40 Breeder Planted

[Nelsontreyjones]

your tank is really beautiful

Thank you, glad to know my work is paying off.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Those were both it! Love them!!

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

Update:

Got the last bit of plants for the tank (should be finish plant wise).
Rotala Indica
Ludwigia Repens
Hygro Corymbosa
Hygrophila Polysperma
Ludwigia glandulosa
Limnophila heterophylla
Heteranthera zosterifolia

Current stock
Clown Pleco (Panaque Maccus) 1
Julii Cory (Corydoras julii ) 6
Longfin Zebra Danio (Danio rerio) 5
Oto (Otocinclus vittatus) 6
Threadfin Rainbowfish (Iriatherina werneri) 2 (Had 4 die)
True Rummynose Tetra (Hemigrammus bleheri) 12
Turquoise Rainbow (Melanotaenia lacustris) 4
Twig Catfish (Farlowella) 1


Future
Have a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 coming in for some better circulation.

Questions
Am I near my limit with the tank being planted and what not? Don't want it to be too crowded.
What can I do to get my water crystal clear.?

Added about 20 Malaysian Trumpet Snails

Farlowella again

Julii checking things out

Rummynose shoal

 

[Rivercats]

I think I'd leave your stock as is. They still all need to grow and mature. And adding Purgen to your filter can help alot with water clairity.

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

Okay I'll leave the stocking alone. I brought 3 bags of the pre bagged purigen. They are recharging at the moment. It made a little improvement but was looking for more. Maybe I'm not giving it enough time.

 

[bosoxlobsterman]

Looks really good! If you want it to look a little more full in the back, I found it really helps if you take your Rotala and plant individual stems pretty close to each other with a pair of tweezers (I have some R. indica and I hated it at first, since I've started doing that its one of my favorites, though!). If you keep them all bunched up, their lower leaves might start to fall off, too.

I love the pop of color the red plant brings to the tank, which species is it?

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

The plant is Ludwigia glandulosa. It hard for me to plant to much in the back because of the slate holding the driftwood down. Maybe I will end up taking some of the stems out.

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

Update: 15 January 2013

So I removed the java moss because it was just collecting garbage underneath it.

Took back the Threadfin Rainbowfish and replaced with 5 Lamp Eye Tetra.

I'm not sure what is eating my plants, my guess would be the Lamp Eye's because they are the only new additions. But I havent seen them in the act.

All my red plants are turning green. I have been looking up how to bring the red out but from what I found nothing is 100%. Mainly I am seeing things pointed to light, iron and/or nitrate.

These were a nice red and now have almost completely turned green 2 weeks later.

 

[Rivercats]

The plant in the one picture isn't eaten it looks to have a phosphate deficiency. Do you test your nitrate and phosphate levels? In a planted tank you should shoot for 10-20ppm nitrates and .5-1.0 phosphates.

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

The plant in the one picture isn't eaten it looks to have a phosphate deficiency. Do you test your nitrate and phosphate levels? In a planted tank you should shoot for 10-20ppm nitrates and .5-1.0 phosphates.

Hmm, I thought it was getting eaten. I already clipped some of it yesterday before I took this picture and today I see this. I switched to dry fert about 3-4 weeks ago. I test my Nirate but don't have a test kit for phosphate yet. I am also starting to get some Green Spot Algae (GSA) which from what I looked up comes from low phosphate + Low CO2? Is the API Phosphate Test Kit any good.

 

[Rivercats]

That is the test kit I use for phosphates. Also the GSA can be caused with too long a lighting period. 6-8 hours is generally the amount of time you want to run your lighting to help algae under control. The reason I say about the leaves is when fish eat on them they don't take bites out of the middle of plants. Here's a good chart to look at... Google Image Result for http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3591814040_bc03c264a5_o.jpg

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

That is the test kit I use for phosphates. Also the GSA can be caused with too long a lighting period. 6-8 hours is generally the amount of time you want to run your lighting to help algae under control. The reason I say about the leaves is when fish eat on them they don't take bites out of the middle of plants. Here's a good chart to look at... Google Image Result for http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3591814040_bc03c264a5_o.jpg

Thanks for the image. Very useful. The GSA is very minimal. It is only on the front in the center. I just ordered the test kit. What would recommend to dose phosphates with seachem or dry fert. The fertilizer I'm using now is suppose to dose about 1.3ppm per dose.

 

[Rivercats]

You can dose whatever is easiest but if your dosing dry ferts I'd just use that.

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

So I just tested my Phosphate and i'm getting a reading of 5 ppm. What is my target goal.

 

[Rivercats]

So I just tested my Phosphate and i'm getting a reading of 5 ppm. What is my target goal.

Wow that is high. In a planted tank you need to aim for .5-1.0ppm. You need to do a couple 50% WC's to drop the number.

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

Hmm, okay I will do some tomorrow after work. Would that cause any problem in the tank. As in is that high enough to cause that damage I mentioned earlier.

 

[Rivercats]

Hmm, okay I will do some tomorrow after work. Would that cause any problem in the tank. As in is that high enough to cause that damage I mentioned earlier.

Well you shouldn't have a phophate deficiency. Take another test just to be sure you got a good reading. Every now and then I'll get a wierd reading and when I retest it reads correct so just be sure. I forgot but what ferts are you using?

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

I tested it 3 times. First was 10+ then I did WC, today I tested twice and i'm getting 5 ppm. I am using dry fertilizer via El dosing 5ml daily with a 50% the last day

This is the concentrations (as per wets calculator for 10ml x3 week)
Micro-
B- 0.09ppm
Cu 0.01ppm
Fe 0.50 ppm
Mg 0.11 ppm
Mn 0.14 ppm
Mo 0.0038 ppm
Zn 0.03 ppm
dGH 0.02



Macros:
N- 7.5ppm
P- 1.3ppm
K- 4.27ppm

 

[Rivercats]

I don't dose El and have no working knowledge other than I know you use more ferts than plants need so there can be no type of nutrient deficiencies. I dose PPS-Pro and add only as much as my tank/plants need keeping my levels at the desired levels I want. So honestly with your dosing El I have no clue if that is the end of the week phosphate levels for that dosing but if it is that is a high reading. I run my 220g as a low nitrate and high phosphate tank with my weekly reading at 10ppm nitrate and 1-1.5ppm phosphate.

 

[Nelsontreyjones]

I don't dose El and have no working knowledge other than I know you use more ferts than plants need so there can be no type of nutrient deficiencies. I dose PPS-Pro and add only as much as my tank/plants need keeping my levels at the desired levels I want. So honestly with your dosing El I have no clue if that is the end of the week phosphate levels for that dosing but if it is that is a high reading. I run my 220g as a low nitrate and high phosphate tank with my weekly reading at 10ppm nitrate and 1-1.5ppm phosphate.

Yeah I went this route for ease of dosing. I didn't want to use a scale to measure what I need daily. I have been having great growth but the only problem I am having is my red plants are turning green. I'm not sure if it because I am El dosing or nutrient deficiencies of iron. My nitrate is about 20-40. I guess after I use up all my current mixes I will switch to PPS-Pro.