GreggZ's Planted Rainbow Tank
- Thread starter Greggz
- Start date
Put in a bunch of new plants in tonight. Stuff still floating around the tank and kind of a mess, fish not too happy with me, but here's where it stands now.
Now we sit back and see how it goes. I really don't know what to expect. I have to say, I'm a bit nervous and anxious to see how things develop.
Here's a list of the current plants:
Alternanthera reineckii roseafolia
Anubias Barteri Var. Nana
Bacopa Rotundifolia
Blyxa japonica
Cryptocoryne balansae
Cryptocoryne pygmaea
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green
Cryptocoryne Lutea
Lloydiella Golden
Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila salcifolia
Lobelia Cardinalis Small Form
Ludwigia glandulosa Var. peruensis
Ludwigia Red Roundleaf
Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'
Proserpinaca Palustris
Staurogyne repens
Now we sit back and see how it goes. I really don't know what to expect. I have to say, I'm a bit nervous and anxious to see how things develop.
Here's a list of the current plants:
Alternanthera reineckii roseafolia
Anubias Barteri Var. Nana
Bacopa Rotundifolia
Blyxa japonica
Cryptocoryne balansae
Cryptocoryne pygmaea
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green
Cryptocoryne Lutea
Lloydiella Golden
Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila salcifolia
Lobelia Cardinalis Small Form
Ludwigia glandulosa Var. peruensis
Ludwigia Red Roundleaf
Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'
Proserpinaca Palustris
Staurogyne repens
Thanks. That's kind of the tricky part here. The fish come first, as I really enjoy my mature Rainbows.
I'm hoping to get it planted enough to get a nice balance of fish and plants. Update coming soon.
Well, been adding plants here and there for the past month. Thinking I might have things balanced out enough that I can sit back and wait for some growth and filling in. Well, that’s my hope anyways.
So here’s what has been going on.
When I had a low tech planted tank, I never thought about it but was basically using the PPS method of fertilization…..dosing as little as possible to keep plants alive but keep algae at bay. I was using a micro/micro blend, and things like crypts, java ferns, and swords did well, but stem plants generally would barely make it, or slowly wither away.
When I started this project, I didn’t change my dosing, and started getting some algae. Against my better judgement, I upped the dosage (4x) and the algae abated, and the stems started growing faster. Last week I started dosing the EI method, and so far everything seems good.
I also reduced my lighting period. I have two T5HO dual fixtures mounted inside my canopy. One is on from noon until 7:00, and the other from 1:00 to 8:00, so both lights are on for the highest burst for 6 hours.
One challenge I have is that my tank is tall, and the lights inside the canopy are about 30” from the substrate in the middle of the tank. I don’t know if I will get enough penetration for carpet plants, but we’ll see.
As far as the CO2 goes, every day my drop checker gets to a nice lime green. I hope that means it’s good? Using the Rena XP4 as a reactor seems to be working, as I never see a bubble in the tank.
So I’m optimistic but cautious. Once again, not trying to have a Dutch landscape here. I need room for my Rainbows to swim. But I do want to grow more interesting plants, and have a lusher garden.
So here’s what has been going on.
When I had a low tech planted tank, I never thought about it but was basically using the PPS method of fertilization…..dosing as little as possible to keep plants alive but keep algae at bay. I was using a micro/micro blend, and things like crypts, java ferns, and swords did well, but stem plants generally would barely make it, or slowly wither away.
When I started this project, I didn’t change my dosing, and started getting some algae. Against my better judgement, I upped the dosage (4x) and the algae abated, and the stems started growing faster. Last week I started dosing the EI method, and so far everything seems good.
I also reduced my lighting period. I have two T5HO dual fixtures mounted inside my canopy. One is on from noon until 7:00, and the other from 1:00 to 8:00, so both lights are on for the highest burst for 6 hours.
One challenge I have is that my tank is tall, and the lights inside the canopy are about 30” from the substrate in the middle of the tank. I don’t know if I will get enough penetration for carpet plants, but we’ll see.
As far as the CO2 goes, every day my drop checker gets to a nice lime green. I hope that means it’s good? Using the Rena XP4 as a reactor seems to be working, as I never see a bubble in the tank.
So I’m optimistic but cautious. Once again, not trying to have a Dutch landscape here. I need room for my Rainbows to swim. But I do want to grow more interesting plants, and have a lusher garden.
Follow up post to above. I’ve been in the same house now for ten years, and have never tested my tank water. Fish healthy and happy, everything going well, so really didn’t see a need.
Too much time on fish forums convinced me I needed to test my GH, KH, and PH. Since I am on a well with softener, wasn’t sure what to expect.
So here’s the numbers that have me scratching my head.
Tank: GH-7, KH-20, PH 7.6
Tap: GH-1, KH-20, PH 7.6
Trying to figure out how the GH is higher after being in the tank for six days? KH is super high, which I am sure has to do with the water softener. And PH is the same, yet drop checker turns lime green every day? I really don’t know what it all means, and if I should do anything about? My gut tells me just keep doing what you are doing, and not to worry about it. If things don’t go well, may need to look at this closer? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Too much time on fish forums convinced me I needed to test my GH, KH, and PH. Since I am on a well with softener, wasn’t sure what to expect.
So here’s the numbers that have me scratching my head.
Tank: GH-7, KH-20, PH 7.6
Tap: GH-1, KH-20, PH 7.6
Trying to figure out how the GH is higher after being in the tank for six days? KH is super high, which I am sure has to do with the water softener. And PH is the same, yet drop checker turns lime green every day? I really don’t know what it all means, and if I should do anything about? My gut tells me just keep doing what you are doing, and not to worry about it. If things don’t go well, may need to look at this closer? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
In your tank because of various organic and inorganic acids and bases the resulting ph that you see on the test is not going to necessarily follow expected results when it comes to actual co2 levels. A reliable method to check your actual co2 levels is to take some tank water and put it in a shallow open dish for 12 hours minimum and compare the ph of that out gassed water with the ph of your tank just before lights on. The difference is then isolated to the ph difference caused by the co2 in the water. 30 ppm co2 is one log ph difference between the two results. 7.0 and 8.0 or 6.5 and 7.5 for example would mean you have 30 ppm co2 in the tank. When the lights are on plants are using co2 and the levels might drop some, but you don't want more than the 30 ppm before the uptake starts using it and lowering the levels.
As to gh and kh and water softeners I don't have a good enough grasp on the subject to give a coherent answer.
As to gh and kh and water softeners I don't have a good enough grasp on the subject to give a coherent answer.
Love your tank fish looks great plants are filling out nicely loving the driftwood placement also
Thanks for the reply. Looks like I need to purchase a high range ph test kit. My PH after CO2 injection is right at the high end of the regular PH kit (7.6). It will be interesting to see what it measures out of the tap after gassing off.
After a water change yesterday I added some GH Booster, and the GH went from 1 to 5. Funny after so many years of never testing my water, I've been testing it every day lately.
Thanks for the nice compliment. The hardest part is I find myself wishing I could fast forward a bit.....patience is not my greatest virtue. And hoping beyond hope it is not a total failure...... I followed Jay's 180 planted tank thread, and now realize his tank must drive him just a bit mad!
