quite a few versions in the trade, for example I read about 2 that both are called silver hatchets but one is almost twice as big as the other (maybe 3 to 4 inches, I don't really remember).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Update, heres what the tank looked like last week...:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0587.jpg

Annnd heres what it looks like as of this afternoon after I cleaned out the filter, and removed as much staghorn algae off my plants as I could and did a 60 % water change. Also, I took out the water sprite and added some micro sword and trimmed the ludwiga stems etc...:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0598.jpg




..I upgraded my leopard gecko tank if anyone cares, he now resides in a 20 gallon long with kitchen tiles on the right side as a substrate, and blue gecko sand on the left, with a habba tree and some slate rocks( he seems much happier!)..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN0600.jpg

Update!, its been a while but anyways theres no algae cept for greenspot on the sides of the tank, not too bad and everythings growing. No ferts, just press. co2( 2 BPS ) and around 10-12 hours 110 watt:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1036-1-1.jpg

right side, java fern paradise, and what type of stem plant is that?:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1038.jpg

left side, I love fern plants as you can tell, narrow leave is great!:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1037.jpg

Riccia mats, filling in very nicely:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1039.jpg

I think my loach wants to be a wood shrimp, they are both chilling behind my fern log, vertical:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1045.jpg

Cool pic I edited in adobe photoshop, if ANYONE wants me to do this with their tank, let me know and I will!:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/tank.jpg

Annnd, my dogs, of course!:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1051.jpg

Any comments?

update yet again, going to start some new scaping in the next few days, but heres the most recent pics.:

NEW PICS!!

I havent changed the aquascape one bit in over a month, only trimmed the rotala once about a week ago. My bubble counter ran low on water and stopped working so I have been w/out c02 for about a month and the tank is perfectly fine cept for these dang snails. Heres what 1 month did to my tank, BEFORE:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/DSCN1036-1-1.jpg

AFTER:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/room011.jpg

Jus alot of steady growth, and heres the left side of my tank:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/room013.jpg

and right..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/room014.jpg

and lastly a neat pic using fisheye effect..:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/room0122.jpg

oh and ofcourse one Miscellaneous pic..my chiapet homer after a month, just got back from vacation and saw him like this.:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/organja/room004.jpg

ps, how should I get rid of these snails? I tried yoyo loaches but no luck..Thanks guys!

The plants seem to be growin well but gosh, that's a lot of BGA you have there!

Have you considered treating it with erithromycin (sp)?

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Back in the saddle!

Its greenspot algae, covers the back and sides of my tank, what should I do about it besides just scrape it off?

I dont add any ferts tho I do have a set of greg watsons ferts jus never got around to using them, yet. lol..

It looks the same as the slimy stuff covering the bottom layer of moss/ gravel. Also, it appears to be forming bubbles. That's a big sign of heavy BGA.

Does it come off in sheets when you remove it? Does it come off easily, or does it take considerable elbow grease?

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Back in the saddle!

If I take a razor blade to it, it'll come off preety easily. Those bubbles you were seeing are actually snails, lol but they do look like bubbles.

I'm going to clean up the riccia foreground right now and do a large waterchange, i'll take pics tomorow when it clears.

Thanks for the replies, Nowhere man I appreciate it.

lol its been a few years since i posted.

umm i still have the tank running with about 45 fish and jus a lot of java fern and indica rotala.

been busy with college,work, and lifting so i ahvent done anything for the tank in atleast a year.

Welcome back saltnewbie!
That was a nice green tank you had there! I would have added rocks & driftwood to it for contrast myself, to help break up some of that greenery, but those plants were sure growing good.
So are you planning on keeping the tank as it is, or are you ready for a redo now?