# My new 40g planted tank.



## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

My first post here. After a month of research and picking the right substrate and etc, my first ever live plant tank came "online" 4 days ago. I am no strangers to fish keeping. I used to be pretty good with keeping Discus. This time around, I thought I would try out keeping live plants. So far so good. I do have couple of issues. Here is my tank first.










My CO2 diffuser and CO2 is generated with a "yeast reactor."










Don't worry, the filter medium has been cycled for a month before plants and fishes were added. Since I ordered everything online, the tank took a while to setup. 

I am having some issues with keeping the PH at 7. Currently, it is about 6 to 6.5 with 3dh hardness level. It is either I am not having enough plants yet or I am injecting too much CO2. Currently is about 2 to 3 bubbles per sec. I just ordered more plants from Foster and Smith and I should get them on Thursday.


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## metallicanick78 (Apr 26, 2011)

Is that new driftwood or did you use it before in your past tanks? Humic acid released can drop your Ph a bit, but if your water is always as clear as it is in your pictures and/or you have used that wood before, then it's probably not the case.

Otherwise, I would guess too much co2 for the amount of plants. When they grow out a bit then it will probably be fine. Could try to cut back on the co2 untill plants grow out or maby add a small air stone to drop it. You got a good drop checker?

***edit*** forgot to say, tank looks awesome! must have done lots of research before your first planted tank!


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

metallicanick78 said:


> Is that new driftwood or did you use it before in your past tanks? Humic acid released can drop your Ph a bit, but if your water is always as clear as it is in your pictures and/or you have used that wood before, then it's probably not the case.
> 
> Otherwise, I would guess too much co2 for the amount of plants. When they grow out a bit then it will probably be fine. Could try to cut back on the co2 untill plants grow out or maby add a small air stone to drop it. You got a good drop checker?
> 
> ***edit*** forgot to say, tank looks awesome! must have done lots of research before your first planted tank!



Thanks. I didn't add any additional drift woods. I boiled them whatever in the tank before placing them inside. I do aware that the drift woods themselves can cause the drop in pH. Don't have a drop checker at the moment. Will order them. The fishes seem fine. In fact, my Glowfish tetras were spawning yesterday. I assume the water condition is ideal right now. 

I am a part time photographer and have been looking at a lot of some really nice tank photos. I do have an idea what the tank should look like. That helps a lot.


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## metallicanick78 (Apr 26, 2011)

I was going to say, your Ph is good for tetra spawning, but it seemed like you were aiming at 7. If I could have maintained a good ph for my tetras to spawn then I probably woulden't have just sold my tank. 
Looks good, keep up the good work.


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## MissCoryCat (Jul 5, 2011)

I really like that piece of wood on the right since the fish can swim under it. Also like the different colors and textures of plants.


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

MissCoryCat said:


> I really like that piece of wood on the right since the fish can swim under it. Also like the different colors and textures of plants.



Thanks. Here is another update. I believe my tank is now over a week old. 










I am pleased with the growth rate of my plants. However, I am not having much luck with the dwarf Baby Tears. The root system isn't suitable for my top gravels/substrate. I am thinking about planting some sort of grass specie instead. Of course, I am having another issue too right now. I recently tried a small quantity (half the dosage for my tank) of Tetra FluraPride liquid fertilizer. I noticed that some of my stem plants have new growths. However, I also noticed a slight hairy algae breakout. I just did a 10g water change this morning. I also introduced 3 the so-called Chinese Algae eaters in my tank. That was before I read anything about them. They are only 1 inch big and so I am not worrying yet. I do plan to relocate them soon, if I could trap them.


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