My First Planted Tank, Day 01, (pics!) THANKS EVERYONE!!

[romaric]

well, I started out with an original post here, last year:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127879&highlight=romaric

I had to wait till I moved to get my tank going, was a long time, but I'm finally ready!

Posted a small lighting question here:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141609&highlight=romaric

Thank you to Star Rider, Msjinkz, bk828 and mellow vision for all the help. And to everyone else who guided me along the way. With much research, asking LOTS of questions and patience, I'm happy to report my first ever tank, planted, is doing JUST FINE!

It's so awesome! I spent a few good hours setting it up, scaping the layout and moving plants around for best positon / color combination. I think it's pretty good, but I bet it'll change within a week ;) Might look into some small bits of stone for the right side.

Here's the final set up. I wanna break it down in case anyone else is interested in knowing what it took to get to where I am.

20 Gallon long - $40
2 pieces of Driftwood, $10 and $5
2 bags of Eco- Compete - $44
Aqualight 65w Single Linear Strip Light - $68
Aqualight adjusting mounting legs - $13
Rapids mini canister Filter - $20
Floss / Carbon Filter media 2 pack - $3
Floating Thermometer with cup - $2
Theo UL Heater, 100 Watt - $19
Hagen C02 plant System - $27
Extra pack of Nutrafin Activators & Stabilizers for C02 - $7

Plants (at New World Aquarium, Manhattan, NYC)

01. Back Right of Tank - Compact Sword (Echinodorus Parviflorus 'Tropica'), $8 (with runners)
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=100

02. Far Right of Tank, back - Red foxtail (Myriophyllum Heterophyllum)
2 for $12
http://naturalaquariums.com/plants/myriophyllumh.html

03. Back Left of Tank - Cabomba Furcata, 2 for $9 http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=43

04. Front of tank - Baby Tears (Micranthemum Umbrosum) 2 for $14
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=160

05. Front Left of Tank - Red Nesea, I belive?? That's what the store said, still trying to find out more about this plant...
2 for $10
http://www.floridaaquatic.com/aquarium_plant_nesea_red.html

That's it! Enjoi the pics and I'll be posting updates as things get going. Wanna get some HC carpet going and find some living creatures soon.
Algea eaters are the next step...Any suggestions?

:headbang2: YEAH!

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day01/01.jpg
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day01/02.jpg
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day01/03.jpg
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day01/04.jpg
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day01/05.jpg
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day01/06.jpg

[Bk718]

nice tank and would like to see the progress
As far as fish you can get either some school of tetras, rasboras, cories, otocats, cory cats, molly, swordtail, platty, or even maybe some colorful dwarf cichlid..
But for algae you can look into oto cats, maybe some snails, flagfish, and sae (chinatown has the true sae)

[fishorama]

Looks great! My suggestion is to move the wood toward the center, the open, unplanted area is too dead center. Maybe add some low carpet plants on the left, a little more green would look even better. A repeat of the baby's tears?

[romaric]

Thanks fishorama! I agree with some more carpet plants on left. I'm getting some HC soon, from another user I hope :) And yes, perhaps a little more green. Def.a yes on the baby tears, but right now I'm waiting to see how fast they grow out before I buy more. I want the lawn to be baby tears (foreground) and HC behind that. Always a work in process!

[happybob59]

you reds are..well..RED! Nice! Looking good so far

[Bk718]

Thanks fishorama! I agree with some more carpet plants on left. I'm getting some HC soon, from another user I hope :) And yes, perhaps a little more green. Def.a yes on the baby tears, but right now I'm waiting to see how fast they grow out before I buy more. I want the lawn to be baby tears (foreground) and HC behind that. Always a work in process!
arnt the baby tears taller than hc?? And i think doing a mix isnt a great idea since hc will outcompete baby tears, unless you can make somehow a barrier that will separate one from the other

[H3D]

Great start!

[blazingazn]

nice tank and would like to see the progress
As far as fish you can get either some school of tetras, rasboras, cories, otocats, cory cats, molly, swordtail, platty, or even maybe some colorful dwarf cichlid..
But for algae you can look into oto cats, maybe some snails, flagfish, and sae (chinatown has the true sae)

which store in chinatown? the only time i saw it was the store on delancy and forsyth, but it was only in their display tank =(

[romaric]

blazinganz...

I left comments on you flickr page! HAHA. Awesome!

Man, I'm such a fan of your 'scaping. It's been a huge inspiration for me.
I didn't know you were in New York.

There's 2 stores in Chinatown, on Mott street, just below Broome.

Any tips on my new set up? Glad to have you writing in this post! Your tanks are really amazing...Are you selling any plants?

[Bk718]

Win Tropical Aquariums
169 Mott Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 343-2875

Pacific Aquarium
46 Delancey St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 995-5895

New World Aquarium
204 E 38th St
New York, NY 10016
(646) 865-9604

[Reefscape]

A nice tank indeed, looks like your off to a great start !!!

[msjinkzd]

Well done! Its looking very nice indeed! How about a whole tank shot?

[Hollygirl]

Your tank is beautiful! You'll have to post pics once it is stocked.

[Temo]

nice tank, and lovely plants

[Star_Rider]

you are off to a great start.
a little patience and time and you should be fine.

[Slappy*McFish]

Good luck with it! I hope you don't experience many algae issues and it looks like you're off to a good start. If algae rears it's ugly head, add a few more stem plants.

[romaric]

Thanks everyone for the support :)

Yeah, my next concern is algae.
When can I bring snails and or shrimp into the tank?
Can the thrive together as two different species?

Can't wait to get home and see how my tank's doing!

[msjinkzd]

I keep shrimp and snails together in my community tank. What fish are you planning for this? It really does look lovely (I somehow missed the full tank shot with the first look through the thread). You could add shrimp or snails once its fully cycled.

[Bk718]

dont be 2 overly obsessive about algae.. Enjoy your tank, just keep up with the maintenance

[blazingazn]

blazinganz...

I left comments on you flickr page! HAHA. Awesome!

Man, I'm such a fan of your 'scaping. It's been a huge inspiration for me.
I didn't know you were in New York.

There's 2 stores in Chinatown, on Mott street, just below Broome.

Any tips on my new set up? Glad to have you writing in this post! Your tanks are really amazing...Are you selling any plants?

thank you very much for the nice comments. actually, this is my first tank, and i did a paludarium while i was in college... about 2 1/2 yrs ago. everyone was doin a fish tank so i wanted some land setups in mine. since it is a noobie tank, i've learned many many mistakes from my experiences. but im too poor to upgrade to a bigger tank since im focusing on paying back loans first, haha.

as for your new setup, it looks great. if i were u, i would move the wood to the center and have some java moss grow on it. also, i would have low growing plants in the foreground, but thats just my personal preference. i like wat u have so far too, i always wanted to try a black substrate and everything. keep up the good work!

[romaric]

Coming along very nicely...bk828 is selling me some plants this weekend, can't wait!!! Moved some things around and did my first water change!

Pretty awesome, I'm excited to slowly see it grow. Get the full story here:

http://boytiger.wordpress.com/


http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day013/01.jpg

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day013/02.jpg

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day013/03.jpg

and comparing to day 005:
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day013/04.jpg

[Bk718]

cobomba is going crazy lol wait a few weeks and the sword will fill up half the tank. Great progress.

[Mgamer20o0]

ver nice

[romaric]

Thanks bk, mgamer. I love how much care one has to take for a beautiful tank. It's a very relaxing thing to do, and I can just focus on caring for the plants. I'm really enjoying it. BK is getting me some Pennywort, Rotala and a Xingu Sword tonight! w00.

[fishorama]

Wow, that looks very good!

[romaric]

THANKS FISHORAMA! Got pics of your tank online? :)

[fishorama]

No pics, old camera not happy with crashed computer. (photography was never a hobby of mine) Besides, you're the 1 into the planted tank zen;)
(them as can't critique :silly:) I'm strictly low tech for the foreseeable future. I do enjoy a nice tank, we're going to need pics after the new plants:grinyes:

[cohazard]

wow nice tank! I like the way the cobomba looks behind the driftwood!

My tank is very similar to this hardware-wise.

I used to use the hagen system but switched to seachem's flourish excel. The hagen unit was getting fungus growing on the tube outlet.

a500ml bottle will last the 20g a loooong time.

HTH

[romaric]

OK! here is a new pic! Tank is starting to fill up! With a lot of help from Yuriy (bk828), who sold me some beautiful plants, the aquascape is looking pretty darn full! I’m really happy with it. It’s healthy and clean and thriving.

Thanks everyone for the support! Full Story here:

http://boytiger.wordpress.com/

http://thegalactica.com/aqua/day014/04.jpg

[Bk718]

It was great meeting you Roma.
The tank looks great, you got an eye for aquascape. Want to redo my tank ?!! lol
You think now its filling up, wait a few more weeks and see how crazy things can get.
Keep us updated

[fishorama]

It keeps getting even better! Just another idea, I'm not sure I like seeing the tiles behind, how about a plain (dark) background?

[Bk718]

It keeps getting even better! Just another idea, I'm not sure I like seeing the tiles behind, how about a plain (dark) background?

I was going to say the same thing but soon the background wont even be seen..

[romaric]

yeah, gotta look into a background soon, prolly just something very dark to pop the green out. I JUST GOT FISH! updated pics soon.

Twas a beautiful day in Manhattan... :)

[Bk718]

cool
which fish??

[romaric]

10 Cherry Barbs (Puntius Titteya)

2 Paradise Gouramis (Macropodus Opercularis)

2 Pearl Gouramis (Trichogaster Leeri)

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day016/01.jpg

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day016/03.jpg

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day016/04.jpg

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day016/05.jpg

[SanguineApple]

Your tank is beautiful with those fantastic reds. The fish are gorgeous, too. =)

[romaric]

Sword is producing another runner! The baby tears need trimming, the cabomba, as always is really flourishing. Gotta trim the rotala this weekend too. The pennywort is growing happily. The pigmy swords are growing too. I just propagated two small runners, and now one of those is growing another.

Fish are happy and buzzing around :)

W00!

http://thegalactica.com/aqua/day021/01.jpg

http://thegalactica.com/aqua/day021/02.jpg

http://thegalactica.com/aqua/day021/03.jpg

http://thegalactica.com/aqua/day021/04.jpg

[Bk718]

as i said many times before lol Very nice
Plants are seriously growing out nicely.
Heres a question for you, the gracilis, hows it growing for you??

[Hungriee]

Hi romaric,

So Ive started my tank and some of plants began to grow over the water surface and thinking of trimming it. I tried but each time I tried to cut the stems some of the leaves fall off and gets all over the tank then takes awhile to clean up. Do you usually trim and chuck it away or do you replant them into the substrate? I'm currently using Eco Complete. However, if I stir the eco complete a little bit; it clouds the tank. Do you use any planting tools? Right now I'm using just my hands.

[Que]

Nice tank and good to see it progress.

Q

[romaric]

bk, it's slow going. The tips are opening up and it's staying red, but as far as growth, it's a little on the slow side. I might move it closer to the front of the tank, thus giving it a bit more light. Right now, my lighting is a little closer to front from middle.

[romaric]

Hungriee..any pics we can see? As far as the plants, that's cool they're breaking the water surface, some do. My pennywort BK828 sold me does just that. But, to answer your question, yeah, right now I use my hands, cause I don't have tools yet. I know when you trim, it gets everywhere, but that's just what can happen. Patience and taking your time will help. Also, I do use a fish net to take out some of the left over pieces. Anytime your skin is not in the water is a good thing. I know some peeps here would say human skin should never touch the water. Even the slightest bit effects the tank. But, I'm just beginning, and soon, prolly will graduate to trimming tools.

I do replant my plants bank into the substrate. I use eco as well. I need to trim my rotala and baby tears this weekend. If it gets cloudy, just give it a few hours. What kind of filter are you running? Try to move slow and disturb as little as possible. It takes patience and care, but that is the life of an aquascaper. Hope this helps.

[romaric]

Que, thank you! Your tanks are amazing!! Your 75 gallon is a site to see. Very beautifully laid out. You got the eye! And the 46 gl is great, too. I love when substrate curves up and down. Gives an interesting effect to the land. Nice nice :)

[Bk718]

bk, it's slow going. The tips are opening up and it's staying red, but as far as growth, it's a little on the slow side. I might move it closer to the front of the tank, thus giving it a bit more light. Right now, my lighting is a little closer to front from middle.

I cut about 3" off the tops and the bottom stem is growing plenty new stems, but they are not as "Red" and instead red/orange.. I guess 2.8wpg isnt enough for it to stay that red

[Que]

Que, thank you! Your tanks are amazing!! Your 75 gallon is a site to see. Very beautifully laid out. You got the eye! And the 46 gl is great, too. I love when substrate curves up and down. Gives an interesting effect to the land. Nice nice :)

Thank YOU romeric. The one you refer to as the 46 is actually the 29 which was recently rescaped. I fixed my blog a bit to make it clearer and I plan on getting new pics up soon.

Thanks again:)

Q

[romaric]

alright, so...My first real trimming. This is after 25 days. I'm gonna just let this go now for the next 30 days, so this will be the last update for a while. :)
Trimmed the Cabomba and Baby Tears. Moved the Red Foxtail together, Moved the Nesea to the front. Moved all pigmy swords to the front left. Moved all tropical swords to the front right. Trimmed the Rotala. The T.Sword has another runner with 4 new buds!! Pennywort is doing fine.

I kinda love the jungly look of before, but I'm sure in the next 30 days, it'll get back to that! I love aquascaping! Patience and delicate hands. Awesome.
:headbang2:

Day 01:
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day025/001.JPG

Day 25 Before:
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day025/002.JPG

Day 25 After:
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day025/003.JPG

[crazycanuck]

you have a beutiful tank there :) much nicer than my first planted tank lol

is your co2 system diy??

[fishorama]

Again, very nice! I like the jungle look, I like the bigger groupings of the same kind of plants better. Nothing wrong with repeating groups though. (do I see a black background? ;))

[Que]

Very nice. We all go through the rearranging of things to show plants better and to suit our taste. Nice job and incredible plant growth.

Q

[Hungriee]

very very nice tank. This is my tank so far. Still needs lots of work, once I get the co2 system going - my plants should bloom hopefully. I ordered the macro nutrients too but haven't began dosing. Some of my plants especially the ones in the front keep losing its petals since my German Blue Ram rips it off to nibble on it then tosses it =I


http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146082

[Hungriee]

How do you keep your plants so red? My red plants grow out green leaves on top of the redness, I'm probably doing something wrong?

[Bk718]

nice as always. you know in 30 days it will be even more of a jungle than before since you replanted all the trimmings :grinyes:

[Bk718]

How do you keep your plants so red? My red plants grow out green leaves on top of the redness, I'm probably doing something wrong?

high light + iron = red

[romaric]

Hungriee, BK is right. The high wattage lighting and Iron fert helps. But don't be discouraged! Even my nesea grows a little green on the top. Try Flourish Iron. I actually bought a plastic syringe from Duane Reed so I can be precise on my mL measurements. Plus, squeezing iron from a syringe into a tank is pretty cool!

Que, Fishorama, BK...thanks for the words! It's so fun to do this. I'm really enjoying it.

[romaric]

PHEW! what a lot of work. Was it totally great working on my tank for a good 3 hours? Yes. It was awesome. Music playing, totally focused on the layout. I really like the way it's looking now, it has a balance I think! Look at before, it was a jungle! Which I love, but it did need a trim. The baby tears were out of control.

If you notice from past photos, a lot has changed. The layout is totally different, and more spread out, I hope. The Nesea is left and right of the driftwood. The pennywort has really grown and makes a great backdrop on left and right. Pygmy swords on the left, Tropical swords on the right.
Cabomba in the back, rotala to the left of the driftwood, and hugging the sword and foxtail on the right. Small carpet of baby tears in front.

Now it's clean and roomy. I'm sure it'll become a jungle again in no time.

Before:
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day045/01_l.jpg

After:
http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day045/02_l.jpg

http://www.thegalactica.com/aqua/day045/03_l.jpg

[rich311k]

Very, very nice.

[StereoKills]

Very nice!

[Bk718]

good job roma, ill be giving up on my red nesea.. it just doesnt go red for me.. let someone else have fun with it..

[fishorama]

Both before & after are lovely, Roma. I like the above & front shot. Someday now I no longer have birds I may try an open top.

[jaysen]

great job

[Que]

Well done.

Q

[Bk718]

hey roma, been a month, how about an update!!! really wanna see how it is right now