Start of a long relationship (planted tank journal)

[mfdrookie516]

Here's a video. It's the best I can do until I either find my camera charger, or buy a new one.

YouTube - 40 breeder updated

Pay close attention to the last 30 seconds or so.

 

[bsdryder7]

what about it lol,........what kind of fish is that with the awesome tail and another question i really like those kerri tetra u have ...would the be ok with 6 angels 2 gbr rams 1 big belly mollie 2 featherfin cats...also where did you get them

 

[mfdrookie516]

All the fish in this tank except the two guppies and the cories came from HN1 and severum mama. I've got 16 kerri tetras, 4 kitti tetras, and the pair of apistos that came from them.

 

[Crepe]

Have your appistos ever spawned? I really want one for myself lol.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I got them Wednesday night. The female instantly started showing spawning colors. I've not been able to see yet, but they've been running off any fish that go under their piece of driftwood.

 

[Joyler]

Is that a cockatoo apisto?! He's gorgeous!! And was that a guppy with a HUGE tail? Awesome tank!

 

[mfdrookie516]

I just ordered a new light for this tank. It's another 2x39w. That'll give me almost 4wpg I now feel comfortable doing this, as I have my algae issues under control thanks to the higher co2 and the introduction of PPS Pro.

Just for kicks and giggles, i've had one of the 4x24w fixtures from my 125 sitting alongside the 2x39w on this tank today. I'll try to get pics later. It's pretty wild looking.

 

[Cereal]

Beautiful tank as usual. I hope the extra light goes well for you.

 

[ejaramillo01]

I just ordered a new light for this tank. It's another 2x39w. That'll give me almost 4wpg I now feel comfortable doing this, as I have my algae issues under control thanks to the higher co2 and the introduction of PPS Pro.

Just for kicks and giggles, i've had one of the 4x24w fixtures from my 125 sitting alongside the 2x39w on this tank today. I'll try to get pics later. It's pretty wild looking.

Remind me what is the PPS Pro??

 

[mfdrookie516]

PPS Pro is the autodoser setup for ferts. Its fully automated, i just fill them up every couple weeks. The only thing I have to do is feed the fish and change the water, everything else is done by timer.

 

[fort384]

PPS = Perpetual Preservation System. It is a method by which you dose very small amounts of fertilizer (only what plants uptake in a day), rather than dosing higher dosages with longer time between doses. It is an accurate method that prevents swings in fert levels, reduces the chance of excess fertilizer causing algae issues, and ultimately saves money because you are only dosing what is needed (the money savings is pretty minimal however).

 

[mfdrookie516]

Or we could get all technical about it ^^. I didn't even know what it stood for. I figured somebody just came up with a cool sounding bunch of letters to go along with all the other cool acronyms in the hobby.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Or we could get all technical about it ^^. I didn't even know what it stood for. I figured somebody just came up with a cool sounding bunch of letters to go along with all the other cool acronyms in the hobby.

Lol
But sounds the way to go if you have a big tank with natural plants.

Thanks, keep up, this tank is beautiful.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Here's a FTS from today. I moved the sword out, it was getting a little big and not in line with what I want this tank to look like. The plants are really filling in nicely IMO. Opinions?

 

[meegosh]

Looking good man, looks like lots of activity in the tank! Honestly, I think you just need to wait for it to fill in or get some more plants. I think in a month or so this tank will look awesome filled in!

 

[roydooms]

Looks great! You can really appreciate the driftwood without the sword blocking it.

What did you do with the sword? Is this a different sword from the other one that was covered in algae

 

[Coleallensmom]

You can do no wrong- looks good with or without the sword. I agree with Steve...this tank is going to look terrific in a few months!

 

[mfdrookie516]

I have two more plants coming in... well... at least two different plants. I have some rotala rotundifolia and marselia coming in this week... other than that, I don't plan on adding anything. I may remove the glosso... all depends on what I like best.

Best part is... I just did a water change, and dropped the temp about 3 degrees. The male apisto started acting all funny around the female, flaring up, chasing her... then they both headed off to the cave under the driftwood and haven't been out since. Babies soon? I hope so

 

[meegosh]

*cough* I'll take the glosso *cough*. Lol! I bet your rotala will take off in no time. I've trimmed mine a few times, this time I'm going to sell about 20+ stems to someone on here. Seems to be a popular plant in the hobby. Very easy to care for, don't have problems with the shaded leaves dying off like with some of the other stems.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Yeah, the rotala wallichii that fort sent has grown tremendously. It had outgrown his tank (about 5" tall I guess... lol) and has easily doubled in size.

I believe I'll have enough glosso to send you monday... it seems to grow about 3" per week on each 'runner', for lack of a better term. I started with about 8 small plants with a couple leaves on each, and have easily 20 times that much now (about 2 months?). Shouldn't take long.