The Bonsai Chi
By: XJfella95
October 29th, 2011
5:43 pm
Hello everyone. This is my first post but i have been lurking for a few years now.
My name is Brandon and I am from Lancaster County Pennsylvania.
I have been keeping Apostogrammas for a few yard now but have always wanted to create my own aquascape but never wanted to do anything too big. I was more the nano type of guy just for the small pure aesthetics.
I had bought a Fluval Chi that I was keeping a goldfish in. She has since out grown the 5gal version of this tank so I released her to my mothers outdoor pond where she is doing great!
Anyway this tank started off low tech so I could test the waters in a purely planted tank and getting everything just right with the tank. Slowly i added brighter lights. Co2 and a fert dose regimen.
I'll give specs in the next post.
The tank before the rescape:
I got some time to wade through a local trout stream that saw record flood levels over the summer and was able to find some great wood that was uprooted and washed into piles along the banks.
With the wood I created this hardscape:
And this is the initial rescape that I completed today. Let me know your thoughts.
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52 comments on "The Bonsai Chi"
October 29, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Tank: 5gal Fluval Chi with stock filter and lights removed.
Substrate: laterite, red fluorite. Crushed Black flourite onyx.
Filter: Tom's Rapids canister with flow control valve installed on return. (soon to have Aquaticmagic 9mm lily pipe and return)
Lights: Coralife 18watt 11" wide T5 HO florescent. (1) 10k and (1) 6,500k bulbs. Night lights are (2) TruLumen LED 450nm lights custom fitted inside the Coralife hood.
CO2: 5lb tank with Milwaukee regulator, Aquaticmagic beetle bubble counter and Rinox 1000 (soon to be nano) diffuser. Polypropylene tubing to check valve then black silicone to diffuser.
Ferts: all Seachem. Everyother day i dose 1cap comprehensive, 1/2cap potassium and 6 drops nitrogen. Root tabs throughout as needed.
Flora.
(3) crystal cherry shrimp
(6) zebra danio fry
Fauna:
Foreground: Hemianthus callitrichoides (micro baby tears)
Mid: anabius barteri var. nana
Back: ludwiga ovalis and Rotala indica
Tree limbs: Java Moss
Please note that this coralife fixture fits over top of this tank perfectly right out of the box. I however lifted it to lower the light input and thus co2 and fert demand.
Enjoy
October 30, 2011 at 7:23 am
Very nice! I really like the wood composition.
Welcome to APC!
October 31, 2011 at 7:20 am
Thank you. It came along very well. I appreciate the kind words.
Additional information that i cannot edit into the specs post.
PH: 6.0
KH~1.0deg
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate ~0
Lights on 11-1/2hrs a day and the CO2 turns on/off 1/2hr before lights switch on at 8:30am-9pm
CO2 is running at 1bubble per 5sec.
The Tom's Rapids Canister Filter is loaded with Ehiem Lava rock under a polish filter pad in the primary chamber and in the secondary chamber I have filled with sand to act as a fluid bed filter, this is souly for additional biofiltration. the pump intake tube is wrapped in fine bag cloth to keep the sand out of the impeller.
Coralifes fixture holes (2) 9watt x 9" T5 HO bulbs so thats roughly 5watts a gallon (3.5g tank). This is why i raised the light 1-1/2" above the surface to reduce the light input.
The blue bulb from the factory has been replaced with a 6,500k daytime lamp. I kept the 10,000K in
A side note:
I'm having trouble with the HC as it turns yellow slowly. see my dosing methods above. does anyone have any input on preventing this?
November 3, 2011 at 11:09 am
I really like the look of this! Great job!
November 7, 2011 at 5:21 am
Thank you. It's appreciated.
Update: bumped the BPS on the CO2 to 4seconds and things are taking off. HC is growing like mad and the old emerged growth is dying off. My Rotala and Ludwiga has grown 1" taller over the weekend.
I wish I could get my hands on some red Rotala. Indica is the species right?
November 9, 2011 at 6:24 am
Update: 10 Days in
. I put in my pitbull pleco (LDA125) to pick up the slack.
Issues:
1. Had to dose R.M to defeat Cyno that had migrated from old tank via the java moss.
2. Surface film building up because protruding branches create dead spots on surface.
The only way I found to resolve this is to angle the spray bar up high enough to break the surface. I don't like this as it removes the injected CO2. I'm waiting on Aquatic magic to send replacement Lily pipes as the ones they sent were cracked.
3. Still waiting on nano glass diffuser to arrive....
4. Debating on getting a few Anabius petite to replace the nana. This would be souly for scale issues.
5. I had a CRS crawl out of the tank and die on the counter.
Over all I'm happy with my little tank as it matures. The Zebra Danios are a little more active then I would like, but they look like birds flying around the branches.
My HC that I bought was definitely emersed growth, as it is yellowing and dying off while smaller quick growing bright green offshoots are starting to appear everywhere. I haven't cleaned the substrate as I read that HC loves acidic substrate and mulm. It doesn't hurt to give it a try.
I bumped the Co2 again to 1per 3-sec. This seems to cause the stem plants to grow larger leaves and longer nodes. Not really good for the scale of this tank.
I'm also thinking about getting some Rotala colorata to plant for some red color.
I need to change the BG. The black hides the dark wood too much. Any suggestions on color?
Updated pics before first trimming.
November 10, 2011 at 10:38 am
Hey Mods. Why can't I edit my posts?
November 11, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Day 13. First trim
Also added Rotala willichii and Wendtii red
Water parameters.
Ph~6.4 KH 1.5 NO3 <5ppm
Been trying to bump up the ph to about 6.8 after reading posts on here about The Amano method. And also to raise the co2 as the plants grow. Turning it back down after a trimming.
Please comment and critique.
Thanks.
November 13, 2011 at 10:17 am
Thanks for the specs on your tank, it is really helpful.
November 14, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Your tank is so beautiful. I wish I had half the artistic talent you have!