54 L tank

FazTeAoMar · Jan 3, 2005

Hi there.

Happy new year of 2005 from Portugal. It´s my first post here though i´ve been visiting this forum for a while now.

Here´s my 54 L tank ( 60*30*30) that i´ve set up two days ago. i´m waiting for Heteranthera zosterifolia to plant behind the driftwoods. I´m still a rookie in tank keeping and specially in growing healty and beautiful plants but i´m learning and this forum is a great help to evolution. Critiques and suggestions are welcome and i hope you enjoy as much i did in setting it up.

"Aggies Old river" Setup:

Setup date: 01-01-2005
Dimensions: 60*30*30
Volume: 53 Liters
Lighting: Lifetech fixture with 2 * 36 W Power Compact ( 1 * 5000K + 1 * 10 000K/red) on 10 hours/day
Heating: 50 W Tetra
Filter: Fluval 203
Substract: river substract of 3 mm + river sand
Decoration: driftwoods; rocks
CO2: DIY with two bottles ( Hagen + 1.5 L); micro-bubbles diffusor
Temperature: 26º C
pH: 7.1
kH: 6
Fertilization: Perpetual Preservation System by Edward with individual aplication of: Nitrates ( KNO3); Potassium ( KH2SO4); Magnesium ( MgSO4) daily; Iron ( when needed)

Flora: Heteranthera zosterifolia; Cryptocoryne willisii; Glossostigma elatinoides

Fauna: Apistogramma agassizii " double red"; Crossocheilus siamensis

Best regards,

André

Sir_BlackhOle · Jan 3, 2005

WOW that is deffinately interesting! I love the little valley thats created by the terracing.

Mortadelo · Jan 3, 2005

Very nice tank!, If you allow suggestions I would leave the base of the "valley" bare as if the flow of water had eroded it. :wink:

pineapple · Jan 3, 2005

I like the topology a lot. But I wonder if the 'gravel' substrate is going to flatten out over time. I can see you have some rocks in there to hold back the valley walls, but possibly the gravel will end up spilling down the front. Maybe you should try and stabilize it quickly by adding a lot of low level plants such as Eleocharis sp. The roots will hold the shape together.

Look forward to seeing more of this aquarium as it grows up.

Andrew Cribb

tsunami · Jan 3, 2005

This aquascape has great potential.

Carlos

FazTeAoMar · Jan 3, 2005

Sir_BlackhOle said:
WOW that is deffinately interesting! I love the little valley thats created by the terracing.

Thanks Kevin.

Mortadelo said:
Very nice tank!, If you allow suggestions I would leave the base of the "valley" bare as if the flow of water had eroded it. :wink:

Thanks Mortadelo. You know, before planting the glossostigma, i had already considered that idea because i like it too. I will wait for the glosso to spread even more and then i´ll decide how it looks better. Thank you again for the suggestion.

pineapple said:
I like the topology a lot. But I wonder if the 'gravel' substrate is going to flatten out over time. I can see you have some rocks in there to hold back the valley walls, but possibly the gravel will end up spilling down the front. Maybe you should try and stabilize it quickly by adding a lot of low level plants such as Eleocharis sp. The roots will hold the shape together.

Look forward to seeing more of this aquarium as it grows up.

Andrew Cribb

Hi there Andrew. You are right when it comes to future flattness of the valley walls. Although i´ve placed rocks under the sand and above it ( the ones that are visible) i too think it´s not enough. That´s why i placed some cryptocorynes in there so the roots hold the sand and prevent flattness. Maybe, for now, it´s still not enough but when that area is covered with Heteranthera, her roots will help a lot holding on those " mountains". Thanks for the tips and i promisse updates as soon as i recieve the missing plants.

tsunami said:
This aquascape has great potential.

Carlos

I hope so Carlos, because it´s very incomplete for now and much too " green".

Black oranda · Jan 3, 2005

Very nice tank, i love how you set it up!

Black oranda · Jan 3, 2005

Very nice tank, i love how you set it up!

FazTeAoMar · Jan 4, 2005

Finally i received the missing plants. Here are some shots after planting them. The fauna is a couple of Apistogramma agassiizii " Red Tail"

Male

Female

Best regards,

André

livionakano · Jan 4, 2005

Hi Andre!

Very nice setup

Your fishes are seeming to be very healthy too!

How is your fertilization and water changes routine? Do you have only liquid fertilization, or also use some kind of undergravel fertilizers?

I hope you keep posting new pictures of your tank too, to allow us to follow its development, what would be very interesting

Best regards,

Livio

trenac · Jan 5, 2005

Very nice & interesting tank, like the fish to. Keep us updated with pics as the plants fill in. [smilie=t:

FazTeAoMar · Jan 5, 2005

Thanks Black oranda.

livionakano said:
Hi Andre!

Very nice setup

Your fishes are seeming to be very healthy too!

How is your fertilization and water changes routine? Do you have only liquid fertilization, or also use some kind of undergravel fertilizers?

I hope you keep posting new pictures of your tank too, to allow us to follow its development, what would be very interesting

Best regards,

Livio

Thanks Livio. Yes the apistos are very healthy not just because of the water conditions but also because they are treated like kings. 8) For now i´m not fertilizing in any way as the setup is very recent and the nutrientes should be enough for now. The fertilization methood should be something like the PPS by the moderator Edward. The tank is almost 100% cycled because i used the external filter with the same water that had been used for the previous layout, wich was set up 4 months ago. So the water changes are made three times a week, 10% each time. In the future it will be 20% once a week. I have no undergravel ferts nor rich substrate. Only river substrate and river sand.

trenac said:
Very nice & interesting tank, like the fish to. Keep us updated with pics as the plants fill in. [smilie=t:[/quote]

Once again i appreciate the complemments trenac and i´ll post further updates in the future regarding to this tank.

Best regards,

André

FazTeAoMar · Jan 16, 2005

Hello again.

Here are some updates. The glossostigma is begining to spread and the Heteranthera is growing at full throttle.

Critiques/suggestions are welcome.

Cheers,

André

Phil Edwards · Jan 16, 2005

Very pretty! That aquascape looks perfect for Apistogramma, good choice of fish and plants.

ScottH. · Jan 17, 2005

I like this tank alot. It has a real natural, wild look to it. Perfect plant selection for this tank I think.

FazTeAoMar · Jan 19, 2005

Thanks Phil. I´m glad you´ve liked it. Much more has to be done so it becomes as i imagined. For now i´m very pleased with it as it takes form.

Thanks Scotth. It´s nice i have passed on the idea of a natural layout.

Best regards,

André

depthc · Jan 19, 2005

Id agree with Phil. Great looking and tank and the apistos work out well in the tank.

Have they spawned yet?

Andrew

FazTeAoMar · Jan 20, 2005

Hello Andrew.

Thanks for the comments. The apistos are the ones who are having problems in fertilizing the eggs. They havn´t spawned yet since the last fertilization failure. Someday it will happen. Its just a matter of when...

naysel · Jan 24, 2005

Fazteaomar agassizii's had had the sixth spawning of fishes, good luck andré

PS- sorry my English

Maran · Jan 25, 2005

Very Very nice aquascape
Could you tell me what light do you use in this tank?

54 L tank

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