Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig

October 1, 2008 by AaronT

Introduction and Background

I have been in the ornamental fish hobby for more than 20 Years now (since I was 18 ) and have gone through Cichlids, Discus, saltwater (marine + reef) and more. My introduction to planted tanks goes back 15 years ago with my first low-tech, low-light, yeast CO2 system. Since then, a lot of water and fertilizers has flown. I find this hobby and particularly aquascaping as part of me and my day-to-day life and I totally enjoy attending to my aquariums (and paludariums) for at least two hours every day. I am glad to introduce everyone to one of my tanks which was established in the end of December 2007. This tank is installed in my home office and is my largest planted tank.

About the Layout

The picture I had in mind was a combination of Dutch and nature style tank packed with green and red plants. I have chosen quartz rocks (you can barely see them today) as decoration and arranged them as high mountains with the golden ratio in mind.

Specifications:

Tank: Rena 1.5 meter - 450 liter (330 liter net)
Lighting: light 1.25 WPL (6 X 54W T5 + 5 X 18W Osram Mini Twist at the sides)
Chiller: Teco TR-15 Chiller
Carbon: CO2 + PH controller + 2 outside reactors
Filtration: 2 X Eheim pro 3 2028
Ultraviolet Sterilization: 36W UV
Substrate Heating: Under substrate Heating cable - Rena 15m 100W
Substrate: 1st layer Pumice 2cm, 2nd layer Pumice+peat+humus 3cm, 3rd layer JBL Aquabasis 2cm, 4th layer crushed quartz 5cm.
Water Parameters: pH-5.9, KH-1Gdh, GH-3Gdh, CO2-40ppm, NO3-15ppm, PO4-1.5ppm, 275ms, Temp.-25.5c.

Flora:

Fauna:

Discus, Neon Tetra, Cherry and Amano Shrimp, Otocinclus, Ancistrus, Florida flag, other tetras, and few more…

Tank maintenance:

Besides aquascaping, the tank is fully automated, including:
Automatic water change (100% RO), 100% a week.
Automatic DIY fertilization with peristaltic pumps - KNO3, KH2PO4, KCL, MgSO4, CaCl2, Iron gluconate, Iron EDTA, CSM+B, Flourish Excel.

Technique:

The aquarium is trimmed at least twice a week. Parts of the plants are trimmed from their upper part and part from their lower, all the time trying to maintain a nice flow of colors and density.

Final Thoughts:

The tank is constantly changing in plants species and arrangement and I will try to continue and update it on the forum.

Read the original thread on Aquatic Plant Central!

Comments

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gravy9 Senior Member	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig Awesome tank. Ravi
10-01-2008, 06:58 AM	#2

Newt Senior Member	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig Well, if you dont have a name for your tank yet it should be BLOWN AWAY. I absolutely love the layout and colors. Fine work.
10-01-2008, 08:15 AM	#3

xavierj123 Senior Member	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig Thanks for numbering the plants, however the printed names are hard to read on my computer screen---for some strange reason. I would love to see the list typed out in another numbered form---if you don't mind----so I can "adore" your work-of-art. It's awesome. Last edited by xavierj123 : 10-01-2008 at 10:21 AM. Reason: mispelling
10-01-2008, 10:10 AM	#4

jazzlvr123 Senior Member	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig wow how beautiful this is definitely my favorite tank or the month in a very long while AMAZNG job I love dutch tanks with discus
10-01-2008, 10:51 AM	#5

NeonFlux Senior Member	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig Fantastic! I want to try that! Thank you for letting us know what you are made of! Great job!!!
10-01-2008, 06:48 PM	#6

Tex Gal Moderator	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig Your tank is REALLY beautiful! It's so soft and peaceful looking. I love the colors! The HC on the rock is so amazing. How did you get this to do this? There must be soil up there....
10-01-2008, 08:28 PM	#7

Newt Senior Member	Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig What I would like to know is how people control roots forming on stem plants above the soil. Some call these aerial shoots.
10-02-2008, 07:55 AM	#8

ShayF

Junior Member

Re: Tank of the Month October 2008: Shay Fertig

Thank you everyone!

Quote:

Originally Posted by xavierj123

Thanks for numbering the plants, however the printed names are hard to read on my computer screen---for some strange reason. I would love to see the list typed out in another numbered form---if you don't mind----so I can "adore" your work-of-art. It's awesome.

xavier, specially for you:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tex Gal

Your tank is REALLY beautiful! It's so soft and peaceful looking. I love the colors! The HC on the rock is so amazing. How did you get this to do this? There must be soil up there....

Tex Gal, the HC is just tied with sewing thread to the rock, no need for soil.