My first high-tech planted tank

[adadkins1]

The point I have been wanting to reach since entering the realm of planted aquariums. I took my 2.5g Hex tank that started as a Diana Walstad NPT and fashioned a DIY CO2 system with a built in bubble counter. I am using PPS Pro as my fertilizer regimen. The lighting is a simple clamp-on style light and 13W CFL bulb which is on for 10 hrs, but will go down to 8hrs before too long. Now for the questions:

My PPS Pro mix is cloudy and has a little precipitate left in the bottom. I mixed it with warm tap water; will it still be OK to dose it since there is still some undissolved solids?

I used a recipe of 1/3 teaspoon yeast and 2/3 cup of sugar in a 1L bottle. Will this be too little, enough, or excessive CO2?

What other plants would you recommend for this setup? Right now all I have is 1 large stem of Wisteria and 3 daughter plants.

 

[Ziggy953]

Sweet concept and idea for such a small tank. That is a bold undertaking considering the swings in ph and temp. Nice little build! I look forward to seeing it develop!

 

[adadkins1]

Well, today I vacuumed out some of the dirt sitting on the gravel as it was becoming very annoying.

I also transferred about 4 stems of Rotala rotundifolia from my 5.5g.

Finally, I was able to devise a seemingly efficient way to diffuse my CO2. I didn't really want to order a diffuser if I could. So, I started reading up and I found that some people will put the airline in a hole on their AC 20's. So I drilled a hole in my Deco Art Nano filter cover and have the tubing right next to the impeller assembly. The impeller makes a very fine mist out of the bubbles exiting the airline tubing. This gets distributed throughout the tank and the filter media so I hope I am getting some pretty darn good CO2 levels. I am only getting about 1 bubble every 4-6 seconds. I used 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and filled the 1L bottle up to where the taper begins. Hopefully this will be sufficient CO2.

 

[Ziggy953]

Well, today I vacuumed out some of the dirt sitting on the gravel as it was becoming very annoying.

I also transferred about 4 stems of Rotala rotundifolia from my 5.5g.

Finally, I was able to devise a seemingly efficient way to diffuse my CO2. I didn't really want to order a diffuser if I could. So, I started reading up and I found that some people will put the airline in a hole on their AC 20's. So I drilled a hole in my Deco Art Nano filter cover and have the tubing right next to the impeller assembly. The impeller makes a very fine mist out of the bubbles exiting the airline tubing. This gets distributed throughout the tank and the filter media so I hope I am getting some pretty darn good CO2 levels. I am only getting about 1 bubble every 4-6 seconds. I used 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and filled the 1L bottle up to where the taper begins. Hopefully this will be sufficient CO2.

That is a good solution for the CO2 just keep in mind however that CO2 is corrosive and can degrade your filter.

 

[adadkins1]

Yeah, I hope it won't be something that happens too soon. Luckily the filter was only $15, so I won't be out that much, should something happen.

 

[Ziggy953]

Sweet! Good solution as I said and I think you will get your money's worth out of the filter.

 

[jetajockey]

Looking forward to the progression of this build. I've run Co2 directly into the intake on my HOT canisters on multiple occasions without any negative effects, so I consider it pretty safe, but still, it has potential to mess the impeller up. It's hard to beat that simple and effective diffusion method, though, especially if you are like me and don't want to bother building or buying a proper reactor or diffuser.

 

[adadkins1]

Special Thanks to ^^^^^^^ for the plants!

Well, here is an update. Friday my plants came in and I got some Marsilea minuta, Echinodorus vesuvius, Blyxa japonica, and some type of rotala(?). Today, I saw all my plants pearling, I think. It looked like pearling, but it was coming from the roots? Everything is chugging along well, but I think I am going to have to down my dose of PPS Pro because my plants aren't established yet. Hopefully before too long I will see some good growth on everything. My floating plant is exploding, sending out 3 new leaves almost over night.

 

[joejeff]

Awesome betta. Cool.nano. have a five hex I am planted betta too. It's becoming a very attractive tank.

 

[adadkins1]

Bad news:

Apparently I need to play around with my yeast:sugar ratio as my DIY CO2 has already started to slow down exponentially. I am also having a bit of a problem with GSA, but it is easily controlled with a credit card. I am also planning on reducing photoperiod a bit to see if that can be helpful.

Now the good news!

I have seen some awesome growth from my Blyxa, Ludwigia, and floating plant (Salvinia minia or Azolla). My Blyxa has 2 new shoots coming off, and the new growth is showing some nice reddish coloration mottled with green. My Ludwigia is doing fairly well, and is pearling quiet nicely. The floating plant has been the most astounding change. Before going high tech, I had the thing in my tank for nearly a month with no change. Now, the thing has sent out 5 new plants which are thriving and starting to send out their own plantlets.

 

[jetajockey]

Looks really good, thanks for the update.

 

[adadkins1]

Ahh yes, the high tech has turned into a jungle! I am getting ready to do some trimming and duckweed removal. I had only a few pieces left and in all my other set ups they would have died. In this set up they have exploded! As are all the other plants. I see some very obvious growth from all the plants, but most excitingly the Marsilea minuta.

Now, the question of the week. Just for kicks, I decided to pop in 23W CFL from my old 20H to see what may materialize. Would y'all say a 23W CFL over this tank would be flirtin' with disaster?

 

[aqua_chem]

Not if you keep everything in balance. How much MM growth are you seeing?

 

[adadkins1]

Nothing crazy, but it has finally taken root and I've been seeing maybe half an inch max per day. I'm just excited to see it growing because it took a little while for it to get established. I'm excited to see if I can get some more reds out of my Ludwigia arcuata. It was red on the tops with the 13W so hopefully 23W will give me what I want! I'm also seeing some ridiculous growth out of the floating plant. Will get a pic to see if I can get a positive ID.

 

[jetajockey]

Marsilea can be a particularly slow grower, although it transitions to emersed quite easily. It's interesting because as it transitions, it takes on a totally different form. That form, seems to grow pretty fast and tall (at least comparatively), though. Might make a good window sill project.

 

[adadkins1]

Awesome! I may just have to try doing it emmersed. The reason I was so excited was due to the fact that it isn't a very fast grow, which I was aware of. I have seen a large tank (30G+) with a full carpet of the stuff, just said it took 3 months with high light, CO2, ferts. Here's a link to an album with a few pics from today: http://photobucket.com/hightechplanted

 

[jetajockey]

Dry start method is probably the best way to get a thick carpet of the stuff, but I don't know for sure. I know some people will attach a gladware container of the stuff (or other ground cover) at the tank surface so it's getting a ton of light and that works to make it grow faster also.

I've never been dedicated enough to run it on high light or dry start, though so I'm just speculating.

 

[aqua_chem]

If you're going to do dry start, you need to use Aquasoil, MTS, dirt, or some other NUTRIENT containing substrate. This excludes Fluorite, EC, Floramax, etc, unless you want to put osmocote in it (and even then it has a tendency to not work).

That being said, dirt will mineralize itself over the course of a dry start, which is pretty nifty.

Google through "Dry Start Method". There is some really good information available on the topic. I'm going to probably be DSing some UG here in a few days.

 

[adadkins1]

Oh well, I don't mind it growing slowly; I like it. I'm interested to see how nearly doubling the wattage of my lighting goes. Will update as things progress.