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You could bet on it. I've been going to this store a long time. So I'm going to have fun with it.

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I'm debating whether I should let loose a couple of ramshorn snails into my new tank to help with algae control. I've gotten mixed feedback from FP members about them destroying plants. Some feel they will only go after dead or dying leaves and others feel they will destroy living leaves as well.

These snails did make a perfectly healthy banana plant disappear, but I think Bensaf pointed out that it was because of the soft leaf structure of that plant. I have rotala, hairgrass, wistera, but the plant I'm most concerned about is the stargrass.

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tetratech,

I have quite a few Ramshorn snails in my 20G and 29G and I am sure that it is actually just a question of time until they will appear in the 125G. So far, this tank has only a few Malaysian Trumpet snails that sneaked in on the plants.

[link=Here]http://naturalaquariums.com/plantedtank/0504.html" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link] is a link to a TFH article about snails. It seems to be undecided if they eat plants or not. Mine have not eaten plants so far, at least not to a point that I would have noticed it.

My snail control tool is my hand, as I am not willing to add larger fish to eat them.

Now, why do you want to add them? Algae control? I thought you don’t have any algae (see a few posts back in this thread).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

You must have missed this, it's part of my post about three posts back.

When I looked in my tank last nite I did see some algae on the back glass, but nothing on the plants - yet. Your also running more light than me for the same depth and width tank, so it might be more of challenge for you, although you have more plant mass.

I'm trying to be proactive before the algae has a chance to get to bad. If I follow the Amano why I should be adding about 50 shrimp to my tank at this stage. I don't think that's going to happen.

Last edited by tetratech at 03-Oct-2005 14:29

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I noticed after my 1400 post I became a Fish Master.
I checked my tank and I saw some pearling for the first time. So in celebration of my new status. Here are a few pics.

Here's is some rotala pearling



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And here's a pic of what I'm going to call my wisteria grove. I really am enjoying this part of the tank.



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wow teratech that is a really nice way to grow wisteria. I've never liked that plant until now!

and congrats fish master

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks for the comments. For some reason I've always like this plant in a sweeping ground cover pattern.

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Very beautiful tank. Watching this log (and the other logs) has been a lot of fun so far.
Why do the plants pearl? It's really pretty. Can -all- plants do it, or just some?

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Cake or death?

bananacoladafuze

Thanks for the tank comments. As far as pearling. Plants pearl when their level of photosynthesis is really good. They are utilizing the light, co2 and other nutrients to produce oxygen. The pearling is basically oxygen bubbles. In other words, the plant is really happy.

I don't know if all plants pearl, probably some easier than others.

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I just took my readings last nite and I had:

ph 6.4
k 3
That gives me 36ppm c02

po4 0.75
no3 40 ppm (what the @$%*)

I think this is partly due to the cycling process.
or corrupted eco complete

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All,

I picked up the tank the other day at Aquarium Adventure. Here is a 1st pic of just the tank and background.

LF. Hope you don't mind another log out there, I think we talked about this that it might be fun, so I decided to go ahead and do it. Also the reason I kept asking about the background for your tank is because I noticed that they sold self stick backgrounds at aquarium adventure and wanted to see if you ever tried them. Anyway I did purchase a self-stick for this tank (not exactly self-stick, you need to peel the back and then use a soapy solution to put it on. Then you have to squeezie out the air bubbles.) It took about 2 hours with the wifey helping me to put it on, but once it was on it formed a really tight seal. By the way it is removable with soap and water.

Tank Background
This will be a 72 gallon planted tank w/pressurized co2, 192 watts light. Heavily planted but with not a light of species of plants or fish, but large schools instead. By the way, my tank is located in my kitchen, this way the wife could really see how crazy I am.

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Last edited by tetratech at 22-Sep-2005 08:16[/font]

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Are you kidding me, I am excited to see your log. I think it is a wonderful addition to this site to have multiple logs that are roughly at the same stage of tank setup (as of today, we are at exactly the same point).

Glad you feel that way, we should have alot of fun.

Are you planning on keeping the tank in the kitchen? Is the counter top stable enough for, hm, up to 1000lbs?

It's sitting on a really thick topped mica serving table. It held my 46 gallon without a problem, although this is approximately 30% heavier.

Yes, luckily I have a pretty big kitchen and the tank occupies it's own wall and area, so it fits in really well. Also it's really convienent having it there with sink, etc.

I placed my tank far enough from the back wall that I can still squeeze in and change it

I'm really envious of that. I can not get behind my tank without taking out alot of water and dangerously moving the entire table. After I started to work with the background I was mad I didn't just get the taped on one, because it was definitely a struggle.

P.S. Do you have a Python?



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Do you have a Python?

Sure do…

I used it twice so far for the 20G that also resides in my basement. It works pretty well, except that the attachment to the sink is not a tight fit and some water quirts out on the side. Fortunately the sink is pretty big and it doesn’t run on the floor.

About the stick on foil – I think your concept might look better in the end as it will be snug against the glass while mine might create some gaps.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

About the stick on foil – I think your concept might look better in the end as it will be snug against the glass while mine might create some gaps.

Well with your list of background plants I don't think you have anything to worry about.

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Tetra,

This may be a little late, but have you considered adding lockable wheels to the table? It may enable you to very carefully ease the table away from the wall.

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"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Bob,

That is an excellent idea and no it's not too late. I havent' filled the tank yet. I actually had thought about adding something underneath, to help "glide" it. I think they sell those little disks that enable you to move furniture easily.

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Here's some more setup shots of my 72gallon bowfront.
below is a pic taken right after I put in the rock and wood scape materials. I really don't have the right driftwood (too thick) so I will be replacing. I have the same problem LITTLEFISH had couldn't find the right pieces.
My wife describes my tank at this point as Post-Apocalyptic.



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Here's another pic with the plants and the tank filled.
Right now I have stargrass, rotala indicia, wisteria and dwarf hairgrass. I'm going for a more off centered main grouping and than prety much open space with foreground/low growing flora.



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Here's a closer shot of the eco-complete. I really like the new stuff. Some of it looks like onxy sand and some is larger grain. Looks really natural. I tested all the new bags. P04 about 0.25





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Here's another look of the main grouping closeup after 2 days. I think the plants are looking good. The stargrass and rotala are from aquariumplants.com.



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I must admit I think I'm a fan of the post-apocalyptic tank (and of your wife too, by the way!). I was already thinking about black gravel for my next tank but now I'm convinced as it's an amazing contrast between the substrate and the plants. I also like stargrass but I'm afraid that it didn't work in my tank as it was too big for my tank (100 L) and just took over all the other plants so it had to go, but it's definitely coming back whenever it is I'll be getting a new bigger tank.

It's fun having both logs at the same time and both are brilliant.

Untitled,

Thanks for the compliments on both tank and wife.

The only downside to the dark substrate is tha moss or other dark ground cover does'nt contrast, unless it's higher up on the rocks or driftwood.



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With your lights and CO2 you can get a ground cover that will contrast the dark gravel, namely Glosso or Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba". I think it would look nice to have those grow around your rock formation. Riccia will also contrast the dark gravel but I'm not a big fan of riccia due to the maintenance work it requires.

tetratech,

Your tank looks just lovely. I also love the black substrate – black background combination. It really makes the green of the plants stick out. Are you currently all done with planting?

Sorry I didn’t make an entry earlier, but I was way too busy on my tank setup , you know how that is.

I like how you arranged that focal group. Looking at the detail shot of your rotala made me realize that I had placed a bunch of them in the 20G for growth. I immediately moved some of my vals and added the rotala in the left corner, Bensaf says I don’t have enough plants (he will tell you the same ). I would have some star grass as well but it has some slime algae on it so I will not place it in the tank right now.

I will add more details to my thread, as most entries here should concern your tank and not mine .

BTW, in case you don’t know that already anyway, if you think planting hair grass is hard, wait until you try tiny pieces of glosso .

Keep it going,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the comments on tank. I could only imagine how busy you were considering your tank is 2 feet longer than mine.

This tank will feature one major grouping as you see and the rest I would like ground cover. I already have the hairgrass and some java moss, might go with gloss not sure yet. Since I am not heavily planting throughout the tank, my only concern at this point of course is algae, because I might not have the "suck power" of your tank in terms of nutrients, so I might go alittle lighter on ferts, but keep co2 high.

Another reason why I went black on black is too have large schools of fish really stick out as well. I'm really glad I upgraded the tank, definitely enjoying it.








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Day 3 Update:

Added some guppies from my son's 12 gallon guppy only tank and a few otos.

Small landscape changes. Started covering some of the petrified wood with java moss to soften all the rock. I also moved some of the wisteria. Now it's running from the middle of the tank down the hill to the right. Now I have only dwarf hairgrass in front of the main rock formations.

Here's a new pic:



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Some more pics. Here's the guppies, breaking the place in.



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An another closeup shot of the main rock piece. I really like this piece because it's got alot of crevices. You could see I tucked some java moss in (no string required)
You could also get a good view of the rotala behind it.



tetratech attached this image:


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tetratech,

I was looking over the two complete shots of your tank and I cannot see too much difference in your plant arrangement. I guess by stretching it out a little to the right you will lose the island effect, which I think you should maintain.

I like your rocks, which I could have found any of the petrified wood. How much does that cost? I paid $30 for 135 lbs of my rocks, but I use only 1/2 of it in the tank.

Overall, you are right, we are certainly not in a competitive position here as our tanks are completely different . Yours seems to mimic the Amano style, while mine, well, doesn’t have a style (at least not one that has a name yet, maybe it will become the Ingo style ).

What are your current water parameters, like KH, GH, ph, temp?
How did you accustom the fish to the new tank? Did you put them in a bag and then add some water into it (like if just purchased from the LFS?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Good to hear from you LF

Rocks
I happened to have alot of petrified wood, so I just bought a few add'l pieces, but the cost at most LFS is $1.99/per pound. So that one rock you see in the middle cost me $20 bucks, so you did really good. I honestly wanted rounded light grey rocks, but couldn't find them, so I just stuck with the petrified wood, it does contrast good with my eco.

Mimic Amano style
I guess that's a compliment.

Current water parameters

KH 3
GH - haven't measured
PH - 6.7, 6.8 (I need to get a better way to test)
Temp - 78

P04 - 1ppm
N03 - 15 to 20ppm

I'm running about 2bps w/co2. I might up it alittle.

Been dosing

po4
no3
Flourish Pottasium
Flourish

Accustom the fish
Yes, exactly. I floated them in the 72G and slowly added water from the old tank for about an hour. I started adding fish day 2 a few guppies and otos, so far they seem fine. I've been testing nh3 levels daily, don't know how big the spike is going to be.

BTW - Are you sticking to 50% water change 1st week.





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tetratech,

“I guess that's a compliment”

I guess it is . One can clearly see where your inspiration is coming from (but not where it is going to ). I love the Amano style, but I am not sure that it achieves the same effect in a 6 foot tank. I think the limited variety of plants and colors could get boring after the eye wanders for about 3 feet. On the other hand, I am not a friend of the Dutch style either where you cannot see the fish anymore because there are sooooo many plants and colors.

“I need to get a better way to test”

Well, remember that I ordered the whole CO2 system with ph controller? I haven’t even set this part up yet. I am still testing with my good old Aquarium Pharmaceuticals liquid test kit and hope it is accurate. The only problem is that the scale is always at least 0.2 points apart, like 7.0 and then 6.8.

You said that you float your fish, but how? Do you place them in a plastic bag or a container of some sort? I wonder if you would see a spike of ammonia what so ever. This is still a large tank and your fish load is really tiny. Keep me posted on that.

Am I sticking to a 50% water change in the first week? That is a good question that I haven’t decided upon yet. I am actually thinking that I will never perform a 50% water change as this would mean emptying 60G of water. I think what I intend to do is a 25% change (still 30G) weekly and spread out my dosing of ferts to maybe every 3rd day (rather then dosing less every other day), basically trying to achieve a frequency and water change percentage that will balance my nitrates to never go above 20ppm.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well, remember that I ordered the whole CO2 system with ph controller? I haven’t even set this part up yet. I am still testing with my good old Aquarium Pharmaceuticals liquid test kit and hope it is accurate. The only problem is that the scale is always at least 0.2 points apart, like 7.0 and then 6.8.

Yes I do remember. I might invest in a ph probe, my color from my test kit (red sea) doesn't even match up to anything so I estimate. Even my no3 kit the difference in color between 20 and 100 ppm is very slight.

You said that you float your fish, but how? Do you place them in a plastic bag or a container of some sort? I wonder if you would see a spike of ammonia what so ever. This is still a large tank and your fish load is really tiny. Keep me posted on that.

I float them in a ziplock. It's actually a good idea to keep a few bags from the lfs when you purchase fish. The don't have the sharp edges like the ziplock. I usually fold the top of the bag over the edge and the glass top hold it in place and I add alittle water at a time over an hour to an hour and a half.

I think what I intend to do is a 25% change (still 30G) weekly and spread out my dosing of ferts to maybe every 3rd day (rather then dosing less every other day), basically trying to achieve a frequency and water change percentage that will balance my nitrates to never go above 20ppm.

Sounds like a good plan, I guess 50% is alot of water especially for you tank. I was curious during the cycling process if you were going to start right away with that plan. I assume you are.

BTW - How do you like the topgun regulator?

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Here's a pic of the latest inhabiant. I acclimated him for 2 hours before putting in the tank. This fish survived the yeast cloud, transfer to 5G, than back to the 46G than back to the 5G and now into the 72G.





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Nice ram. Very fond of the Bolivians. Not as colorful as the Blues but their personality makes up for it. Not shy at all. Will parade around the front of the tank at every opportunity.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Is that really you Bensaf?
Just kidding, hope all is well.

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Is that really you Bensaf?

Well you're doing a great job on the set up.Nothing for me to say

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Well, I really appreciate that. Couldn't have done it without your words of wisdom. I would one day like to help you with an issue. I know it sounds crazy

I'm just in the honeymoon phase with this tank, until the realities of a closed system come into play. I haven't dosed macros since Sunday, but I got a really high no2 level this morning (over 20ppm, without dosing for 2.5 days). Is it possible that without the benefical bacteria fully developed (as mentioned in other post) the high co2 levels (23 ppm) is creating more available no3 in my tank. I think I'm going to do a 30% water change today and see where my numbers are. Po4 looks to be about 1ppm.

**Meant no3 not no2, first mention 2nd paragraph

Last edited by tetratech at 28-Sep-2005 10:31

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Day 1 vs Day 5 Pic

Besides my photographic skills improving you could definitely see some growth in all the plants. The Rotala has a reddish yue as well.

Any comments are appreciated. Day 1 is the top photo in case you can't read the text. My biggest question is do I put the difformis in front of the left and middle rock as well and have it run through the whole middle of the tank or should I let the hairgrass grow in right in front of all the rocks.





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tetratech,

First off, your Nitrate level. I think you experience a similar problem than me, namely not enough plants for the normal EI calculation. I wonder if Bensaf or Untitled or Matty have a solution for this, like reduced dosages to adjust the ferts to the plants volume (on the other hand, I can hear Bensaf already yelling at us again ).

What are you dosing? Every other day? Consitently? Any water change done?

Now to your comparing pictures. Yeah, it is nice to see how the Rotala changes its colors and shows that it is happy with the new lights etc. Also, your star grass is growing strongly.

Nevertheless, you provide us here of course with an optical illusion as well as it appears that your plants on the right hand side are really growing strong. But that can be attributed to your re-planting on Day 3. Just wanted to point that out (not that I want to reduce your excellent progress).

Your photo skills certainly have improved, unlike mine. What is your secret?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club