# New member/ First planted tank



## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Looks good. My opinion(s): Aquatic Life makes excellent T5HO lights. I like Eheim 2217 filters. I have Aqua Soil Malaya and it is awesome. Plants grow like crazy. If you do not want AquaSoil, EcoComplete is a good substrate. I have Eco in a 55 with DHG. Everything else looks good.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Cool man thxs  I'm so excited. Next check I'm buying the soil u mentioned, the stand, and filter. What is DHG? Also with out plants can I start the cycling process?


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

DHG = Dwarf Hair Grass

You can cycle without plants, but I prefer to cycle WITH plants. Plants are like mini filters that take impurities out of the water.


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

Eheim 2217 for sure and black diamond blasting sand is good just make sure to get 20/40 or the 12/20 size and rinse it. Also put down some osnocote plus in the bottom before the sand helps for fertilizer


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

Dhg is dwarf hair grass


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## bweazel (Apr 30, 2009)

BayazGouramiz said:


> ~CO2 diffuser: S.T. International Aquarium CO2 Glass Diffuser, Tall, 25mm for $11. I do plan on upgrading, as this is just stop gap start up thing.


 When you do upgrade, go for an atomic diffuser or an inline diffuser. You'll be pleased with the results.



BayazGouramiz said:


> ~Powerhead : Um dont know ... havent read up on them yet! any ideas?


 Hydor makes a pretty good one. Has a magnet suction cup too, so that's always nice. Be careful though what kind of fish you get with a powerhead. No guppies! Lol. I've actually been considering removing my powerhead from my tank since I've upgraded filters.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Hydor_Ko...m_Powerheads-Hydor_USA-HD00715-FIPHFF-vi.html




BayazGouramiz said:


> ~Substrate: Im lost on this still. I had my mind made up i was going with amazonia. ... Also here in Portland people have had success with Black blasting sand or something like that... I just want nutrient rich soil


 I'm not sure how much credit the soil should get, but I have Amazonia in my current tank. It's definitely a nice soil, but it's also pretty expensive. I've seen some very nice planted tanks on here with the sand you were describing. I just went ahead and bit the bullet and purchased the expensive stuff because I didn't want to risk it. Maybe the next time I start a tank I'll take a risk with experimenting.



BayazGouramiz said:


> ~Fish: will come later. But i kind of wont several species of Gouramis, tetras, barbs, Rams, paradise, sick lil dwarf pleco, shrimp, maybe clams or mussels? :hihi:


 I've read bad things about clams.. might want to read into those. From what I've read, they'll bury themselves and then clean the tank so well they'll die, hah. A dead clam would be an absolute bitch to find. 

Welcome to the hobby, welcome to the forum!


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Jeez I don't know where to start. Thank you all for posting that's for sure. 

Everything that's been said is much needed info.

I don't like the idea of having flow in my tank as it will disturb my Gouramis. I hope to some how have them breed and then remove the fry/bubble nest into a breeder tank with dad. They don't like flow, but with co2 you kind of have to distribute it. 

Another thing is I've been reading that heaters fail, turn on max heat and keep on going until everything is dead. I hope this never happens... 

Ah, i should of known what DHG is  Its one of the foreground plants I may go with.

I'm contemplating going with that Sand thank you for making it easier to make that choice if I do.

Also thank you for the power head suggestion. I may pick that up. I will look into it and see if its adjustable. 

OH yeah I forgot to mention the Milwaukie MH126? ph controler thing. Should i get one of those? Also what things do I need to start up, declorinater, and a testing kit? The whole Kh Gh or w/e thing seems to be important. Whats the best way to monitor those. I don't want a cheap kit from petco (unless its works well) I'd like a good digital one. I read somewhere that they're 500 plus!!!! But that cant be cuz i see ppl giving their readings all the time.

Also any experience with Gouramis in a community tank would be great. I have seen videos where they can be aggressive. I have 3 in 2.5 gallon nano tank  but they are happy and one male seems to show signs of wanting to be aggressive but the other one just ignores him. They are also not interested in the females advances, contrary to what I've heard and read. She has actually tried to breed with them and they wont. Prolly cuz the tank is not ideal and they don't want to build a bubble nest.

Thanks in advance


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## bweazel (Apr 30, 2009)

BayazGouramiz said:


> Another thing is I've been reading that heaters fail, turn on max heat and keep on going until everything is dead. I hope this never happens...


 They can. It's just a risk you'll have to take. Buy a good quality heater. I've had tanks for awhile and I have never had one burn up on me, just burn out. It happens, but more often than not they just stop functioning, or won't heat. They rarely get stuck in on mode in my experience. If it really worries you, you can purchase an Apex system from Neptune which handles lots of the other concerns you've voiced in this post. The Apex system can turn individual power outlets on and off depending on the data it receives from different probes or modules. You can have one outlet set to your CO2 regulator (via a pH probe), one set to your heater (in case of a stuck thermostat it will kill the power to that outlet if it heats up past a certain temperature you set, via the temp probe), one set to an air pump (timed socket), one set to your filter in case of leaks (leak detector), etc.



BayazGouramiz said:


> Also thank you for the power head suggestion. I may pick that up. I will look into it and see if its adjustable.


 I think Hydor does make an adjustable model.



BayazGouramiz said:


> OH yeah I forgot to mention the Milwaukie MH126? ph controler thing. Should i get one of those?


 If you're willing to spend that kind of money on a pH monitor alone, and you plan for this to be a long term hobby, you might as well just purchase an Apex system. Like I mentioned above, it can monitor temperature, pH, can be set up to monitor leaks, if you purchase LED lights it can be set up to dim them on and off so your fish won't have to experience sudden light changes (and just for that bad ass look), it can also monitor power usage per outlet and all these things can be monitored from a web interface. It can do loads of things. You're looking to spend upwards of 500.00 for the whole setup, but like I said, if you know this is going to be a long term hobby for you, I would recommend laying down that money.

I bought the Apex Jr (cheaper with less features). In hindsight, I should have just bought the Apex. Apex Jr. has no power monitoring, does not dim LEDs over time, and has four less outlets. I think the Apex system comes with the PH1 module already built in too, so there's more money savings there. If you're going to buy it, and you know you'll want pH monitoring and leak detection, just buy the Apex. 

Since it monitors pH, it can also be used to turn your solenoid on and off. And it's just pretty bad ass to be able to monitor your temperature, pH, and other parmameters from your phone.

Lol... I promise I don't work for these guys, I'm just crazy about mine. Single best purchase I've made on the tank so far aside from my new filter.



BayazGouramiz said:


> Also what things do I need to start up, declorinater, and a testing kit? The whole Kh Gh or w/e thing seems to be important. Whats the best way to monitor those. I don't want a cheap kit from petco (unless its works well) I'd like a good digital one. I read somewhere that they're 500 plus!!!! But that cant be cuz i see ppl giving their readings all the time.


 First, you need to worry about cycling the tank if you're considering adding livestock. That means you'll want an ammonia test, a nitrite test, and a nitrate test. If you don't know about cycling, you'll need to read up on it. And if you really want to be nice to potential livestock you might add, you'll do a fishless cycle. 

KH and GH tests are important. They're usually packaged together. Some plants prefer different levels of hardness. KH is necessary in determining your ppm of CO2 if you don't have a drop checker. And if you're not going to dish out the money for something like an Apex or Milwaukee then a drop checker is a must, or else you're going to be doing pH tests frequently. The drop checker pretty much acts as a continuous pH test.

The kits I have right now are Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, KH/GH, Phosphates, and pH. I honestly haven't found a need for any other tests so far. Like you said, it's possible to get automatic readings of different things, but it can get extremely expensive. I've seen an probe that will measure dissolved oxygen in the water... it cost 500 dollars. Ouch!

I wouldn't lay down any serious money on test kits. The ones you can buy at Petco are fine.



BayazGouramiz said:


> Also any experience with Gouramis in a community tank would be great. I have seen videos where they can be aggressive. I have 3 in 2.5 gallon nano tank  but they are happy and one male seems to show signs of wanting to be aggressive but the other one just ignores him.


 I think it really depends on the size of the tank and how much you stock it with. Some fish are territorial regardless, but I've had gouramis before that were fine with neon tetras in a 20 gallon, but there were only two gouramis and 8 neons. I'd say three fish the size of gouramis in a 2.5 gal is probably not enough space for them. 

http://aqadvisor.com/ will help you. Go plug in some data there. It's a great tool.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Sweet thanks, your the man. I seen a video with a guy who had the apex system and that thing is super nice. I will work towards getting everything automated for sure. Looks like I'll be buying test kits from petsmart/petco then. Once again thank you so much. Its one thing to read about stuff and another to hear it straight from someone with experience. Helps solidify decisions that I wasn't to confident to make.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Update:

This has been a long grueling process... but I'm starting to get funds and make decisions!

Light #2 : Catalina Aquarium 48' T5HO 4 bulb moonlight for $140!!!!!!!!!< I'm kind of excited about it. Jim is throwing in legs, splash guard, and bulbs for free. I don't think you can beat that. Better quality than Coralife, Aquaticlife, ZooMed, for less money. ( Opinions I've came to with out any experience might I add)

Substrate: 
Turface Grey for like $25 to $50. I got lucky and found a guy with some. I like that it has a high cec and has more texture than sand. I'm thinking about mixing in 5percent BDBS, and a bag of Amazonia. Kind of mix it up. I dont know how to supply ferts to this substrate. Either tabs, osmocote plus, or plants sticks. I'm not sure. 

Canister Filter: 
Will be an eheim 2217, but I'm leaning towards giving a few sunsuns a shot. Either way I'm pulling the trigger Friday night.

Plants:
Starting to compile a list of plants to pick from:
•	African Water Fern
•	Red Cabomba
•	Eriocaulon Mato Grosso or any Eriocaulon 
•	HC, Hemianthus callitrichoides
•	Water Violet /Hottonia palustris
•	Limnophila aromatic
•	Alternanthera reineckii 'Rosanervig'
•	Eleocharis sp.
•	DwarF AR
•	Ludwigia Sp. Red
•	Downoi
•	Erios
•	Ludwigia Arcuata 
•	Hemianthus glomeratus 
•	Hydrocotyle umbellata (pennywort) / sp. Japan?

So money is not a concern so things will move forward now. I'm going to buy the plants soon. Not sure where, I've looked around but I cant figure out which place is best. Any help on anything I posted would be great. 
:icon_smil


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Just got back from Home Depot with the wood for my stand. 

I've also found a TPT member who has most of if not all of the plants I need. 
(Bartohog).

I will be buying ferts from someone on here, i cant remember their name atm. 

I also remembered I need to buy some tools: scissors and such, and PH drop checker.

I'm completely cracked out on this; it has become my new obsession. I haven't been this happy about something in a long time. Kind of weird tbh.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

EDIT: I typed out a huge response, seems you've update the thread in the next few posts. I'll have to reread and update this.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

> Okay so here goes nothing! (75 Gallon Planted/Community)


Best tank size to start with, congrats :hihi:



> Overview:
> 
> I don't know what I'm doing but I've been cracked out on reading and learning and shopping.


I would suggest doing the shopping second! Do it right or do it twice. 



> Tank Theme:
> 
> Dutch planted hybrid/mixed with river rock, and Pacific Madrone branches. Trying to blend hardscape in with plants and fish, so it may be hard to balance.


At this point, I chalk it up to just a tank. Dutch is a style but what you described really doesn't fall into dutch. I see a lot of 'dutchish' tanks. But to me, it is just good aquascaping.



> Equipment:
> 
> ~Tank: 75 Gallon Aqueon $187 new from The Wet Spot (Portland OR)


Pretty sure I have a similar tank and it comes with a very nifty warranty. Check into that and keep records. Mine was a lifetime warranty.



> ~Heater: EHEIM Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater 150W new for $25 only got one to start with since its summer pretty much and I do plan on getting another one.


Two things right off the bat:

1. Definitely get another heater like you planned or
2. Go inline! You'll love it. The hydor inline 300w heater will heat your tank much more evenly (all the flow goes through it) and will not clutter the tank. Plus, no wet hand to adjust the heater and you don't have to turn it off during water changes. A heater outside of water is bad news.



> ~CO2 diffuser: S.T. International Aquarium CO2 Glass Diffuser, Tall, 25mm for $11. I do plan on upgrading, as this is just stop gap start up thing.


Look into a 'reactor'. They are the best since every CO2 bubble that hits the surface is lost CO2. Plus, it can be ran inline so you have less equipment in the tank for the 'Dutch' look.



> ~C02 Counter: Fluval 88g-CO2 Bubble Counter - 3.1 Ounces $3.39! once again most likely junk but w/e I will upgrade soon enough.


I actually like these... You don't have to worry about a check valve failing and dropping fluid into your needle valve.



> ~C02 Regulator: Premium AQUATEK CO2 Regulator with Integrated COOL TOUCH Solenoid(kit) $89 new. Seems to be pretty decent I'm happy about buying it. Time will tell.


This seems to be, from my research, one of the better cheap regulators. Expect it to last a few years and work alright along the way. But you may want to start piecing together a good dual stage victor based regulator. It may take awhile for a good deal to crop up, but a custom built regulator will last a life time, stomp the competition, and cost about $150.



> ~ Light #1 : 48"-60"Current-USA Satellite Freshwater LED Fixture for $41 (refurbed from current) this only has blue and white led's, not happy about it but hopefully it at least helps get me to highlight.


A decent light. Definitely not enough par at this level. Maybe tone it down and use it as a good moonlight to break up the intensity of the main lights clicking on.



> ~Light #2 : (havent bought it yet) Aquatic Life Marquis Freshwater 48 Inch Dual Lamp T5 HO Light Fixture with geismans or w/e. Hoping these two lights put me at or near highlight. I've read alot at there is conflicting reports theres that graph that says it is but from reading up this would only be med light. Should I go with this LED and a quad T5 instead?


Opinions vary on T5s, I don't care for them. For $150 you can get a Finnex Ray2 which will put out enough par to grow anything and is a LED light.



> ~Filter: (havent bought it yet) Eheim Classic Canister Filter with Media - 2217 around $150 That being said I at some point plan on getting another filter so I'd have two. But starting out I'm going to run a powerhead and this and see if I can manage. If it works well I will not buy another one.


Eheims are great. If you run things inline, expect to need more flow because the restriction will cut down on the rated GPH considerably.



> ~Powerhead : Um dont know ... havent read up on them yet! any ideas?


I suggest a hydor nano. I have a 240 in my 75g but the next step up would be better most likely. I have a large return flow already.



> ~Substrate: Im lost on this still. I had my mind made up i was going with amazonia. Then I read a lot about people.including Tom Barr who said they had problems with it. Now I'm lost. I don't want dirt, and i don't want sand or fluorite. I want a supplemented top of the line substrate with no issues.. ???? which one is that? Eco complete? Also here in Portland people have had success with Black blasting sand or something like that. I'm concerned with going with a substrate like this because I may mess up supplementing. I just want nutrient rich soil i don't have to mess with for years and Ei's will cover the rest.


Every substrate becomes inert over time. I suggest sand with root tabs every 6 months. You can buy root tabs premade or make them yourself. Gel capsules are like $5 for 1,000 on fleabay and Osmocote+ is $13 for like a pound of it at home improvement stores. You can even just lay down a thin layer of oscmocote+ tabs when putting the substrate down. I did it without any noticeable issues.

Top of the line substrates often release ammonia into the water and do wear out over time. The price is enough to deter me. $22 for 200 lbs of black diamond did my 75g. That may get you a bag of top of the line substrate shipped to your door.



> ~Ferts: Dont know but I'm going to do Ei's.


Nicolg or something like that on here sells fair dry ferts. 



> ~Stand: Junk one from petsmart for like 160 or something. May build my own but it may cost the same since I don't have tools atm. Plus I'm very very inpatient and I want to get going.


Buying is best if you are impatient without tools. But building is cheaper and customizable. 



> ~Plants:https://www.pinterest.com/pin/202099102000974841/
> 
> Something like this.


This is 100% preference since CO2 and medium light can grow almost anything.



> ~Fish: will come later. But i kind of wont several species of Gouramis, tetras, barbs, Rams, paradise, sick lil dwarf pleco, shrimp, maybe clams or mussels? :hihi:


Larger gouramis do become aggressive. Blue gouramis in particular from what I have read. Tetras are generally all safe. Barbs can be aggressive depending on species. If you stick with cherry barbs or denisons, I know they are peaceful community fish. I have no input on paradise fish or plecos. Shrimp become snacks very often and clams are super cool.



BayazGouramiz said:


> Cool man thxs  I'm so excited. Next check I'm buying the soil u mentioned, the stand, and filter. What is DHG? Also with out plants can I start the cycling process?


DHG is Dwarf Hair Grass. As for cycling, yes. You can start cycling with a filter in a bucket in your garage without a light. 




> I don't like the idea of having flow in my tank as it will disturb my Gouramis. I hope to some how have them breed and then remove the fry/bubble nest into a breeder tank with dad. They don't like flow, but with co2 you kind of have to distribute it.


Flow and distribution aren't difficult to achieve independent of each other. A spray bar doesn't really disrupt the fish much but distributes water across a large area. This will take some finesse on your end in tweaking return feeds.



> Another thing is I've been reading that heaters fail, turn on max heat and keep on going until everything is dead. I hope this never happens...


Get a finnex heater controller for $30 on amazon. It will cut power to the heater if the water exceeds 'x' degrees, set by you.



> I'm contemplating going with that Sand thank you for making it easier to make that choice if I do.


It is easy to plant in and usually cheap 



> Also thank you for the power head suggestion. I may pick that up. I will look into it and see if its adjustable.


Adjustable power heads are generally $50+. I would probably undersize it to be safe or go all out and get an actual adjustable power head.



> OH yeah I forgot to mention the Milwaukie MH126? ph controler thing. Should i get one of those?


IMO, no. It is a ton of money for something that I don't see as necessary. 



> Also what things do I need to start up, declorinater, and a testing kit? The whole Kh Gh or w/e thing seems to be important. Whats the best way to monitor those. I don't want a cheap kit from petco (unless its works well) I'd like a good digital one. I read somewhere that they're 500 plus!!!! But that cant be cuz i see ppl giving their readings all the time.


A digital one is probably expensive. Most people use the cheap API drop test kits, myself included. Master test kit plus the GH/KH tests is $30 and will last until they expire. Most important for initial set up. After the tank is running, you will rarely use any of them.



> Also any experience with Gouramis in a community tank would be great. I have seen videos where they can be aggressive. I have 3 in 2.5 gallon nano tank  but they are happy and one male seems to show signs of wanting to be aggressive but the other one just ignores him. They are also not interested in the females advances, contrary to what I've heard and read. She has actually tried to breed with them and they wont. Prolly cuz the tank is not ideal and they don't want to build a bubble nest.


I hope those are dwarf gouramis because regular gourami species get quite large  Fish are animals and they have personalities, some may dispute this. Their temperament isn't something you can pull up on a spec sheet and take for granted. They are going to be different. Your mileage may vary is a common quote with fish advice. 



BayazGouramiz said:


> Sweet thanks, your the man. I seen a video with a guy who had the apex system and that thing is super nice. I will work towards getting everything automated for sure. Looks like I'll be buying test kits from petsmart/petco then. Once again thank you so much. Its one thing to read about stuff and another to hear it straight from someone with experience. Helps solidify decisions that I wasn't to confident to make.


Apex systems are nice, but they are super expensive. If you are delving into them I would suggest stepping up the quality across the board along with it since your budget is going through the roof! 

The regular test kits work fine.




> Light #2 : Catalina Aquarium 48' T5HO 4 bulb moonlight for $140!!!!!!!!!< I'm kind of excited about it. Jim is throwing in legs, splash guard, and bulbs for free. I don't think you can beat that. Better quality than Coralife, Aquaticlife, ZooMed, for less money. ( Opinions I've came to with out any experience might I add)


This is up to you, but if you haven't bought it I do suggest looking into the Ray2 by Finnex. You won't be replacing LEDs every 6-12 months. 



> Substrate:
> Turface Grey for like $25 to $50. I got lucky and found a guy with some. I like that it has a high cec and has more texture than sand. I'm thinking about mixing in 5percent BDBS, and a bag of Amazonia. Kind of mix it up. I dont know how to supply ferts to this substrate. Either tabs, osmocote plus, or plants sticks. I'm not sure.


Cec is above my understanding of the hobby. Do whatever looks best. Adding ferts to the substrate is easy. 1,000 gel caps cost about $5 on ebay and you can buy a large container of oscmocote for $10 at a hardware store. That or buy them premade by members on here. If you are setting up the tank, you can sprinkle O+ itself then add the substrate. The gel caps are there to get the O+ through a filled tank. The cap just melts away after being buried.



> Canister Filter:
> Will be an eheim 2217, but I'm leaning towards giving a few sunsuns a shot. Either way I'm pulling the trigger Friday night.


A couple sunsuns will give you more even flow and you can run things inline on separate canisters. They will last awhile. But if you plan on going with an apex controller, I would get an eheim canister for the build quality. If you are toning the budget down, Sunsuns are solid :hihi: I have/had one and it did just fine for me.



> So money is not a concern so things will move forward now. I'm going to buy the plants soon. Not sure where, I've looked around but I cant figure out which place is best. Any help on anything I posted would be great.
> :icon_smil


I have bought zero plants online outside of this forum. I haven't had any issues with anyone on here and shipping is overpriced elsewhere. I would post a WTB thread and check the for sale area. Many people farm out plants regularly.



> Just got back from Home Depot with the wood for my stand.


Glad you went this way! Where are you getting tools from?



> I've also found a TPT member who has most of if not all of the plants I need.
> (Bartohog).


Congrats, best advice I could give was buying the from members here.



> I will be buying ferts from someone on here, i cant remember their name atm.


Solid choice.



> I also remembered I need to buy some tools: scissors and such, and PH drop checker.


I have had good luck with amazon and ebay stainless steel tools. The PH drop checker should be available on those sites too.



> I'm completely cracked out on this; it has become my new obsession. I haven't been this happy about something in a long time. Kind of weird tbh.


It is more common than you think! :hihi: I went from a 5g tank in the corner for glow fish to a 75g with a 55g sump in 6 months. It is quite an enthralling hobby. I feel bad for the fish at the store and want to adopt them all, but I don't have a tank big enough...yet.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Freemananana said:


> Best tank size to start with, congrats :hihi:
> 
> Nicolg or something like that on here sells fair dry ferts.


Yeah thats the name.



> Glad you went this way! Where are you getting tools from?


Yeah I'm almost there!








I got the tools from Home Depot, sucks that it increased the cost because I had to purchase a new drill, but I needed one anyway.



> Larger gouramis do become aggressive. Blue gouramis in particular from what I have read. Tetras are generally all safe. Barbs can be aggressive depending on species. If you stick with cherry barbs or denisons, I know they are peaceful community fish. I have no input on paradise fish or plecos. Shrimp become snacks very often and clams are super cool.


Yeah they are Neon Dwarf Gouramis. They're redish with blue strips.

Thank you for such a detailed post I'm going to use it to finish my setup.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

The powder blue dwarf gouramis are cool. Just watch out for dwarf gourami disease. I'm not positive on it, but just google it. It seems to be a common thing. The stand looks good. If you don't have a level, home depot sells 4' ones for less than $10. Definitely check the level from front to back, side to side, and diagonally across the top of the tank. That will tell you if your stand and floor are level. 

Also, before you set the tank up. I suggest painting the back or getting some sort of plain background. It makes a world of difference when hiding equipment and making the fish stand out.

Plans to cover the stand or leave it open?


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Freemananana said:


> Plans to cover the stand or leave it open?


I'm going to close the stand. Lol right now you cant get into it  i got frustrated since i dont have a saw worth a [censored][censored][censored][censored] and nailed a finishing piece across the whole front . Tomorrow I'm going to get trim for the corners, a cheesie saw good enough to open up the front and some doors. 

I have setup my first hardscape... I'm not happy at all about it. I became way to impatient and just wanted to see something in the tank. 

I'm not liking my choice of substrates either. I went to the place that sells BDBS today and they were closed for the day and wont open until monday... I was bummed and it kind of set me back today. I decided to hell with it and went and bought two bags of Amazonia Malaya, and a bag of Turface. The colors are close, and that is why I went that route.

Turface goes along way I could of used one 50 LB bag and had 6inches of substrate without even putting in the Amazonia. I took several inches out and put in the two bags. I do not like the red look.

1.SO future plans are to buy a background and glue or tap it to the back of the tank. 
2.Fix the stand.
3. Take some substrate out, cuz i think i have to much in the tank.
4. Rearrange the hardscape cuz it pisses me off.

I bought some items today off of ebay:
1. API Filstar Large 
2. Eheim 2217.
3. The Catalina light(ordered this from Catalina)
4. Declorinator 
5. Media for the API
6. 50 pound co2 cylinder

So here are some photos of a very preliminary setup. I did not put much thought into it because I just cant visualize things very well, and everything I have seems to be to big and to takes up to much space. So I just went for it. I still have several rocks and large pieces of wood similar to those in the tank. 

























Please feel free to tell me what looks bad etc. Thank you! :confused1:

I'm so tired I'm going to go play league and call it a day!!!


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

I couldn't stand it anymore changed the things i knew i didnt like.

This seems to be much better to me...?









This is pretty much the same but I added a few tiny pieces of Manzanita to the river. To kind of look like roots idk... kind of reaching. 









Its starting to be fun instead of stressful :hihi:


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

haha here's the door-less tank stand! 









Should be dialed in soon. Still needs doors, some trim, a lil touch up with paint etc. I shouldn't have to move it but a few inches to do this.


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## bweazel (Apr 30, 2009)

Lookin' real good, Bayaz. I look forward to seeing it planted.


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## OrdanJay (Jun 7, 2015)

If you stick with a glass diffuser, it disperses better under powerhead rather then filter outtake.

Bump: You might also consider blacking out the background to hide unsightly plumbing.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

bweazel said:


> Lookin' real good, Bayaz. I look forward to seeing it planted.


Thanks man


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

OrdanJay said:


> If you stick with a glass diffuser, it disperses better under powerhead rather then filter outtake.
> 
> Bump: You might also consider blacking out the background to hide unsightly plumbing.


That is good to know. I will probably go inline reactor then. I hope these two filters are not over kill. 

Im in the process of trying to figure out what to do with the background. When I get home I'll show a pic of a graphic slate background from Petco. It actually looks kind of decent. But I don't like the unatural look, and it doesn't really match the theme. All though it's super dark and has a redish shale so it matches color wise. Probably going to go black like most people. I'd like to continue the pebble stream up the glass and have the rest of it fade green to black. It'd be nice to have the tank continue but all the graphics like that have plants or something that doesn't match. Also thinking about going like a brick red? Or maroon black? Or frosted with led's


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

A few more changes... Not sure if I like them. Seems to me its kind of getting to busy. IDK, I'm not done with the river and I think I need a few of the large rocks out. Also not sure if I like the wood on the right.

























Don't be afraid to tell me what you don't like, your not going to hurt my feelers. Thank you

Oh yeah I forgot to mention the background. I really need some ideas on what ppl think of it. I dont really like it, but it seems okay. I will be getting the black one and trying it out too. So do you like the slate background? yay or nay? plz tell me how it is. Thanks


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## strangewaters (May 13, 2015)

rebelbuck1993 said:


> Eheim 2217 for sure and black diamond blasting sand is good just make sure to get 20/40 or the 12/20 size and rinse it. Also put down some osnocote plus in the bottom before the sand helps for fertilizer





rebelbuck1993 said:


> Eheim 2217 for sure and black diamond blasting sand is good just make sure to get 20/40 or the 12/20 size and rinse it. Also put down some osnocote plus in the bottom before the sand helps for fertilizer


My thread
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=880681

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Maybe it doesn't matter or it's too late….but IMO, the AquaticLife fixtures are way better than the Catalinas or any of the others you listed as options. Sure either one with work for your needs. Just saying...


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Maybe it doesn't matter or it's too late….but IMO, the AquaticLife fixtures are way better than the Catalinas or any of the others you listed as options. Sure either one with work for your needs. Just saying...



Yeah it's to late. I really liked what I read about aquaticlifes, but I read several things about the Marquis being cheap and flimsy. One user said he had the expensive 4 bulb T5HO aquaticlifes and absolutely loved them. He needed more light so he bought the Marquis cuz u can connect them. He said they were terribly cheap and built nothing like the 4 bulb one. I read several other things like that too. So I went with Catalina because I read nothing but good things about them. Plus when I called they said they'd they'd sell me a 4 bulb T5HO for $138 with bulbs, splash guard, and legs. Can't really beat that I don't think. I couldn't of even bought the marquis for that.


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

BayazGouramiz said:


> Yeah it's to late. I really liked what I read about aquaticlifes, but I read several things about the Marquis being cheap and flimsy. One user said he had the expensive 4 bulb T5HO aquaticlifes and absolutely loved them. He needed more light so he bought the Marquis cuz u can connect them. He said they were terribly cheap and built nothing like the 4 bulb one. I read several other things like that too. So I went with Catalina because I read nothing but good things about them. Plus when I called they said they'd they'd sell me a 4 bulb T5HO for $138 with bulbs, splash guard, and legs. Can't really beat that I don't think. I couldn't of even bought the marquis for that.


Oh I got ya. I have the older models that the AL Marquis replaced so I could see that. That's a very nice price for that kind of light setup you got!


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Oh I got ya. I have the older models that the AL Marquis replaced so I could see that. That's a very nice price for that kind of light setup you got!


Thxs


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Bought my plants:

•	3x Ludwigia Senegalensis 3$ each 

•	1x Fissidens 6$ portion close to golfball size 

•	1x1 stainless portion wave moss 15$ 

•	1x Vesicularia Thai 1x1 stainless 8$

•	2 x Bacopa monnieri 1$ each

•	1 x Bacopa sp Japan 1$ each

•	1x Cuphea Anagalloidea 4$ each

•	2 x Didiplis diandra 1 $ each

•	3 x Hydrocotyle Sp Japan (Trip) 3$/12 nodes

•	1 x Ludwigia Sp. Rubin 2$ each 

•	1 x Ludwigia Pantanal 5$ each

•	1 x Rotala Mini Butterfly 3$ each

•	2 x staurogyne repens 49 1.50 each

•	2 x Tonnia Fluviatilis 4$ each

•	1 x AR mini 2$

•	1 x Cabomba purple $1 SOLD (If available)

•	1- Eriocaulon An Son (very new) easy erio 30$ 

•	1- Eriocaulon H'ra 35$ 

•	4- Downoi 3$ each
. 2 - Synogonanthus Belem 2$ each
2 - Synogonanthus Madeira 10$ each

I also bought my ferts :
From.nilocg:

EI based NPK + CSM+B with GH booster - $26 Shipped with the iron, and I need bottles too. Bottles are $5 each

Osmocote plus tabs 25 - $5

MTS 50 for $14

I just bought plants based on how they look. Tryed to get some at each level. I dont know if I need more or if it's to much. I also have no idea how to start my lights or my ferts . Neither do I know how many tabs to put in. I also have no idea if I should use the MTS tabs.

I also bought my 50ft python vacuum and filled my Co2. IM KIND OF SCARED IM GOING TO KILL EVERYTHING. I plant on Wed , and I will be leaving for a week the next Wednesday... I may need to buy an apex and give my sister a cheat sheet so she can swing by and check things real quick


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Calculators for E.I. There's a bunch out there.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/EI.htm

https://www.thenutrientcompany.com/aquarium/calculators/ei_calculator/

I do the Osmocote + tabs every 6 inches….picture a number 5 die like you'd use in a board game or a casino lol.

Bump: Check this out too http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=167261


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

So I got my plants today, and I got them in the tank. It was a lot of work because I didn't have my filter set up, no ferts, no power strip, background was a pita, and I wasn't done with my hardscape (all new to me). I cant believe that 187 dollars worth of plants don't go that far. I should of ordered more 1 dollar plants. Or larger bunches. I got like 19 species mostly single. The plants were in good condition, and seemed to be very healthy. I kind of just tossed them in because I have no idea where some of them should go. I had a general idea of which ones go on which levels, but even thats a stretch with some of the tweeners (mid/back). I had the plants in the tank without anything but dechlorinator. I only guessed at temps, and I seemed to do okay as the water temp when full was 71 deg. I'm trying to get it to 77? My ferts are late and wont be here until tomorrow. I'm concerned so I went to petco and got the only plant food they have 0-0-3 (potash and iron) and I put like a tablespoon of fish food in... After several hours of the plants being in the tank I finally got the co2 injecting and the lights on. The API filstar xp L seems to be working okay, definitely doesn't seem to be above average flow for this size tank. I will put my eheim 2217 on tomorrow maybe. It came as I was finishing up. 

I'm concerned my plants are not doing well.

Here are my first ever tank test results.

Ammonia : .25
KH: 25.8 or 2 drops
GH: same as above maybe a lil less. 
PH: 6.4
Temp: Finally went up a lil to 72, that poor lil 150 watt aint cutting it.

Anyways heres a few crappy pics:


























My main concerns at this point are pretty much everything.

1. I have to get tabs in somehow...
2. How do I start the EI's off
3. Are my plants melting...
4. Are my parameters okay.
5. Do i have to much light/ how many hours a day should I do.
6. Making sure my Co2 drop checker is working right I was confused about the solution. Directions were vague said 1cc of solution. I seen a vid and they filled it to the line. Seems to be working. I was thinking about pushing the water until it turns yellow and then drawing it back to green. 

Also my ph seems to be to low. Especially since I just started the co2.

Hoping for the best!


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

BayazGouramiz said:


> My main concerns at this point are pretty much everything.
> 
> 1. I have to get tabs in somehow...
> 2. How do I start the EI's off
> ...


Did you even read the post above your last post :icon_eek: 

Go to the lighting section of the forum and check out Hoppys thread about measuring light with par instead of watts. It's a great read for information regarding your question on lighting. I always start my light at 6 hours a day until the plants get established. Just my personal preference though.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Did you even read the post above your last post :icon_eek:
> 
> Go to the lighting section of the forum and check out Hoppys thread about measuring light with par instead of watts. It's a great read for information regarding your question on lighting. I always start my light at 6 hours a day until the plants get established. Just my personal preference though.


Yeah I've read it. Its just that all it gives is the standard EI dosing schedules. From my understanding it needs to be different on startup. I cant find a consensus, but Tropica does have an app and it seems to call for 50% water changes every other day for a couple weeks. So never doing something like this and not being able to find a definitive answer does lead me to be confused/ worried. I have read Hoppys Par reports several times. The thing is I dont quite understand all the info. The graphs are easy enough, but with my Current LED it kind of changes things up.

So with my 4 bulb T5HO from Catalina I roughly have 80 par at 20in.

add 

THe Current is around 60-65 par at 20 inches. So thats around 140 par at 20in. ?? I dont know.

I'm trying to look up if that's to high of a par. All Hoppy says is that anything over 50 is highlight. Also even if you can run with 140 par I'm sure that it you wouldn't want to on startup. So with my T5's should I turn 2 bulbs off or 1 bulb?

So as you can see I have been reading a lot but it still doesn't solve all my questions. Plus some of these forums are hundreds of posts long.


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Yeah usually all the water changes at the beginning are because of the substrate being used that leaches out ammonia for a few weeks (ie..ADA Amazonia). I would do one WC a day if your ammonia number keeps rising instead of going down. I would start with 2 bulbs and the current and see how they do. PAR doesn't just add directly on top of each other like that though and either way IMO you'd be high light without a doubt with those T5's. Pretty much grow water ever you want with those guys. Just got to find your balance. Also, I've never varied my EI dosing from startup vs a tank that's mature. I just keep it consistent and at more or less depending on plant growth. They'll tell you just by their appearance. Give them 2 or 3 weeks at least though to see how they start to acclimate to your tank and make adjustments from there. Such as more co2 or less.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Yeah usually all the water changes at the beginning are because of the substrate being used that leaches out ammonia for a few weeks (ie..ADA Amazonia). I would do one WC a day if your ammonia number keeps rising instead of going down. I would start with 2 bulbs and the current and see how they do. PAR doesn't just add directly on top of each other like that though and either way IMO you'd be high light without a doubt with those T5's. Pretty much grow water ever you want with those guys. Just got to find your balance. Also, I've never varied my EI dosing from startup vs a tank that's mature. I just keep it consistent and at more or less depending on plant growth. They'll tell you just by their appearance. Give them 2 or 3 weeks at least though to see how they start to acclimate to your tank and make adjustments from there. Such as more co2 or less.


Nice! Cool thxs man. That's what I'll do then. That helps a lot. So I will do frequent 50% water changes(every other day/everyday), start my EI dosing regimen, and try and keep my drop checker green. 

The plants rebounded pretty decently after the co2 started to come into the tank. They are looking better for sure, but I think I seen some stress from the 4 T5's and the LED. So I will definitely use just 2 T5s and the LED. The LED seems so weak though, but I think that's just maybe how LED's look.

Now I just need to go grab some titan timers from the grow store and and get the co2 and lights on an appropriate schedule. 

A few more ?'s for u Chris  Is there a proper way to turn the co2 off and on. For instance do I just turn the tank off? Last night I left it on at about 1bps and the drop checker turned yellow. So this morning I turned it off. What I did was to turn the main tank off and I let the remaining gas go out and then i turned the needle valve off and then I closed the reg and unplugged the reg. Is that fine?

I tried to find some detailed info and I couldn't. 

Thank you :icon_smil


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Here's the second day of light.


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

BayazGouramiz said:


> Nice! Cool thxs man. That's what I'll do then. That helps a lot. So I will do frequent 50% water changes(every other day/everyday), start my EI dosing regimen, and try and keep my drop checker green.
> 
> The plants rebounded pretty decently after the co2 started to come into the tank. They are looking better for sure, but I think I seen some stress from the 4 T5's and the LED. So I will definitely use just 2 T5s and the LED. The LED seems so weak though, but I think that's just maybe how LED's look.
> 
> ...


Yeah for the co2 you need a timer just like your lights. Set the co2 so it comes on about an hour before the lights and goes off about an hour before the lights turn off. This way once you have your rate/amount of co2 set, it stays consistent from day to day without having to manually dial it in every single stinking day lol. That electric solenoid's power will be cut when the timer goes off and the it will shut down the co2 being released into the tank.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Some new pics:

















There are some new additions as I won a RAOK :hihi: First time I've ever even tried to. I think that may be the first thing I've won in over a decade lol.

I have just thrown stuff in trying to let it establish and see how things look and what I may need to move around. A lot of the plants seem to be lanking out and kind of tattered looking. So I topped them to make them branch out and took of some old looking leaves. 

Everything seems to be settled in. There is some cause for concern with my Belem as it has some leaves turning pale, almost see thru, but with a tingy looking mold color(algae) I hope not. I didn't know what to do so i just cut as much of it away as I could. I installed the Eheim now and my circulation seems to be way better. I also purchased everything to make a DIY Craig co2 reactor. I haven't put it together yet. 

I have to leave for a week.... 

Any ideas on how things will be when I get BACK?????

Should I run low light and hope for the best?

Is it a must to have someone come over and dose and do 50% water change every other day?

Some how I have duckweed too lol!!!


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

BayazGouramiz said:


> Some new pics:
> 
> View attachment 489922
> 
> ...



Did you get your co2 set on a timer?


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Did you get your co2 set on a timer?


Yeah I got m lights and co2 on titan timers. Schedule is what u described in an earlier post


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

BayazGouramiz said:


> Yeah I got m lights and co2 on titan timers. Schedule is what u described in an earlier post


Cool! When are you going to add critters?


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Cool! When are you going to add critters?


As soon as the tank is cycled. Not sure when that is off the top of my head I need to read up on it more. From what I remember its around a month. Or when ammonia drops and nitrates come up, or nitrites or something along those lines.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Ammonia will peak first, then slowly drop off as the bacteria begins consuming the ammonia.
Then your nitrites will start to rise. Once the nitrites drop close to 0ppm and the ammonia is a 0ppm then your tank is considered cycled.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Immortal1 said:


> Ammonia will peak first, then slowly drop off as the bacteria begins consuming the ammonia.
> Then your nitrites will start to rise. Once the nitrites drop close to 0ppm and the ammonia is a 0ppm then your tank is considered cycled.


Nice!!! Thank you for making it so simple  I'd have to spend hours reading things to learn what you said in two lines.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

Some of those plants look familiar! haha, good luck with the tank, off to a good start!


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

bsantucci said:


> Some of those plants look familiar! haha, good luck with the tank, off to a good start!


HAHA thanks


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Have you done any reading of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates lately?


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Chris_Produces said:


> Have you done any reading of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates lately?


Not yet, I'm in disneyland for a few days and then a road trip back to oregon  hopefully this evening I will get some time to find some good forums. I'm concerned for my plants. I dosed two days of EI and made two two hour photo periods a day for them. Cut the co2 to a like 1 bps or less which comes on for two hrs staggered to come on an hour early etc. sure hope they are okay when I get home in 6 days.


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## Regenesis (Apr 12, 2011)

excited to see how this turns out  I'll be following along


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## Desertsp (Feb 17, 2013)

Looks like you're off to a good start! 

I am by no means experienced at this stuff compared to others, but my advice would be that water changes are very useful! My tank looked like crap for two years because I got lazy with the water changes. I recently started doing them more frequently and the algae has died off, and the plants are actually growing! Sure, I did some other things too like stabilize the CO2, but it wasn't until the water changes that the algae came under control.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

So its been awhile since I updated. I've recently been trying to get my tank back up to speed and monitor it more since being back from my week long vacation. 

Overall my tank did well when I was gone, but I lost 3 Downoi, and I almost lost my one Erio H'ra or w/e its called. My Belem all but faded, I think it rotted or melted, but either way it looks like crap but it seems to have stabilized. Its got a thread of a stalk.

So that being said I think I should of left my tank at 6 hours and just went with out EIs. Instead I opted for two, two hour photo periods in a day, with the co2 being on at the same time. I also threw in 2 osmocote caps on the surface. To me this was the biggest mistake as I believe it is a big contributor to the algae that's popping as I've not been able to fish it all out. That being said the tank looked good when I got back.

My downoi, and belem, were not doing well from the get go.

Another plant that is very unhappy and always has been is my Pantanal, its a lil bastard. 

So when I got back, I pumped mass amounts of co2 into my tank and thought I needed more light so I put the LED's on with all 4 bulbs to and cranked up the photo period to 8 hours. I've gotten some good growth and been forced to make my first attempt at replanting tops. All in all it went okay. For the most part I'm just still trying to let plants get settled in and grow to the point that I have to rescape. I can already tell I want the 2 Belem type plants up front, and that I want to move the Bacopa up and in a lil. So here it is at around a 5 weeks. 









It looks okay I need to start to deal with the algae. I have a few spots of staghorn i think and some scum stuff, and diatoms, and some green spots, and some brownish colored stuff on the glass. So all in all I think I have around 4 or 5 types of algae nothing big yet.

Still doing my EI's, and my 50% water changes.

I do 50's every other day I forgot when I can go to once a week...

I'm kind of happy with my tank but its kind of slow going, and I didnt think it was gong to be so hard to get thick growths. Replanting tops is not easy, especially trying to get them to look good and be really close together. I'm also kind of realizing I'm not to into the weedy type plants that seem to be taking over. They grow like mad... 

I had a ph crash for a week where my ph was at 4.. and would not budge with baking soda. Now its back to around 6.4 and I've taken the co2 down to around 5bps, I've also went down to only 2 t5hos and the LED. 

Looking forward to my cycling being finished as the nitrites are coming down finally, and I have no ammonia. :hihi:

Bump: Also does anyone know what the little grass like plant is that is spreading on runners in the river. I did not order it, but found one lil sprig in my first order. I barely held it down with a rock and now its spreading. I kind of like it, but it is always brown and unhealthy looking yet it is growing and spreading in the river. Most of the plants in the river are not happy, they seem to want their soil. Its why my downoi died I believe. Even though I put its roots down into the dirt a little it wasn't enough. I pulled the one survivor up yesterday and put it in the soil and its already starting to look much better. My Erio H'ra has almost made a full recovery and my ez erio looks better than ever 
The red plant on the left is finally growing to so that's cool. Those are popular and I was hoping to make an area full of it, but I see now that some plants grow slow, and are not easy to establish and take cuts off or spread them around. Its a process I thought would be much quicker, now I see its kind of difficult to populate a given area off of one plant.


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## Hetzer (Sep 23, 2012)

Well that looks great, I think it will look spectacular once it fills in. Nice work!


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Hetzer said:


> Well that looks great, I think it will look spectacular once it fills in. Nice work!


Thank you sir and your avatar isn't half bad either  Kind of reminds me of my last dog who was rott lab mix. He was the best dog ever.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

So here is my tank at 33 days. I just added my first batch of fish, and a few more plants from the LFS.









The fish that I bought are:

5 Purple Harlequin Rasboras

4 assassin snails
3 Otocinclus arnoldi " common "
2 Sunset Honey Gouramis
5 Sparkling Gouramis 
5 Six Banded Barbs.

Parameters are set at 3kh and 3 gh, 0ppm nitrite and ammonia  after two days. The tank seems to look healthier and in balance more. The ottos have already cleaned most of all the small patches of scum algae, they also keep the leafs looking cleaner. I'm really happy about how many snails have been eaten in only 2 days.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Today was one of those terrible days in tanking... I feel kind of defeated! I was messing with my light trying to make it move back further and I moved a rock that was holding my driftwood down... It did not float up, so I was like yes its finally water logged. Messed around with the light got it moved back to where it spreads all the way to the back of the tank better and all of the sudden my wood started to float  I tried for a half hour to get it to stay down with no success. It uprooted several plants and made the water cloudy for 3 hours. I had to take it out. So bummed! 

One good thing was that my new plant order came in. So I was able to move some stuff around. I lost some fissidens fontanus in the process and I dont have any good place to put my mosses now. So I just buried them in the river gravel for now. 

Worst thing about all of this is that I dont like my tank now. I learned a huge lesson for setting up a new tank, and that is to not jimmy rig your hardscape. Anchor it properly, and insure that it will be secure. 

That being said I do have way more area to plant now. Especially since I removed a large portion of the river bed. To top it off I threw out some Cabomba Purple because it was getting way to lanky and the nodes would not stop stretching like 4-8 inches... Looked like some crap you see in the river. 

One of the main things I liked about my main piece of driftwood was that it made a cave underneath it. :icon_frow

I didn't think it was going to be so hard to fix something like this. Tanking can be depressing at times. I mean I guess I could put it back in but I'd have to move plants around and stirr up the tank. I also need a way to hold it down and a plan that is fail proof before i start dinking around in the tank, because before you know it the the whole tank is cloudy. Cant be good for the fish.

anyways im going to go sulk now...

Almost forgot, but I found a solution for the lack of the API's not having a spray bar. This product ( Eheim AEH4005310 Spray Bar Set for Aquarium Water Pump) works perfectly on my API Rena Filstar xp- L. A little spendy but its very nice and its adjustable. I like it so much I'm buying another one to replace the cheap lil green one that comes standard with the Eheim 2217. One of the best things about this product is that its easy to adjust and separate. Its super easy to get the hose off and each part of the spray bar can be turned in w/e directon you want. Trying to adjust the green one is a huge pita. I actually had to cut a slit in the hose that attaches to it so that I could even turn it.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Heres the tank at around 9 weeks: 

























So far it's gone okay, I really enjoy taking care of the tank now, and learning new things.

I've had a few setbacks like algae, and poor plant growth. I still have some problems with poor plant growth in a few plants, and I've lost several plants for w/e reason.

One of the biggest set backs has been the utter destruction my Gourami did to my tank. He destroyed so many plants that I finally had to move him... With all the plant debris in the filters and everywhere I had a pretty bad explosion of Staghorn, and BBA. It's pretty much all gone now, thanks to excel, and my Silver Flying Foxs.

I've lost a few fish to, but they weren't healthy from the get go so I'm not worried about it. The tank is doing way better since I got off my ass and built the Cerges Inline Reactor.

The piece of wood that is in there atm is just to help grow out a piece of moss, I'm trying to find a way to put some driftwood back in, but I just don't see how that's going to work without redoing everything.

So the tank isnt anything like I would like it to be, but once my foreground grows back in I should at least be happy with it. I've had to learn a lot about planting cuttings, because its such a weird idea to cut a plant top off and throw away the bottom old growth, just after finally getting a plant to grow well. Also I've found it very difficult to plant things close enough to each other so it looks nice. 

Overall its a lot of fun, and I feel good about how much I'm learning.


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## bweazel (Apr 30, 2009)

It's coming along. Lookin' forward to the next update.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

bweazel said:


> It's coming along. Lookin' forward to the next update.


Thank you sir, hopefully the next one will have a nice foreground like yours 

and maybe a new hardscape... So tired of the lack of drift wood in my tank, and how bad the river looks now. Kind of capped on spending atm, cuz the wife is tired of me throwing money at the tank  I guess 2500 is to much for her lol... I never thought I would ever spend that much on something like this. The thing is I need to make another plant order


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Coming along nicely! It will get easier as the tank matures and plant mass increases. Looking good so far.


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## bweazel (Apr 30, 2009)

BayazGouramiz said:


> I never thought I would ever spend that much on something like this.


 Ha! I try not to think about how much I've spent on mine.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

After looking back at my tank it wasn't as bad as I thought it was before I gave up on it. Here is a pic after 3 weeks of trying very hard to recover my tank. I'm starting to encounter a lot of the same problems that frustrated me the first go around...


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Pretty much still trying to get certain plants to grow healthy. To do so I've removed all hardscape, and soon the live stock will get the boot to. I'm going to try and get the plants healthy and then I'll move them around. I want a dutch tank, so no hardscape, it makes it easier anyways. Problem plants for me ATM are: cardinal plant, ET, Limnophila aromatica ( shaded lower part melting falling off), Ruben ( BBA GSA on Lowe leaves/ poor growth), little to no growth out of my Mexican Gois, hydrocoytle japan melting..., moneywart super slow growth, red wallichii is starting to turn brown from to much nitrogen, mermaid weed is not doing anything... And overall I'm very dissatisfied. If things don't change soon I'll switch out substrate and see if that helps, if not I'm probably done.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Here's a better picture, things look a little bit nicer. Hoping to get things filled out and moved around soon. My ET is just barely hanging on. Hoping and praying it some how comes out of this slow March to melt. Its been over a week so this is the longest it's ever made it.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Looks good from here! 

Just keep working on it, look for ways to improve CO2, trim/prune/clean, go easy on the micros, religious water changes...


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Yeah I think I may have to much flow, and to much co2. My co2 bouble counter is pretty much a fast stream, for some reason I've always had to have a fast bouble rate. For 2 weeks its been pretty much a solid stream. Without doing this my drop checkers don't turn yellow until the end of the day. Now they are yellowish before the lights come on. Fish have become some what immune to the abuse... But I feel bad for them so I'm deciding to turn it down some cuz I bought a bunch of new fish and amanos and nerites. I'm really in need of a clean up crew as I have diatoms and BBA starting to appear pretty much everywhere.. The diatoms love co2 I think cuz they are pearling like crazy... Looks like I have 7up in my tank towards the end of the cycle. For some reason after my tank neglect diatoms started to take the place of some blue green algae that I killed with tetracycline... Its not bad just mainly a thin layer on substrate. There is also some on low leaves and on certain plants. I think it's caused from detrius laying on Leaves. Its kind of like dust, I try and shake it off but the filters nvr take in the fine particles.... Well some but not much. I also vacum as much as possible on water change day. All this helps but it nvr really gets rid of the almost invisible layer of detrius/ substrate that coats the leaves of certain plants. I have gotten a turkey baster to try and keep the plants free of the dirt, it helps but still an issue. So detrius/substrate enables a fine layer of diatoms to be present which then helps gsa and BBA get established on certain plants. Like the grass thing I have. Now their spores are trying inhabit anything not growing to well. This new light is creating to much light I think too. I think I'm going to only run 2 bulbs for awhile. I have been and will continue to overdose excel but it seems to not be eradicating it this time. Now I may do some h202 attacks ,by its not isolated its just fine little growths in several areas. Hoping the new Otto's , nerites, and Amanos will start to help remove the diatoms. So far they only want to dink around on the glass and clean off the tiny bit of gsa ... So annoying. So it seems like my only noption is to reduce the light strength and cut off the most affected leaves and plants. Kind of sucks that this is not helping my ET at all, or my lobias which are both barely hanging on. The plants I got from u are free of the issues though







they are clean and growing well.


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## bweazel (Apr 30, 2009)

Nice growth.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

After letting my tank die all the way back, and having no plants for 6 months or so I figured I'd give it another shot. This is 3 weeks in I believe and things are going much better. Made a commitment to maintenance this go round. Which is why I switched to BDBS wuth this new start up. Way cleaner, I mean WAY cleaner. I've already had to trim some plants two times, which has allowed me the confidence to finally get to move stuff around and prune. My eheim 2217 nvr skipped a beat during all the neglect even though it was packed with nasty crap. The Rena xp large not so much, it seized up. After cleaning it up its working well again. Im suprised all my equipment still worked.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

wow tank looks very nice! Great job


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

BettaBettas said:


> wow tank looks very nice! Great job


Thanks, its starting to come along finally


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

I think I need to trim again....


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