# The Aquarium re-boot "VERSION 2.0-PLANTED"



## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Ok all here I go! First a little history....

This all started when my wife said to me... "are you gonna clean up that tank?".. And after about the 5th time she asked I had to actually do something before the unpleasantness of the algae and poop filled tank started to raise tensions.. "Yes" I said but inside I really didn't care for the fish tank anymore. The tank is a 29 gal with plastic plants and lame ornaments.. It was fun for a while but over the years I just lost interest. It just wasn't fun anymore. So I basically neglected it and let it run on autopilot. The guppies seemed just fine to keep on reproducing and loving their no fuss lifestyle. Get up eat and then go to bed. Not a bad life I figure...

Well I went online and started with buying a new filter to replace the old one and got a new hood. The current one was just full of hard water crystals, and the old filter just made too much noise... So I got the new filter and put it on the tank. My intention was to just vacuum the gravel and clean off the algae... But to be honest I would be right back in the same position a few months later with... " hey clean up that tank or get rid of it!"...

So one day I was surfing the internet looking for something new for the tank. Maybe a nice fake tree or something? I hit the search button for "aquarium tree" and I saw the wonderful image of a lone tree on a hillside with fish swimming in front of it. And the ground was covered with beautiful green grass and mosses... I couldn't believe my eyes! How could this be? How did he do that?!!... So I spent the better half of that day researching something called "Aquascaping" which I never knew existed, then excitement started to slowly build inside me.

I have had a fish tank for years, yeah it was cool but only marginally interesting... I also was into Bonsai and I loved that hobby. However after many years of trying to grow trees indoors and a few outdoor ones I slowly drifted away from it. It was mainly due to the fact that I just didn't have the room in my condo to grow the nice healthy trees I really wanted to. I did have a deck but I could only do so much with that space. Then it happened...another hobby came and took over.. I fell in love with Astromomy. So now I spend my time with a telescope rather than the fish or bonsai trees. The fish tank was neglected and I sold off all my prized trees on Craigslist... It was sad to see them go but they would be much happier with someone else who was excited about them... I had a few trees in my care for over 20 years... That says something about persistence.

So back to Aquascaping...I have spent all of my spare time in the last 2 months reading and absorbing all that there is to offer out there on the internet. I have purchased a few books and have been reading them cover to cover. It has been a blast so far just seeing what everyone is able to do in an aquarium... And how they actually do it...Why didn't I find out about this hobby before?

So my goals are the following:

1. I want a low light low tech aquarium that is easy to maintain. I don't want to have to resort to injecting Co2 yet... Just the Seachem Flourish Excel stuff if I need it. Along with trace fertilizers...

2. I want an Aquascape that resembles a wonderful old tree sitting on a nice slight hill. And I want to plant the tank in such a way to inspire peace and contemplation.

3. I want this tank to be something I can be proud of and want to show off to people who visit and say...Holy @&$# how did you do that? Much like my feeling when I first saw that tree Aquascape on that hill..(it was by Filipe Oliveira) 

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/aquascape-of-the-month-september-2008-pinheiro-manso.1182/


Now that you are all caught up I am just about to get my new fish tank going... I currently have a 29 gal tank with plastic plants, lame ornaments and quite a few guppies. I am going to change to, what I hope to be, a wonderful planted aquascape masterpiece... Well that's the goal. So to start this off here is the current tank. 











I will tear this down and replace with a 37 gal version and hopefully get all the fish slowly transferred when the new tank is ready for them. I plan on using the old 29 gal as the temporary home while I get the new 37 gal up and running which will occupy the the current location of the 29 gal. This will mean I will have to move the old tank to the floor for as long as I need to get the planted tank cycled and ready to receive fish. This way I can take my time and hopefully do it right.

I have been accumulating all my "stuff" slowly and now I am ready to start on the first item... The TREE! I will keep you all posted on that as I think this is enough to report for now....

The "stuff" I have are the following...










37 glass aquarium
Full hood (plastic) which I plan on modifying to accept the LED fixture.
Current LED Satellite Freshwater Plus light fixture 24"-36"
Fluval 206 canister filter
150 w heater
Python siphon hose ( to make water changes easier)
Active Flora (black) on order as my substrate.
Seachem water conditioners and fertilizers.

My reading so far has been.
Ecology of the Planted Aquarium (Diana Walstad)
The 101 Best Aquarium Plants (Mary E. Sweeney)
Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants (Peter Hiscock)
Greg Watson's Guide to Dosing Strategies (Greg Watson)
The Beginners Guide to Planted Aquariums (Brent Boettcher)
Web sites: The Barr Report and here The Planted Tank. With specific focus on low tech low light plants, fish less cycling, lighting, substrates, and all that fun stuff.


Wish me luck and I hope you share this journey with me as I take my first try at a planted tank.. Success or failure... I will post my progress...

And of course I welcome any and all tips and comments as to my choices so far.. This is gonna be great!

Thanks!
Daniel


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## Mastertech (Mar 18, 2014)

Keep informed, go slow and you do vey well.
Remember scale!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Update: I found my driftwood on eBay that I will be using for my tree. 










I have received it and been soaking for about a week. It is really nice but I I need some additional branches if I want this to be my underwater tree. So I ordered some Manzanita tree branches (sand blasted) from "Blooms and Branches" and spent an evening picking thru the pieces and arranging loosely and I think I got it..














































Now I just have to figure a good way to affix the branches to the driftwood. I have some small stainless steel screws and some brads that I will attempt to pre drill and set into the pieces to affix them. I am currently soaking the Manzanita branches in a witches brew of tea and food coloring to get the color more close to brown. It seems to be working. However I will have to soak the colored branches for a while in clean water to make sure they don't leach color back into the tank..



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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

The white branches soaked and colored. Now in the leaching pot..




















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## kuopan (Feb 5, 2014)

Glad to hear and see some of the excitement! driftwood with the Manzanita tree branches is looking great thus far! I'm new to aquascaping as well and so far it's been a learning curve. I'm about a month in for my tank. Initially, my plan was to go for a low-tech tank but now I already got co2 injections; not a pressurized system but instead, a nutrafin co2 system similar to a DIY one. The plants are just so much more vibrant with Co2 and it really expands the type of plants you can keep. Good luck!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

kuopan said:


> Glad to hear and see some of the excitement! driftwood with the Manzanita tree branches is looking great thus far! I'm new to aquascaping as well and so far it's been a learning curve. I'm about a month in for my tank. Initially, my plan was to go for a low-tech tank but now I already got co2 injections; not a pressurized system but instead, a nutrafin co2 system similar to a DIY one. The plants are just so much more vibrant with Co2 and it really expands the type of plants you can keep. Good luck!


Thanks for the reply.. This has been a learning curve for me as well. I think Co2 will be in my future but I will give it a go without for a whole at least. My substrate should be arriving in a day or so so I will have no excuse for not getting this going...


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## bigd603 (May 10, 2011)

Hey Guzas, just FYI if you're using some copper wire left over from you bonsai days to tie those branches together, copper is toxic to a lot of fish and all invertebrates. I would use fishing line instead. Otherwise, great looking driftwood! Good luck in your endeavors. Your story sounds just like me a few years ago.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

bigd603 said:


> Hey Guzas, just FYI if you're using some copper wire left over from you bonsai days to tie those branches together, copper is toxic to a lot of fish and all invertebrates. I would use fishing line instead. Otherwise, great looking driftwood! Good luck in your endeavors. Your story sounds just like me a few years ago.




Thanks for the heads up. And yes you are absolutely right. I have been struggling to find alternate "wire" to use to get the branches attached to the driftwood. I intend on using stainless steel screws and stainless steel brads (once I find some) to fasten the limbs. One other note.. I found out that most bonsai wire is actually anodized aluminum.. At least for the thicker gauges.. I have quite a bit of this stuff and I need to look at it closely to confirm that it is not copper. I know the thicker ones are indeed aluminum but the thinner ones may indeed be copper.. It seems from the research I have done so far aluminum is OK to use in a tank as it is "inert". At least that us what I have read..

This is something I have been thinking about quite a bit!!! 


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## bigd603 (May 10, 2011)

Guzas said:


> Thanks for the heads up. And yes you are absolutely right. I have been struggling to find alternate "wire" to use to get the branches attached to the driftwood. I intend on using stainless steel screws and stainless steel brads (once I find some) to fasten the limbs. One other note.. I found out that most bonsai wire is actually anodized aluminum.. At least for the thicker gauges.. I have quite a bit of this stuff and I need to look at it closely to confirm that it is not copper. I know the thicker ones are indeed aluminum but the thinner ones may indeed be copper.. It seems from the research I have done so far aluminum is OK to use in a tank as it is "inert". At least that us what I have read..
> 
> This is something I have been thinking about quite a bit!!!
> 
> ...



Ahh, I did not know that about bonsai wire being aluminum. However aluminum can be toxic to plants if the water isn't hard enough (finally my environmental studies degree is useful!!), but I do not know if the same applies to anodized aluminum. I believe some people also use silicone glue on their driftwood, I think the same stuff used to glue aquarium glass together. That might be another avenue worth researching.


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## Ellie (Feb 20, 2014)

you remind me of myself only a few months ago. I had fish as a kid for years and years, occasionally buying real plants to put in along with the wood/stones/pipes I had in there but they always died and I never thought to research how to keep them alive. 
When we moved we visited a local garden centre and I saw all the aquarium plants in their little pots. I had never seen so many different species. I got home and typed in 'planted aquarium' or something and I discovered the world of aquascaping. just like you I had never heard the word before. and so much of me wished I had discovered it as a kid, how much fun I would have had! but i know about it now and that is better than nothing 
And, just like you I have the book 'The 101 Best Aquarium Plants' and as soon as I got it I read it cover to cover, bookmarking all my favourite species. I took it to the garden centre and was there reading about all the different species they had for so long. its all so exciting isnt it 

I love your tree btw  cant wait to see how this progresses


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Starting to make my plant list and sketch a layout. My local fish store has most of the varieties I have listed but a few.. Like the Taiwan Moss and Fissidens I didn't see there. 









I want to plant heavily at first per all the recommendations. I think I have made some good choices but I will need to look further to see if all these varieties will get along. As you can see I am a fan of smaller leaf plants. Not so interested in the large leaf variety.. 


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Got the tree back together with the "stained" branches and I think it looks really good.










Another view



















I affixed the branches to the base of the driftwood using stainless steel brads drilled into the branch base and then pushed into the driftwood. I followed this up with pre drilling a hole to accept a stainless steel screw. This made quite a strong connection. However it was hard to find the correct angle to get the screw thru the branch and the driftwood at the same time. Even with the pre drilling of the holes the base of the branches split slightly but not enough to be an issue thankfully.

I also took some of the branch pieces and wired them together with anodized steel wire to make for a better branching structure for the eventual moss support. I decided on anodized steel in lieu of the stainless because I didn't want to see all that shiny wire. I thought about using some of my Bonsai wire but the thinner pieces are copper. Which from what I read is a no no. I also has some anodized aluminum wire but decided to go with the steel. I hope that was the right decision..



















Tree in the tank for the first time.





































Being weighed down to soak some more.. It still wants to float.. Plus this is my tank leak test. Seals look good.



















And just an example of the pre and post stained manzanita branches..











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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Well the steel wire started to rust like mad so that was a poor choice.










So I took the tree out and re wired with anodized aluminum bonsai wire. The good news is that even the thin bonsai wire is aluminum so no worries about copper leeching. The tree is back safely soaking in the aquarium.. It still wants to float so I will probably have to fasten it to some sort of ballast.











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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

I've built similar trees by shaving the branch to an angle that matches the angle of the big branch and super gluing the small branch to the drift wood. I used a zip tie to hold it in place while the super glue set, then removed them and it worked great. That way you don't have any wire or screws messing up the look of your beautiful wood centerpiece.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

thelub said:


> I've built similar trees by shaving the branch to an angle that matches the angle of the big branch and super gluing the small branch to the drift wood. I used a zip tie to hold it in place while the super glue set, then removed them and it worked great. That way you don't have any wire or screws messing up the look of your beautiful wood centerpiece.


Now that's a great idea!... Hmmmm. I might try that as I have zip ties and super glue! The truth is that I was not too concerned about the appearance since the intent it so completely cover the branches in moss to make for an "underwater Bonsai".... But I really do like the idea of the shaving of the branches and gluing them together...roud:


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Since the 37 gal tank has a center brace it didn't allow for the cover to fit. So I has to make some modifications.










I drilled holes and made up a stainless steel bracket to minimize the strut and lower the brace point a bit.










This is what it looks like on top. Just to make sure it is all snugged up.





































Then installed the cable brace under the plastic strut. And removed the plastic strut.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Made some progress tonight. Moved the old tank to the floor and moved the new one in its place.



















So so far so good. The driftwood tree has been submerged for about a month now and most if not all the tannins / food coloring has pretty much leached out. I also made a egg crate base for the tree to help keep the "hill" in place.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

love the driftwood!!!


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## HelplesslyHuman (Dec 19, 2013)

Loving the potential I see in this tank, can't wait to see what you do with it 
I always get a little jealous of people with room for larger tanks, you can pick such lovely pieces of driftwood! Someday... haha. Until then I'll just admire. Good luck with it.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

lamiskool said:


> love the driftwood!!!



Thanks so much! It took some time to find the right piece.. And with the addition of the few branches it makes a nice "Bonsai" like tree.. Even if I can't get anything to grow on it.

Looking forward to adding the substrate and rocks... Then it's off to planting!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Made a little progress this week.

Arranging the rocks and tree in my mockup on the floor.





































And filling the tank.
































































Water is quite cloudy even after 48 hours.


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

Love it! Between your back story and the driftwood work...I'm subbed! roud:


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

Nice rocks


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## Xzavier247 (Aug 9, 2014)

Awesome tank! To get rid of the cloudiness to another majore water change and/or put some poly fill in your canister filter to polish your water.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Xzavier247 said:


> Awesome tank! To get rid of the cloudiness to another majore water change and/or put some poly fill in your canister filter to polish your water.


Thank you so much! I will give the water change a go and add some of that poly fill to the canister to help get that cloudiness out of there.

Will keep posting as I progress.... :smile:


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Finally the water is all cleared up. Started adding the ammonia to get the tank cycled (fish less) and that is almost done. I'm going to get my plants tomorrow and start my journey! Shouldn't be too long now. Looking for Fissidens fontanus from folks here at The Planted Tank Forum attach to the tree. I have a few leads so far...But I'll get the main plants tomorrow at my Local Fish Store. They just received their weekly shipment of plants today so I'm going over there tomorrow to hopefully have good pickings!


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## MountainPool (Jul 13, 2014)

Hadn't thought about combining different driftwood pieces like that, I might have to give it a try! Guppies will love having the shelter of the tree to hang out under.


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## mosART (Nov 5, 2013)

Good looking scape with the woods and rocks! Can't wait for "springtime" shots with plants!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Ok today's was a HUGE step for the tank. I got all my plants and finally populated the tank. 










I was able to personally meet Han on this forum who set me up with the Fissidens fontanus I needed to glue on to the tree I had. So far so good! The super glue idea really made things move pretty fast. It looks a little rough now but once the moss hopefully takes hold the white super glue areas will disappear.









































































Looks pretty good initially in the tank. Overall I am pleased. I only hope the moss starts to grow and make me proud.



















I then just dumped the plants I bought in the tank. I plan to arrange and properly plant hopefully on Sunday (while my wife watches the Patriots game). I know I'm pretty lame but I don't really care for sports so this will be a great opportunity to give the tank some attention.. . I would have done it tonight but I am just too tired. Surprisingly it looks really good even without planting properly. It's nice to get green in the tank after it being so sterile looking for so long.










Please stay tuned! ThIs is an exciting time!!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Love it!


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Nice work with the driftwood. Im fairly new myself and also using low tech. Found fissidens to be a very slow grower for me. Which might be fine for you since you are starting with a decent amount. Also careful while dosing excel. I dosed some directly on the fissidens thinking I would get rid of some algae, killed half of the moss in the process.


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

Wow, looking really good! I love the way the seiryu makes that peak so seamlessly!

Excellent work!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Ok I made the final step! Got all the plants at the ready and got going this evening.

Plants ready to be planted!










After about 2 hours I had all them in the substrate. It was not too bad but I hope I didn't manhandle the plants too much. It seems there is barely anything holding them in the substrate. I planted pretty heavily since I heard this was the way to go. I am definitely in un-chartered waters now so it's all up to me, my research, and this forum to help keep them all looking good.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

The foreground plants I didn't really tear them apart and spread them out. Probably because I was impatient and didn't want to overthink/complicate the planting process. My guess is that they will grow in fairly well.

The baby tears in the mid ground have some green thread algae on them. I'm hoping this is not a huge issue.

Also I had a few hijackers. A couple of Trumpet Snails, and I saw one shrimp scrounging around the substrate this morning. Seem from what I read the Trumpet Snails are "ok" as long as you don't over feed the tank....

It's kind if cool to see the tank finally come alive after 4 months of planning and slow execution... But in the end the methodical set up of this I feel was the best way to do it right.

My only regret, so far, was not waiting for my 3rd bag of Activ Flora to arrive before I placed the substrate. I have 3 bags of this in the tank, but I added 1 bag of Eco Complete in the bottom of the tank to fill out the amount. However the Eco Complete has much bigger granuals as compared to the Activ Flora which is a nice fine black almost sandy substrate. When sculpting the hills and moving around the rocks quite a bit of the larger granuals of the Eco Complete made it to the surface. Thus taking away from the nice jet black of the Activ Flora. I should have waited, but too late now. It doesn't look bad, but if wish I haven't added the Eco Complete.

The larger "grey" granuals of Eco Complete vs the jet black sandy texture of the Activ Flora..


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Looking good so far....


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Well I'm making some progress. I have have had a few issues with thread algae that hitch hiked on my baby tears, but after a week of overdosing excel it seems to have died off.

However most of my plants have lost color and look a little weak. So I have ceased the excel treatments, increased the lighting ( pending algae re appearance) and will reduce the amount of ferts I am dosing thanks for the advice I got here on Planted Tank! I am using the EI dosing kit from Greenleaf Aquatic. So far I have seen some of the fissendens start to make a comeback on the driftwood tree.

I also finally added some of my guppies from my old tank since I was comfortable that the tank is cycled... At least I hope...

So here are some photos. I know the plants don't look so hot from the previous photos, but I think I am in the transition period. I will keep up the progress!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Some additional plant photos... Most aren't doing so hot... But keeping up with it.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Ok... Some failures on the plants... The Glosso and Baby Tears completely melted and the Potamogeten Gayi lost most of its color. So I decided to remove those from the tank. I had hoped to get more of the Potamogeten Gayi at my local fish store but they didn't have any. But I replaced all the dead or dying plants with Rotala Indica, Rotala Nanjenshans, and Dwarf Baby Tears.

I think I'll be more successful with the new stem plants since I planted them correctly. Not all in one bunch like I did with the Potamogeten . I spread the out 3 stems max spaced about 2-3 inches apart. I think this will allow,them to grow better. But time will tell.




























Fissendens doing better!




























The Telanthera seems to be doing better. Some new leaves making an appearance.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Another update. The fissendens on the tree seem to be bouncing back quite well. However in then last week I have noticed that they aren't as vibrant as they were. However I have not fertilized since last week. You see I'm trying to see what works and what doesn't. I dunno. It may just be me but it seems the Fissindens are starting to loose a little color. I will start the ferts again to see if they get back to their original lush color. I haven't done a water change but seem to trad that is is not required with a low tech tank. I was fertilizing about 1/4 an EI dose until last week where I figured I'd back off to see how the tank did. Well from what I can see it seems to be starting to struggle. However I am so new to this I will have to tweak until I get it right. Now I'll go back to 1/4 EI ferts, no water changes, and see now I do.

Fissindens last week









Overall tank last week.









Fissindens this week.









Overall tank this week.









Some closer photos.









Dwarf baby tears seem to be weakening. Maybe they aren't for my tank, but with the ferts up again let see how they do.









Overall I am pretty happy with how the tank is turning out. I was surprised that the Fissindens have done so well, but I see some signs of struggle. Hopefully I will be able to keep these going strong. The other plants I really could care less as they are there to keep the tank and algae in check. So my main focus it to assure the Fissindens thrive...


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

:fish1:


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Love the stone formation on the right and your tree combination turned out great. Only thing I'd suggest is tweaking the position of the tree by moving it as far left as possible to put all the negative space in the center of the tank and as far forward to the front of the tank as possible to create a greater sense of depth. 

As for the water changes, a lot of low-tech/light tanks are set up to minimize them, but with EI dosing, even scaled down for low light, you'd likely be better off doing regular water changes. My fert schedule is pretty modest, but I saw a marked improvement in my tank when I moved from 2x a month 10-20% wc to weekly 30-40%. 

Looking forward to seeing how this matures.


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## tick-tickkboom (Mar 21, 2014)

Looks great so far!! I love the tree so much, and those rocks are amazing! 
And I can see your dwarf hair grass browning a little, if you're looking for a carpet of it the easiest way to to separate it into small plugs and place about an inch from each other. That way they can send off runners and fill in nicely. I've had success with this in the past and it's really fun to trim once you get it going c:


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Knotyoureality said:


> Love the stone formation on the right and your tree combination turned out great. Only thing I'd suggest is tweaking the position of the tree by moving it as far left as possible to put all the negative space in the center of the tank and as far forward to the front of the tank as possible to create a greater sense of depth.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



A big 10:4 on the tree moving to the left! I think that may be a good fit to balance the tank out. The tree has been pretty successful so I really want it to be the main element of the tank. But your suggestion to move to the left as much as possible makes absolute sense. I have been looking at it for a while while as it has started to fill in and it seems that there is something missing. Originally I thought more branches attached to the driftwood to the left might be worth considering. However just moving the whole tree might make more sense. 

Thanks for the observation! As far as the semi EI dosing I'm doing now and water changes... Yes! I think I will start to implement some to see how the plants fare!

Thanks again for the comments! They are very appreciated! I'm glad some are looking at my journal!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

tick-tickkboom said:


> Looks great so far!! I love the tree so much, and those rocks are amazing!
> 
> And I can see your dwarf hair grass browning a little, if you're looking for a carpet of it the easiest way to to separate it into small plugs and place about an inch from each other. That way they can send off runners and fill in nicely. I've had success with this in the past and it's really fun to trim once you get it going c:



Thanks for the comments! The rocks are pretty cool. Just need to get the scale of the plants right. I'll eventually get there!

And I agree. I should have spread put the dwarf hairgrass a bit to help with the carpet. Surprisingly it has been holding on in my set up even though I have read that it likes hight light and co2. For which I have neither.. Well at least no co2..I just last night added some root tabs to help it along. However I really should replant spread apart in lieu of the clumps I have now. There are a few portions that are sending out runners so I see what you mean. 

I have much to learn. But so far I think the tank is holding up better than expected. Thanks to all the advice from you good folks!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Tank is doing ok so far. Fissendens on the driftwood is really rooting in one part of the tree. It looks kind of cool. I'm keeping up the fertilizers and just leaving the tank be. To messing with it too much. Yes it is slow going but that is what a low tech is all about right?

Overall tank shot October 23, 2014.









Fissendens on the driftwood. Look at all those roots!









Some more shots. Really happy with the progress!


















Another close up showing some of the other plants. And a guppy just chillin!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Well it's November and time for an update...

Those "roots" on my Fissendens.... Well they weren't roots at all but algae! So I removed as much as I could. In any case it still looks good.










And just added more plants to help the bio load. I removed the Telanthera Cardinalis and Rotala Wallichii as they just didn't have what it took to stand my low tech set up.

So I replaced them with Water Sprite, Water Wisteria, 4 leaf clover, and Hornwort. All of which are low light plants which should so well. I also added 6 Oto Cats to help clean up the algae on the glass. So I have tons of Fancy Guppies and 6 Oto's and a few Pond Snails I have to keep a watchful eye on, just in case they decide to severely multiply.



















Close up of the Fissendens again


















Right side view









Left side view









A little closer on the tree









And an overall shot to put the tank in context.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Well just over 2 weeks and the Hornwort, Water Wisteria, and Water Sprite are really coming to life. The Oto catfish have really cleaned up green dust algae in the tank.

November 2nd 2014










Hornwort raging at the back of the tank.










Dwarf Hairgrass seems to be doing well. The Water Shamrock is sending out some new shoots. Hopefully the larger leaves will be replaced with smaller ones.










Fissendens looking ok. I wish they were greener, but they are still alive. I do have a bit of black brush algae growing in it. So I have reduced the photoperiod from 8 hours to 6 hours to see if it helps reduce it.










Side view










Opposite side showing the Water Wisteria and Water Sprite doing very well.










Overall tank shot showing a nice corner view.


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## xxstitch69xx (Aug 6, 2014)

LOVE it!
I'm sure you're excited again about this tank after transforming it


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

xxstitch69xx said:


> LOVE it!
> I'm sure you're excited again about this tank after transforming it



You got that right! I have so much more interest in keeping this tank clean and up and running. My wife is thrilled. So much better than a "dead" tank with plastic plants. I am so happy I have found this hobby as I never thought this would be possible.

I do want to eventually tweak the landscape of the tank to make it show off the tree more dramatically, or naturally. I think for now I just need to keep on this track and get the hang of growing plants and maintaining a low tech tank. After which I will be more comfortable working on the proportions.

So far I am very happy and have been enjoying the tank immensely. And the fish seem to love it.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

I have been working on a Black Beard Algae issue for a few weeks. It is in my Fissendens and on the driftwood tree for a while. I did reduce my light period from 8 to 6 hours in hopes to get control of this stuff. But I have not seen any progress. So I went for the H2O2 spot treatment. I hit the narrow leaf micro sword tonight, as well as part of the the driftwood tree. I'll do more tomorrow.

Have been heading the advice to keep 1 ml per gallon. So I dosed 40 mls for my 39 gal tank... Wish me luck! I hope to see this stuff turn pink in the next 2 days..

The Narrow Leaf Microsword fizzing away










And the driftwood tree like an Alka Seltzer commercial!


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Did a little trim and cleaned it up a bit. The Black Beard Algae took a good hit with the H2O2 spot treatment. So it looks much better now. But I still need to keep an eye on it. But things seem to be going in the right direction.

Tank shot Dec 24th


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

*The Aquarium re-boot &quot;VERSION 2.0-PLANTED&quot;*

I finally got control of the Black Beard Algae. There is still some hanging around but it is not spreading like it was before. What I think is helping is getting the plants to out compete it as well as a 2 week overdose of Excel. I also am making sure my front blinds are closed as the tank was getting morning sun for about an hour. So for now I am back on track.

Some recent photos from February 28th note that I completely removed the Hornwort as it really messy when the needles fell off. So I won't be growing that plant again.. Yeah it grew like mad but was so messy.

Overall tank shot









Water wisteria and water sprite. Doing fairly well. 









Fissendens making a comeback. They took a little bit of a hit from the Excel overdose but they seem free of the Black Beard Algae. At least for now. I just have to remain vigilant.









The Dwarf Hair grass seems to be doing better than I thought. I didn't think that a low tech low light set up would be able to support it. However it seems happy enough starting to spread out.









Same goes for the Narrow Leaf MicroSword. They seem pretty happy sending out runners. Some of it still has Black Beard Algae on it but it has stopped spreading. Again vigilance is the key.









Another shot. The 4 leaf clover is SLOWLY making a comeback. I really thought it would be growing like wild by now.









Tank side shot. Just for the heck of it.









Overall tank shot.









So it's been quite a learning curve. But I seem to have a dosing regimen that is working for my setup. I am dosing very small amounts of "EI" twice a week alternating between the Macro and Micro nutrients. I am also dosing 5ml of excel about twice a week as well. No water changes so I'll see how it all holds up. And still no use of Co2 except for the occasional Excel..

I have to say I think it has gone better than I expected. However I couldn't have done it all without the advice from everyone here at the Planted Tank. All your info has helped immensely! And the endless hours of reading really helped trouble shoot the issues I had. And will continue to have in the future. But I am really pleased.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

This has come a long way from the first post! Congrats. I like the microsword and hairgrass. I think this is probably medium tech since you are dosing excel and multiple times a week. haha. There isn't any fish in here, is there?


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

I agree with the person above, this tank has really come a long way. It looks really nice! I love the little mountain .


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Thanks all for the kind words... And you are right. I guess I am medium tech as I'm dosing EI and excel... I should say No Co2 tank... That would be a more accurate statement. As for fish I have tons. Well 6 Otto Cats, about 50 guppies that keep on breeding and about 20 pond snails, at least that's what I think they are. They just showed up in the beginning, but aren't harming. Anything that I can see.


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Hello all.... its been almost 3 years since my last post here and it was not my intention. Funny how life gets in the way.

However I had a good excuse.... we had a baby... well she's now 2-1/2 now and is wonderful. But she takes up almost ALL of my time... man oh man was I not ready! But nevertheless I have persevered and the tank still exists! So that speaks volumes. A lot has changed in the tank since 3 years ago.... namely... the variety of plants has dwindled. It's not as "new" looking as it used to be. The tree now is only the original trunk I got on e-bay and the fissendens on that tree have long disappeared. In that time frame they got so long and matted I had to remove the moss and just see if they came back. Sadly they didn't. But what did for a while was flame moss. And from a different part of the tank! After the flame moss got too large and got stringy and ugly I removed it all and realized that the branches I had so diligently soaked,.. dyed, and fastended to the driftwood trunk... well they rotted and floated off. So I am left only with the base driftwood tree trunk.

In this 3 year time frame much has changed... BUT the tank still remains alive and well! I have been militant about keeping up with scraping of the algae on the glass and cleaning of the exterior of the tank as to assure it does not suffer the fate of my previous plastic plant set up. This is no small feat considering my responsibilities as a dad have very much eaten almost all my time and energy. So without further delay here is a photo of the tank as it stands today... so as you can see it does need some attention but it still looks way better than my original. Even if it only had a few varieties of plants.

It's a little of a disappointment because I have lost a lot of the neat variety of plants I used to have... but after going thru this thread again I see what I achieved and now I have a nice pretty stable set up and I'm ready to introduce some new plants. Or at least I know what thrives... Water Wisreria!

Tank Currently


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## Guzas (Apr 13, 2014)

Did some trimming and clean up in the tank tonight. Now I can see some of the definition that used to be there.


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