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Hey Ravi........

Nice to see your thread & the progress on your DW tank.....

Ravi,setting up & maintaining DW tanks is really simple.
In my case I just bought some cheap potting soil from a nursery after confirming that there are no added ferts in it.Let it dry in the sun for 4 days.Layed it on the bottom for 2",covered it with sand for 2".I put a plate on the bottom,slowly filled it with water for 10",planted the plants & filled it completely with water.For the next 2-3 days I kept on adding plants.I let it cycle for 15days with the powerhead filter running,did a 30% water change.Added fish only after 20days.
My lighting is 3WPG for 10hrs a day,no direct sunlight.No CO2,no ferts dosing.I do a 25% water change once a month.Adding CO2 is like injecting steroids to your plants & not growing them naturally,its a add-on expense,maintainence,attention ....etc.

Thats it........my tank is doing wonders now.You just need to have patience

Thanks
Ravi

 

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Nothing much to do Ravi.
Just add some fast growing plants to keep the algae away.Keep your lights on for atleast 10hrs a day.As per my experience,the plants do good with a 25-30% water change every month as they get some fresh nutrients from the water.
I have a 4" Albino Red-Fin Shark,who is always looking out for algae on the leaves,11 Harlequin Rasboras,4 Cardinal Tetras,6 Purple Emperor Tetras & 4 Pearl Gouramis......they all are a happy family for almost 6 months
Last but not the least,you can scape your tank which depends on your patience,creativity & search.....
Ravi

 

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Initially even I had this problem of water turning Brownish Yellow.I think this was due to some extract from the bottom layer soil entering the water column.I din't find any deaths in the tank.I had to just do some weekly water changes for about 2 months & now I see its fine.So don't worry.Just stick to some water changes & the rest would be ok.

Here is an update of my tank.I did some trimming & removed some plants from the front which had over crowded.Pushed all the Crypts to the right,added a Nuphur Japonica & some sore of a round leaved Amazon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/?saved=1

Ravi