[inareverie85]

If you guys remember my quarantine tank from my other thread (inareverie85's 29 Gal - First Planted Tank!) then I'm sure you'll understand when I decided to change it from a grow-out/quarantine tank to a low-tech scape. I simply had to to appease my addiction. I'm oogling a 75 gallon tank, but I really shouldn't get one of those until I'm sure I can keep up with my 29.

I'm hoping to make this tank into something nice for my pair of Longfinned Rosey Barbs and trio of Ottos to play in. The barbs have a tendency to uproot things, so I'm all for plants that can be tied to wood and rock I've scaped most of it just this afternoon, but I don't want to post any pictures until I'm completely finished Once I get my crypt order from aquabotanic, which will be in a few short days, I should be finished!

So far, my plants are consisting of common low-tech plants: Java Fern, Lacey Java Fern, Anubias Nana, Anubias Lancelota, and Moneywort. I also have a group of mildly-demanding star grass, but I'll likely replace that with more Java Fern bunches when I manage to buy some more and tie them to rocks. The Red Tiger Lotus bulb in my main tank has given me a baby, and I intend to use it as my focal point, as it will be the ONLY plant in the tank that isn't a bright green!

As for lighting, I'm using the fixture that came with the tank, but to my delight, I can hang 30W of flourescent light over the 14 gallons. That seems like quite enough for low-tech plants to me! Will my Tiger Lotus have trouble? As for CO2, I plan on just dosing Excel. Nice and easy. I bought one bag of Eco-Complete and mixed it in with my regular gravel. Probably not the best substrate, but I'm sure it will support undemanding plants if I add root tabs.

So does my setup sound like it'll work so far? Opinions would be great!

Pics in a few days!

 

[inareverie85]

I took out all of my money wort today. I'd prefer to add more Java fern. My anubias collection in that tank is rather massive, and I think it could use more contrast. I'd post a picture, but my DIY CO2 recipe was a bit eh... explosive, as the bottle leaked some of its contents into the tank, clouding the water pretty severely. -_- I did a 70% wc; hope it didnt stress out my pair of barbs. So much more to learn Pics as soon as it clears!

 

[inareverie85]

I took a look at the tank this morning, and now that the water's clear again, my plants are covered in white goo -_-. I guess it's the yeast that didn't get cleaned out in the water change, so I suppose I'll need to do another WC later today.

 

[redstrat]

I'm looking forward to seeing some pics

 

[Tex Gal]

Looking for the pxs too!

 

[cpark188]

Hi Inareverie85, Great new and can't wait to see your tank pictures.
It's true that those Rosy Barbs fish will uproots the plants in your tank. Anubias barteri nana, java fern, windelov, amazon sword are low tech plants. Hope to see your picture soon.

 

[inareverie85]

Pictures tonight, hopefully

I removed the Hagen CO2 ladder from my DIY setup, as the bubbles weren't diffusing after 48 hours whatsoever. Giant bubbles going to the surface and wasting away. It was also leaking the yeast mix into my aquarium and making things a HUGE mess. :-/ I read in another forum that a limewood air stone makes an excellent diffuser, so I am giving that a go for now. The bubbles are very very tiny now, and I am hoping that the tank can finally benefit from my CO2. I'll be doing another cleanup tonight, since there's white goo on my plants, and then I'll take some photos. Maybe I'll be able to go 48 hours without a WC after this.

 

[inareverie85]

I know the picture quality is poor, but it's rather hard to take pictures of a smaller tank when my camera is rather outdated I'll be adding more Java Fern in the right half as soon as I save a bit more to order some

 

[cpark188]

I can see your hard works for cleaning up the mess from the yeast that flows into the tank. From the picture looks very densely planted and the plants very beautiful arrange. Keep us update and thanks sharing with us. Well done.

 

[Tex Gal]

It's nice to see a heavily planted healthy tank!

 

[davemonkey]

HAH! I knew it would happen eventually!

It looks good, and very lush. I'm jealous that I don't have a 'grow-out tank' to do that with.

-Dave