# Fishboy's 29 Gallon Driftwood Scape (New pix 5/18!!!)



## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I wanted to redo my 29 gallon community tank for a while and turn it into a planted aquarium and I had enough free time a week ago to start the tank. After all that, I decided to start a journal. Here are some of the new pics (the tank is still a little blurry from the planting)

The specs are:
x2 18 watt 6700K Coralife Bulbs (trying to get a higher wattage bulb)
x1 Stealth heater
x1 Small 2g filter (for flow)

Plants:
Micro Sword (very front)
Rotala Indica (mid front)
? (back right)
((soon-to-be-plants))
Twisted Val. OR Jungle Val. (back left)
Laced Java Fern (mid left and right)
Ludwigia (left and back of indica)
Singapore Moss (top point of driftwood)

Fish ((soon-to-be)):
x12 Rummy nose tetras
x5 Cardinal tetras
x3 Corydoras sterbai
x2 German blue ram
x7 Otocinclus

(please excuse the bio balls on the driftwood(they are temporary))

tank as is now (4/20/11):









any comment accepted


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

Looks like a good start!

We've got a similar setup, a 29 gallon tank with a big ole piece of driftwood 

I love rotala, and I hope you have good luck with yours.

A note on your lighting, buying a higher wattage bulb for the same fixture may not actually provide more light if your ballast won't power it, if that is in fact what you were planning on doing. You may be fine with the light setup you have now, dosing Co2 will really help. A DIY CO2 setup for your tank will be cheap, about 10 bucks for the whole deal.

On filtration, I'm not sure what a 2g filter is, but water movement is critical to keeping algae at bay. If there is stagnant water in any part of the tank, the algae can and probably will thrive. Algae has a harder time latching onto plants when there is a sufficient current. I use a Rena Xp2 filter on my 29 gallon, and it provides a nice flow when the plant density is low. Almost need an xp3 when it is stuffed with plants. When you add those fish, you are definitely going to want a filter that can keep the tank clean. Good filtration is a great investment.

What are you doing about fertilizers? Those plants will need to eat, and if there isn't plentiful food, the algae will win. Tom Barr said it best (roughly quoted), plants eat like elephants, and algae eat like mice. We're feeding elephants. Dry ferts are super cheap and really easy to dose.

Finally, I'd add about 10 more cardinals to that listing you got, once the tank is cycled. They like big groups, and will be more active in the front of the tank when they feel secure.

Have fun with the tank, and read all you can! :fish:


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## shwerm601 (Dec 16, 2007)

Good start, love the look of it so far


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

eyebeatbadgers-the pump I have running is a 65gph with an external sponge filter connected. I don't know if adding 10 more cardinals to my list would be a bit much on the bioload list as for the fact I chose 29 fish already. Though I do agree about a bigger group and I'm hoping that they'd befriend my rummies --------- I want your opinions about filtration for a natural planted tank of this size.

P.S. Would all of the fish and plants I prefer be ok for a 6.3-6.5 pH?


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

Fish aren't too picky about ph. Yours will be just fine. If you are buying your fish from a local supplier, they are probably used to your ph anyway. 

I would recommend a much larger filter for a 29 gallon tank. I have a 100 gph filter on my 10 gallon tank. I have a rena XP2, and love it. Eheim also makes a great filter, and a 2215 would probably be a properly sized filter, and similarly priced. 65 gph will probably leave a lot of dead water in the tank. 

Your rummies and cardinals won't school together, but both look great in large groups. They don't really school per se in a 29 gallon tank, but are still fun to watch. With a proper filter, adding ten more cardinals won't be overloading the tank, as long as you perform regular maintenance on the tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> eyebeatbadgers-the pump I have running is a 65gph with an external sponge filter connected. I don't know if adding 10 more cardinals to my list would be a bit much on the bioload list as for the fact I chose 29 fish already. Though I do agree about a bigger group and I'm hoping that they'd befriend my rummies --------- I want your opinions about filtration for a natural planted tank of this size.
> 
> P.S. Would all of the fish and plants I prefer be ok for a 6.3-6.5 pH?


I agree with Eye- more Cardinals would be better- these fish actually love to be packed together like sardines, and actually aren't that much bioload. 5 is too few, IMO. And no, they won't school with the Rummies- the Rummies will be much, much more active.

All those fish should love your low pH!!:thumbsup: 

Adding a sponge prefilter will help add some to your filtration, but since you're already really low on filtration (tank turnover only 2x/hour) I also agree that you should probably look for an at least 100gph filter.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

A little update---

the rotala is starting to turn red near the top and I'm just getting an idea to have some marsh pennywort spaced out on the right side side and ( in my head  ) I decided to get some ludwigia repens ( if it can survive my light ) put between and behind the rotala and the soon-to-be jungle vallisneria. Also, in the small indent of the driftwood (near the center of the tank) I might put a crinum callimistratum as a centerpiece plant. Finally, what might the plant to the right of my rotala be (it has a "C" I think)


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Today, I added 4 green corydoras to the tank to start some cycling and the LFS said they haven't had any shipments of otos in a while so my 2nd choice was to get a small shoal of cories. 3 out of the 5 species of fish that are going to be put in need an established aquarium so I won't add the rams or the tetras in about 1-2 weeks or more. The cories have been digging for a while and I decided to add another .25" of sand to the thinning areas in hopes the cories won't unearth more soil than they already have  For a better filter, I'm using a Zoo-med canister filter meant for terrariums but does a 79 gph which can work for any tank up to 30 gallons. I know it would be best to upgrade the filter but I want the smallest amount of flow possible that would get the job done and I figured this would work.


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

My neons and rummy nose do school together most of the time (though they're not cardinals and rummies), but they are the only fish in the 33 besides the Otos.

Definitely a great start!

What lighting do you have on this tank?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

2 18watt-6700K-Coralife T5 bulbs

-All of the plants seem to do pretty well even though it is only 1.25 watts per gallon


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

(oh I just noticed this... I only see one pic above, FYI)

I only asked because, to me at least, it seems like a reasonable amount for the plants you have in the tank probably due to the light colored substrate you're using. WTG!


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I know this thread has been dormant for a while but I thought that I should update. Just growth, Vallisneria, anubias, and moss. But more plants to come 











I plan on letting the moss grow out to the anubias and form a big puff at the top of the driftwood. I also plan on getting blyxa japonica around the base of the val and in front of the high part of the driftwood. I also am getting some L. aquatica from nemosreef whish I plan on placing between the rotala and val to soften it up a bit. I got one more set of lights so I have about 2.4wpg total and I'm getting a redsea pressurized co2 system soon so hopefully everything will stay alive.

Comments and critiques are definately welcome!


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

Awesome, everything is coming a long nicely.

What floating plant do you have? At least i think its a floating plant, i just see a bit of green fuzz on top.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Its a salvinia/duckweed duo. I put salvinia from another tank into it before I had a chance to completely remove the duckweed(There were just a couple pieces left but I didn't notice it until after I thouroughly searched the salvinia).Oh well! The val and rotala require weekly 5" trimmings now that they both have established root systems. It is also tough keeping them separated do to runners which is a pain but I'm glad that they are at least growing.(For those of you who may want to know, It's italian val)


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Its a constant battle right now to keep plants from tangling together from runners and plantlets. I've got the limnophila aquatica courtesy of nemosreef (Thanks again!) and stuck it where I said between the rotala and vallisneria and now I'm just hoping it will survive until the co2 comes which I ordered yesterday. I also ordered the blyxa today from Algenco (Thanks to you as well) and after I get those things set up, it just has to grow in and then I plan on getting a red turquoise discus OR 2 female GBRs. I will give picture updates soon once I get the blyxa and co2 in and running/growing.

Comments and critiques are always welcome!

Also, can blyxa survive floating for a while (like a week or two) as anything I don't plant in the 29 gallon, I will use on the 10 gallon I'm setting up (it would float in the 29 if it can survive for the time being).


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## Bk828 (Mar 11, 2008)

Great looking tank


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks! I got the co2 system yesterday and got it all filled up. Right now, I have it on 15bpm. Is this good enough to start off with (too much? too little?) I also recieved the blyxa yesterday and got it planted. Here is the tank after a trim and a weekly duckweed, salvinia decontamination 

FTS Before









FTS After









co2 Reactor









Side View With Reactor, Bubble Counter, Indicator, and Needle Valve









Limnophila Aquatica and Rummynose Tetras









My School of Rummies









Comments and critiques are always welcome!!!


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## Bk828 (Mar 11, 2008)

Great. Got to love them rummies.. the tightest school ive seen from tetras


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

The tank has been chugging along and with the addition of co2, the limnophila aquatica and the rotala indica have exploded in growth and there is some nice growth in the blyxa. I'm also planning on starting a fertlizer plan now that I have co2 up and running. I figure that iron would be important for the blyxa, L. aquatica and possibaly the indica but I'm pretty clueless as far as the rest goes so if you guys have any suggestions, feel free to chime in.

On another note, I think my rummies might be showing breeding behavior. If your curious about any of that (because I don't want to re-introduce the same topic), click on this-------http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/69179-rummies-possibly-mating.html

Also, who has had good experience with micro sword as you can see from the first FTS to the most recent one, my growth hasn't been great and I figured the co2 would have kicked in in terms of growth about now.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i like your tank! it looks really full. what type of substrate are you using?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thank you! From bottom to top I'm doing Schultz topsoil, aquariumplants.com own substrate ---http://www.aquariumplants.com/product_p/ss-1.htm---, and Lowes playsand.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Here comes another wave of questions for my tank.

Well, I got *another* gw outbreak for my tank. I'm planning on a 2-3 day blackout after an inconsistent low photo period of around 5 hours for the past week. I also still need to get a timer for my solenoid on my co2. I'm also thinking about putting a timer on my lights because manually, they have been inconsistent as stated above. I hope by doing this that it will balance my tank out. Once the excess nutrients from the gw is taken up and *fingers crossed* the tank balances out, I plan on adding the seachem line of ferts minus the excel and trace with their dosing plan. I'd plan on using the seachem dosing plan here-----http://www.seachem.com/products/planted.html------- (you have to click on the dosing chart on the bottom left of the page). Here are the actual questions- What should be my photo period (I have 72 watts with 2 6700K bulbs and 2 daylights), what should be my co2 bpm, and is the seachem dosing plan good enough for my tank?

Thanks for reading and please respond.


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

The progress in your tank is nice. I think most people here say that an 8 to 10 hour photo period works best. I'd say timers for lights are one of the more important secondary pieces of equipment you can have for an aquarium (after the tank, filter, and lights themselves!).


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

crudnugget- Thank you! 

I have finally determined my photoperiod (even though its the first things most of you do, but it's a big deal for me  ). I've decided that I'll turn both lights on at 12:00pm and one off at 8:00pm followed by the 2nd at 10:00pm. The co2 will go on with the lights and off with the 1st set at 8:00pm. Right now it's at 1bp2s. The rotala finally started pearling and its been over a day since the latest trim which by the pearling would have usually stopped. But its going and hopefully isn't stopping any time soon;P The schedule will be manual for now at least until I order the timer strip. 

Oh the gw completely disappeared in the last 3 days from full on pea soup to not even cloudy (I presume the lighting had something to do with it) so I hope that will be the last outbreak and then I can start tinkering with the tank again ;P


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Well, I forgot to mention that when I had to do the blackout to get rid of the gw outbreak that all of my blyxa died. I posted a WTB on the S&S and received about 12 4" healthy plants from TexGal that are all planted currently. I also got a response for my request on UG from gsmitchell so I will hopefully have it either tomorrow or the day after. I will post pics after my next water change which should be in about 1/2 a week and by that time I should also have the UG. 

I will also be purchasing 3 more otos from the lfs tomorrow after finding one dead and losing another (presumably dead but never had any sign of disease). Thanks for reading and criticism welcome!


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Updates:

Blyxa- Green and flourishing. Has to bush out a little more and fill in but nice so far!
UG- Got it. SAE and rummies picked at it to the nub. Took SAE out and UG is slowly recovering. Planted hair grass about a week ago after thinking the UG wasn't going to make it so now I have micro sword cut to the root, hair grass already shooting runners, and UG showing signs of growth. I'm more in preference of the UG but I'll just leave it all for now and hope that the hair grass won't block out the UG.

Added 5 otos today and will get a pair of GBRs in around half of a month or slightly longer. So right now I'm "experimenting" with the foreground which is between UG and hair grass (let me know your preference) and I'm waiting for growth so I can get the GBRs. Picture updates hopefully next weekend.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

The UG was pretty much destroyed and is now growing but looks like riccia!? Weird. . . Anyway, finally a pictorial update. . .









the school^









you can see the gsa growing on the glass and how great the blyxa is starting to look (it's always been a plant I've wanted to grow so I'm excited)^









flame moss (slowly but surely)^









UG/riccia on lower left; hairgrass carpet filling in; more blyxa in the shade but is still barely growing^









the better patch of blyxa is growing like a weed and I already have 5+ side-shoots in a little over a month of having it  ^

I'm planning on sometime getting a zebra nerite snail on the sns for the gsa. I've also ordered the german blue rams today and should have them by Wednesday or Thursday! Will post pics when I get the rams. Happy viewing!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice tank. Where did you get your reactor? Its awesome!


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks!

It's the RedSea500 reactor with the vortex chamber tilted 90degrees from the pump.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I was just looking at the tank and I just noticed that I haven't even updated since I got the rams. . .wow! The hairgrass carpet has almost completely filled in already. Rams have been breeding like clockwork. 4 times already I think. Added some amano shrimp. Took out the rummies cause they were eating the ram fry. Algae of almost all sorts are gone since the addition of the nerites and shrimp. Vallisneria is half dead thanks to an excel overdose but it has happened before and grows back fine so I'm not worried. Flame moss is taking hold on the driftwood and blyxa is about twice as big as last posted. So everything is gradually improving. Pictures hopefully tonight. . .


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Read that nerite snails are for salt water or at least brakish aquariums. I remember corectly in a freshwater brakish aquarium the amount of salinity that the snails need to survive will harm the plants. Thus confused. Do you add anything for the snails?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Nerites can be kept in both salt and freshwater as long as the pH is about 6.7+ They breed in both salt and fresh but the eggs only hatch in salt. In some cases they hatch in fresh but it is rare and the babies sometimes/usually come out deformed. No I do not add anything for them other than the occasional algae tablet which is usually for the amanos and otos.

Sorry, can't do pics tonight and I'm busy through the week so pics until Thurs. or Fri.


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## FastTimes (Oct 16, 2008)

nice tank dude. the plant growth looks good.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks and welcome to the forum! The hairgrass foreground is about a month away from being full so pics up in 1-2 days so you can see the growth. Oh, and after finally modifying my dosing schedule, I finally have slight pearling in the tank (As compared to most of yours where the tank looks as though you have bubble wands stuck in the ground. . .*cough, cough*)


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

pictures. . .


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> pictures. . .


All I get at these links is page not found.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

sme here


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

This is getting messed up! I'll try to find out the problem but all I can say is I'll try. Did either of you try a different browser and anyone who can see the pictures, please say so.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

last time i viewed your pics and actually saw them, i used the same browser. try using photobucket to upload?

or www.tinypic.com

you dont need an account for tinypic.


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## csrain (Nov 24, 2008)

PICTURES! Lol. Seriously though. Im anxious. Awesome tank.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I'll update this weekend on the breeding journal, 10 gallon journal, and 29 journal (pictures). Sorry for the delay and pictures up tonight or sometime this weekend.


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## sprucetree (Nov 5, 2008)

what kind of sand? I love the colour.
Nice setup, can't wait for more pics....


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Let's see how this works. . .





















can you see pics?


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

yup 

beautiful rams


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

just wanted to see if it works. . .will take a couple more pictures later and upload the last of the ones I previously tried to do.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

FYI, there are no babies currently in the tank or in any tank for that matter (at least alive). Of my understanding, they were all eaten or died from water params


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That's ace


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

As you can see in my FTS, my italian val ain't doin' so hot thanks to excel. I was thinking of changing to similar plants that in my opinion look nicer and (to my understanding) can withstand excel. I was thinking of c. retrospiralis, c. balansae, or cyperus helferi. Tell me what you guys think. . .


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I put 2mm excel in my 29G tank and it is not affecting my corkscrew vals. Just decrease the amount you are putting in.

The crypts are okay with excel. They just don't like being moved.


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## love_fish (Nov 25, 2008)

Looking great, the wood really fits in perfectly with the grassy foreground.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Hilde-There was short hair algae growing on it and it was spreading and this was before I knew the only way you can trim a val or crypt is by removing the whole leaf. I used to trim them like you would a rotala so this forced me to spot dose excel on the leaves (stupid I know) and this is the product. Good to know about the crypts and will keep that in mind!

love_fish- it works great! I was actually hoping for that to be the case. The moss helps soften the entire look of the wood without taking it away. When the grass fills in completely and gets its first trim, it will look much cleaner as well which is also good. Thanks for the comment!


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> FYI, there are no babies currently in the tank or in any tank for that matter (at least alive). Of my understanding, they were all eaten or died from water params


Those whom have raised Rams, youtube, told me that the rams eat the first few broods. They stop once they mature. Are your rams new at parenting?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I presume they were. The babies, as mentioned above, died from unknown reasons which i presume were from water conditions which have to be pristine for raising ram fry. It was very gradual over time so I assume the parents didn't eat many/ if not any at all.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Got the eheim for Christmas!! WOW. . .since I was using the zoomed for the majority of the tank's existence, I was used to being have to clean it every 2 weeks to a month or so vigorously or I would get drips per hour instead of gallons (literally) so the flow here was great!!! All plants are growing well and the vallisneria is gradually growing back so that's also good. . .I'm also thinking about moving the l. aquatica to behind the driftwood just high enough to be soon (right to the left of the rotala bush) and replacing it with possibly some l. glandulosa or another really red plant for an accent. . .the hairgrass is almost completely filled in and looks great! I also just did an extremely large trim today and will post pics hopefully after the plants start to fill in. So tell me what you guys think about the plant placement ideas.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Can't wait to the pics.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> As you can see in my FTS, my italian val ain't doin' so hot thanks to excel. I was thinking of changing to similar plants.


How about onion plants? If my val doesn't outgrow the algae, I am going to get some. Tis a very hardy plant.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Sorry, I've been a little busy lately with my weekly schedule. About an hour ago or so, I did do a relatively large trade of about 50+ guppies for some large stems plants (i think l. aromatica or p. stellatus), riccia, and needle leaf java fern. I'll just plant some of the aromatica? and see what it does, let the riccia float, put the fern in another tank and see how everything grows. . .I'll do my best to get pics of the tank over the weekend. 

Oh' I got a new diffuser from GLA and it works great! The spare co2 tubing I have though isn't quite long enough to allow my to put the diffuser under the filter intake so I'll be making a trip to the LFS soon to see if they have some. 

Anyone have a thought where the aromatica should go?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Oh' I got a new diffuser from GLA and it works great! The spare co2 tubing I have though isn't quite long enough to allow my to put the diffuser under the filter intake so I'll be making a trip to the LFS soon to see if they have some. 
[/quote]

If it is quite a distance to the LFS you might some money buying it on EBay. That is what I do for some products.

Is this the aromatica plant you are talking about:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ails.php?id=98&category=genus&spec=Limnophila


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

my LFS is a little over 5 minutes away so I'm not worried about that. . .


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Got the tubing today and the diffuser went near the bottom under the outflow and I got my alternanthera reineckii today. It came in a little chilled but still looks great! The diffuser let the bubbles really mist through the tank so I'll hopefully see some improvement in growth. One of the 18 what colormax bulbs on one of the coralife fixtures blew so I went to the LFS and replaced it with a 10,000k bulb. Hopefully that will also increase/uphold the reds in the plants. Pictures up tomorrow.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Yeh, I found that the colormax bulb has more white photons that red photons. I was just wondering what brand is the10,000k bulb?

I have read that some have algae problems after they add a 10,000k bulb, so keep a watchful eye for it. Nothing is written in stone when it comes to planted tanks, so maybe you won't have problems with it.

Link of affects of different bulbs:
*http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/lighting.htm*

Great tank!! What luscious growth you have.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks alot! It's a 10,000K 30" 18 watt coralife bulb. I will keep the algae part in mind.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

So the bulb was installed and the co2 is set. . .my tank is finally a soda can of pearling. I'll try to post pictures of it after I have dinner. . .


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

So I just have everything new planted to see if it'll grow and start finalizing the scape after I know how everything grows. The plant to the right of the rotala that I've identified as L. Pantanal has already pearled for me and so has the alternanthera reineckii somewhat. I just want to see how the plants will color up and take it from there. The pics were taken after the lights were already off and turned back on so the plants have already closed up for the night.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

hey, whats your bps? i have the same setup and same biomass.
how are the rams?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

i have 2 bps on my tank. the rams are still aggressive but they are still there


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## Ebichua (May 13, 2008)

That ludwigia looks more like Cuba to me. The leaves don't look as fine as pantanal.


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

Looks really great.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks!

I just did a big overhaul on the tank trimming the rotala to the height of the blyxa. I also moved around the flame moss more towards the top of the wood and tied it down so it hopefully won't look as 'poofy' as it did before. I cranked up the co2 as well. For the past week or so, my tank started failing on me and got fuzz algae and some die-off of the plants. I've lowered my dosing and photoperiod and since then, the algae has definitely receded. The alternanthera isn't growing as I had hoped and has pretty much stunted. I'm going to try another plant being ludwigia glandulosa so I put up a WTB in the SNS *hint hint*. We'll see what happens with it.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

*added more*



fishboy87 said:


> The alternanthera isn't growing as I had hoped and has pretty much stunted. I'm going to try another plant being ludwigia glandulosa.


I only difference I see between the alternanthera ludwigia glandulosa is that the hardness tolerance for ludwigia glandulosa is very soft-hard.
http://www.tropica.com In plant finder saw it too need trace and iron ferts.

Looking at it I wonder if adding CSM+B or Flourish Comprehensive would improve its growth.
http://www.rexgrigg.com/


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I dose iron somewhat heavily and do my best to keep nitrate low. The alternanthera is growing but the leaves are about a third the size of the norma size. I'm kind of scared with dry ferts just because I feel I'll dose too much and kill my fish.I'll go on a calculator right now and check if it makes sense.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Back to bumping this up  Got my desired glandulosa. I also took it the limno. and cut back the pantanal/cuba. Added some more italian val to fill in the dying spot and the hairgrass has one or two patches. I'm hoping the glandulosa will fill out the are where the limno was and finally make that row of bright red I've always wanted. Pics up tomorrow as lights just went out and I can never reset the timer right.


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## core212 (Feb 23, 2009)

fishboy87 said:


> Thanks!
> 
> It's the RedSea500 reactor with the vortex chamber tilted 90degrees from the pump.


Hi fishboy87,

Any special reason for tilting the vortex chamber 90 degrees on the reactor? I'm asking because I own one of these and I hate it with a passion. I am currently waiting for a reactor from Rex Grigg to come in and will be using a diffuser from GLA as well. Thoughts?

Thanks,
sandy


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I actually switched to the diffuser also. The reactor didn't work well for me. I tilted it 90 degrees because it seemed more aesthetically pleasing. You can see in the most recent picture there is a light blue tube. That runs from the right side of the tank where the cylinder is and into the diffuser under the filter intake were the bubbles can be chopped up by the impellar.


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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

i may have missed it,but is this a soil substrate?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Hi everyone, been off of the forums for a year or so and my tanks (if it matters) lost alot of momentum. . .If you read up to this point, you might still expect the val, and the blyxa and the hairgrass but that is no more unfortunately. I got lazy and paid the price. I'm turning the tank into a low(er)-tech, low growth rate tank so I can get some plants in there without worrying too much.

The rams died a while ago as you might have expected. My current stock list is 9 serpae tetras, 4 cardinal tetras, 1 SAE, 1 oto, and 1 nerite. I'm gonna try adding 2 angelfish next week. 

I cleaned the filter and moved alot of what was remaining around. The flat side of the drift wood that was facing the back is now turned around so that the uppermost point of the driftwood is in the top left of the tank now. I had a big problem with getting the flame moss to spread (it just kinda sat there) and it eventually died as the co2 stopped. I also had a huge clump of java plants with babies sprouting under the leaves so I split them up and they now run across the top and 'backbone' of the driftwood like the moss did. I also borrowed some java moss from another tank and tied it to some stones along with a couple large cryptocoryne (sp?) which sway with the current. I'm hoping the java can be the foreground eventually and I will try the gradual re-implementation of co2 to the tank. Right now, half of the light are out among my T5's and it is fitting that I have a low-tech set-up at the moment. 

Any comments would be really appreciated to help this old set-up gt back on track


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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

so is it mts?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I'm sorry? Whats mts?


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## the planter (Jul 8, 2010)

fishboy87 said:


> I'm sorry? Whats mts?


malaysian trumpet snails


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Oh. I'm kind of still confused as to what he is referring to though. Thanks for clearing up what mts is!


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## Loop (Jan 8, 2011)

He might by asking if it is Mineralized TopSoil for the substrate.

He did ask if it was soil back in december.


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

Or multiple tank syndrome. I am still recovering from that one.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

yikesjason said:


> Or multiple tank syndrome. I am still recovering from that one.


:icon_conf I'm still working on it.

Also, yeah, I just noticed his december post. It is mineralized topsoil, I have malaysian trumpet snails, and I also have multiple tank syndrome:icon_cool So yes to all 3! 

I just found out that I have a DAZ reactor/bubble counter that I never tried but my CO2 is out considering I haven't used it for so long. I also placed a rather large order to replace some lights that were diminishing in several of my tanks so I'm gonna try to work back into where I was. I look at the pictures of my tank from the page before this one and I sigh at its potential that it had. . . .

Considering I've never done well with the more complicated mosses in the past, I'm simply trying java moss. I have it strung down with fishing wire to a couple of rocks but I don't know how its gonna work on the driftwood considering I can't get under it. I'm just weighing that down with a rock right now. . . .any ideas???

Oh well. I'm gonna see if I can get some pics up later today and get some critiques outta you guys.


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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

Actually whAt I was asking was is it mineralized top soil


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Better late than never. . .




























These were taken a couple days ago and no longer have the tetras or the yellow tinge. I now got angelfish which have already settled in nicely.

You can see how the right side is open and I have a pretty good plan for what I want to do but I would love opinions. I was thinking about a somewhat large rock jutting out towards the upper right (away from the driftwood). I would try some stargrass behind that, and some blyxa on both sides of the rock in front of the stargrass. Finally depending on the moss, I would either add more rocks tied with the moss or try my hand with HC which I have had mixed success with in the past. Also, jut to add a contrast, I would place a red tiger lotus in there somewhere but have no idea where it should go.

I would love some critiques on my intentions and really want to get this tank back to successful form. 

Just a side note, I got my lights yesterday and now have 72 watts total of T5- half 10000k and half 6700k and I have restarted my co2!


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

So I have blyxa and aromatica on the way and I'm in the process of ordering 12 cardinals off of aquabid. The thing I'm kind of nervous about though is whether my blyxa will grew like it did when I had it last time (which I would love). Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing (where you've successfully raised certain plants and then they couldn't stay alive the second time around?)


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Just a quick update. I have the limno covering the back right corner and blyxa in front which is already thriving like it used to  I also want to buy downoi and l. glandulosa in the sns (hint, hint) for a foreground and red contrast plant. I'll set a goal to get some pics up over the weekend.


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

i hope you put some pics up soon, ive got a 29 gallon also (the one with the lone discus in it). i have 120 watts of cfl on mine, and have been considering switching to t5ho. not sure if i have too much light. i also have mts substrate and mts in my substrate, but have held back from mts, seeing how i only have one tank lol.

subscribed.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)




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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

can anyone see pics?


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## Drzjunior (Dec 29, 2010)

I'm unable to see any pictures in this thread


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## Loop (Jan 8, 2011)

fishboy87 said:


> can anyone see pics?


I see alot of pics of the elusive red X plant. Very nice specimens indeed.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

http://mail.google.com/a/newsphoto....th=12ecb99e755aa7ef&attid=0.14&disp=inline&zw

how about now?


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## Loop (Jan 8, 2011)

fishboy87 said:


> http://mail.google.com/a/newsphoto....th=12ecb99e755aa7ef&attid=0.14&disp=inline&zw
> 
> how about now?


Still nothing. That link asks for username/password, but no pics. Do have a photobucket account? They give you a imbeded limk that has always worked for me on forums.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

how 'bout now. Since these were the same pics that I had previously tried to upload, there has been a considerable mount of growth along with a sprig of elatine triandra which might make a nice foreground if it can keep growing like it is now. Would also be pretty cool to say i covered my tank starting oof with about 7 nodes of the stuff


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

can anyone see any of these?


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## NCWoodFish (Apr 1, 2011)

yep I can see the last ones you posted. Looks like a good start, I'd really like to see it once it grows out and the plants in the back get taller and fuller


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Yeah. Also, keep in mind i now planted rotala singapore between the aromatica and the blyxa along with ludwigia glanduosa to the left of that where the smaller crypt was. Also, there is 5 or so downoi in front of the driftwood and next to the growing sprig of elatine. I also ditched the hygro? on the far left side which did grow but didn't really have a place in my tank.

Just try to picture a nice elatine carpet with downoi, along with taller, better trimmed stems, and more lush blyxa like I used to have. 

Also, my water is nowhere near as tan as the picture shows. I'll try to get better ones with the new(er) plants later tonight (if not tomorrow)

As usual, any comments/critiques are welcome


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

My marble angelfish, Patches









And the other one, Scarface









You lookin at me?









MINEZ









ALSO MINEZ









weird stunting on my l glandulosa. . . 









staurogyne









blyxa growth over a little over 2 weeks









elatine triandra









tetra and blyxa









from above









aromatica and singapore rotala









buuuuuubles









FTS


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

nobody. . . .


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

lookin good. can't wait to see it all fill in


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

daverock1337- Thanks alot. I've been following your thread. Really nice job with your tank and I'm jealous how you can get your alternanthera (?) to get so red. I got some ludwigia glandulosa recently and it immediately stunted

my elatine died a couple days ago. probably a lack of nitrate dosing. . . also, my snails have been eating anything even showing a hint of dying (which can be good) but my plants have no chance to bounce back. So i got some assassin snails and hopefully I'll see some better results down the road.

So I am now in search of a new foreground and a nice red plant now that my dosing has stabilized. I might just let the staurogyne be my foreground considering it has already shown growth. . .but I would still like a lower growing alternative. 

At least I got my java fern to pearl following my most recent water change. At least I'm doing something right again


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

thank you. alternanthera is not very hard to grow, this is the first time i have gotten it to turn red. i don;t dose any ferts in my tank, i just have the mineralized topsoil substrate. before going high tech i had some ludwigia glandulosa, but it slowly lost all of its leaves and then died. i might try it again. i am currently doing a blackout to get rid of my greenwater problem.

if you can get your hands on some alternanthera you may have similiar success as mine but with the proper dosing. i think iron helps plants turn red, but i really don;t have much knowledge since i opted to skip the dosing for a super nutrient rich substrate.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

i actually have mineralized topsoil with a sand cap. However, I've had my tank for so long (3+ years) that I'm not sure if its still helping or not. 

I've tried alternanthera before and it even pearled for me but I couldn't get its leaf growth to restore after it was shipped to me. I've even had success with ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'cuba' until I trimmed it and it stunted on me


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

my experience with ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'cuba' was not a good one. everytime i topped the plant, the bottoms would rot and die. i think the mts should still be good, but you may need to dose some potassium, if i'm not mistaken.


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## oscarsx (Mar 15, 2011)

awesome tank man.. and awesome angelfish.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

daverock- yeah. I got some as an additional plant in an order I believe. You can see 1 or two huge stems earlier in this thread (page 5 I think?) I also dose a modified version of the pfertz method plus some extra flourish iron for red coloration. I also have like 2.48 wpg of T5 and still get stunting on my glandulosa for some reason.

oscar- thanks alot! They are complete pigs and bite my hand vigorously whenever its in the tank with food 

So like I said before, do you guys know of any possibly reasons why i was getting such weird growth in my glandulosa?


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## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

NICE! i just got a diffuser just like that and my plants are pearlin like crazy! do you run an airstone or anything?


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks! I actually don't have an airstone. I have about 2bps running right now and my fish have hardly ever showed signs of gasping or stress. I'm also really happy to report my staurogyne has established its roots system and has sent out some new leaves. I can't wait until it will fill in the space in front of and to the left of the wood. 

Anybody have any opinions on what my foreground should be now that the elatine melted? I could always try it again but I would like to hear your opinions first.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

My staurogyne just started to send out some sideshoots and is looking pretty healthy right now along with my blyxa and aromatica (both iron vacuums). My rotala also died behin the driftwood. My guess is that it used to float for so long that it stopped sending out roots because it got whatever it needed from the water column. . .or it died 

However, I'm now thinking about letting the stauro grow out to the borderline between the sand and the other substrates- therefore having that be my foreground. Now my question being- What stem should I plant behind the driftwood and what should I do about getting some red back into the tank (trying glandulosa again maybe?)

Comments and opinions welcome


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

blyxa then. . .









and now. . .


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## btimmer92 (Mar 12, 2011)

looks nice, put a wall of jungle vals in the back. Also, put in some nice stem plants.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I'm actually in the process of acquiring some alternanthera 'roseafolia' from daverock1337 considering how well it has worked for him in his 29 gallon  It will be replacing the stunted glandulosa and (providing it is healthy and grows well) will be sculpted into a bush behind the driftwood. . .

I'm also looking for some rotala rotundifolia 'green' to replace the indica that never fully bounced back after I restarted the tank maintenance. Along with that, it seems as though the aromatica responds best to infrequent trimmings as growth has increased eponentially after ceasing cutting. 

Bill- I'd be afraid to add jungle vals into a tank of this size considering its leaves can be in excess of 2 feet and would lead to trailing over the water and blockage of light to other stems. As you can see if you scroll back a few pages, I used to have vallisneria that would grow really well for me and would send out at least 3 runners a week. . .

As most of you had already mentioned, the tank should really look nice once all the plants are acquired and filled in. Its really just a matter of what should go behind the driftwood between both mounds of anubias. I'd prefer a bright green plant to contrast from what would be the bright red of the alternanthera (rotala rotundifolia 'green') but if you guys have any other ideas, *please* feel free


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

So with all of the vast knowledge and the wide array of opinions out there, nobody has any idea for what should go behind the driftwood


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

hygrophila corymbrosa 'angustifolia'. back left corner of my tank, long, flowing leaves, bright green. easy to grow. gets huge though. i had it before going high tech and it took up almost 1/3rd of my tank. it doesn;t grow so out of control in my high tech setup though. strange.

i've been thinking about your stunted glandulosa. i think you may not have enough light. according to this post on lighting and distance. the chart below the graph says at 20 inches from the substrate (which is where my light sites i think with its legs) that two t5no bulbs give low light (i'm assuming since t8 and t5no are lumped together in the graph that they would be the same in the chart) my 2 bulb pc light isn;t giving me what i want light wise also. i think i am going to switch to a two bulb t5ho fixture (found a zoomed one at big als for like 60 bucks, bulbs are 7.99 each) and then sell my coralife 2 bulb pc light. i thought i was ok because i have close to 4 watts per gallon (probably over 4 watts per gallon as i think there is only 25 gallon of water in my tank). its an interesting read, check it out.

edit: i may also try using the reflectors from ahsupply.com first. i wish i had a par meter. i'm hoping that if i do decide to change fixtures i can still use the ah supply reflectors on the new light.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I actually have two fixtures (each with 2 bulbs) Each bulb is 18 watts, therefore each fixture being 36 watts. So my total output is 72 watts of T5 (about 2.48 watts per gallon and considering its T5 and the wpg rule is outdated, it is more output than you think. 

If you're curious as to what they are, here's a link

They are really sleek and lie right on my cover and up to 4 of the fixtures combined can fit on a 29. Eventually, however, I would love to upgrade to this which to some may be overkill but for the prices, I personally think its a great deal.

Interesting about that hygro though. I actually have known about that and immediately dismissed all hygros in my knowledge due to the width of their leaves but that might be petty cool to have. I'll do some research and see if it'll work. I plan to get a FTS up some time later today. . . . . .


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

i think 4 bulbs of t5ho would be way overkill lol unless suspended way above the tank. i like those coralifes you have, and i think with 4 bulbs they should give you medium light. i may check out catalina aquariums and see what i can get a 2 bulb t5ho fixture for


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

If I were to ever get that fixture, all four bulbs would only be on for a mid-day burst. But yeah, right now I consider my set-up somewhere between medium and high light.


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

wheres the new fts? i want to know hows it coming along lol.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)




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