Fishenthusiast's 30 Gallon Planted Odyssey

[Bert2oo1]

Maybe it's due to the popularity of the hobby in Australia? I've always thought that the British were a leg up on the Americans in terms of planted tanks. In other words, they have more plants available that are easier to find. When I go to a Barnes & Noble, I always hunt for the Practical Fishkeeping magazine, which originates from Britain. I'm always astounded by the tanks that I see, especially the planted variety. Planted tanks are increasing in popularity in the United States though. It just takes longer for certain genetically crossed, or modified, plants to appear, as well as new plants such as Bucephalandra.

Yea the Brits get certainly have the best plants and hardware for planted tanks. Planted tank are certainly rare here in Aus. I'm apart of a group on Facebook and has plant auctions etc and they only have 3000 members. It seems most people either keep large fish varietys or go into reef tanks.

Reefs are cool but u can't beat a beautifully scaped planted tank imo!

 

[fishenthusiast]

Another change of direction with the new filter. I am wary of using a valve on the Eheim 2217 to reduce flow on outtake, and an Eheim representative advised me against it (I'm going to trust the representative over the Internet), so I'm going to go with the 2215 model. I won't have to buy a spray bar extension and a new intake won't be needed, so I'll end up saving some money. The Eheim 2215 has a pump output of 164 GPH, and with the quality of the CO2 reactor, there should be very little flow reduction, if any reduction at all. To get additional flow, I'll still be using the small powerhead. I just need to clean it soon.

 

[fishenthusiast]

It's finally time to show off the tank! After a bump in the road, it has come to this. I may end up adding one more Crypt (looking into Crypt beckettii "petchii") and additional Crypt parva, but other than that, I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. When I convert filters, there will be a crystal clear view with no micro bubbles due to the CO2 reactor. Eventually, I'll add more fish.

Tank Photos:

Trident Java Fern and Thor's Hammer Java Fern

Thunder Leaf Java Fern

Ishikawa Island Java Fern (will look nice once grown out; similar to regular Java Fern, just smaller and nicer looking) and some Needle Leaf

Buces and Anubias

Crypts:

Wendtii "Green Gecko" and Wendtii "Bronze"

Parva

Nurii "Rosen Maiden" (small now)

Pontederiifolia and unknown Wendtii, and some Dwarf Sag

FTS shot:

This tank is really a cumulation of past tank experiences. High light and stem plants paved the way for this, and even though it was fun, I've found low maintenance planted tanks to be much more manageable. This tank really isn't low tech, but people can have an interesting low maintenance tank. Now it's time to research fish for a change!

 

[fishenthusiast]

Here is the Rex Griggs CO2 reactor:

 

[TMaier]

Pretty snazzy stuff there.

 

[Delapool]

What sort of growth rate do you get out of the buce out of interest? My Anubis is doing well but the buce is just sitting there.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Looks great! I've got plans for trident Java in the new tank but struggling to find it so far! Love your plant choice! Should look great in a few months time.

I've become a big fan of the ferns through driftwood look [emoji106]


What's with the outlets on the Griggs reactor? Do u need to still place them with bigger barbs?

 

[fishenthusiast]

Looks great! I've got plans for trident Java in the new tank but struggling to find it so far! Love your plant choice! Should look great in a few months time.

I've become a big fan of the ferns through driftwood look [emoji106]

What's with the outlets on the Griggs reactor? Do u need to still place them with bigger barbs?

Thank you! I think the outlets are like that to prevent any leakage. I know that the Eheim tubing for sure fits, so no further modifications will need to be made.

What sort of growth rate do you get out of the buce out of interest? My Anubis is doing well but the buce is just sitting there.

I remember that when I had Buce a year and a half ago, it didn't do much for the first couple months, and suddenly, it started to put a leaf every two weeks. I'm not sure how fast it'll grow this time around. I've seen no indication of leaf growth yet, but I've only had it for two weeks. It grows slower than Anubias for sure.

 

[TMaier]

Last years when I nuked my plants the Buce was reduced to stems but has recovered.
This is the end of January

And now.

 

[fishenthusiast]

Last years when I nuked my plants the Buce was reduced to stems but has recovered.
This is the end of JanuaryView attachment 299789

And now.
View attachment 299790

Nice! I see that they have gained some color. On one of my Buces there is a blue coloration. It'll be interesting to see how they age.

 

[TMaier]

The colors are amazing. And it changes as the lighting does. This is one of my favs.
This one is much more green.

 

[fishenthusiast]

The colors are amazing. And it changes as the lighting does. This is one of my favs. View attachment 299795
This one is much more green. View attachment 299796

Do you know what species those are? I know the brownie varieties can get nice coloration. My Apple Leaf and Wave Green will stay mostly green, but the others should get some nice coloration with time.

 

[TMaier]

I got a few from Junglefowl at the different times. Green Purple, Theia Blue, Lamandau Round and Hades. But I don't remember which is which.

 

[DaleV87]

The colors are amazing. And it changes as the lighting does. This is one of my favs. View attachment 299795
This one is much more green. View attachment 299796

Beautiful colors.

 

[fishenthusiast]

Has anyone ever had Killifish before? I'm looking to add something that I've never had before. The Gardneri Killifish is interesting to me, and from what I've read, they are a hardy fish. Not only am I wanting the plants to be low maintenance, I'm wanting my fish to be easy to care for as well. That is why I'm going to up the Harlequin Rasbora (7 up to 11) and Cherry Barb (6 up to 10-12) numbers and get some type of Corydoras.

 

[fishenthusiast]

If you thought the tank was totally finished, there are a few more tweaks to be made. I'll have some Crypt wendtii "Red" and Crypt lucens on the way next week to fill out the rest of the left side of the tank. The unknown wendtii (I believe it is Bronze Wendtii based on new leaves) will be moved to the area with the rest of the Bronze Wendtii. The Dwarf Sag is starting to go nuts. The Buces are having a hard time initially, but that was expected. The Trident Java Fern, which has been in the tank for about a year, will need a nice trim this weekend. The Crypt nurii "Rosen Maiden" is spitting out a new leaf; I'm hoping I'll get some runners out of it with time.

Fish wise, I'm not going to make any rash decisions until I know the water chemistry is just right again after the filter transition. I'm going to investigate Oto Cats again; it'll either be Oto Cats or small Corydoras. I'm very hesitant with fish purchases because of my lackluster tap water (not great for the fish, but has good minerals for people), which is why I usually go with hardy species. We'll see.

 

[DaleV87]

I like the red crypts mixed in to break things up and really like the look of the purple crypt as well.
Sounds like this will be an amazing setup and you are much more patient than myself...lol

 

[Fresh2o]

Kudos on the patience. I can count the fish purchases I've made since 2012 on one hand.
Wish I could help on the killies. Lots of species to choose from. The shortened lifespan (don't want to generalize) versus cost would be a factor for me.
You've seen my setup. How would buces do in there? In the open areas wedged between the stones. Too much light?

 

[fishenthusiast]

Kudos on the patience. I can count the fish purchases I've made since 2012 on one hand.
Wish I could help on the killies. Lots of species to choose from. The shortened lifespan (don't want to generalize) versus cost would be a factor for me.
You've seen my setup. How would buces do in there? In the open areas wedged between the stones. Too much light?

I ditched the Killifish idea when I saw their lifespan. I'm going to order some hardy Apistos instead. A male-female pair will look nice against the greenery. I think Buce would do well in your setup. When I went back to high lighting last summer, I didn't any algae issues with them, oddly enough. I think it's worth a try. You can always go with a Brownie variety, or some Green Wave. Those usually don't break the bank. Junglefowl and Han have great Buces. The adjustment period is lengthy usually, but once they get going, they look nice. I favor Buce over Anubias.

I like the red crypts mixed in to break things up and really like the look of the purple crypt as well.
Sounds like this will be an amazing setup and you are much more patient than myself...lol

Thanks! Sometimes the patience isn't there for me, so I just research fish stuff instead. It's a nice distraction. I think the tank will looks its best a couple months from now when it has aged a bit. I can't wait to take the CO2 atomizer out. The bubbles distract from the plants at times.

 

[Funken_A]

Good news on the Bucephalnadra. I did the same. had some algae outbreaks used a bunch of H2O2 plus they were new and not fully acclimated to boot, melted most of mine to stems.

They're starting to come back now