Rebooting 30g planted tank

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Emcatfish

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Sep 22, 2013
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Hello! I'm currently in the process of revamping my 30gal into a high tech planted tank. I set up the tank about a year ago with 10 harlequin rasboras, one jerk territorial platinum gourami, and a couple plants. However, with the awful low-watt lighting that the hood could support, I never grew much more than algae. Here is what the tank used to look like before all of the plants died (the fish are still going strong):
Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 6.53.37 PM.png

After about a year of just fish and algae, I've decided to invest the money and try a high tech tank. I wanted to see if any of you have suggestions about common pitfalls, etc that weren't mentioned in the stickied threads.

I purchased cheapo odyssea T5 lights from aquatrader and will have 78W 6500K lights. I also purchased the suggested fertilizers (Plantex CSM+B, KNO3, KH2PO4, and K2SO4) and plan on dosing a few times a week.

I'm looking to try pressurized CO2 for the first time, and it looks like the Aquatek brand is the best reviewed within my price range. Plus, the refillable CO2 tank is a huge plus and will save money in the long run. Does anyone have experience with this model? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TJCPSY...UTF8&colid=312RT42K9YSSG&coliid=IHTUIYU3VMDG2
I'm a little worried about setting up CO2 for the first time with fish already in the tank. Should I be worried about accidentally overdosing?

The tank gets direct sunlight from the window on the left side. I'm thinking of trying one of those algae scrubbers to prevent the insane growth I've been having in the last year. (My cat loves the window so I'd prefer to keep the blinds up.) I also bought some hornwort to float in the tank for now since it seemed to help me prevent algae blooms in the past.

The substrate is just gravel, as I didn't spring for the ecocomplete when I set the tank up originally. I've been using root tabs to supplement.

I decided to purchase a few plants at my lfs to start off. My knowledge of plant species is awful so I'm not even sure the names of what I have. Here's a current picture, before the new lights etc have arrived:

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 6.53.56 PM.png

Does anyone know what the plant on the left is? I'd never seen anything like it so I bought it but forgot to write down the name of the species. Here's a closeup:

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 6.54.11 PM.png

Is there anything so far that I've overlooked? Thanks for the advice and I plan on updating as things get set up!

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 6.53.37 PM.png Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 6.53.56 PM.png Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 6.54.11 PM.png
 

fishorama

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Jun 28, 2006
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Looks like a healthier version of my crinum callimistrum (sp?). Mine are both young & underfertized but yours has less roots than mine. Tell us your fert schedule, that could be an issue. Lighting?
 

WhiskeySunday

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Aug 18, 2013
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The odyssea lights are good high output lights but those combined with an open window and fertilizer is a recipe for algae. With an open window you may have to cut the tank lights significantly by having them off or covering your tank during the day with a towel to avoid algae. Hornwort is a great plant that grows fast and helps absorb and use the light. The more plants you have to absorb the energy all that light is putting out the better. I use DIY CO2 in my 55g and 10g, worth checking out. Overdosing can become an issue amongst other things. What helped me when first setting up my planted tanks where forums like this and reading books on the subject. There are a handful out there that enlightened me like "The simple guide to Planted Aquariums" by Terry Anne Barber and "Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants" by Peter Hiscock.
 

Byron Amazonas

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Jul 22, 2013
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The light will probably be fine, but you will need CO2 to balance as this much light will mean algae without. And watch the duration; a shorter period until the plants are thick may be helpful.

Sunlight must be kept off the tank. An easy solution here is to cover the ;left end wall with black construction paper. Direct sunlight will certainly cause algae, not to mention possible overheating.

Your substrate is good as is. Eco-complete and Flourite do not benefit in my experience and many others.

I would add more plants, fast growing types, and include some floating plants like Water Sprite, Water Lettuce. Pennywort looks nice left floating too.

Byron.
 

FreshyFresh

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Jan 11, 2013
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Yeah, that is going to be a TON of T5HO lighting for this size tank, but if you're up for the challenge and understand the care it's going to require, go for it!
 

Emcatfish

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Sep 22, 2013
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fishorama: That's definitely it, thank you! I haven't started dosing yet - the picture is from right after I bought the plant.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm definitely up for the challenge! I just ordered the CO2 injector and hopefully any money I spend from now on will be on plants... And I figure if it eventually becomes too much work I can switch to lower tech, cut the CO2 and just use one of the T5 bulbs.

Byron: The black cardboard is a great idea. The natural light has been terrible for cyanobacteria (with minimal hood lighting and no dosing) so I can only imagine what would happen once this thing is up and running if that issue isn't addressed.

The plant selection at local shops is really poor - does anyone have a favorite website for plants?

I'll post pictures of the setup once everything arrives.
 

Rbishop

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Glad you are not giving up and trying the planted tank again!
 

ROYWS3

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You can often get a lot of great plants here in the classifieds. Start with a lot of fast growing stems as Byron mentioned
 

fishorama

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There are some aquatic plant clubs in some metro areas (like mine!), local fish clubs can be good too, again, depends where you are & what you want. The mart here on AC, The Planted Tank buy & sell or Aquatic Plant Central can also be good places to check.

Your crinum is planted a bit shallow, the "bulb" should be buried just to the point the leaves start (the "crown") or a tiny bit less. I give mine a root tab, or part of 1, an inch or 2 away from the crown.
 

Emcatfish

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Sep 22, 2013
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New pic with the lights/CO2 set up and lots more plants! I haven't had a chance to properly plant the hairgrass so forgive the clumps...

tank 3.31.png

Since I have no experience with how these plants grow over time (especially in a high tech set up) I will continue to revisit the scape as they grow in. I'm expecting the stem plants will totally take over but I wanted a high plant volume to start with to prevent algae blooms etc. I can always sell them later.

Today is the first day of CO2, coming in at 1-2bps, keeping an eye on pH every few hours. I'll probably crank it up over the next few days to get to an appropriate range.

All suggestions are welcome!

tank 3.31.png
 
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