Matt, whats the second piture in the first row of? This stuff looks browner than what we saw at the metting. Any thoughts?
Soilmaster setup pics
Since there are going to be a few more of us setting up some tanks with the Soilmaster Select in the next month or so, I took a few pics while setting mine up tonight.
I added a dusting of peat to the bottom of the tank
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added some Soilmaster to hold the peat down, and added mulm to the soilmaster
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added more soilmaster (pic 3)
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and partially filled the tank
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I did not rinse the Soilmaster and filled the tank very slowly. The first ten gallons or so probably took me at least 15 minutes. I also added about 6ppm of KNO3 and 1.2ppm of KH2PO4 to the initial fill water (based on total tank volume). I'm thinking this may get absorbed by the soilmaster since it seems to initially be hydroscopic. Maybe it will absorb a bit of the fertilizers.
I was originally going to fill the tank and let the debris settle out overnight. It is clear enough that I figured I would stop and go ahead and put the plants in tomorrow. If it needs a water change after the plants go in, I will do one then. The Soilmaster Select seems to hold the plants down much better than the Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil I hae in my 55g and it is mixed with Flourite also! Might be due to the smaller grain size, but I think I will still add the sand tomorrow...
I thought I would add that I did not rinse the Soilmaster at all. That is why it looks so light in color when initally added.
I added a dusting of peat to the bottom of the tank
added some Soilmaster to hold the peat down, and added mulm to the soilmaster
added more soilmaster (pic 3)
and partially filled the tank
I did not rinse the Soilmaster and filled the tank very slowly. The first ten gallons or so probably took me at least 15 minutes. I also added about 6ppm of KNO3 and 1.2ppm of KH2PO4 to the initial fill water (based on total tank volume). I'm thinking this may get absorbed by the soilmaster since it seems to initially be hydroscopic. Maybe it will absorb a bit of the fertilizers.
I was originally going to fill the tank and let the debris settle out overnight. It is clear enough that I figured I would stop and go ahead and put the plants in tomorrow. If it needs a water change after the plants go in, I will do one then. The Soilmaster Select seems to hold the plants down much better than the Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil I hae in my 55g and it is mixed with Flourite also! Might be due to the smaller grain size, but I think I will still add the sand tomorrow...
I thought I would add that I did not rinse the Soilmaster at all. That is why it looks so light in color when initally added.
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Full Frontal
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Top View
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Up Too Close
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Good View of Layers
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Surface Shot
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Top View
Up Too Close
Good View of Layers
Surface Shot
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Here's a few more pics of the tank. Sorry about the bad pics, but it's the best I can do with a camcorder 
Initial setup with aqbout 120w of light:
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Today, with 192w of T-8 lighting (3 x $8 Home Depot Shoplights with Nutrigrow lamps).
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I added some trimmings to the tank to help with the break in period. So far no algae other than a bit of diatoms and the 6 Otos I added last night have cleaned most of it up already .
Here are a few pics of the new fauna also:
"Powder Blue" Gourami:
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I can't remember tha name of this Gourami:
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So far, I like these guys a lot but they are a little skittish. Maybe due to the bright lights. They seem to congregate under the anachris canopy that is forming already. Anyone need some anachris
Initial setup with aqbout 120w of light:
Today, with 192w of T-8 lighting (3 x $8 Home Depot Shoplights with Nutrigrow lamps).
I added some trimmings to the tank to help with the break in period. So far no algae other than a bit of diatoms and the 6 Otos I added last night have cleaned most of it up already .
Here are a few pics of the new fauna also:
"Powder Blue" Gourami:
I can't remember tha name of this Gourami:
So far, I like these guys a lot but they are a little skittish. Maybe due to the bright lights. They seem to congregate under the anachris canopy that is forming already. Anyone need some anachris
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I will have plenty of plants by the time the meeting rolls around. Definately have some Anachris and Water Sprite, probably some H. difformis and some Blyxa aubertii also. Hopefully some of the others with some Hygro species will be able to lend a hand.
We had agreed at the last meeting on bagging up the plants for the meeting and pricing them at either $1 or $2 depending on the amount or type of plant. Those will of course be donations to the club
I will start a thread for plants for the November meeting later in the week so everyone can list what they will be bringing.
We had agreed at the last meeting on bagging up the plants for the meeting and pricing them at either $1 or $2 depending on the amount or type of plant. Those will of course be donations to the club
I will start a thread for plants for the November meeting later in the week so everyone can list what they will be bringing.
Were the blues ones labeled as Powder Blues or Neon Blues? I can't remember now.molurus73 said:
I was a bit worried that they may fight with each other but so far so good. I think the tank is large enough that they can all have their own territory. If the do start going after each other, I can always move three of the males to the 75g upstairs and get some more females for that tank
I can take good closeups with the camcorder but the total tank shots look horrible. I definately need a better camera!
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