My Planted Tank on the Balcony

[GlitcH]

Great stuff Travis........this is the first of its kind that I have seen.
But your always good for a large portion of "wow factor".

 

[Spanishearl]

Update on this sweet tank idea?

 

[Hara]

Travis, I have a tank out in my porch, nothing but direct sunlight and a whisper filter with no innards to move the water around. It grows plants like crazy, no algae issues and my ramshorns have survived the winter with it well down into the 40's in the room for extended periods of time. I put mine up just because I couldnt stand the thought of throwing plants away and this started as a holding tank for clippings.

That being said, I dont see why you would have any problems with yours ever.

 

[gfink]

Any updates?

 

[corster]

that looks sweet. And that sums it up.

 

[travis simonson]

Sorry guys, I've been pretty busy the last few days and haven't had much of a chance to post an update. Just wanted to let you know that the tank is doing well and the plants are really beginning to fill in, especially the R. rotundifolia. I've never seen it so bushy

I will take some pics if it ever stops snowing here in Englewood. More later

 

[travis simonson]

OK, I finally got some new pictures. I had to move the tank to a more shaded area of the balcony because the sun was heating the water up to almost 90 degrees F and it isn't even summer yet.

I've currently got R. rotundifolia, H. polysperma 'Rosanervig', P. stellata "Fine", P. helferi, Nesaea sp. 'Red', Alternanthera reineckii 'Sunset', Glossostigma elatinoides, Hydrocotyle leucocephala, Hydrocotyle verticellata, and Ranunculus papulentus growing in the tank. All are doing well, thriving even, and the only algae issues have been dust algae on the glass that scrapes off easily. The plants simply love the natural sunlight

I apologize for the quality of the pictures - it's almost impossible to get a picture without reflections because of where the tank is located. I will try to get some better shots at dusk tonight, although it will probably be snowing at that point

And yes, those are bubble-eye goldfish. I call the one on the right side of the first picture 'Popeye' because one of his bubbles popped on something in the tank, but should grow back in time

 

[GlitcH]

Damn.........those plants do look like they are loving the natural light.

I sooo wanna try this now.

Travis, how do you think it would work out wiithout the CO2 injection?

 

[travis simonson]

I think the CO2 is the main reason I'm not dealing with a world-class algae infestation It's basically like running 10+ wpg of lighting, so I think CO2 is probably a must, but I'll admit I haven't tried it without CO2 so it might be worth finding out.

 

[GlitcH]

I think the CO2 is the main reason I'm not dealing with a world-class algae infestation

Ya that would be my guess too....I just don't have the setup for CO2 outside. I still wanna try it though. Maybe a butt load of snails and shrimp will keep it clean.

 

[sherry]

amazing!!! I'd expect nothing less.