# my planted tank, the beginning!



## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

well this is the day my planted tank starts to take shape, last week I got rid of my Tinfoil Barbs (plant destroyers lol) and I bought a few plants new uv bulb and some plant food to get myself going. If all goes well I will post pictures as the tank matures.









And I couldnt resist posting a pic of my little posse of clowns (I cant get them to keep still long enough)


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## linda.t (Sep 28, 2007)

looks great i've got a clown and its very good at playing dead.
linda


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

clowns are best kept in three's or more, I have 6 and they are great to watch when they "own" the tank


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## fridayman (Jun 19, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> clowns are best kept in three's or more, I have 6 and they are great to watch when they "own" the tank


I have to agree. I saw a tank full of clowns in a lfs at the weekend and it looked beautiful.


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## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

Careful with those ferns on the far right of the pic, i have three of those and they are growing so fast i can barely keep on top of them!!

Marina


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Marinam2 said:


> Careful with those ferns on the far right of the pic, i have three of those and they are growing so fast i can barely keep on top of them!!
> 
> Marina


Cheers for the advice : victory: I am hoping for some quick growth as I am so impatient :lol2:


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## shaun (Apr 28, 2007)

I love clowns!!!! hope the tank plants grow good 4 u! : victory:


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## boabloketony (Jan 22, 2007)

Your tank looks great,


I'd love a planted tank with tiger barbs in, they've always been my favourites


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Sorry to tell you this, but some of those plants are non-aquatic, and will soon rot down in your tank and cause ammonia problems. At least the green/white one is non-aquatic. Bloody lfs. 

A good way to test is take the plant out the water - if its still standing up it is probably non-aquatic.

if you want, go to www.java-plants.com and get a "tropical collection".

I spent £20 on plants, and here is my tank abou a month later:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

That is an old bit I just left in there for now, I didnt think it was going to last as I has no roots and is just clean cut on the bottom. I was just leaving it in there till I dont need it anymore.

cheers for the heads up though


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Fair enough 

Also, do you know if the green ones with the big, round leaves ear to wood are anubias? If they are, you should attath them too the wood, as they rot if planted into the substrate. They will soom take root to the wood. 

Btw... that wood is stunning! :mf_dribble::mf_dribble:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Im not sure what the plant is, it seems to be rooting in the gravel though.

The wood I have had for about 12 years or more, I have 5 pieces and never had the heart to throw it away (sort of sentimental now) and because it cost so much in the shops.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Okay! Sorry if i am being annoying, im just trying to help. :whistling2:

And god, my spelling in my last post.....:whip:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> Sorry to tell you this, but some of those plants are non-aquatic, and will soon rot down in your tank and cause ammonia problems. At least the green/white one is non-aquatic. Bloody lfs.
> 
> A good way to test is take the plant out the water - if its still standing up it is probably non-aquatic.
> 
> ...


 
thanks...i was going to tell him that but i couldn't remember the name...we just call them corn plants...we have them in pots...the amazons are great eh??


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

the tall, green/white stripey plant....it'll die and cause fungal infections on the fish...toss it and you'll be haveing a great tank in a couple of years..i have a 65 gallon ...been fully planyed for god...6-7 years?...it's the only way to go...wisteria is great but don't let it die off...the dead leaves draw fungus...


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

you might also want to spread out the stem plants, to let more light get to the bottom of the plants, will speed up growth!


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> you might also want to spread out the stem plants, to let more light get to the bottom of the plants, will speed up growth!


 
we both can see that it's freshly planted...i like it!!!!!!!!!


got good lighting there?


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

i just realised, you live near me alpharoyals. :notworthy:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> i just realised, you live near me alpharoyals. :notworthy:


Oh yeah lol

Thanks for the web addy for the plants, I have been looking for days for a site : victory:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


>


One week in, I have moved, removed and added a few but you can see the difference already. : victory:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

nice!!:no1:....wait in a few months and see what you will have!!!


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

looks much better already! 

I really like the bacopa. lol


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> looks much better already!
> 
> I really like the bacopa. lol


I think they called it creeping jenny??? Might be wrong.
not growing as fast as the one at the back.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> I think they called it creeping jenny??? Might be wrong.
> not growing as fast as the one at the back.


bum  i thought it was creeping jenny, an ten i edited it to bacopa. haha. :bash:

still, it looks good


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i see bacopa...two sprigs...it grows well.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

How'd I miss this post? Very nice tank there... I am awaiting the update! lol


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

I have looked those plants up for you and I found a post of tropical fish forums with someone with the same plant, and they were asking if they were non-aquatic becase they had started to rot, and people were saying they were. Sorry. I hate it when fish shops sell non-aquatic plants. :censor: It's actually illegal, I would think. False advertising or something, I dunno.

Im waiting for the update too. :whistling2:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

which plant is non aquatic? also the one in the middle and left has started to die off (didnt you say that one was supposed to be attached to wood?) i have changed a bit again, unfortunatly update will be monday as I am away from home this weekend (unlessI get time before I leave)


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Those are the non-aquatic ones.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Esfa said:


> Those are the non-aquatic ones.


Are those the ones which grow the white flowers? I had some that looked like that, which grow white flowers, and are marsh, _not_ aquatic, as you say. They dies in a couple of months.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

2 weeks, got rid of some more and got some Riccia Fluitans and Crypt Nevillii, not a lot as I was just going to see what quality the plants were like from java-plants before spending too much (note the NON aquatic plants were dying already!!!)


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

do use root tabs?


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

no, just liquid plant food at the moment, depending how I do with the plants depends if I look into CO2, under gravel heating, tablets and under gravel substrate blah blah blah 
:lol2::lol2:


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

wooo, riccia. Been after some of that for ages. :whistling2:

its looking good!


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

I have had 2 weeks stepping forward and one week stepping back!
the crypt nevillii I got from the LFS has just about all died off but the bunch I got from Java-plants is looking good, The Riccia was growing (under the net not through it!) so I have got some shallow dishes with plastic mesh bottoms and put them upside down over the Riccia. The Fanwort is about an inch from the top now.
I may put a pic up saturday but not sure if its going to be worth it but I have got a load more plants arriving next week so will be looking better next weekend.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

crypts do that alot - its called crypt melt.

If you leave a lot of the root structure in the sand, it will grow back good as new.

When you were doing water changes, did you pour slightly cooler/warmer water on the crypt? or water with a different pH? Anything like that can cause crypts to melt.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Well!.... I didnt wake up this morning with the intension to end up like this but after a long chat with the guy in the shop I have changed my substrate from stones to a layer of "JBL Aquabasis plus" then a layer of sand on top. I also purchased a co2 injection system which "ferments" naturally, just to give it a try before spending loads on the canister type.









three weeks in.....Mmmmmm!


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

Its looking good. Well, kinda.

The tank will settle back down and be crystal clear again! How big is the tank? In Litres and dimensions? And also, what fish do you have in it?


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

wow! i love the crysal clea water effect that you are going for! :whistling2:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

its settled a lot this morning, the co2 hasnt activated yet :bash:

its a 36"x18"x12" about 24 gallon. 
I got 

6 lemon tetra's
6 columbian tetra's
7 clown loaches
2 pictus cats
1 gold nugget plec
1 bulldog plec
6 Rams (2 blue. 4 Gold)

I think thats it :lol2:


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

Ive got a 40"x12"x15".

I thiught you had to have a bigger tank for clown loaches, at least 4'? Mabey im wrong?


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Tomcat said:


> Ive got a 40"x12"x15".
> 
> I thiught you had to have a bigger tank for clown loaches, at least 4'? Mabey im wrong?


Well, technically, probably yes. They _can _grow to a foot long, apparently, although the biggest I have seen are the ones at Maidenhead Aquatics in Peterborough, at about 6-8" long. I think a 40" tank might be too small for them, but often they are small things, and they dont grow too quick.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Tomcat said:


> Ive got a 40"x12"x15".
> 
> I thiught you had to have a bigger tank for clown loaches, at least 4'? Mabey im wrong?


 
I am planning to get a bigger tank in a few years but my biggest clown that died was only about 3"-4" and I had it about 4-5 years


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

Oh right coolio.

I want to get some more guppys, swordtails and a red tail black shark.

Im ordering 200+ live plants later, for 24 quid, so thats really cheap


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

yeah clowns get upto 14", but usually more around 12".

they grow pretty quick upto about 6" and then can take upto 10 years to get to 12".

But they need a tank of about 75gals when fullgrown.


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

How long could a pair live in a 40"x12"x15" tank, 120 litres for?


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

you'd ok with a pair of clowns in there for a good 3-4 years really, if not more. My biggest clown loach is probably around 11inch and he(or she) is about 7 years old but has been fed lots of high quality food for the whole time i've had it


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Tomcat said:


> Oh right coolio.
> 
> I want to get some more guppys, swordtails and a red tail black shark.
> 
> Im ordering 200+ live plants later, for 24 quid, so thats really cheap


 
200! I am worried where I am going to put my 20 when they turn up this week.


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

Lol, i love planted tanks, And mine is looking really bare at the minute. So yeah, im ordering 200+. I probably wont use them all, but i am giving my brother myold tank, so ill end up giving him some. And im also setting up a small tank, in the cupboard to store them in lol


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

5 weeks in now, I am so glad I changed my gravel for laterite and sand. It is srting to take shape but the plants arent all in the place I want yet. the nutrafin CO2 system is doing well and plants are growing fast, Oh an I got some floating plants, you can see the roots hanging down.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i've never used CO2 but you should have stellar results....:no1:


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> Oh an I got some floating plants, you can see the roots hanging down.


Looking excellent! I'm liking the updates!

Are the plants hanging down duckweed? 
Lemnaceae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I had some in my tank, and it grows SOOO quickly... had to remove it _all _the time! Looks good though, although it blocks out the light.


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## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

What is that substrate called i am currently looking to move from big gravel to a sand substitute but cannot find anything i like.

Marina


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Marinam2 said:


> What is that substrate called i am currently looking to move from big gravel to a sand substitute but cannot find anything i like.
> 
> Marina


Just go into your LFS and ask them for sand: theres loads of different kinds and colours, and they can advise you. One of my tanks had pea gravel on one side, fading into sand on the other, looked awesome... like it was getting deeper, away from the bank kinda, nice effect.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

AshMashMash said:


> Looking excellent! I'm liking the updates!
> 
> Are the plants hanging down duckweed?
> Lemnaceae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> ...


Not Duckweed, I was told to avoid that at all costs, there are two types, "amazon frogbit" and..... I have been looking for 30 mins on google and for the life of me can't find the other name. :blush:



Marinam2 said:


> What is that substrate called i am currently looking to move from big gravel to a sand substitute but cannot find anything i like.
> 
> Marina


I used "JBL Aquabasis plus" and bought some aquarium sand (its not as fine as normal sand) put the Laterite down first then the sand on top and its roughly 50/50. I also use nutrafinn liquid plant food and the CO2 cannister was £20.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> Not Duckweed, I was told to avoid that at all costs, there are two types, "amazon frogbit" and..... I have been looking for 30 mins on google and for the life of me can't find the other name. :blush:


Oh, I know the frogbit one. Well, the one I had was the type you get in ponds in england. I tried introducing to my tank a couple of times from a pond, and it didn't take. But then, one time, one piece (ie one 2-leafed, 1-rooted plant) was left floating. That split and in the end took over the whole tank, I was pulling it out daily, before I got rid of the lot! It was a bloody nightmare!

The only good thing about it was that it managed to keep my non-eating bala shark alive long enough to become established and start eating normal foods. He ate the duckweed from the top when first introduced, for months.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Could the 2nd type be water lettuce?

I've been looking for some frogbit for ages. :mf_dribble:

Btw, did you get rid of the riccia?! :whip: lol


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> Could the 2nd type be water lettuce?
> 
> I've been looking for some frogbit for ages. :mf_dribble:
> 
> Btw, did you get rid of the riccia?! :whip: lol


No I dont think it was water lettuce??? I will post some pictures asap

and yes I gave up on the riccia LOL, the clowns made it impossible to do anything with it LITTLE BUGGERS, I still love em though!


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> No I dont think it was water lettuce??? I will post some pictures asap
> 
> and yes I gave up on the riccia LOL, the clowns made it impossible to do anything with it LITTLE BUGGERS, I still love em though!


haha, i just got laods of riccia yesterday, already my ottos undid the hairnet and set it out around the tank. :censor:

spent over an our netting it out, and there is still loads in there. :bash:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> spent over an our netting it out, and there is still loads in there. :bash:


Thats what I kept getting sick of doing!
anyway here are some pictures of the ting plants.
Amazon Frogbit









and the "unknown"


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

....still unkown. :lol2:


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

love your clown loach.
I've kept tropical fish for over 25 years but I'm moving away from the hobby. I have a couple of clown loach that are probably 15 years old but they certainly aren't 12 inches long. I've kept them in a 48Lx15Wx18H aquarium, they love the aquatic wood and after seeing yours perhaps I should have increased their numbers. They're definitely my favs along with corydoras.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Its getting better every week, I looked back at the first picture and couldnt believe how bare it was, so this week I thought i would put a first and last picture. 5 weeks in!


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> Its getting better every week, I looked back at the first picture and couldnt believe how bare it was, so this week I thought i would put a first and last picture. 5 weeks in!


Looking good! :mf_dribble: Ready for some suggestions? :lol2:

I would get some dwarf sag for a foreground plant, let it cover the front. Would look good.

And then i would get some java moss for on the wood, would look really good! :mf_dribble: Maybe have the middle one completely covered in it, so its like a moss bridge? :notworthy:

And then that's about it :lol2:

Edit: What's your WPG? If it is high enough you can splash a bit of red in there, too.

Another edit: You can get a red water lilly for the backm right hand corner, would look stunning!

And you could also get some crypt wendtii for somewhere.

Yet another edit: Is that some crypt wendtii on the right? :lol2:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

You read my mind esfa.
I am thinking of java moss on the wood and either dwarf sagittaria or Glossostigma Elatinoides for the foreground.
that is crypt Nevillii on the right.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

esfa, your right again! I asked in the shop and the second floating plant is water lettuce : victory:

Also I have up the lighting to 2x 30w tubes with 100% reflectors so I now have a maximum of 5wpg instead of 1.25wpg. I also added a second CO2 injector and T-pieced it to the first so I am only using one diffuser.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> esfa, your right again! I asked in the shop and the second floating plant is water lettuce : victory:
> 
> Also I have up the lighting to 2x 30w tubes with 100% reflectors so I now have a maximum of 5wpg instead of 1.25wpg. I also added a second CO2 injector and T-pieced it to the first so I am only using one diffuser.


5wpg?! Bloody hell :lol2:

Right, now you have that we can get better plants. :lol2: Stuff the sag, get some hairgrass! and glosso. :mf_dribble::mf_dribble:

This is exciting. :lol2:

In a few days, most of your hygro will be red with 5WPG :crazy: Well I think its hygro you have?

And yes... I'm always right. :lol2: Just be careful with the water lettuce.... if the lights get too hot, they can set on fire, as i found out :lol2::lol2: luckily i was in my room but it shat me up, i took all of it out


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Esfa said:


> if the lights get too hot, they can set on fire, as i found out :lol2::lol2: luckily i was in my room but it shat me up, i took all of it out


what the lights set on fire or the water lettuce???


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

water lettuce :lol2: well it started smoking. :whistling2:

are you on msn? :bash:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

No photo this week at the moment, my laptop has crashed :bash:

I have taken the CO2 off the T-piece as it wasnt working so put in the second diffuser, I added a black background and a few more plants, pics to follow asap.


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

strip it all out and get some cichlids lol.

nah its looking good mate. get some glosso. awesome plant. maybe a crypt. balansae. quality plant as well, nice crinkly leaves for something a bit different.

but like esfa said, the red lotus will look the dogs. That or the green one with red varigation, they are awesome as well.

and then maybe a zebra plec or 2  lol just kidding


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

STILL no laptop, it is dead! :blowup: ordered a new one, comes next week.

the tank is looking good, you will have to trust me on that, I will update all three weeks asap. My water lettuce has taken over nearly half the top of the tank, my clowns have a bit of white spot I am just clearing up. Got a few "odd" plants will post pics of them soon.

oh and given up on the zeb idea, *going marine baby!*


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

Have fun with the salties. I ordered another 6 zebras last night lol. 4 females and 2 males . gonna have a good group so should have some babies if im lucky


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

At last I can update you all on my planted tank

day one









Today, 12 weeks in!


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

well... wow....

I can't think of any suggestions. :lol2:

it looks great!


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

That is looking awesome! LOVE it! :no1:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

theres still a few bits I want to change but that can wait as I am on the marine project now :diablo:


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## SimonB (Jan 31, 2008)

Looks really good, real plants make such a difference to tanks


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