View Full Version : Planted Tank, picture heavy...
Woozledad
03-13-2003, 3:06 AM
Finally got my plants in today... I ordered them from an Ebay store, tycom-1, and I must say I am very impressed... The plants seem to be in perfect condition, bigger than expected and they even thru in a few extras... I got just over 60 plants for $37 + $4.95 s&h... Seemed like a pretty good deal to me??:confused: It was a package deal that was supposed to include: Giant Sagittaria, Micro Swords, Giant Hygro, Water Wisteria, Moneywort and Dwarf Sagittaria...then they thru in some anacharis, hornwort(I think) and 3 of another kind of plant I haven't identified (some sort of crypt I think)... I am still very new to this and tried to plant them as best I could, plants that will grow to be the largest in back and the smaller ones in front...but to be honest, some are just stuck in there where ever they would fit...I think this will be too many plants for this 29g tank, but I guess time will tell....I have 2.25 wpg of CF light and DIY CO2. The substrate is sand over flourite...Hopefully I will have another tank before this tank gets too overgrown....Anyway, here's a picture I took just about 30min after putting all the plants in.....
http://members.cox.net/allthrtl/pictures/plants.jpg
Also, here is a picture of one of my swordtails and a picture of one of my cories....
http://members.cox.net/allthrtl/pictures/swordtail3.jpg
http://members.cox.net/allthrtl/pictures/spottedcory.jpg
If there is something you see that I am doing really wrong, I would really appreciate the feedback....
FYI, the two HOB filters will be history as soon as the XP1 gets here, hopefully by Friday....
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 3:43 AM
I think that looks really nice :) $60 for 40 plants is CHEAP. I spent $30 for like 8 plants at my LFS.
Those pics are really sharp and your tank looks good. Yeah, you got a great deal! It will fill in quickly.
Is that an airstream running in the background? Are you running CO2? From what I understand, water movement at the surface will cause your CO2 levels to drop. If you aren't running CO2, maybe it's time to consider it. It will help your plants to grow more quickly and will help stave off the dreaded Green Water.
Skittyfish
03-13-2003, 8:12 AM
Woozledad I got my plants from the same person and they have done great. And they threw in an extra for me too.
I have also ordered from Tycom. She is great to work with and offers plants that I just can't find in my LFSs. Your setup looks nice. Good luck with it!
When those plants fill in that's going to be a really nice tank. Looks good already.....wait til they start to grow.
I'm especially impressed with the photograpy. Those are, by far, the clearest pictures I've seen anyone post.
Len
Woozledad
03-13-2003, 9:36 AM
Matak, The airstone you see is for my DIY CO2. I'm suprised you can't see it bubbling in that picture. Usually there is a steady stream of little bubbles. Even with as much water aggetation as I have, Penquin 125 and AC200, the CO2 has changed my PH from 8.2 to 7.6 and my KH from 11 to 7. So I think the new filter will help even more and eventually, I will go with a pressurized set up... It just takes money, something I don't have much of right now :) ....
Tempest
03-13-2003, 11:05 AM
Tank looks good Woozle. That's who most of my plants came from too. Whoa up there though... The addition of C02 doesn't lower kH... Only ph.
Woozledad
03-13-2003, 5:18 PM
Hmm, I thought CO2 would lower the KH... Well then, what has caused my KH to go from 11 down to 7? Is that something that happens as the tank cycles? Honestly, I haven't check the KH since I started the tank, it was 11 then and now it is 7....:confused:
I don't believe that CO2 will altar your KH readings, but It will lower your pH. Do you have a CO2 chart? I will source one for you, hang on.
I didn't realize that the bubble stream was CO2. Looks good! I agree with Len. Those pics may be the clearest, sharpest tank pics that I've seen. :cool: What's your secret?
Here ya go: easy CO2 chart (http://www.floridadriftwood.com/page.asp?id=16), courtesy of 80 Gallon Joe.
kveeti
03-13-2003, 5:37 PM
Those have got to be the best quality pictures I have ever seen! I felt like I could just reach out and touch the tank! Wow!
Apart from that, the tank itself is lovely, too. The corys are adorable. I love corys.
I believe that nitrification is an acidifying process, and over time if water changes aren't done the KH will drop to nothing (voice of experience :rolleyes: ). I don't think that's your problem. I don't know what your problem could be at this early a stage (assuming there is a problem). Another thing I can vouch for: If your plants aren't getting enough CO2 for their photosynthesis, they will crack the Carbon out of the carbonate (your alkalinity buffer) in the water column. This happens to me after about every two weeks when my DIY mixture fizzles out - which is when I do a water change to recover.
Woozledad
03-14-2003, 12:28 AM
I'm not sure why I was thinking CO2 lowered the KH, but I think it was because you use the KH and PH to measure the CO2 level, that must be where I got it....oh well, now I know....Anyway, here are my tank specs, as of about 20 minutes ago....
PH 7.4
KH 8
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrites 3ppm
Nitrates 2ppm
The tank is about 5 weeks old and has the following inhabitants...
3 cories
2 swordtails
2 guppies
6 cherry barbs
2 angels
I know thats a heavy load, but some of these fish will be going to a different tank soon.
Thanks for the CO2 chart, that is very helpful. I'm going to go ahead and add another CO2 bottle to get that level a little higher...
Thanks for all the kind words about the pictures, it's really just luck, alot of wasted pictures and a very good camera set on automatic, LOL... Olympus, the only brand to buy....
Woozledad
03-14-2003, 1:04 AM
Oh yeah, FYI, I do a 10% water change every 3-7 days...
Your target for CO2 should be above 20 ppm, but definately below 30 ppm.
NJ Devils Fan
03-14-2003, 7:42 AM
Good pics
125gJoe
03-14-2003, 8:43 AM
Excellent pictures! Wait 'til the plants 'grow in'!
What 'kind' of sand is that? -Looks great, and where did you find it?
Thanks....
Woozledad
03-14-2003, 9:29 AM
The sand is medium construction sand, got it at Lowes for about $3/50lb. I just used a strainer and strained the fine particles out leaving just the very coarse particles, while I was rinsing it. Out of 50lbs, I ended up with 25-30lbs of substrate. I used a layer of sand, a layer of flourite and another layer of sand. I like it, I think it looks alot better now that I have the plants in, it was a little plain without the plants...
Tempest
03-14-2003, 10:25 AM
The pics are great by the way. What sort of camera are you using?
I just checked out Tycom-1 on ebay. They have a huge selection of plants and outstanding prices, I'll definitely be putting in an order. Thanks for pointing them out!
Woozledad
03-14-2003, 11:51 PM
Since my LFS doesn't carry much selection or carry plants I've never heard of, I knew I would have to order online. But, alot of places I've found seemed to be awful expensive, but I found this lady on Ebay and I'm sure that's where I will buy all of my plants...The quality and speed of service was excellent...Nothing but good things to say....
The camera I use is an Olympus C-2100uz....I bought this camera because of it's 10x optical zoom, with image stabilization, and it's ability to take extremely clear macro shots, fully automatic mode or fully manual mode, although I've never used anything but auto..... It's only 2.1 megapixels, don't let people convince you that the higher the megapixel the camera, the better the picture....that's not true....There are alot of good camera's out there, but I insist on staying with brands who specialize in optics, not TV's....
Robert H
03-16-2003, 12:29 AM
The plants look in good shape...but thats 60 plants? I think she counts each individual stem as one plant... if you look at the other online plant sellers, one plant is a "bunch" consisting of 6 to 8 stems...
While you are looking at her plants, look for pictures from my WEB site, she keeps stealing them from me...I've caught her three times.
Godslayer
03-18-2003, 2:31 PM
Wow... that's not cool. Robert does she give you credit for the photos?
Bob
superjohnny
03-18-2003, 7:11 PM
Robert to stop this you may need to have the name of your store put on the photo itself. That way if she steals it it'll at least have your name on it.
I see people linking to other people's websites all the time. They are consuming your bandwidth. It is theft IMO. It's just as if they are using your cell phone minutes or something.
swinneyw
02-17-2009, 11:25 AM
thats a good deal i pay a average $5.00 a plant at the lfs
Bk718
02-17-2009, 11:53 AM
thread is 6yrs old..
noodles62
02-17-2009, 12:14 PM
:rofl:
Cory Keeper
02-17-2009, 12:34 PM
What the heck? NEWBS, I will say this once, STOP POSTING ON OLD THREADS, darn annoying.
NEWBS...
:lol: That is a word I did not expect to read at this site.
thebrandon
02-17-2009, 3:01 PM
I just tried looking for the seller but I can't find him:(
beeZer350
02-17-2009, 3:35 PM
thats a good deal i pay a average $5.00 a plant at the lfs
:nono: :duh:
bluekrissyspike
02-17-2009, 5:04 PM
this thread is older than three of my kids and two of them are in school already...lol. i thought i was gonna see some nice pics (:
Emerica88
02-17-2009, 7:55 PM
this thread is older than three of my kids and two of them are in school already...lol. i thought i was gonna see some nice pics (:
lol