MY planted fish tank

[mynamesrick]

Well after seeing tom's planted tank, i just had to make one for myself. I got everything started, got a few plants and fish, etc.. then he sent me a bunch of cuttings and i think it looks great! I've been treating the tank with algae remover stuff and its been working well.. noticeable difference already!

thanks a lot Tom!

Plants:
Cant remember right now.. i'll get the names later.

Fish:
Bunch of platy's.. im gonna take a few out.. as soon as i can catch them..
Neon tetra
sword tail
OTO.. although i haven't seen him in a while..

Other critters:
2 mystery snails
6 ghost shrimp

I have a power filter with the DIY yeast Co2 attached.. and i have a small filter sponge filter thing on the bottom.. it works really well! best filter I've had in a long time.

I've got 30 watts of light in the hood.. they are different bulbs, so the light looks different.. the other bluish colored light got wet.. so it went bad.

Some of the plants kinda look a little dinged up right now.. but that's cuz they were just shipped from Cali to Minnesota in a little box with no light.

i can really think of anything else to say about it right now.. so i guess i can post some pictures now.. LOL

It was hard to get good pic's of the tank.. but i tried.

I used flash in these one's.. made the plants look funny.

 

[admitchell08]

Dang, dude!
That's nice!
Can you come fix up my tank??

I've only had 2 fish in it for about a year..(zebra danio and a guppy) but recently my danio died and now my guppy is all alone! I guess I need to get him some tank-mates.

But yeah...very nice!

:cheers:

 

[mynamesrick]

haha thanks!

Ill help you fix it up if you fly me down to texas! haha

 

[admitchell08]

Haha....right....I'll get back to you on that!

OR...I have a better idea...when I'm up north this summer I'll just swing by and steal some of your plants and a fish or two.
Good idea, no?

 

[mynamesrick]

ummm no.. bad idea.

 

[admitchell08]

Oh...
Well shoot...
I'm fresh out of ideas.

Alright alright. I guess I'll just figure it out myself. Thanks for nothin!
Didn't I see in one of your earlier threads that you had a tank with an oscar or one of those bigger fish? Those are pretty cool...
I'd really like to get a cichlid community going. I love those fish...They are so expensive, though!

 

[LBoz]

Great start, Rick! Lightly planted to allow for growth, nice mix of plants...Bravo!

 

[tom e]

For some reason the pictures aren't coming up for me. I'll try again on the office computer. But the dinged up leaves, you'll probably see them start to turn clear and melt, pick them off as you see that and scoop them out. The plants will mostly make it, but the melty leaves will really gunk up the water.
I'm glad it came in OK! Was any of it too bad to use?

What algae remover are you using?

 

[admitchell08]

The pictures aren't coming up for me anymore either. They appeared just fine last night.
:shrugs:

 

[mynamesrick]

hmm weird.. not showing up here either.. i gotta go right now but ill try and fix it later.

 

[mynamesrick]

photobucket is having site maintenance.. thats probably why.. ill check on that algae remover when i get home.

 

[mynamesrick]

Great start, Rick! Lightly planted to allow for growth, nice mix of plants...Bravo!

Thanks!! i thought i'd start it off small and work my way up if i liked it.. and i do!

I'm glad it came in OK! Was any of it too bad to use?

What algae remover are you using?

Well i used all the different types of plants you gave me, but some i didnt use.. a lot of the stuff i didn't use was because i think it would have been over crowded in the tank.. there were a few that looked like they were dying or had a lot of algae though.

The algae remover i use is called NO MORE ALGAE by jungle labs

 

[tom e]

I was trying to think of why the algaecides are bad, then remembered. They aren't necesarilly bad, I just couldn't use one because of the shrimp.
Is it a copper based algaecide?

From Dr Foster and Smith

"Directions for Use:
Liquid: Use one tsp. for each 10 gallons. Tablets: Use one tablet for each 10 gallons. Repeat when algae growth reappears, or use once monthly in maintenance.
8 oz. liquid treats 480 gallons;16 oz. liquid treats 960 gallons; 8 pk tablets treats 80 gallons; and 100 pk. tablets treats 1,000 gallons.

Do NOT use in aquariums or ponds containing live plants, snails, or other invertebrates. "

I hope everythings OK, but I would start doing water changes just in case..:shrugs:

 

[mynamesrick]

hmm ill have to look.. i didn't read the whole label, just how much to add.

I've been doing like 20-25% water changes daily because my nitrate was a little high.

 

[LBoz]

Hey guys...I feel like I'm always hijacking the fish threads, and I apologize in advance for that...But! I feel like I'm in the majority camp of fishkeepers who believe that using chemicals for algae, etc, is not really a good thing. It "might" be a temporary fix, but the best way to fight it is with a good balance of plants, fish, food, lighting and fertilization. It's not necessarily something that happens over night, but at the same time, adding these chemicals can be like putting a bandaid on an aneurysm. At some point, it's still going to go awry. Most new tanks go through a period of establishment. Algae is unsightly but not a sign of an unhealthy tank. Get your tank in proper balance, and you won't have many issues...but again, patience is key.

*edit*

Rick...pulling the nitrates out of a planted tank is one of the key factors in giving algae a stronghold. Most ferts actually ADD nitrates to the tank. Your tank will cycle regardless of the amount of water changes you do, but daily water changes right off the bat will slow down the cycling time dramatically.

 

[tom e]

If everyone looks ok, you're probably fine.

But I agree with Lori, learned the hard way myself with a near tragic overdose of Flourish Excel. My fish and snails were all at the surface looking for oxygen when I discovered it. I'm not going to use it for algae fighting anymore, just for additional usable carbon (in other words following the directions.) And I'm only using it there because my light is bordering high tech but my co2 can't match it till I get the pressurized.

I started a 10G today too though Rick! (sorry I've been calling you Myrick, been reading your screen name wrong and making assumptions. How much clearer could you be though? lol.) I'll post pictures when the cloudiness passes.
My 10 is going to be a real 'El Natural' style. No ferts, no co2, no excel, no water changes. Ferts are just the fish waste, and lighting will be the cheap lights that came with it. I even am rigging up a little HOB filter that's filled with pothos cuttings rooted in stones (devils ivy) instead of filter media, we'll see how that works. I also have a small submerged sponge filter inside though.
I used washed beach sand for the base, added some peat moss on top, and then lots of small gravel to cover. Lots of black slate in this one too.
Plants are singapore moss, java ferns, and some guppy grass that goes red (but probably won't with my light level, we'll see).
Critters will be just some shrimp and some endler's live bearers.
Should be fun!

I'll keep checking for those pictures to come up!

 

[mynamesrick]

Hey guys...I feel like I'm always hijacking the fish threads, and I apologize in advance for that...But! I feel like I'm in the majority camp of fishkeepers who believe that using chemicals for algae, etc, is not really a good thing. It "might" be a temporary fix, but the best way to fight it is with a good balance of plants, fish, food, lighting and fertilization. It's not necessarily something that happens over night, but at the same time, adding these chemicals can be like putting a bandaid on an aneurysm. At some point, it's still going to go awry. Most new tanks go through a period of establishment. Algae is unsightly but not a sign of an unhealthy tank. Get your tank in proper balance, and you won't have many issues...but again, patience is key.

*edit*

Rick...pulling the nitrates out of a planted tank is one of the key factors in giving algae a stronghold. Most ferts actually ADD nitrates to the tank. Your tank will cycle regardless of the amount of water changes you do, but daily water changes right off the bat will slow down the cycling time dramatically.

Don't worry about the thread hijacking! you know what you're talking about!

The reason I was trying to get the nitrate out is because i bought two oto's from the fish store, and the next day one died.. i brought it back to get a refund, but they tested my water and said the nitrate was too high so they wouldn't give me a new one.. i don't think it was purely the nitrate that killed him though.. as i have several other fish, including the other oto that are doing just fine.. whatever.

If everyone looks ok, you're probably fine.

But I agree with Lori, learned the hard way myself with a near tragic overdose of Flourish Excel. My fish and snails were all at the surface looking for oxygen when I discovered it. I'm not going to use it for algae fighting anymore, just for additional usable carbon (in other words following the directions.) And I'm only using it there because my light is bordering high tech but my co2 can't match it till I get the pressurized.

I started a 10G today too though Rick! (sorry I've been calling you Myrick, been reading your screen name wrong and making assumptions. How much clearer could you be though? lol.) I'll post pictures when the cloudiness passes.
My 10 is going to be a real 'El Natural' style. No ferts, no co2, no excel, no water changes. Ferts are just the fish waste, and lighting will be the cheap lights that came with it. I even am rigging up a little HOB filter that's filled with pothos cuttings rooted in stones (devils ivy) instead of filter media, we'll see how that works. I also have a small submerged sponge filter inside though.
I used washed beach sand for the base, added some peat moss on top, and then lots of small gravel to cover. Lots of black slate in this one too.
Plants are singapore moss, java ferns, and some guppy grass that goes red (but probably won't with my light level, we'll see).
Critters will be just some shrimp and some endler's live bearers.
Should be fun!

I'll keep checking for those pictures to come up!

Can't wait to see what that new ten gallon looks like! sounds pretty interesting! What kind of light bulbs are you using in there?

BTW what is the difference between flourish and flourish excel?

 

[LBoz]

Regular Flourish is a macro fertilizer, Excel is a carbon based fertilizer. Flourish is a line of products.

About your otos...those are extremely sensitive fish and it's likely they would have died at the store within a few days anyway. I think Tom and I talked about this once on his thread...if you want otos, buy a few dozen with the hopes that at least three will survive. Really, they're tough. I'd check with clubs in your area and try to get them directly from a breeder vs. a pet store.

 

[mynamesrick]

OK, so should i stick with the regular flourish, or try and get flourish excel?

Ill look for somebody who breeds them around here.. they were like 4 bucks each at the fish store, so i don't think buying a lot of them would be very likely for me.

 

[tricksterpup]

Mike, did you get them at something fishy or world of fish?
A shame my buddy's shop closed last summer I could have gotten you a dozen for alot cheaper.. probably about 1.25 a piece.
But for me the best algae eaters are Amano shrimp.. they live a pretty long time as well. They are pricey here at those shops I mentioned but as a shrimp they are pretty nice.
If you try

.. when he has them in stock they are pretty cheap.

Heck if you need Java Moss I just gave away a few huge bags of it. And I still have plenty to give out. lol Cleaning out my turtle tank.