Hi-tech planted Conversion - UPDATES - Feb.28.2007

[dapellegrini]

Atl300zx - A complete cost breakdown is here - http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=89465 - The short list is 5lb local tank, Milwaukee Regulator w/ Solenoid and bubble counter, Milwaukee pH Controller, AquaMedic Reactor 1000 and C02 tubing.

Thanks Everyone.

I always get nervous removing so much plant mass, but I guess if it continues to pearl like crazy after a 75% cut back, there must be some mad photosynthesis going on... Short video:

http://www.publiclogic.com/fish/a_day_later_tank_teardown.wmv

And a couple more pics from last night (the white specs are O2 bubbles):

 

[Zezmo]

Your tank has looked great for quite some time
I look forward to seeing what you achieve with ECO in there.

Very nicely done.

 

[rkilling1]

CAn you post a list of everything you bought for your CO2 Setup?

Pressurized CO2: The next thing I had to figure out was CO2. I have seen the CO2 DIY done with some limited success in my mother’s low-light tank, but was convinced that I would be going pressurized. It took a few days to sort out what I would need and I settled on a Milwaukee Regulator w/Solenoid and Bubble counter, a Milwaukee pH meter SMS122 and the AquaMedics Reactor 1000 CO2 reactor. I found a local beer brewery supplies store and picked up a 5lb bottle for around $80.

EDIT: wow I'm late on this.

 

[rich311k]

Looks better and better.

 

[dapellegrini]

Well it has been two weeks since the teardown, and things are filling in well... I have had to cut back more of the HM to make room for other things I am playing with. Also just went down to the LFS today and picked up a few of new plants for the left side of the tank. Ended up getting too much Myriophyllum aquaticum, but we will see how it goes. I also decided to collect all of the red plants into a more defined area... So here it a full tank shot from a couple of minutes ago:

The clover is starting to fill in. The yellow ones are new sprouts:

When the start growing in lower light they go 3-or-4 leaf...

Not sure how I am going to deal with this train-wreck-waiting-to-happen:

I have moved a couple small pieces of glosso to the right side and found a better home for the Blyxa Japonica... Yep it is going bronze on me...

Here is some of the Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrots Feather), Limnophila indica (Ambulia) and Mermaidweed in the left corner. Kind of a mess, but I will decide what I like best and probably cut back in a few more weeks:

This stuff was labeled Baby Tears, but it does not look anything like my HM...

To compare, here is my HM:

Added a rock here to try and keep the HM and clover apart, but have not made any provisions for the glosso...

And some fish & shrimp:

Still a lot of growing in to do, but things are going pretty well...

 

[Purrbox]

That Baby Tears looks to be Micranthemum Umbrosum. Both plants are often sold under the common name Baby Tears, although only Hemianthus Micranthemoides seems to get sold as Pearlweed or Pearlgrass.

Fabulous pictures by the way!

 

[dapellegrini]

Thanks for the plant ID Purrbox, that is it! Hopefully I can turn it around a bit and find a good place for it.

 

[Mosaic]

Looks great! You have a good balance there. I like all the reds together. There's a lot but its not overpowering. It's especially interesting the way the alternanthera complements the crypt. Very different colors, but the bronze on the crypt and the leaf textures tie it all together. Whatever you do, don't touch it! Work from there outwards. It's the strongest element of your design. I spent a lot of time admiring it.

I love the puffer and goby pics too! Too cute.

 

[dapellegrini]

Thanks! I think I agree. That alternanthera in an off-center grouping seems to give the highest impact... and I really like the bushy crypt. Now it is the mid-ground, foreground and sides that need to be sorted out.

My current thinking is to flatten out the left-corner substrate hill against the front glass, and perhaps replace the red/pink ludwigia in the right-corner with some lower midground greens. I really want to build nice mid-ground to give better depth, complexity, layers, etc.

 

[drobertson]

Love the new hardscape, the rock and wood is a nice highlight. As usual your plants look fantastic!

 

[Jchillin]

I finally caught up with your progress. Fantastic job and in regard to your "train wreck" with the foreground plants, why not see what happens with it? Who knows, that could look so special, folks will attempt to emulate it.

 

[dapellegrini]

LOL... my only real concern with the 4-way train-wreck (glosso meets clover meets pearlweed/HM meets java moss) is the HM, which I will keep in its little cage there. I am kind of curious to see how glosso/clover mix might look, but once they mix, I don't think turning back would be an option.

 

[racialfish]

How is the parrot feather doing? The stuff I got only grows leaves at the top and the bottom ones always rot away, It's in 4.5 wpg,co2 and flourite...

 

[dapellegrini]

It sure pearls a lot, but it is dying off on the bottom of the stems. I have only had it for like 24 hours now, so we will see how it works out. I think the die-off is the LFS at this point... I did clean-up the stems, trim them, stripped the bottom leaves and planted each stem about 1-inch apart... I will keep an eye on it though... Just looked to nice at the LFS not to at least give it a go.

We'll see where I am at with it in a couple of weeks...

 

[newfound77951]

WOOOOOOOOOW.......Love that hardscape! I'm gonna be studying these pics for a long time for inspiration. This is my new favorite tank on this forum! great job and keep up with the updates!

I really want to redo the hardscape on my 55, still thinking of ideas, but right now I'm focused on getting my 30g reef going, so I have some time to figure out what I'm going to do.....and I'll keep looking at these pics int the meantime!

 

[JustOneMore20]

The tank is beautiful! It looks so much bigger than 72g IMO. With the small leaved plants and small fish, it looks huge! I love it. And the BB gobies are so cute!

 

[dapellegrini]

Thanks everyone. Here is a better full tank shot from moments ago... The colors look absolutely fake in real life and my cheap camera can't get the color balance right... It washes out on this stuff.

 

[rich311k]

Just fabulous!!

 

[J Migidy]

Well a couple of days ago I saw a post from JDogg about Dwarf Puffers, reminding me how much used to like my old brackish puffers 10+ years ago... So yesterday when I saw some at the LFS, I thought "hey why not" and bought 5 of them... They are about 1/4 the size of the neons, rummynose, etc, and I watched nearly every other fish check them out to see if they were food... Good... I have heard these guys can get aggressive, so I would rather that they understand their place early... We will see how it works out, but I really like odd-ball fish like this. Here is a blurry shot of two DP zipping by the rummies and neons.

Lower, left-middle against the black background, there is one more...

Hanging out in the Val:

I also got a better shot of one of the Red Nose Shrimp climbing around on one of the Swords:

And finally, here are some full-dark, moonlight shots:

That last one is a shot over the top of the tank. So the layers go: Light/hood -- Glass Tops -- Water Reflection showing Moon Leds.

I wonder if having strong moonlights in a freshwater could have any adverse effects.... These suckers are BRIGHT when I have them cranked up all the way. But I guess no brighter than being outside with a full moon... Do plant even recognize LEDs?





.

How are you keeping those dwarf puffers in your community? Is everything working out? I'd love to have some dwarf puffers in my 55 gallon community Angelfish tank but I fear they would kill my fish or at the very least nip their long fins What's the secret???

 

[dapellegrini]

Mine don't bother any of the fish/shrimp and tend to hang out in a group. I got 5 originally but lost one and I am thinking that the remaining 4 may be all females... That might be part of it.

They are certainly an aggressive fish, in that they are not easily intimidated by anything, including me... But I have seen no sign of fin nipping, shrimp killing, etc... My guess is, there is plenty of space in the tank for them to hide and claim as territory, they eat well (lots of bloodworms, daily) and they might all be female.

I also have mostly small, quick-swimming fish, nothing with elaborate fins that hang out in the middle of the tank.