# low tech tank... improved... gone to c02



## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Welcome to TPT BENOLUX!!!!!

Looks like you're off to a great start!!


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## Oscar17 (Dec 7, 2007)

Middle-right plant with twisty leaves: looks like Vallisneria sp.?
Red plant: could be Alternanthera sp.
The tall plants: Swords (Echinodorus sp.)
Anubias nana: Make sure you are not burying the rhizome.

Welcome to TPT.
Oscar


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

thanks guys, is the rhiome the long thick stem thing they have that grows parallel to the gravel normally. sorry for my lack of knowledge thats why i joined but yeh so far its been great. the tank previously had a convict chiclid in it for about 1.5 years and then i decided that was way to boring. will keep you updated on different plants and so forth. 

thanks for the info on plant types too :thumbsup:


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

The plants that look like swords look to be *Spathiphyllum wallisi* which is a non aquatic lily plant that places like petsmart and petco call umbrella plant but it truly is a Peace Lily which is a bog plant. You do have a good start however.

Yes the rhizome is the stalk in which each leaf comes out singally. Anubias are a monocot(which means the plant sends one leaf at a time out). The roots are the only part of the plant that may be burried for the proper health of the plant.

Oh and welcome to TPT and happy plantings.

~James~


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

now that you say that im thinking your right lol. 
looks alot like a peace lilly. i will see how it goes, it has sprouted some new leaves and it is growing so i will see wat happens. 
i will move the anubias asap so that the rhizome isnt in the rocks.


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## airborne_r6 (May 2, 2008)

James From Cali said:


> a monocot(which means the plant sends one leaf at a time out).


Monocots are defined as only having one emybronic leaf or cotyledon in the seed as opposed to the dicots and eudicots (true dicots) which have two cotyledons in their seeds. They are not defined as monocots because of the number of leaves that the plant sends out. In fact the only defined growth characteristic difference that I can see between monocots and dicots is that moncots only have primary growth and dicots have both primary and secondary growth. Basically defined primary growth is the process by which a plant grows in length and secondary growth is the process by where a plant grows in thickness, however, neither primary or secondary growth is related to the number of leaves sprouted at a time. I do not dispute that A. nana only sends out one leaf at a time but this is not what makes it a monocot.


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

*with c02*

added c02 four days ago and tank is going really well... looks awesome and the plants have really improved... what you guys think? hope you like it


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

what kind of gravel do you have in there?


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

Just plain old 3 - 4mm substrate gravel found in most commen tanks, i dont have any nutrient soils or anything. it also has some bigger river rock (15 - 20mm) scattered everywhere. 

Sorry to disapoint but it is just plain gravel lol. seems to be working for the time being, why do you ask (old punk78). if i find i need more nutrients for the plants i may think about changing. 

i forgot to mention i fertilise weekly too. :thumbsup:


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## D-007 (Dec 4, 2008)

Very impressive, I like the plant layout and placement of the driftwood too. Good job on asking about the Anubias and following up on the advice given. Congrats roud:
D


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

Thanks for that D, im pretty happy with it. It is coming along slowly im only at my Girlfriends on weekends so it only really gets attention then except food and light she does that lol. 
It gets 12 hours of light with 2 hours of no photo period during day, im now waiting for the wisteria to cover the back wall


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

i was just curious...


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

Ok sounds goodo, just seen your tank and it looks great mate. 
I just gave mine a water change, its looking good. wisteria are still planting out the back wall though. :thumbsup:


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

Ok update!!!
bought some plants yesterday and improved my lighting (bought a new light). so i got some ambulia and Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. Th bulb i got is 18000K t8 20W, so should give me some more growth. 
will get pics up as soon as i can. :thumbsup:


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

don't expect to get more growth from the new bulb. it's just a different light spectrum. 18,000K's are just more blue and red than say a 6,700K or a 10,000K. i have one and i like it ( hagan power glo). it looks kinda purple by itself, but when you pair it with a 6,700K bulb, it really brings out the reds and blues in your tank...


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

thanks, yeh the light looks awesome compared to my old one makes it more purple brings out the colours better. it will hopefully help alittle more as it is 20W rather than the 18W that the other was. along with it being better the old one was about 2 years old so it wasnt producing very good light. the plants are going well and they are starting to pearl now which is a good sign im hoping. :thumbsup:


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## mkus (Aug 2, 2008)

What ferts are you dosing the tank with?


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

Hey mate, i dose weekly with a tetra fert. just a basic fertiliser called plantamin. i dont have the time to be daily dosing as it is at my girlfriends and im only there on weekends so she feeds them and thats about it :thumbsup:

Ok latest pics as of NOW lol. 
the tank is due for a water change tomoz so it isnt as clear as it could be. just some random shots needs some trimming tho.

any feedback welcome. sorry about the blurry pics cam isnt a fab one lol.


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## brinks (Dec 19, 2007)

I'm new to planted tanks also and low tech. If I were asked, my favorite plants are Cryptocoryne wendtii "brown" or "green", Hygrophila corymbosa "Compact" and Anubias, see my profile picture.


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

OK guys well it has been a while since i have updated this.
Am tossing up wether to go dual 2 litre bottles of CO2, im hoping that with swapping one out each week it will keep the production of CO2 higher and it will increase my plant growth. 

if anyone has any tips to get me micro sword to create a carpet at the front of the tank let me know hey am really keen to get it to carpet. :thumbsup:


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

well, this is what i was told and it worked pretty good.

get about 3-4 pots and then un-pot and separate all the the little plants. spread them out out over the foreground. once they start sending out runners, it will spread. you will probably want to use some root tabs under them as well. look for narrow leaf chain sword. i think the regular "micro sword" needs more light...


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

Ok guys here is an update i should be making a journal, if anyone can move this to the journal section then please feel free. 
Anyways here goes. got some red substrate wanted to use the 18000K bulb to its potential and wanted to bring the greens out more. so here it is doesnt look thick but it is about 4 inches thick in places and it has changed the look of thetank for the better. 

Got some more wisteria and gave it a trim to encourage growth and i have started a grass field infront of the drift wood. The Giant ambulia isnt looking to good but i think it is due to platys eating it, i it fails i will look into some pennywort in that corner. I have trimmed the ambulia and it is getting new shoots at the tips so that promising. forgot to mention im from Australia so there isnt heaps of suport with planted tanks over here. 

latest pics have had dual bottled c02 for a weekend now and it seems to be helping getting more co2 which is good. 

critique and comments welcome.


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

not sure if anyone can tell me but after a few weeks of the tank being setup i got about 3 or 4 little snails in the tank they love it. does this mean the tank is healthy i dont know where they came from not from the plants its like they have just appeared or grown in the tank, if anyone knows please fill me in


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## BENOLUX (Dec 9, 2008)

OK well I have changed some things to the tank. mainly the ambulia being removed. it was annoying me as it drops leaves and the platys just keep eating it lol. I have got some baby tears now ( i think, fish shop said it was rotala, but the leaves are small and round) anyways. and i also got another 2 bunches of micro sword. the left hand side is now filled up with sword and im slowly increasing C02 and looking at increasing my light wattage.


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