pair of 10 gallon planted tanks

[JohnPaul]

A couple of people have asked me for pics of my tanks so here they are. I've been hesitant to post because both tanks are only a few weeks old and so none of the plants have really fully "grown in" yet but...well...at least it's a start. Maybe I'll post again in a few months once the plants have had a chance to fill in.

Both tanks are standard 10 gallon tanks. Substrate is Seachem's Flourite Black Sand. Lighting on each tank is 2x15W GE spiral daylight (6500K) compact flourescent bulbs, housed in a standard "incandescent" strip light hood. Each is filtered by a single Lustar "Hydro Sponge II" sponge filter. Water parameters are pretty similar in both tanks: temp ~ 78º F, pH ~ 7.8, GH ~ 11, KH ~ 5.

COMMUNITY FISH TANK

Here's the overview shot of my community fish tank. Right now I'm missing a bunch of plants for the back-center of the tank. I had some Primrose (Lugwigia repens) planted there, but it had been planted & replanted three times in two different tanks in less than two weeks and I think the stress of that was too much, it all melted. So I'm still looking for something for that portion of the tank--possibly a nice bushy sword plant of some kind. But anyway, here it the whole tank as of now.

Now a few close-ups to show a bit more detail. First, a close-up of the rock/moss formation (which actually makes an arch that the fish can swim through). Moss on top of the rock is java moss. The plant in the front right is the small-form Cardinal plant (Lobelia cardinalis var. 'small form'). The grassy stuff on the left is dwarf sag (Sagittaria sublata). The fish you see in front is a male Red-lined Killifish (Aphyosemion striatum).

Last, here's a close-up of the most thickly planted part of the tank, the far right. The plant in the front is Rotala rotundifolia, and in the back is common green hygro (Hygrophilia polysperma).

That's this tank...next post will be for the other tank.

 

[JohnPaul]

SHRIMP & SNAIL TANK

Okay, here is the shot of my Blue Pearl shrimp tank. First, the shot of the whole tank.

Next, a close-up of the left hand side of the tank. Once again, the plants in the front on the far left are dwarf sag. Further behind, the reddish color plant in the back left is Needle Leaf Ludwigia (Lugwigia arcuata). Although it's a bit hard to see, stuck on the driftwood sitting right in front of the Ludwigia is a small java fern. In the lower piece of driftwood is a nice clump of peacock moss, and along the upper piece of wood is some flame moss.

Now a shot of the right hand side of the tank. The smallish (for now!) plant on the front right is Brazilian Pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala). The tall, twirly plants on the left in this picture (that make the center backdrop for most of the length of the tank) is corkscrew val (Vallisneria spiralis).

Last, what good is a photo shoot of a shrimp tank without the occupants?!? Here is a pic of a battle for a shrimp pellet being waged between my orange/tangerine colored European ramshorn snails (Planorbis corneus, I think) and my Blue Pearl Shrimp (Neocaridina zhangjiajiensis var. 'blue'). The smallish foreground plant is some dwarf species of aquarium clover (Marsilea sp.) The picture is a bit over-exposed because I used the flash; my apologies that I don't have a better shot of my shrimps at this time.

 

[Sahabo]

Excellent!! Thanks so much for posting these shots...it all looks good, bet it will look amazing the more things grow I really appreciate the close ups and plant ids.

 

[Lager]

Lovely tanks!