New 29 Gal Planted Tank

[czcz]

Great job. Nice Blyxa!

You probably know this already, but if you more severely trim those background stems down (trade or replant the tops, leave the bottoms) you'll encourage the branching and bushes that everyone wants so much. If you trimmed it to a height below the miground growers and are patient about growout, you'll hide the ugliness/rooting/branching that will result, too.

This is also a fun way to keep stem plant tanks: for example, doing the above to your R. rotundifolia may let the Mayaca sp (?) on the far right there to take off, giving the tank a new look, then vice versa later, or whatever you decide as you and those plants become friends and figure each other out

 

[fort384]

Good advice as always czcz. I think I will cut them down and replant them in the corner and let them grow in.

 

[fort384]

looks great... still tracking the stats?

Yes, though I am currently porting it all over to an access database. I found a few aquarium database programs out there, but they are too cumbersome, so I am building my own.

 

[fort384]

R. rotundifolia trimmed. Looks kinda funky right now but I know they will grow back quick.

 

[fort384]

Can an admin change the title of this thread to "Fort's 29G FW Planted Tank Log" or similar? Thanks

Well, my Fissendens and Christmas Moss came in from AquaticMagic. It looks ok, survived the 14 days of shipping. The Christmas moss has some brown on it but I think it will come back ok. There has been some debate as to whether or not the fissendens will grow submerged. It was cheap, and I like the look, so I am giving it a shot. Hopefully medium high light and high CO2 will get it done.


FULL TANK SHOT

NEONS AND SAEs HANGING OUT IN THE B. JAPONICA

RICCIA, CRYPT, AND NEW FISSENDENS

OTHER CRYPT, AND PLANT I STILL DONT KNOW THE NAME OF IN THE FOREGROUND (Do you know? LFS called it Rotunda Visicularia, but not much reference to that name on the web)

 

[fort384]

Did a large trimming tonight, tank is looking decent. The fissendens seems to be surviving.

 

[brutus]

nice to look at the first pics and the last to see how its changed. Looks great.

 

[fort384]

Well, I think I have determined that Fissendens s.can be grown submerged... but I have also discovered that Amano shrimp not only like to hang out on it/in it, but they love to eat it as well. I would say it is about half gone from when I put it in a couple of weeks ago, and as I type this, I see 3 amanos going to town on it. The good news is my Amanos are nice and fat, and have this great greenish color...

 

[addicted2fish]

can you try to get any close ups of this shrimp ? .... fissendens is one of my fav mosses . it grows well for me in my 10 gallon with my diy lighting . I use cf bulbs that are 6500K. 2 on the 10 gallon, make for 3WPG .. and your tank is coming along nice. you can find great atricles all over the web. reasearch and time are your best bet . looks great ! your bylxa is really looking good ! your crypts too !! wow

 

[fort384]

Unfortunately I don't have a decent camera, so getting a close up of one of the amano's is next to impossible.

 

[fort384]

Added a new species of plant to the 29... Rotala Wallichii. Hopefully I will have enough light to get it to turn that awesome pinkish - red color. It seems to be growing ok (had it about a week), but still not turning color. Here is a pic of it (left side, between the red crypt and the Blyxa J).

Also, I am amazed by how well the Java Fern attached to the top of my driftwood is doing. For the first 3-4 weeks, it didn't really grow much. Now it is one of the better looking ferns in the tank. It streams every night like crazy too. You can kind of see that in the photo.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Looks good man, love the pictures.

P.S.

I'll take a video 4 my log and put it on here, so you can help me with my plant placement.

 

[fort384]

I added another dual 2X24W T5HO fixture to the tank tonight... unfortunately they sent me the wrong model so it had an actinic bulb in it instead of the 6500K on one side. It makes the tank look kind of cool, but I asked them to send me a replacement... rather have the extra wattage be useful for the plants.

I took a few more pictures tonight with the camera... slowly figuring out how to get it to take decent pictures (not great... thinking about getting an SLR 'cause the focus is just not there with this 1).

Finally got my Botia Stratia on camera (left side under driftwood)... he is a little camera shy:

I still don't know what the plants on the far left are called, but they are growing great...

That's all for now.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

The javafern in that last pic is really going to town on that dw. Looks very clean and health, great work, keep it up.

 

[fort384]

Wow. Had to try and get a video of this. It didn't turn out too great but you can kind of see it. With the new set of T5HOs added, all my plants are pearling/streaming like crazy. Looks like someone dropped some alka-seltzer in the tank. I am no longer using CO2 misting, so all the bubbles (save the ones coming out of the co2 diffusor and going straight to the surface) are coming from the plants.

[youtube]WUYoeOjqmfA[/youtube]

 

[fort384]

Tank is growing great. Have a little bit of a green algae outbreak, probably due to the new lighting, but I am adjusting nutrient balance and photoperiod slowly to compensate. Nothing out of control. The blyxa J is starting to turn reddish after a a week or so under the new lights. The Rotala Walachii that started as a single stem is now 4, and has grown to a height of 18" or so. The SAEs still nibble on it, but there is so much of it now, it is starting to grow out because they can't keep up. My amanos are all getting fat. The biggest one is about 2.5" long, and has huge girth. Must be plenty for them to eat! I wish I could get a good pic of 1, but my digital camera has trouble focusing on them.

 

[Purrbox]

Very nice. I really like how this aquascape has developed. I find my eye being drawn along the back of the aquarium to the right and then following the grassy foreground back to the left in the front allowing my eyes to explore the entire scape. I enjoy that you have some very densely planted areas that are balanced out by open areas for the fish to swim.

 

[joy13]

Your tanks has really come along way in only 4 months.

 

[neilanh]

Wow fort, looking really nice!

 

[bru]

Just read this thread, great job journalling your progress, thanks! The spreadsheet you built is just tremendous. Great idea. I think this thread is a testament to how much the Internet and forums have changed the hobby, allowing someone new to the hobby like yourself to quickly correct problems and draw on others' experience.