Post by bardus71 on May 11, 2013 21:31:42 GMT 11
Intro:
I went bananas when I discovered Takashi Amano's planted tanks, and had 7 tanks within my first month of entering the hobby. Had to get my hands on anything & everything. I did however specialise in low tech tanks, and had a love for "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" by Diana Walstad & had a very successful 4' Walstad style tank. 2 years later and that mania hasn't left me, just tempered a little, and I am looking to start up my first saltwater planted tank. Still researching ideas.
Specs:
2x18x18 tank
Aqualina slimline PL lighting 10000/6500K, 12 hour on/off cycle via timer on power board
Eheim 2215 with noodles & mech, 1L clear prefilter with filter wool, sponge over filter intake
Jaeger 200W heater
Smartsoil substrate capped with sand, then gravel.
Occasional addition of Seachem Flourish & Excel, not regular
Flora:
Narrow leaf Java fern & bolbitus with rhizomes superglued to large carbonite rock
Anubias nana & Windelov fern in shadows of rock, larger Anubias in baqckground
Carpet of Staurogyne repens/tropica in areas of direct light
Limnophila aromatica background
Hornwort floating
Fauna:
All sorts of tubifex/blackworms
Malaysian Trumpet Snails
Red Ramshorn Snails
Red Cherry Shrimp
A few Darwin Algae Eating Shrimp
A few Otocinclus catfish (only eat algae)
2 orphan Neon Tetras
7 Glass Catfish
More stock to be added...
Description & Objectives:
This is a simple tank that has been set up well. None of the plants are terribly demanding, and the system has been designed to handle fluxes and flows in terms of nutrients- oversized filtration capacity, & floating hornwort that acts as a nutrient sponge and will proliferate fast if there is a lot of nutrient. The filter wool in the clear plastic prefilter allows me to see visually when it needs changing, and the canister never accumulates gunk, so never needs cleaning itself (thank goodness!).
An objective was to build this tank from the ground on up, meaning get it planted, add subsoil critters and snails for set up phase when there will be a tendency for algae to form until the tank cycles, & then afterward when system and water chemistry reaches an equilibrium. The Red Ramshorns are good for a lot of different algaes as far as snails go, and the Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) burrow in the substrate and help keep it aerated and turned over. At night they come up out of the substrate and clean the glass. Some people curse MTS because they can reach plague proportions, but to me, they do a very functional job, and plague proportions is an indicator that your system is out of balance, possibly overfeeding. I like them.
Next go in the shrimp to get a breeding colony established. They are also scavengers and algae eaters, so help keep the tank clean and build up another layer of biodiversity in the tank. The smaller ones may become live food for the fish, but as the Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS) breed like rabbits, that can only be good, and another layer to a healthy ecosystem. The Darwin Algae Eaters do not breed in freshwater aquariums, though are more specialised to eat a wider range of algae.
The Glass Catfish are the only fish I couldn't get rid of after moving house because I fell in love with them, but they are nocturnal, and only come out during nighttime. You will see the vague outlines of their see through silhouettes swimming against the current- nice. The otcinclus are also shy. I might see one every 2 weeks. 7 went in, I have no idea on how many remain.
Otocinclus are seemingly delicate creatures, mostly wild caught, shipped across the globe, land in pet stores half starved and are expected to take to wafers or even flakes () straight away. Consequently they die readily once brought home into your aquarium. They are a valued fish in the shrimp keeping world because they eat only algae, and thus people breeding their shrimp don’t want their colony being munched on. Because they only grow to about an inch, they are suitable for nano sized aquariums too. A way to make sure you are not going to lose your otos is to ask the shopkeepers how long they have been in store for, what they are eating, and take a look at their bellies to see if they are starving. Only put them into an established tank that will have biofilm and algae on the glass and hardscape so that they will have a readily available source of nutrition. No tanks less than a month old, preferably older.
The neons? Because I pitied them. IME, they are bloody hard to keep alive those things!
The tank still needs more of a bioload to feed the plants, so more fish will be added. Perhaps a school of microfish like Celestial Pearl Danios or Chili Rasporas.
Most of the plants in this tank are either low or medium light plants, thus not too demanding. With higher light plants, there is a need for more powerful sources of light, and then that needs to supplemented with pressurised CO2 injection, and fertilisation of the water column. I wanted to avoid all of that.
The Java ferns, bolbitus and anubias could grow in the dark, albeit slowly. The Staurogyne repens or tropica as it is sometimes known, will grow in low light (by the old 2WPG rule) or in high light, but is relatively undemanding, and allows for a carpet in a low tech tank, although it is technically a stem plant.
The Limnophila aromatica is a beautiful and easy substitute for the demanding and truly beautiful Pogostemon stellatus. It will exhibit more colour in higher light conditions, but is a wonderful contrast in both colour and texture to this scape.
Most of the nutrients for the plants are coming from fish waste, and thus there is little need to fertilise, but I still do on occasion. The only real maintenance I have had to do with this tank is trim the stems of the L. aromatic, and replant them in the substrate to grow back to the surface and do it all over again.
Any questions, please ask. Otherwise thanks for reading and hope you enjoy.