Shane's Aquariums

[shanel]

Hello Everyone,
Here is my build of this reefer 350 G2. Yes, building this for a freshwater system. The reason behind this, it's in the same room as my S-1000 G2. I did this so the tanks would match. I am replacing a marineland 75 gallon with this guy.

I am at the point where I need some advice and Ideas. The basic concept of the aquascape is a mountainous theme with 2 waterfalls. I am adding some small bonsai trees with bucephalandra on top of them. Here is where I need advice and Ideas. I would like to add something that would resemble grass and or bushes in the rock work.This is where I need some ideas on what to use. I am no expert on plant care. So I am wondering if I should dose flourish excel or use co2 as well. Any other ideas are welcome.

Here are a few basic photos of where I'm at in the build.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I would be very careful with Excel. The active ingredient in Excel and Excel like products is gluteraldhyde. The main use of gluteraldhyde is to sterilise medical equipment, and if you carefully read all the paperwork for Excel it will say something along the line of "harmful to marine life" which is a bit of a clear warning for a product intended for use in aquariums. What gluteraldhyde does in aquariums is act as a mild algaecide, and will clean the leaves of plants a little, so they are better able to get at available carbon in the water. The chemical reaction it goes through uses up a lot of oxygen from the water. A common use of excel is to double dose to clear up black beard algae, and a common outcome is all the fish die from oxygen depletion. Be very careful to not overdose, and consider if the dubious benefits are worth the risk. The science behind Seachems claim that it provides carbon is very thin, but they are very good at marketing.

 

[shanel]

I would be very careful with Excel. The active ingredient in Excel and Excel like products is gluteraldhyde. The main use of gluteraldhyde is to sterilise medical equipment, and if you carefully read all the paperwork for Excel it will say something along the line of "harmful to marine life" which is a bit of a clear warning for a product intended for use in aquariums. What gluteraldhyde does in aquariums is act as a mild algaecide, and will clean the leaves of plants a little, so they are better able to get at available carbon in the water. The chemical reaction it goes through uses up a lot of oxygen from the water. A common use of excel is to double dose to clear up black beard algae, and a common outcome is all the fish die from oxygen depletion. Be very careful to not overdose, and consider if the dubious benefits are worth the risk. The science behind Seachems claim that it provides carbon is very thin, but they are very good at marketing.

Wow, what a fantastic explanation. Thanks. The old tank that I'm replace has been plagued with beard algae for about 2yrs now. I've tried the double dose of excel and dim lighting. I aslo tried dosing peroxide. Maybe I did it incorrectly. Like I said not well versed on plant care. My frear is I will get another outbreak of some kind that would be hard to get rid of so any tips or tricks will do me justice.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I'm not really sure what you mean by bonsai trees. Are you actually planning on trying to grow a bonsai in the aquarium or are you trying to create the appearance of trees in the aquarium by using driftwood and creating foliage with the buce?

Think of buce as anubias, which is much more commonly kept. They don't need a lot of light or nutrients, and are prone to collecting algae so do better in areas with low light. I've never kept buce, but I can show you 2 anubias plants. 1 in a higher light, 1 in lower light. The lower light grows much quicker and much healthier. They might not be the best plants to locate at the higher levels of the aquarium where light is stronger.

You mention wanting some ground cover. Generally want high light and CO2 injection for carpet plants, but as Autumnsky suggests Dwarf Hair Grass can do well without. If you would benefit from CO2 really depends on what other plants you plan on keeping. The buce will be fine without, you can get a carpet that doesn't need CO2. If your other plants are low demand types then no need to have CO2. If they are high demand plants they would benefit from this as well as stronger lighting and nutrient dosing.

 

[shanel]

So what I was planning on was trying to create the appearance of trees in the aquarium by using driftwood and creating foliage with the buce.

I am open to any other plants that would give the appearance of leaves in the trees. I feel it would be best to start with anything that would be a beginner plant.

Is Dwarf Hair Grass easy to care for? Will it take over the tank if I do it incorrectly? Is there a way to combat algae growth by using different plants?

 

[shanel]

Here is a list of equipment

Apex A2 Base Unit
EB832 Energy Bar
2 Temperature Probes
1 PH Probe
1 ORP Probe
1 Apex Display
1 DOS Dosing Pump
4 FMM Modules
1 VDM Module
2 AFS Feeders with Feeder Rings
1 PM1 Module
2 1" Flow Sensors
2 14" LLS
1 4 " LLS
2 PMUP Pumps
6 OS-1 Optical Sensors
3 Water on Floor Sensors
1 SV-1 1/4" Solenoid Valve
1 Ground Probe in Overflow
1 custom made breakout box switch panel with 4 button remote
1 custom made breakout box switch panel with 2 covered on/off, 4 momentary push button and 24v alarm
ReefMat 500
2 A36 Tuna Sun with Wifi Dongle for Display Tank
1 A360W-E Tuna Sun in Sump
1 Aquastation DC-5000 Pump
2 Aquastation DC-12000 80w Return Pumps
2 Georg Fischer Wye Check Valves
3.1gal Rimless Tank 7.87x7.87x11.81 for ATO
2 Chamber 1500 ml Dosing Container
4 Brushless Motor Driver Controller, WS55-180
APC BR1000MS Battery Backup
24v 600w Power Supply
24v to 12v 120w Step Down Converter
3 DC Power Fuse Distribution Strip Modules
4 Led Light Strips
1 Samsung Android 10" Tablet
Misc Electrical and Plumbing Parts