ashappard

for this journal I'm going to select one of my acrylic growout / collectoritis tanks.
This one is nearest the west wall of my fishroom, and I call it '04'.
Not worthy of an ADA poem, but I like it just the same.

I'll discuss what I do to maintain my collection, what I'm keeping, the specifics about the dosing for the spp. mix
and of course try to encourage discussion about these kinds of tanks.
I got into plant keeping, loved all the different plants and quickly became addicted to collecting.
But there are some challenges to maintaining a collection :

• organization : losing something (literally) in dense plantings
• the species mix makes dosing difficult, all plants do not reach potential
• running out of room
• develop a routine, staying focused
• budget, calculating cost

without much more blather heres the starting point, this is the tank today :



dimensions 24x24x17" tall (custom built)
light fishneedit 150W HQI pendant; 10K coralife bulb
substrate ADA aquasoil
filtration none
CO2 method pressurized, solenoid kicks on with the lights
CO2 delivery OTP 1000 needlewheel pump, inside the tank
photoperiod currently 8 hours
additional flow mini powerheads
dosing more or less EI dosing
water changes currently every 5 days - 20% taken out, replace with with RODI and add GH
GH no more than 4
KH no measurable KH
pH I have no idea

there are no fish, but there are some snails.

plants :

Nesaea 'triflora'
Bacopa sp. 'japan'
Bacopa sp. 'araguaia'
Bacopa madagascarensis
Limnophila 'vietnam mini'
Limnophila 'sulawesi'
Limnophila punctata Blume
Limnophila 'guinea broadleaf'
Limnophila aromatica 'broad'
Limnophila aromatica
Limnophila 'wavy'
Hyptis sp.
Ludwigia senegalensis
Ludwigia inclinata
Lindernia rotundifolia 'variegated'
Aciotis sp.
Erio 'goias'
Erio 'sulawesi'
Syngonanthus 'lago grande'
Syngonanthus 'rio negro'
Pogostemon stellatus 'fine/narrow'
Rotala mexicana 'goias'
Rotala mexicana 'araguaia'
Rotala mexicana 'belem'
Rotala mexicana 'green'
Rotala sp. 'sunset'
Rotala sp. 'araguaia'
Rotala sp. 'green narrow'
Rotala macrandra 'japan'
Rotala macrandra 'super red'
Rotala macrandra 'green'
Rotala macrandra 'green narrow'
Rotala macrandra 'mini butterfly'
Rotala macrandra 'variegated'
Tonina fluviatilis
Tonina fluviatilis 'santos' / 'lotus'
Tonina fluviatilis 'carapanal mini'