Then vs now

[jondamon]

Hey everyone.


Just thought I would show before and after pics of my freshly planted tank in May and then again just last week.


Before



After




I used my stock T8 30w 18000k AQUAGLO and POWERGLO lamps in the first picture.

I then swapped them out for LIFEGLO 6700k T8 30w lamps.

I dose 5ml of EASYLIFE PROFITO and 5ml of EASYLIFE KALIUM every other day.

Tanks stats are
Amm 0
Trite 0
Trate 10-20ppm
pH 6.4
Phosphates 0.5ppm

Jon

 

[RobbyDoom]

Is that java moss in the back right?

 

[jondamon]

Is that java moss in the back right?

If you mean attached to my Mopani reaching for the powerhead then YES.


Jon

 

[jondamon]

If you mean between the Anubias on lava rock and the Mopani its Pygmy Chain Sword.


Jon

 

[jondamon]

Pictures just this second that I've taken.

I've removed the background now too.

 

[RobbyDoom]

If you mean attached to my Mopani reaching for the powerhead then YES.

Jon

Yup, that's it. Wow, that grew quite fierce!!
So it's been roughly 5-6 months then?
Mine has just settled into the aquarium and it been about 2 months.
I had it in a piece of slate and have since moved it to a piece of wood. Hopefully it takes off as yours has.

The aquarium looks good!!

 

[jondamon]

Actually pic 2 was a couple of weeks ago. Lol.


I do have some algae but I don't mind it too much. Just have to wait until Xmas to get my Co2 set back up and pick up some root tabs for the crypts.


Jon

 

[jondamon]

If you get any that detaches, it blows around the tank until it attaches somewhere else.


It's pretty much everywhere in small amounts. Lol.



Jon

 

[jondamon]

Yes plants have been in since May.


I only became addicted to the hobby around April.


Jon

 

[marsh]

Love it!! A black background until its all grown in to the top might show off the plants nicely. I like the white better than blue too. Your plants look happy

 

[jondamon]

Love it!! A black background until its all grown in to the top might show off the plants nicely. I like the white better than blue too. Your plants look happy

The blue background I used to have also reverses with black.

I've been quite liking the no background lately.


Once Xmas is here and I get my root tabs and Co2 refills I might see how much better everything grows then contemplate a background.


Jon

 

[Fresh2o]

Interesting color tone change with the 6700s. I got the opposite effect when I swapped out a single T8 stock ?k ?w 22" bulb with a T8 Zoo Med Flora Sun 6700k 17w. Went from a "golden" glow to a dim pink hue. Might be better for the plants but not for fish viewing. I was thinking of adding a second bulb (daylight) but I would prefer to stay low tech (no CO2) for now. don't mean to hijack but wanted to share pics. Yes this is a before and after (about 4 wks). Lots of leaf loss with the banana plants; could be due to root damage from switching substrate or perhaps the adjustment of dosing with API Leaf Zone and root tabs. Also got rid of the excess java moss; was a dirt trap. Used an iPhone and it really does not capture color wise what I actually see. Sorry so long winded.

 

[jondamon]

No problem!


I personally like the top pic better. Lol. The mass of moss looked fantastic. Can't believe you got rid of most of it.

I really love my LFS display tanks.

Www.thegreenmachineonline.com

They are nature aquarium specialists.

Weird how you got the opposite effect. The 6700k colour should be more like your top pic not the bottom.

The pink hue in my first pic was with 18000k lamps.


Jon

 

[Fresh2o]

Yeah, I like the top photo too. I still have the java moss (in a bucket < 24 hours). I might put it back but I needed to tie it down to something. The loose mass was shading the other plants. Maybe vacuuming it will keep the debris down. If the banana plants don't recover it will make room for wisteria, java fern or another low light plant.
Still on the fence with the flora sun...might give it more time.
Btw the site has awesome pics.

 

[jondamon]

Yeah, I like the top photo too. I still have the java moss (in a bucket < 24 hours). I might put it back but I needed to tie it down to something. The loose mass was shading the other plants. Maybe vacuuming it will keep the debris down. If the banana plants don't recover it will make room for wisteria, java fern or another low light plant.
Still on the fence with the flora sun...might give it more time.
Btw the site has awesome pics.

My tank is just natural. I very rarely vacuum anywhere.

Siphon out water from about halfway down in the tank, trim anything that I feel needs it and refill.

I've done this since the tank became planted.

50g Community.

I have
2 Bolivian Rams
7 Penguin tetras
7 Zebra Danios (well actually 6z's and 1 leopard)
2 Golden CAE
6 Amano shrimp

Jon

 

[Fresh2o]

I swapped out the flora sun bulb (which is 5000k and not the 6700k I reported earlier...that might explain a lot) with the stock Aqueon 8000k bulb because I could not stand looking at the tank any more. Much brighter now and the blue danios look blue, not pink. Not sure if the pic will convey the colors (taken with an iPhone).

Did some rescaping and still in search of a nice piece of DW. Tied most of the moss to flat rocks and the rest of it is in a vase in the window (my original moss was left that way for 2 years and was fine).

Keep posting updates...would like to see how it progresses.

 

[jondamon]

Just wanted to share that I've just been almost 4 weeks between PWC.

I've been constantly monitoring my levels Amm trite trate pH and phosphates and using test strips for KH GH.

My nitrate went from 10ppm to a MASSIVE 20ppm during that time lol. Phosphates went from 1ppm down to 0.5ppm

pH fell from 6.8 to 6.4.

No Amm or Trite obviously because my tank is cycled.

I've been dosing my normal EASYLIFE PROFITO 5ml every other day and EASYLIFE KALIUM 5ml every other day.

It wasn't an experiment as such more just born out of necessity due to not having enough time to do PWC. Once I hit 2weeks I thought just one more week. Then when levels were still ok I thought lets see if I can go 4weeks.

The main reason that I done a PWC today was that I wanted to trim some plant matter that needed it and figured what the hell.

I don't think I will be going any longer than 4 weeks but **** I love my planted tank. Lol.

Talk about stress free.


Jon