OT - Immediate Gratification

[MayoBoy]

Well I got rid of the reef and switched over to a planted tank. WOW!!! Talk about fast results. Here are a few pictures each taken a week apart.

June 7 - I planted that day

June 14 - First week of growth

June 21 - 2 weeks growth

I have the same lights (2x39w T-5 (1) 6500K, (1) 10,000K & 2x75w VHO both 10,000K). The only real equipment is a CO2 tank and regulator hooked into a reactor.

Now that it's growing, I'm going to pull it all up and do the actual aquascaping (and add a few more plants and get some good groundcover). Water changes consist of a Python hooked up to the faucet - no more RO/DI overflows, mixing salt, etc. :bounce2:

This is the ultimate look I'll be going for : http://www.aquabotanic.com/gallery.htm (scroll downto Antonio Vitor)

I loved my reef but just didn't have the time to devote to it and enjoy it. Now I actually have time to just sit in front of the tank and watch everything. :dance:

 

[sirreal63]

Having come from a high light planted tank I can assure you that it is not easier long term than a reef. The first time you get a nutrient component out of whack you will be cussing it. I loved my old tank but it was a headache to keep up with. It was far more work to keep stable than my reef. There are some new advances on nutrient and fert dosing that help. They basically involve changing out a set amount of water weekly and adding a set amount of ferts a week. Once out of balance the algae comes with a vengenace. I do at times miss it and then I get over it. lol

The tank looks great by the way.

This is my old 75 before I took it down. I was running 5.5 watts per gallon with CO2 and a CO2 reactor.

If you think it is less work now just wait. Astrea (Zack) took his reef down in place of a planted tank and did it right, all ADA (Amano) components and had amazing growth. At first it was easy but if you miss just a bit of maintenance it goes bad fast. It is not as forgiving as a reef unless you go low light and low tech.

 

[MayoBoy]

Gee, thanks for the encouragement Jack

Mine is not going to be a strictly planted tank. I'm going to be going with a heavier than normal (for a planted tank) fish load and lighter than normal dosing regimen. I'm hoping that the combination of the two will lead to a more "natural" tank that won't go out of whack so easily.

 

[geoxman]

WOW THOSE ARE SOME BAD ARSE TANKS on that site!!!!!!!!!! I might look into this!

Oliver Knott kicks you know what! #3 and 4 are awesome

 

[sirreal63]

I actually am encouraging you...just don't let yourself get into the mindset that it will be easy. They always start off great and seem easy. The trick comes later and you can do it, just don't think it is easy. Like a reef...study and study more. Zack found that out the hard way after investing a ton of money in the best equipment out there that you cannot relax with it. You have to keep on top of it or it will slide fast.

I will always have a soft spot for a planted tank and took my last one down in Dec. It looks like you went with Flourite...good choice for iron. Things to watch for...the Wallichi will try and grow spindly and then suddenly drop leaves/needles all over the place. They were one of my favorites but a pain at times. Keep them dense and compact. The Wisteria will grow like a weed, get weak and then break easily, again keep it trimmed and force a larger trunk. 3 wpg is the point when it becomes more of a challange to keep up with.

Surface agitation is tricky, too much and you outgas the Co2. Having a larger than normal bio-load is encouraged by most people, I had a large bio-load and preferred it. Stem plants like to gro tall and lanky, keep them at the back.

At one time I had 5 tanks running all at once and it just became a nightmare. The easiest was the 29 low tech tank, water change every 3 months, no ferts and lots of fish.

I do miss this tank for the simplicity it offered.

I wish you luck and if you haven't discovered the planted tank.com you will soon enough. I do hope to see updates on the tank...they are still something I enjoy....but from a distance now, I have enough headaches with the reef.

 

[sirreal63]

Oliver has been at this a long time...his stuff is always top notch. the AGA (Aquatic Gardeners Association) has a contest yearly and the tanks are just amazing. Planted tanks become a passion.

 

[geoxman]

I am hooked! I am going to give this a shot! How do these tanks do with HPS set ups? I have one from back in the day when I use to grow plants..tomatoes in my basement closet

 

[geoxman]

wow
http://www.oliver-knott.com/

 

[sirreal63]

The tomato's will fare better with HPS than a planted tank. T5's are the current champ. but a good old Halide still produces awesome results. You don't have to go crazy with lighting, as a general rule once you get over 2.5-3 watts per gallon it starts getting harder but the results are better. Light loving plants need near perfect conditions to thrive. Red plants are hard, green easier. If you get over 2 wpg you need Co2 and fast growing plants to out compete algae and you have to dose fets in the correct ratio to keep things healthy and balanced. Sounds like a reef doesn't it? lol

 

[sirreal63]

This where you want to start...good basic info. here. http://www.rexgrigg.com/

 

[DrBDC]

Greg Watson is another name you'll run into from those sites. I have a good amount of the pmdd fertilizer if you want it. You'll also find yourself buying fleet enema's and getting wierd looks from the cashier at Walgreens. :lol:

Here's a link on the fertilizers:

http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/

Oh, and the medicine and more at Clayton/Baxter sells the KNO3 which I had a hard time finding.

Here's a few links I have for freshwater and planted tanks. I have many more if you want them.


http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1
http://www.gregwatson.com/
http://www.slwgs.org/
http://www.plantgeek.net/
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/pmdd-tim.html
http://www.rexgrigg.com/pg1.htm
http://www.rexgrigg.com/ferts.htm
http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html
http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/index.html
http://aquariumplant.com/cgi-bin/cart/pr333.html
http://www.aquatic-store.com/
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/


http://www.aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_articles.php?cid=12
http://www.aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_article.php?aid=40
http://www.aquariacentral.com/web/Aquatic_Plants/
http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_aquacalc.htm
http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#2
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=8006023812&m=9066099522
http://www.gregwatson.com/
http://home.infinet.net/teban/how-to.html
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/kh-ph-co2-chart.html
http://www.freewebs.com/quoth-the-raven-nevermore/
http://www.nature-aquarium.com/home.htm
http://naturalaquariums.com/
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php
http://www.rexgrigg.com/pg1.htm
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/eve
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=cfrm&s=4006090712
http://www.plantedtank.net/index.html
http://plantedtank.net/co2.html
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop....06090712/m/1666013264/r/1666013264#1666013264
http://www.aquariaplants.com/lowlighttank.htm
http://www.aquabotanic.com/begin.htm

 

[MayoBoy]

Yep, 4 or 5 bags of Flourite (gotta love the fact that DrsFoster&Smith charge shipping by the dollar amount and not by weight). I got the stem plants at Petsmart to get things going. I'll probably keep the Red Temple and some of the Anacharis in the display tank and move the wisteria to the sump (it's running on a reverse photo period to keep CO2 and pH levels constant) The Wallichii will probably get traded in for something else as it looks like it could melt whenever it wanted to for no reason at all. I'm trying to keep it relatively South American but will probably go with some Java Moss to cover and soften the rock tower (for the Apistos).

I'm going to make a trip to Aqua-World on Gravois tomorrow and see what they have - they're supposed to have the best stock of plants of any store in the area.

I'm just happy that after all these years, it's a GOOD thing to have nitrates.

 

[sirreal63]

Aqua World on Gravois is the place...no one else even comes close. You want to see John, if you tell him Jack sent you he will take care of you and probably tease you as well. lol Be sure you tell him your equipment and goals, he will help you get there.

You will soon discover that you don't have nitrates or phosphates as the plants will be starved for them. I hope you have plenty of test kits, you will be testing every other day for a while until you get the plants usage figured out. If you don't have a digital scale...get one...you will be weighing ferts before long.

 

[inwall75]

I looked through the links and I saw a lot of very pretty tanks.

HOWEVER.....Are you guys glutton's for punishment?

Wow...I had no idea that doing those tanks was that hard. I just figured you added a CO2 reactor and let the water get dirty.

 

[ncox38]

I have a heavily planted 55 and I have a ton of clippings every other week or so. I just got rid of a plastic grocery bag FULL. I have mostly south american plants. In a few weeks i will have java fern, java moss, anubias nana, glosso, jungle val, corkscrew val, red ludwigia, and maybe some green fox tail. I dont know about the spelling but i dont feel like getting up to get my book right now. You are welcome to whatever you want for free, I hate throwing stuff away. I run pressurized CO2 and have the cheap Nova Extreme 216 watt fixture and i can grow pretty much anything.

At first i was really worried about dosing ferts but you get to a point where you dont want to dose because you dont want to trim every day. Now I put in a squirt here and there when i remember and im much happier. Let me know if you want anything, the only catch is i dont deliver.

I have some pics in my gallery.

 

[sirreal63]

The green foxtail was a favorite. I am still tempted to get back into it but the colored sticks are keeping me happy at the moment.