February 2009 Tank of the Month: Jose Manuel Oliva Marco

"Kobukai" by Tetrax

Introduction and Background

Hello, my name is Jose Manuel Oliva Marco; people know me on the forums as Tetrax. I'm 34 years old and live in Spain, in a small town called Vall de Uixo, located in the province of Valencia.

I've been in the aquarium hobby more than ten years, and in aquascaping for 4 years. In those years I've never used CO2 or many of the other products that are now around.

Currently I'm a member in an aquascaping club, where a few members and I are trying to bring to light the world of aquascaping in Spain , named CAE (Club Acuadiseño Español).



Setup

For this setup I've used 100% ADA products. I have tried to create as faithfully as posible the process of creating a live substrate.

Here is a step by step presentation of the setup.











Specifications

Tank: 70x50x45
Light: ADA NA lamp 150w-Green+2x24w t5)
Substrate: Aquasoil Amazonia+power sand M (penac W-P, bacter 100, tourmaline BC, clear super)
Filtration: JBL Cristal Profi 500 + JBL Cristal Prof. 250
Fertilizer: Brighty K, Step 2, Special Lights
Water changes: 50% weekly
Co2: 3 bubbles/second when lights are on

Flora and Fauna

Ludwigia arcuata, Ludwigia brevipes, Myriophyllum mattogrossense (green), Rotala rotundifolia, Rotala sp. 'Green', Eleocharis parvulus, Microsorum pteropus 'narrow-leaf', Bolbitis heudelotii, Vesicularia ferrei





Paracheirodon innesi, Hemingrammus armstrongi, Hyphessobricon amandae, ottocinclus sp.



Challenges

In this setup I tried to express through the ADA products the philosophy of the Nature Aquarium.

The evolution has been very satisfying and at the same time a lot of work, since the constant pruning and shaping of the stem plants has made the work very gratifying.

In my experience, my setups have not had any algae outbreaks, since I use mature filters.

The addition of fertilizers is based on the minimum needed depending on the demand of the plants.

As you can see I have a total of 192 watts of lights, which is used 100% by the plants, a combination of HQI halides and T5's which in my opnion is perfect.



Final Thoughts

I have to give my sincere thanks to the entire APC team and in particular to Hooha, for all their support, translation and giving me the opportunity to show my work.

For 2009, I am working on a new project to enter in the 2009 ADA contest. I hope to go after a high ranking and soon we can see the results.