Hi, everyone!
I have really enjoyed browsing through this forum and have gotten a lot of great info from you members!
I recently acquired my 3rd tank, a 55g with stand for $60 on craigslist (ugh, MTS!) I re-finished the stand, and had to replace the black plastic top frame($15) on the aquarium (that silicon is a beast to remove
) but being on a budget; I couldn't beat the price.
I purchased a Beamswork Full Spectrum LED 10000k lamp for about $35 on ebay (was nervous about how well the plants would do with that color spectrum but as seen in my pics, the growth seems quite nice and I enjoy the color, too)
After a lot a reading and research, I decided to try my hand at a Dirted Tank. Not only has this saved me a TON of money, after the first week I think my results are looking great!
I used mineralized MiracleGro Organic choice Garden Soil (4 wetting and drying cylces over 3 weeks) The bottom is covered about 1.5" deep and capped with Black Diamond Blasting Abrasive about .75" deep. It has held up well to planting and even moving plants around without disturbing the soil much. I love the look too!
Currently, I have a bunch of Anacharis and Red Myrio, an Amazon Sword, Ozelot Sword, two Ruffle Swords, Anubias Coffeefolia, and some Micro Sword all purchased (for a GREAT price) from liveaquaria.com. The Ruffles have seen the worst damage, but even they have new growth and seem to be rebounding well.
This tank has cycled completely without fish and without dosing ammonia. I monitored the ammonia spike, which only reached about 2ppm before being converted down. Bonus: no harm to any of our fishy friends!
I have added ammonia to the water, it will go from .25ppm to 0 in around an hour. I added up to 2ppm and it was at 0 24 hours later. So far, nitrAtes stay around 20-40ppm without having done a water change. 0 nitrItes
I plan on adding fish this weekend, and I will update when I do! I plan on a few species of Tetras, Corries, and some guppies or something.. depending on what South American species they have available.
I would love to hear any comments and questions from the community, as my interest in dirted tanks, especially, has grown over the past several months!
One major thing that I am weighing is the addition of a SMALL amount of Peat Moss to my HOB filter. I bought some fluval pellets that should show up this week, and may add around 4-6tsp in a bag in back of the filter.
My water is super hard, and therefore, hovers around the 8 pH range, my KH maxed out my API kit. I have successfully kept all my tropical fish for 3 years without treating the water with anything more than TetraSafe and they all seem happy, I really just want to keep the top glass free of the calcium build-up on my new tank, and would like to lower the KH and pH a bit. I do understand that I will need to pre-treat water before any water change to avoid fluctuations in pH. Anyone out there with similar experience, please CHIME IN!
The pictures are of planting day, April 23rd and then the growth to date May 1st! I had to include a picture of the dirt mineralizing in the sun as it is just a beautiful part of the experience to me, and then, of course adding the deliciousness to the tank for my plants to enjoy
Thanks again for all of the fantastic content on this forum! Cheers, and happy tanking!
I have really enjoyed browsing through this forum and have gotten a lot of great info from you members!
I recently acquired my 3rd tank, a 55g with stand for $60 on craigslist (ugh, MTS!) I re-finished the stand, and had to replace the black plastic top frame($15) on the aquarium (that silicon is a beast to remove
) but being on a budget; I couldn't beat the price.I purchased a Beamswork Full Spectrum LED 10000k lamp for about $35 on ebay (was nervous about how well the plants would do with that color spectrum but as seen in my pics, the growth seems quite nice and I enjoy the color, too)
After a lot a reading and research, I decided to try my hand at a Dirted Tank. Not only has this saved me a TON of money, after the first week I think my results are looking great!
I used mineralized MiracleGro Organic choice Garden Soil (4 wetting and drying cylces over 3 weeks) The bottom is covered about 1.5" deep and capped with Black Diamond Blasting Abrasive about .75" deep. It has held up well to planting and even moving plants around without disturbing the soil much. I love the look too!
Currently, I have a bunch of Anacharis and Red Myrio, an Amazon Sword, Ozelot Sword, two Ruffle Swords, Anubias Coffeefolia, and some Micro Sword all purchased (for a GREAT price) from liveaquaria.com. The Ruffles have seen the worst damage, but even they have new growth and seem to be rebounding well.
This tank has cycled completely without fish and without dosing ammonia. I monitored the ammonia spike, which only reached about 2ppm before being converted down. Bonus: no harm to any of our fishy friends!
I have added ammonia to the water, it will go from .25ppm to 0 in around an hour. I added up to 2ppm and it was at 0 24 hours later. So far, nitrAtes stay around 20-40ppm without having done a water change. 0 nitrItesI plan on adding fish this weekend, and I will update when I do! I plan on a few species of Tetras, Corries, and some guppies or something.. depending on what South American species they have available.
I would love to hear any comments and questions from the community, as my interest in dirted tanks, especially, has grown over the past several months!
One major thing that I am weighing is the addition of a SMALL amount of Peat Moss to my HOB filter. I bought some fluval pellets that should show up this week, and may add around 4-6tsp in a bag in back of the filter.
My water is super hard, and therefore, hovers around the 8 pH range, my KH maxed out my API kit. I have successfully kept all my tropical fish for 3 years without treating the water with anything more than TetraSafe and they all seem happy, I really just want to keep the top glass free of the calcium build-up on my new tank, and would like to lower the KH and pH a bit. I do understand that I will need to pre-treat water before any water change to avoid fluctuations in pH. Anyone out there with similar experience, please CHIME IN!
The pictures are of planting day, April 23rd and then the growth to date May 1st! I had to include a picture of the dirt mineralizing in the sun as it is just a beautiful part of the experience to me, and then, of course adding the deliciousness to the tank for my plants to enjoy
Thanks again for all of the fantastic content on this forum! Cheers, and happy tanking!
