50G Planted Tank Log, ROUND 2! ding ding

gagaliya

gagaliya

GNOME POWER!
Nov 20, 2005
943
0
16
NJ
www.happyreward.com
Thought it's fun to start a log for my new planted tank and see how the plants develop (or die) over time.

My first try was using all fake plants. I also made many stupid(costly) newbie mistakes such as using artificial decor, bubble wands etc. The end result was a very ugly and unnatural looking tank. (you can view it here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70818 ).

After viewing some of amano's work, it inspired me to have another go. This time it's going to be all business! no more fluff or useless junk. Almost everything is replaced/upgraded except the tank + stand.

Here's the setup, all equipments are in.

1) seaclear 36x15x20 acrylic tank
2) Eheim Pro2 2026 canister filter
3) Eheim installation kit 1 + 2. Both intake + spray bar on left corner. Last section of spraybar tilted slightly upwards to create minor water movement.
4) hydor 200W inline heater
5) coralife 96W CF light strip
6) coralife power center (timer)
7) digital thermometer
8) 40lb of eco complete substrate (1.5" thick)
9) 4 pieces of petrified wood. (each cleaned / sterlized in boiling water for 20 min and soaked for 5 days )
10 ) no co2 system, will try with flourish excel only

Plants (in the mail / q tank)
1) 6x large hornworts
2) 16x anubias nana
3) 4x anubias nana petite (will plant on the petrified wood)
4) 15" x 5" dwarf hairgrass (ground cover)


livestock (pending after plants)
1) 12 rainbow fish (2 schools, 6 each)
2) 40+ cherry red shrimps (in q tank)


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looks like your off to a good start, some hairgrass,sword plants, and some anubias in there would look awesome
 
All plants are in! Had a very tough time planting anubias since the ryzome needs to remain exposed. Goal is to have a hornwort/anarchias covered background. With dwarf hairgrass as ground cover mixed with some anubias nana.


I am using seachem's complete line of plantcare solutions. After planting, i dosed with seachem Flourish(micro), Flourish Excel(co2), Flourish Potassium, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus (3 macro). All per the instructed amount for a 50G. Have some questions:

1) I couldnt plant the anbuias nana deep, so right now they are kind just floating on the substrate with most roots still exposed. Will they be able to root down by themselves overtime and be ok?

2) hornworts/anarchias isnt looking good, brownish leaves, weak stem etc. Anything i can do besides dosing with nutrients per instruction

3) The seller told me the dwarf hairgrass was grown submersed, so i trimmed them before planting. Now will i have a massive die off of the existing grass leaves? before new ones(submerged version) appear?

4) think my plants will survive over all? kinda nervous since i spent so much money + time on this, hate to see everything die.

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well it is looking a lot better.

Anubias doesn't grow in gravel, it is a plant that should be tied down to rock or driftwood. The main root needs to be exposed to the water for it to get its nutrients.

Trim the brown portins off of the plants. If the stems are rotten, trim the rotten part off and replant. Use SHART scissors to discourage the new stem from also decaying.

I think your rock placement is a little off. The two stacks are a little unnatural, and also create two focal points. Either put them all together, or point them towards eachother, to focus the eye between them, not on them. I also think you need more plants, especially midground.

Survival depends on a lot of factors. You are using ferts, which is good. But what is your lighting, and are you using Co2.
 
Hornwort will do well. It grows in anything. However it is a floating plant. If you plant it into the substrate whatever is below the substrate will turn brown and die. so you will have to periodically pull it out. Rip off the bottom and stick it back in. You will also find it grows so fast and there will be so much that its almost uncontrollable.

Very nice tank you have there. I can't wait to see if using seachems full line of plant products really produces awesome results. Oh and if you're thinking about some cheap DIY co2 heres a good link.

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html
 
gagaliya said:
that cant be good, anubias need the roots exposed? i thought as long as the ryzhome is exposed it's fine? i buried all the thin roots inside the gravel. Hmm...

my lighting is 96W so about 2WPG. And no co2, only flourish excel.
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no, I'm sorry I wasn't clear. The ryzhome needs to be exposed. So it is usually tied down above the gravel on rocks or driftwood.

You chose some easy, low-medium light plants, so even without Co2 and light, you should do fine. if you sart to notice that they aren't doing so well, you will want to increase one, the other, or both.
 
haha, you took the easy way out planting your hairgrass. i spent an hour and a half sepparating EACH LITTLE BITTY PLANT with tweezers and pushing it down into the sand...mine is finally starting to grow in, lol.

i did not see a lot of die off on my hairgrass. i had a few of the old leaves turn brown and die, but not too bad. now i'm definately seeing a lot of new growth and spreading though.

also, i have heard that flourish excel can have adverse effects on hornwort, Vals, and anacharis. that might be your problem. OR it could just be that you were not meant to have them. i've heard many people say that you can put hornwort in two identical tanks and it will die in one and fill up the other. sometimes it just dies for no apperant reason. that's what happened in my tank. i finally pulled it all and replaced it with Myrio and wisteria, which are both doing great now.
 
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Anubias: Two ways to get them into the gravel --

1) Unbend a paperclip so that part of it forms a "U" and use that to anchor the rhizome into the gravel. Your gravel really isn't deep enough for that, tho.

2) IMO the best way to put them in the ground and have them stay there is to take some pieces of thin slate -- slightly bigger than the rhizome -- and use an elastic band to fasten the rhizome to the slate so that the plant sits upright with a slate "base". Bury the slate in the gravel up to the middle line of the rhizome. The slate will hold the plant in the gravel and eventually the roots will grow over the slate.

You can use rocks for the above as well. I just like to use slate because it's flat and easier to hide in the gravel.

Hairgrass: is a high light plant. You've only got 1.9 wpg which really isn't enough to grow it. It will die off faster if you plant it in clumps. It really has to be planted as Rockabillychick did hers.

Hornwort and Anacharis: will grow in the substrate fine if you do not bury any of the leaves or branches. Take the end of each stem and strip all the leaves/branches up the plant for about 2". Bury in the soil. Use tweezers to get it down far enough. Make sure no leaves are in the gravel.

Excel: should not be used with anacharis as per Seachem. Some people have reported problems with particular vals. I've never heard anyone have problems with hornwort.

Roan
 
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I would add more rocks to one side to make it a little less symmetrical. Some wood for the anubias always looks good.

Another thing I would do is add more plant mass. I mean at least 5 times more than you have now, with a focus on stems. Fill it up. At the moment not for aesthetics, but to get your tank settled and the plants dominant over any algae that might appear. More hornwort and anacharis are a great choice until you start spying out other plants that catch your eye.

Anyway, keep it up. You'll have a blast.
 
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