new tank journal

[goatnad]

hello everyone. here is a 10 gallon tank i recently scaped. figured I would start a journal on here so I and anyone who would like to watch the progress can do so.



standard 10 gallon tank with the top rim removed
diy co2 system
organic potting soil
black diamond sand blasting material
10-20gallon internal filter(dont remember the brand)
finnex planted + 24/7 light

plants
cyrptocoryne wendtii green
creeping jenny
java fern
utricularia graminifolia


fish
1 powder blue dwarf gourami

rescaped this tank around a week ago. im trying to decide if I want to put some anubias nana petite on the driftwood. let me know what you guys think.

 

[DTWGulo]

Personally, I'd hold off on attaching anything to the wood. Maybe moss, but you're going to have lots of growth on the crypt and the plants in front of the driftwood. I like being able to actually see some wood in scapes. Looking nice so far. Great to see that you didn't stick the wood right dead in the center, too!

 

[goatnad]

thank you for your input. thats what i was thinking. the creeping jenny is going to grow fast and will bush up alot in front of the wood covering it some.

 

[Tbox]

Looking good Billy Ray!
I'm interested in seeing your diy CO2 setup.
Did you cover the entire bottom with an equal depth of soil before capping it?

 

[goatnad]

thank you tbox. i dont have any pictures of the co2 system but i will take some in just a bit and post them. its a very simple system. hawaiian punch jug, hole drilled in top and air hose superglued into it. a check valve in the line then on to a glass diffuser. i have the diffuser shoved under the filter so 1. you cant see it and 2. so the co2 gets diffused into the water really really well. soon i will be switching out all my co2 systems to a pressurized system. its a bit time consuming to do a yeast/sugar mix for 6 tanks every week . for the soil question i covered the whole bottom with 1" of soil except the back left corner where the crypts are. i did about a 1 1/2" slope there since i wanted that area raised a bit and because cyrpts are such heavy root feeders.

 

[goatnad]

so i forgot to post the pics of my diy co2 system here they are.

the bottle to a check valve

then on to a glass diffuser.(sorry its kind of a pain to get the diffuser out from under the pump so no pic.)

 

[goatnad]

here is a tank update. 9 days after original post.

i had to trim and replant some of the creeping jenny. it had grown probably 4 inches since i planted. the utricularia graminifolia has settled in and is now sending out runners. this is one slow growing plant even with co2. im thinking of pulling some of it out of my 75g and putting it in the 10g to get more little spots growing.



i had a bit of hair algae growing. it was because i forgot to plug the lights into the timer i had so they were staying on for something like 14 hours a day. the timer is set for 5 on, 4 off, 5 on.

 

[DTWGulo]

Grrrr. Utricularia is one of only two plants to ever defeat my attempts to grow it. I hate that stuff!

 

[goatnad]

Grrrr. Utricularia is one of only two plants to ever defeat my attempts to grow it. I hate that stuff!

lol sorry to hear it didnt go well for you. it has grown pretty easy for me so far. i have it in a 75g tank without co2 and it has spread a good bit but has taken a good bit of time to do so. also it only sticks out make 1/4 to 1/2 inches above the substrate. i now have it in this 10g tank with co2 and it has grown twice as fast and larger. some of the leaves are standing around 3/4 to 1 inch above the substrate.



another update on the tank. this is another 9 days after my last post. i pulled more utri out of the 75g and put it in this 10g to get it spreading more. the creeping jenny once again needed a trimming and replanting.... anyone want some creeping jenny ? the crypts are starting to put on leaves and hopefully will start to fill in the back left corner more.

i found some type of what i think is moss growing on a log in my backyard pond and this past week also found it growing on the driftwood in this tank. i never could figure out what it was but someone on here said it looked like some type of fissidens moss. i will leave it be for now and see how it ends up looking in this tank.

 

[Fresh2o]

That moss does look like a species of Fissidens. I’ve had it growing on DW, pulled the DW out and left it in my fish cabinet for a few months. When I added the DW back to the tank, I saw sprigs of Fissidens growing despite being dried out.

 

[DTWGulo]

Congrats on the Utricularia! I'm glad someone can get it to grow!

 

[goatnad]

That moss does look like a species of Fissidens. I’ve had it growing on DW, pulled the DW out and left it in my fish cabinet for a few months. When I added the DW back to the tank, I saw sprigs of Fissidens growing despite being dried out.

same thing here. i used this driftwood in another tank for at least 6 months and it never grew this stuff. took that scape down and just put the driftwood in my driftwood pile on the carport then decided to use it for this scape. BAM! all of a sudden its growing this stuff. sadly though this little bit on this driftwood is all i have now. i put the big clump i got from the pond wood in my turtle tank just so it could stay wet while i figured out what i was going to do with it and that little s.o.b. ate all of it!

 

[goatnad]

another update.

 

[DTWGulo]

Definite growth on the utricularia, the java fern looks healthy with those intense green leaves. It's coming along nicely! I can't wait too see how that whole carpet of utricularia looks once they all meet up and mesh. Nice work!

 

[goatnad]

Definite growth on the utricularia, the java fern looks healthy with those intense green leaves. It's coming along nicely! I can't wait too see how that whole carpet of utricularia looks once they all meet up and mesh. Nice work!

i thank you very much. ill be posting an update picture with this reply that shows a bit more spread and filling in. i looked over your tanks and i have to say the first one you posted is beautiful. im also wondering if you have any updated pics on the dragon stone one you did with all the plants on the stones. you do some great work with aquariums and i would love to see more of it.


here is the update picture(another 7 days of growth and a few more little patches transferred from the 75g)

bonus picture of a little largemouth bass i caught during the 4th of july holiday

 

[DTWGulo]

Nice bass!
thanks for nudging me to update the 65G build thread. Did so tonight and realized just how much growth has happened. Guess I'm doing something right!

 

[goatnad]

back with another update. almost 2 weeks have gone by and ive had good growth on the tank.

 

[DTWGulo]

Awesome growth! You getting itchy to add/subtract/change anything yet?

 

[Taiken5968]

back with another update. almost 2 weeks have gone by and ive had good growth on the tank.

Boy that carpet is growing like crazy. looks nice.

 

[goatnad]

Awesome growth! You getting itchy to add/subtract/change anything yet?

lol actually i have. i got some hydrocotyle tripartita japan in a few days ago and ive thought about putting it on the right just below the java fern to help cover the roots and rhizomes on the ferns. what do you guys think? do it or not?

Boy that carpet is growing like crazy. looks nice.

yes it is. im hoping in the next week or 2 it will be fully grown. ive been meaning to ask you where in mississippi are you from? im from hattiesburg. if you ever feel like trading plants let me know.