My tank

[bpimm]

Hi all,

I just stumbled on this forum a few days ago and thought I'd get some new opinions. I have had planted tanks in the past, but it has been over 10 years since the last one was shut down, and now I've got the bug again.

I set up a 15 Gallon Hex to start out with. It is a soil substrate with a fine gravel covering it, It has a Fluval 104 for water circulation, mechinical filtration, and CO2 diffusion. The lighting consists of a Coralife 2X9 CF light and a Coralife 10W CF screw in incandesent replacement.

The plants in it now are:
Dwarf chain sword
Annubias nana
Ludwigia Natans
a small Sword
Aponogeton boivinianus

The Aponogeton boivinianus has gone nuts and overgrown the tank resulting in low light for the underlying plants, which I think is causing the Ludwigia to wither away.

The Fish are:
4 Angels
4 Congo Tetras
4 Rasboras
5 long fin Danios
2 Celebes Rainbows
4 Sparkling Gouramis
4 Black Skirt Tetras
1 Bumble Bee Catfish
1 Marble Horn Pleco
3 Otto's ( I haven't seen these guys in a while, they may have become catfish food) :sad:

I'm in the process of setting up a 90 Gallon tank to take some of the load from this tank, the Angels are growing so fast I may only have another month or two before they out grow this tank.

Like I said I'm running on 10 year old knowledge and experience, so any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

Brian

 

[dorkfish]

4 Angels

need atleast a 38g

4 Congo Tetras
4 Rasboras
5 long fin Danios
2 Celebes Rainbows
4 Sparkling Gouramis
4 Black Skirt Tetra

all need to be in a scool of atleast 6, and a bigger tank to house all of them,probably 75-120g as the min.

1 Bumble Bee Catfish
1 Marble Horn Pleco
3 Otto's ( I haven't seen these guys in a while, they may have become catfish food)

I suspect the angels.

Your tank is extremly overstocked, please upgrade to a larger tank(s) to take careof that problem.If it wasn't for the pic I would have called you one of :troll: these.

EDIT: didn't see the part about getting a bigger tank, also pygmy gouramies don't need to be kept in a school.

 

[LunchBox]

that's a cool looking tank! I'm glad you're gettign a bigger tank because that's a heck of a list of fish for a 15 gallon hex

I've read quite a bit lately about the soil substrate method and the main thing I've gotten out of it is that it doesn't require a lot of CO2, ferts or even much in the way of filtration. the basic jist is that the plants get so much more from their roots with that kind of setup just about all the detritus on the bottom ends up being food for the plants, so vacuuming and mechanical filtration isn't supposed to be quite as important. but thne you probably know a lot of this since you're already doing it most of my reading came from a site called "aquatic plant central", and if you haven't been there yet I'd highly recommend it as there are a ton of knowledgable and friendly people there who are pretty focused on plants.

anyway, welcome to AC and I look forward to seeing more of your tanks in the future!

 

[bpimm]

I suspect the angels.

Your tank is extremly overstocked, please upgrade to a larger tank(s) to take careof that problem.If it wasn't for the pic I would have called you one of :troll: these.

EDIT: didn't see the part about getting a bigger tank, also pygmy gouramies don't need to be kept in a school.

The angels aren't big enough to eat the otto's yet. I just couldn't pass up wild caught angels, I got them knowing they would out grow the tank fast.

The bumble bee cat's mouth could eaisly hold one of the otto's.

I also forgot to mention the tank is set up with an automatic waterchange system, it gets 3.75 gallons a day changed out. my nitrate level is unmeasureable.

Brian

 

[bpimm]

that's a cool looking tank! I'm glad you're gettign a bigger tank because that's a heck of a list of fish for a 15 gallon hex

I've read quite a bit lately about the soil substrate method and the main thing I've gotten out of it is that it doesn't require a lot of CO2, ferts or even much in the way of filtration. the basic jist is that the plants get so much more from their roots with that kind of setup just about all the detritus on the bottom ends up being food for the plants, so vacuuming and mechanical filtration isn't supposed to be quite as important. but thne you probably know a lot of this since you're already doing it most of my reading came from a site called "aquatic plant central", and if you haven't been there yet I'd highly recommend it as there are a ton of knowledgable and friendly people there who are pretty focused on plants.

anyway, welcome to AC and I look forward to seeing more of your tanks in the future!

My main reason for this type of tank is it's almost maintenence free, I've never vacuumed the bottom the water change system keeps the WQ excellent. all I have to do is feed the fish and watch them. I occasionally inject some trace elements into the soil.

I just need to finish the 90 Gal and transfer every thing to it.

Thanks for the welcome
Brian

 

[reiverix]

my nitrate level is unmeasureable.

That's not a good thing on a planted tank. NO3 is a macro element along with K and PO4 and is essential for healthy plants. Do you have a phosphate test kit?

 

[bpimm]

That's not a good thing on a planted tank. NO3 is a macro element along with K and PO4 and is essential for healthy plants. Do you have a phosphate test kit?

This is true if you have no other source for the macro and micro elements, however with the soil substrate the plants get their nutrients from the soil and you don't need to keep the elements in the water. think about in nature, how many streams and lakes have a NO3 level at 10 PPM? and I think that if they do they're considered fairly polluted.

As for the Phosphate test kit, I had one in the past and never found a measurable level, so I haven't bothered to get another one.

Brian

 

[mellowvision]

by looking at the tank, I think the science is usless... I don't see any lack of plant growth! if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[geofied]

Your tank looks cool, one of the best planted Hex's I've seen anyway. Congrats on your return.

From what I've been reading, you haven't lost much over the last 10 years. Much of what you find on the Krib is that old, and seems to be 95% or more is still true and valid. If you want to know what's new, check out anything written by Tom Barr (Plantbrain on this forum), as he is constantly doing research and trying to dispell myths that are still rampant in the hobby (obsession more like it).

 

[plantling]

beautiful plants