# First 3G planted Tank Journal



## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

I got into the hobby of aquarium stuffs about 2-3 months ago, and this is really my very first planted tank. (except for a 10G where I just throw a bunch of floating hornwort in)

Tank is about 2 weeks old now....

Pic 1: Bare Tank with Flourite Black substrate

Pic 2 & 3: rocks I tried using in the tank. The rocks looks very beautiful, they are black with white grain, lots of textures, and a very beautiful shiny speckles (can't see in the pic), but most of them are too large for my tank, and I couldn't break them with a hammer.

Pic 4: Close up of rock and substrate

Pic 5: amateur planting of HC....put a patch down and throw some substrate on to weight it down...:tongue:


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

Pic 6: Feb 11

Pic 7: Feb 17...I can see the HC spreading very nicely already, not much change on the hairgrass tho

Pic 8: Added a few cherry & CRS

Pic 9: HC runner growing upward instead of horizontal, I think I should have plant them horizontally

Pic 9: Progress as of Feb 17...the hairgrass is starting to spread too.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

wow nice setup, i really like the position the stone is in.


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## fordtrannyman (Jan 17, 2008)

The placement and shape of the rock looks like a Volcano.
Good job.:thumbsup:


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

If you wanted, you could remove the venturi off your filter.. but keep the flow director..


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

Viettxboii said:


> If you wanted, you could remove the venturi off your filter.. but keep the flow director..


I have been wanting to ask this for a long time....
what is the venturi thing?? the manual says I can turn it on if I want added aeration...but how does it work?? do I put it under or above water?? and does that black tip suck air/water or pump out air/water??


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## mahoro (Dec 18, 2007)

what kind of filter are you using? the small one inside looks like the elite mini...


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

filter is the hagen elite mini..
I also have a aquaclear mini and I am deciding which one I should use....


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## Riddler (Mar 5, 2008)

Any chance your planning to cut back some of your plants? I'm planning to use Flourite substrate and I'd love to have some of that nice NC and grass in the back.

I'm planning the same type of tank but I'm hoping to have a peice of dark driftwood with mosses attached to it. 

Top notch on your tank.

Riddler


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

The airline is supposed to go above the water, however in a planted tank extra aeration isn't so necessary. So you can remove it to have less clutter.


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

had some deficiency problem a while ago with 30% of the leaf turning yellow & brown, but I think it is gone now

few pic update and a copepods pic I took a few weeks ago in the tank


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## Bk828 (Mar 11, 2008)

tank looks great. whats your lighting/co2/ferts??


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

lighting now is: 2 x 13 watts CF (4500K + 6000K)
DIY co2 with pollen diffuser as seen in the pic
I didn't start off with any fertilizers, but the HC & hairgrass was yellowing and browning a lot, so I started dosing flourish & increasing the nitrate in the tank, and most of the yellow brown leafs are gone


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

The lawn really filled in. Great job.


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## Portalz (Nov 28, 2007)

Update? Awesome tank man!


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

thanks guys
due to some personal problem, the tank had been neglected for over a month.

but everythings turned out fine except for some staghorn algae outbreak on the hairgrass (which was easily eliminated by trimming the hairgrass)

the HC growth was crazy despite the lack of care or ferts
this is a recent photos of the tank i took a few days ago
the HC became very dense and thick, but it also grew taller and taller tho (seems to be uprooting?)
now there is almost an inch of root between the substrate, and I often found shrimps underneath the HC inside the root looking for food, which is kinda cute. :biggrin:


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## mahoro (Dec 18, 2007)

thats a weird looking air pump outside of your tank...


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

mahoro said:


> thats a weird looking air pump outside of your tank...


air pump?? there is no air pump??


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

apparently your HC is too bouyant for its roots to keep their grip on the substrate. you will need to replant it soon, but it should take as long to grow thick as it did before as it is already acclimated to the conditions.


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