Updated planted tank pics

Off Topic Discussion - Chat about anything, just keep it fairly clean.

Moderator: snoopdog

Post Reply
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Updated planted tank pics

Post by Amphiprion »

It's been a while since I posted any pics of my planted tank (mainly because it looked--and still does to a degree--horrible). I have at least gotten things healthy again and I plan to redo a bunch of things in the near future. Anyway, I also have some pics of the mess I pulled out of there right before I got it going again. Enjoy.
Attachments
Aquarium 052resize.jpg
Aquarium 052resize.jpg (82.29 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
Aquarium 053resize.jpg
Aquarium 053resize.jpg (104.54 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
Aquarium 055resize.jpg
Aquarium 055resize.jpg (78.09 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
Aquarium 050resize.jpg
Aquarium 050resize.jpg (77.45 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
Aquarium 048resize.jpg
Aquarium 048resize.jpg (86.59 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
User avatar
snoopdog
Yellow Tang
Posts: 4258
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2003 7:37 pm
Are you a Bot ?: No
Location: Mobile, Al
Contact:

Post by snoopdog »

Umm, what is that monstrous growth.
"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Post by Amphiprion »

Err, that would be what happens when you let red ludwigia go INSANE. That is what it looks like when it grows out of the water--actually kinda pretty when it isn't filling up the entire tank.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
sb1227
Astrea snail
Posts: 1055
Joined: Fri May 23, 2003 9:24 pm
Location: Foley

Post by sb1227 »

That looks familiar. :lol:

If that first pic is new, the tank looks good! What kind of moss is that in the center? Looks nice. Now you'll just have to make some room for that Hottonia. :P
I see one little Ottocinclus, any other fish in that jungle? Mine like the security of lots of plants.
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Post by Amphiprion »

sb1227 wrote:That looks familiar. :lol:

If that first pic is new, the tank looks good! What kind of moss is that in the center? Looks nice. Now you'll just have to make some room for that Hottonia. :P
I see one little Ottocinclus, any other fish in that jungle? Mine like the security of lots of plants.
Thanks, and good eye on the Otocinclus (I didn't even notice it until now, lol). That is actually Riccia fluitans. It is on a rock and some screen, though the screen isn't fully grown in yet. I am waiting for the emersed grown (i.e. found it in back yard :D ) Hydrocotyle verticillata to begin growing its submersed foliage and get a lot shorter. And as far as fish go, there are 4 Crossocheilus siamensis (one a grown out baby), pair of Microgeophagus ramirezi, 3 Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis (1 a grown out baby), 3 Corydoras aeneus, 2 Hymenochirus boettgeri frogs, and one renegade Synodontis obesus (didn't have the heart to get rid of it). Incidentally, the fish spawned and babies hatched while I neglected the tank. I found them when I cleaned it all out.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
User avatar
Guardfather
Amoeba
Posts: 239
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 1:20 pm
Location: Mobile, AL
Contact:

Post by Guardfather »

I would like some type of live plant in my tank. Problem is, I have under gravel filtration. Is there something that floats or doesn't require a root system in fresh water? When I got my last fish, two weeks ago, while getting my fish out of his tank (B&B) the guy grabbed a piece of something live that has been floating in my tank the whole time. It's just a couple of small leafs, but it's still alive, so I "assume" that I can sustain plant life. Any ideas?
Captain Barbosa: "The code is more what you call "guidelines" than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Ms Turner."
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Post by Amphiprion »

Most people's guess would be duckweed (Lemna minor), but we have some sort of Salvinia species which is most likely what you got. On a specific basis, I have no clue, though.

The Anubias species, java fern (Microsorum pteropus), most mosses, liverworts (Riccia fluitans), water sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides and C. pteroides, C. cornuta) are all potential candidates, since they do not need intensely bright light and don't need to be planted in the gravel.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
sb1227
Astrea snail
Posts: 1055
Joined: Fri May 23, 2003 9:24 pm
Location: Foley

Post by sb1227 »

Duckweed is good for ponds, and goldfish, but it becomes a pain in the ass in a tank. It does grow easily though. :lol:

I agree on the Java Ferns and mosses, and really, they look awesome when grown on peices of driftwood. I have Anubias coffefolia, and the poor thing has to be kept under everything else, it likes more shade and does just fine...I just don't get to see it much. It would also do well on Driftwood in a low light tank. You might try one of the less demanding, easier to find Anubias though.

Andrew have your G. Blue Rams (Microgeophagus ramirezi) ever spawned in your tank? I adore them, and kept them for years in my smaller tank. They just don't do well in this one for some reason. I may try again with them in another couple of years. Oh well, the cardinals are doing quite well, it would be a dream come true to see little ones out of that bunch. :lol: I won't hold my breath for it though....
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Post by Amphiprion »

sb1227 wrote:Duckweed is good for ponds, and goldfish, but it becomes a pain in the ass in a tank. It does grow easily though. :lol:

I agree on the Java Ferns and mosses, and really, they look awesome when grown on peices of driftwood. I have Anubias coffefolia, and the poor thing has to be kept under everything else, it likes more shade and does just fine...I just don't get to see it much. It would also do well on Driftwood in a low light tank. You might try one of the less demanding, easier to find Anubias though.

Andrew have your G. Blue Rams (Microgeophagus ramirezi) ever spawned in your tank? I adore them, and kept them for years in my smaller tank. They just don't do well in this one for some reason. I may try again with them in another couple of years. Oh well, the cardinals are doing quite well, it would be a dream come true to see little ones out of that bunch. :lol: I won't hold my breath for it though....
It is actually funny that you ask that, since this is a new pair (2 weeks old) and they actually did spawn just last night. The female laid about 200 small orangish eggs and the male became vicious. We shall see what happens, since I am not going to set up a breeding tank, or anything. Hopefully the jungle will provide them the shelter they need.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Post by Amphiprion »

Something else that comes to mind, Sue, is your hardness parameters. What do they run? All of my water is very soft with an acidic pH (~1 dKH, 2-3 dGH, pH 6.2-6.0.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
sb1227
Astrea snail
Posts: 1055
Joined: Fri May 23, 2003 9:24 pm
Location: Foley

Post by sb1227 »

That's very close to what the parameters were in my 30 that they were in. The 90 is nothing like that, the ph stays at 7.4 only because of the CO2. If I'm remembering right, I think the kh is about 5 and the GH is 8 or so. I've never had this happen with a freshwater tank. I can only attribute it to the substrate, I added a few pounds of onyx sand with the eco-complete, mainly because my other tanks after a couple of years would have the drop in PH to about 6.
I am a little surprised, as I added very little of the sand, and do use peat and driftwood to soften the water a little. I hope the parameters will begin to lower a bit, it may take a couple of years though. If it doesn't, it'll be time to redo the substrate. :roll:

The 37 that has the breeding Emperor tetras has very soft water and ph of 6 (great for breeding Tetras. I wish I could put the cardinals in there). Rams would do fine in there, I'm sure...but the emperors are not the nicest tankmates, especially when breeding. :lol:
User avatar
Amphiprion
Astrea snail
Posts: 1472
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 pm
Location: Mobile, AL

Post by Amphiprion »

Hmm, they have had some problems with bad batches of Eco-Complete raising the KH and GH pretty badly. I think they have ironed out the problems now. Maybe you got one of them, because I don't think the onyx would have done it that much (then again, maybe it was a bad batch of onyx).
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
sb1227
Astrea snail
Posts: 1055
Joined: Fri May 23, 2003 9:24 pm
Location: Foley

Post by sb1227 »

I would be less surprised if it was the eco complete, as I probably used less than ten pounds of the onyx. Hopefully whatever it is will wear itself out in the near future. :D It's been there for 2 years now, and the water is a tiny bit softer, the PH doesn't spike as much when the power is off.

I'm just trying to find that mid ground, using CO2 I would have a big problem with a low PH to begin with.
Post Reply