Bert's 30G Planted adventure.

[Caliban07]

Had a big day yesterday cleaning the tank. Had to scrub some BBA off the driftwood and scrub the glass to get rid of the GSA. I decided to remove a plant that was slowly getting over run by hair algae.

I've since knocked my kno3 dosing back to what I was dosing originally, as I believe this is what caused the bloom.

Had to trim the baby tears back a lot as they were about 60cm long

Hair grass is starting to spread nicely and my ST repens carpet is coming along nicely. AR mini is getting there but fairly slow growing.

My plan is still to continue to grow this thing out so a few months to go yet

Few pics
View attachment 291594View attachment 291595

Looking good Bert2oo1. I sent you a pm btw.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Looking good Bert2oo1. I sent you a pm btw.

Thanks mate, it's getting there slowly. Replied to your pm.

 

[Bert2oo1]

So my plants and light showed up today and I've had a big afternoon scaping!

I'm actually really happy with how it's turned out. I'll be adding a few ST repens and maybe something else once it's flooded.
Never done a dry start before so anything could happen!

Few pics of how it's turned out:

 

[Caliban07]

So my plants and light showed up today and I've had a big afternoon scaping!

I'm actually really happy with how it's turned out. I'll be adding a few ST repens and maybe something else once it's flooded.
Never done a dry start before so anything could happen!

Few pics of how it's turned out:
View attachment 291713View attachment 291714

Looks awesome. Nice scape. Hope the DSM works out.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Looks awesome. Nice scape. Hope the DSM works out.

Thanks mate me too! If it starts to not work out I'll just flood it and crank the co2. There will be no stock in this tank so I'd be pumping in some serious amounts.

 

[flchamp89]

Thanks mate me too! If it starts to not work out I'll just flood it and crank the co2. There will be no stock in this tank so I'd be pumping in some serious amounts.

Nano looks good Im about to do a spec iii. So ill be watching.

 

[Fresh2o]

Nice layout. Keep an eye out for fungus. Otherwise, the waiting game starts.
Any idea how long before you flood this?

 

[Bert2oo1]

Nano looks good Im about to do a spec iii. So ill be watching.

I really don't have much of an idea of what I'm doing, there is a lot of conflicted info on how to dry start to avoid fungus etc. I'm just sort of winging it. I'll keep you updated on any problems I run into along the way

 

[flchamp89]

I really don't have much of an idea of what I'm doing, there is a lot of conflicted info on how to dry start to avoid fungus etc. I'm just sort of winging it. I'll keep you updated on any problems I run into along the way

Im not man enough to dry start. But will probably do similar rock/substrate layout. Im going use nana petite and helferi.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Nice layout. Keep an eye out for fungus. Otherwise, the waiting game starts.
Any idea how long before you flood this?

Thanks fresh! I'll be flooding it once the carpet is fully settled in. The HC is going to take a while to grip to the stratum substrate so I'm thinking it will be close to a month if not more.

Considering buying a nano co2 set (maybe one of those fluval ones? Or I was thinking maybe the old DIY would be fine in a small set up like this due to only needing such a low bubble count.

I don't want to get carried away and spend a fortune. I do tend to get abit excited and splash out though haha.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Im not man enough to dry start. But will probably do similar rock/substrate layout. Im going use nana petite and helferi.

Haha I'm more of a flooded man myself. Normally I would have just planted heavy and cranked the co2 but I wanted to have a go at something new and see what dry start is all about

 

[Bert2oo1]

Bit of an update, 30g is looking very over grown and in need of a trim. Also showing signs of iron deficiency after not dosing for a week. BBA is the only algae left after fixing my kno3 dosing but that is also slowly fading away.

2g nano is going well with the dry start. The HC is starting to drive its roots into the substrate and looking nice and healthy.
I've mixed up a very lean version of PPS for misting the tank aswell.

Overall everything is going smooth.
I think I'll be building a new tank at some stage next year to replace the 30g. Will be going to 60g rimless made from 10mm toughened glass. Dimensions will be 900x600x500H I'll be building the tank myself as abit of a project (I like my hands on projects).

 

[Caliban07]

Bit of an update, 30g is looking very over grown and in need of a trim. Also showing signs of iron deficiency after not dosing for a week. BBA is the only algae left after fixing my kno3 dosing but that is also slowly fading away.

2g nano is going well with the dry start. The HC is starting to drive its roots into the substrate and looking nice and healthy.
I've mixed up a very lean version of PPS for misting the tank aswell.

Overall everything is going smooth.
I think I'll be building a new tank at some stage next year to replace the 30g. Will be going to 60g rimless made from 10mm toughened glass. Dimensions will be 900x600x500H I'll be building the tank myself as abit of a project (I like my hands on projects).

What do you see iron deficiency wise? Pale leaves etc?

Glad everything has turned out ok.

 

[Bert2oo1]

What do you see iron deficiency wise? Pale leaves etc?

Glad everything has turned out ok.

Yea they AR mini has paled right off and I've seen abit of brown tips on the ST repens. Also both the AR and the repens have black crack like marks on there leaves.

I'm guessing this is due to lack of iron as it's the only thing I haven't been dosing

 

[Bert2oo1]

Got the hob for the nano in the post yesterday but it was broken during freight I managed to fix it with some superglue but I've told the seller about it to see if I can get it replaced.

Any suggestions of what to put in there? I was thinking filter floss, coarse sponge, purigon. In that order? Basically will just be using it for crystal clear water as there will be no fish.

It's a cool little machine!

 

[Caliban07]

Got the hob for the nano in the post yesterday but it was broken during freight I managed to fix it with some superglue but I've told the seller about it to see if I can get it replaced.

Any suggestions of what to put in there? I was thinking filter floss, coarse sponge, purigon. In that order? Basically will just be using it for crystal clear water as there will be no fish.
View attachment 291908
It's a cool little machine!

That's are pretty neat piece of hardware. I'd just put some sponge on there personally.

 

[Bert2oo1]

That's are pretty neat piece of hardware. I'd just put some sponge on there personally.

Sponge won't have any benefit to clear the water though will it?

 

[Fresh2o]

The sponge will only catch the larger debris. I would stuff it with polyfil.

 

[Bert2oo1]

The sponge will only catch the larger debris. I would stuff it with polyfil.

Polyfil is just the cotton wool type stuff isn't it?

 

[Fresh2o]

Polyfil is just the cotton wool type stuff isn't it?

Yes. Pillow/cushion stuffing. I bought a $5 bag a year or two and still have some left. I just change it every 2 weeks or so. Just be sure it contains no flame retardant materials.
Polyester, not cotton.