My First aquarium and first aquascape

Joseph Huntley

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Ok day 7 my ammonia is at 0 I added abt 2 1/2 ML so will give it a few mins to circulate then will test and adjust til im up to abt 2 ppm

on another note hopefully today my new driftwood will arrive

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Joseph Huntley

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well here is the little driftwood piece I got. Like I said it wasn't the piece that I ordered but I will make do with it. And yes the ad said this is the piece you are buying so it wasn't like your piece will be something like this but that it WAS the piece.

Anyways I boiled it up for a couple hours and now have it in place. It works and i finally have my focal point instead of a mishmash of stuff.

I really need to come up with a fast growing short ground cover. every one tells me that my light isn't bright enough for dwarf Hairy grass or dwarf baby tears and that they need CO2. but everything i read says different says no CO2 needed and only Medium Lighting which I have? So I am kinda lost of what to do for a lawn to cover my substrate.


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aamir9110

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Foreground

A fast growing foreground cover without good PAR and CO2 is going to be a tall order. However you have options - Marsilea spp, pgymy chain swords, Dwarf Sagittaria, Cryptocoryne parva ( not very low sitting i suppose), Eleocharis acicularis ( most plants will do if there is not much of inter species CO2 competition even HC!). Just make sure not to many too many co2 aggressive species and plant rather densely since growth rates will be slow.

I have a few plants of S.repens growing quite well in a non co2 low- medium light shrimp aquarium, the only other competing species is Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini

You could do a foreground of A.mini !!!

Regards,
Aamir
 
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Joseph Huntley

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aamir9110;120543 said:
A fast growing foreground cover without good PAR and CO2 is going to be a tall order. However you have options - Marsilea spp, pgymy chain swords, Dwarf Sagittaria, Cryptocoryne parva ( not very low sitting i suppose), Eleocharis acicularis ( most plants will do if there is not much of inter species CO2 competition even HC!). Just make sure not to many too many co2 aggressive species and plant rather densely since growth rates will be slow.

I have a few plants of S.repens growing quite well in a non co2 low- medium light shrimp aquarium, the only other competing species is Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini

You could do a foreground of A.mini !!!

Regards,
Aamir

well I will have to look into that But I already have 2 areas with reineckii normal. they are actually looking nice though the leaves aren't bright red they more of a brown red mix but they look healthy they were drooping some for a couple days when I first put them in but all plants do that when transplanted now they are standing tall and proud and i am pretty positive my shortest one has grown like 1/4 of an inch because it is the same height now as the one next to it. I will have to look at my original picture and compare but I am positive it has grown that 1/4 inch and its only been like a week
 

Joseph Huntley

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How about "Marsilea hirsuta" would that grow in med light no CO2? the par value of my lighting is in the 40-41 micromols range

a couple others I was looking at would be "Eleocharis sp. 'mini'" "Ammania sp. 'Bonsai'" "Marsilea crenata"

sorry for all the questions but while it is sub zero out and too cold for shipping plants I am wanting to learn all I can to be sure I know what will work and what I can try and see what happens. So far from what I read as long as I fertilize them properly that CO2 and Lighting differences just makes them grow slower and maybe not get as colorful?

I know I have seen somewhere in my readings Mr. Barr says to just try something that is the only way to learn. well you can bet I will definatley be trying and experimenting later on, however in order for wife to be happy and allow me to continue on is to get something basic and attractive going for this setup without wasting a bunch of money on plants that fail turn brown and she turns RED lol. then I can play around in another tank i can get if shes happy with the first lol.
but she has been looking at the aquascapes with me and she understands things like cant have this or that plant but the one thing she is adamant about is that we have a lawn in the tank as she loves the look with the little grass carpet.

I thought about doing one of them DIY CO2 setups because right now cant afford a proper one. however I don't fully understand them yet so as I don't put too much CO2 in the water killing all my plants and fish.

So I apologize for all the dumb questions but I read some articles and others may contradict the article i just read then you hear someone else has good luck while others don't it all gets confusing telling fact from fiction for a newbie and I just want to make the wife happy so she doesn't say to stick with a kiddie looking tank with all them ghastly ornaments in it
 
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Joseph Huntley

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well I got the stuff to make a DIY CO2 Diffuser I will use 3 2 liter bottles. it hopefully will help some and get me by til I can afford a real one. I will read some more on CO2 stuff and tomorrow make it up.

On a side note earlier tonight found out winter is really here

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Joseph Huntley

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Oh another question I saw someone post on some place that they use like those jobe or miricle grow plant sticks for their plants they break them in half and put 2 or 3 around the roots of their plants.

is this safe for the plants and fish in the aquarium or is there a better alternative.
 

tefsom85

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Joseph Huntley;120579 said:
well I got the stuff to make a DIY CO2 Diffuser I will use 3 2 liter bottles. it hopefully will help some and get me by til I can afford a real one. I will read some more on CO2 stuff and tomorrow make it up.

On a side note earlier tonight found out winter is really here

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I grew just East of the Quad Cities. I don't miss the cold :) But, I do miss Frank's Pizza.
 

Joseph Huntley

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lol yea franks is nice but Clint's up at the bowling alley is closer and identical in the way its made

last year I came back from a year working in Tempe I hated the non stop blue skys but now wished was back there
 

Joseph Huntley

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well while waiting for the foam to cure til tomorrow on my 3D background I am working on, I made me a CO2 Diffuser tonight. I used 3 - 2 liter bottles with 2 having my yeast generator and they feed into an empty 3rd bottle as a safely so no yeast gets into my tank, then I ran my line and drilled a small hole in the bottom of my intake screen and ran the line into the bottom so that my canister diffuses the CO2. I did use a check valve also so I don't get a backup into my bottles.

I know it is probably not very much for my size tank but I just want to feed a little CO2 into the tank to help the plants a little since I will be using easy plants that don't require CO2

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aamir9110

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non Co2 plants

Joseph Huntley;120566 said:
How about "Marsilea hirsuta" would that grow in med light no CO2? the par value of my lighting is in the 40-41 micromols range

- Any thing can be grown at 40 - 50 mMol ! including R Macaranda.

a couple others I was looking at would be "Eleocharis sp. 'mini'" "Ammania sp. 'Bonsai'" "Marsilea crenata"

sorry for all the questions but while it is sub zero out and too cold for shipping plants I am wanting to learn all I can to be sure I know what will work and what I can try and see what happens. So far from what I read as long as I fertilize them properly that CO2 and Lighting differences just makes them grow slower and maybe not get as colorful?
-As long as light is adequate and nutrients non limiting , there should be decent color - may not be like a 120 m Mol Co2 tank , but hey thats not the goal right!

I know I have seen somewhere in my readings Mr. Barr says to just try something that is the only way to learn. well you can bet I will definatley be trying and experimenting later on, however in order for wife to be happy and allow me to continue on is to get something basic and attractive going for this setup without wasting a bunch of money on plants that fail turn brown and she turns RED lol. then I can play around in another tank i can get if shes happy with the first lol.
but she has been looking at the aquascapes with me and she understands things like cant have this or that plant but the one thing she is adamant about is that we have a lawn in the tank as she loves the look with the little grass carpet.

Go with Eleocharis spp. Just make sure you don't put in crazy fast weeds there to compete with CO2

I thought about doing one of them DIY CO2 setups because right now cant afford a proper one. however I don't fully understand them yet so as I don't put too much CO2 in the water killing all my plants and fish.

So I apologize for all the dumb questions but I read some articles and others may contradict the article i just read then you hear someone else has good luck while others don't it all gets confusing telling fact from fiction for a newbie and I just want to make the wife happy so she doesn't say to stick with a kiddie looking tank with all them ghastly ornaments in it

Marsilea would make a good slow growing cover, it may take a while to grow thick enough but will grow never the less well. Most grasses do quite well too. 40 Mmol of light is pretty good for most species, if you experience any algae keep it ~ 30 MMOL. Make sure you read Tom's Non-CO2 method sticky.

My non co2 plants are doing very good indeed. Bright greens and fresh leafs. THERE IS NO NEW ALGAE :D. All i did was 1. Low light. 2. dosing EI once every 7 to 10 days ( full dose ) 3. Feeding fish well, and a decent filter ( i have a 2217 Eheim on a 29 gallon). Will try to post a few pics. 4. Lots of water changes in the first few months.

I am also getting pretty aggressive growth ( relative to other plants ) of Hydrocotyle
tripartita , but beware the damn thing is a vicious weed ... grows in nice a creepy- carpety way as long as you keep it trimmed. Loves ADA Amazonia and other soily stuff...

DIY Co2 is hit or miss. MORE TROUBLE than worth it. You may instead go low EI - Excel ( GLUT).

And yes winter is a great time to read ... LOL.

Read Tropica's CO2 - Light article.
Read Non-Co2 stickys at the Barr- Report.

You will be blessed with a good looking aquarium

3 things - get a good substrate/ Do non CO2 EI AND 2. Plant reasonably heavy. Plants compete with algae and having more plant muscle to begin with will ensure victory against em algae. 3. Get RCS/ Amanos - they love a cooler and non-co2 tank and chomp on algae. Feed em buggers, they will be rabbits in heat...



Joseph Huntley;120580 said:
Oh another question I saw someone post on some place that they use like those jobe or miricle grow plant sticks for their plants they break them in half and put 2 or 3 around the roots of their plants.

is this safe for the plants and fish in the aquarium or is there a better alternative.

If you go with a good nutrient rich substrate and dose the water column ( 1/5 - 1/10th usual EI doses in non-co2 ) you DONT need em sticks :). Atleast not till a year or longer. You may use osmocote Plus with micronutrients capsules/ ice cubes etc later.
 
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Tug

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What are your tap water's chlorine levels? Yeast and chlorine are no better off then fish and chlorine. Tank water is best used in fermentations, IME.

I don't want to discourage you. DIY is in your blood. I can see that. If done right this makes for a great fermentation project. And adding CO2 is a great idea. Yeast produce a good amount of CO2 and the ones we use do it when deprived of oxygen. They are contained and allowed to gas off into our planted tanks. What could be better? Well, we know the answer to that and a 75 gallon tank will require a lot of effort on your part.

Mostly, the yeast are used to run CO2 generators. It helps a great deal if we can keep their CO2 output as consistent as is posable - fluctuating CO2 levels are not the ideal. Depending on changing growth and reproduction rates, yeast strains, colony strength, temperature and available Oxygen, yeast can produce optimal CO2 levels - for about 20 days. Taste characteristics at this early date, should be somewhat dry. :02.47-tranquillity:

I had success growing plants in a 20gal tank using a 1 gallon CO2 generator. How to get the CO2 dissolved in water? That was and is the real question. No need for expensive, high pressure valves and parts. Here are, the throw away if you can't clean them parts. Cheap pumps with a reaction chamber will do and are the best option I found for the 20 gallon tank I had.

Joseph Huntley;120579 said:
well I got the stuff to make a DIY CO2 Diffuser I will use 3 2 liter bottles. it hopefully will help some and get me by til I can afford a real one. I will read some more on CO2 stuff and tomorrow make it up.

Your DIY model in theory, might be better suited to your tank's 75 gallons if you make two of the 6 liter model and have diffusers at each end of the tank.

If you haven't seen it, here is as comprehensive an article on DIY CO2 as I've seen. John LeVasseur's, "A Treatise on DIY CO2 Systems for Freshwater-Planted Aquaria." http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

One of the better pump DIY diffuser models is found here at the Barr Report, http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/41-DIY-internal-Reactor-great-for-Yeast-CO2-users
 
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Joseph Huntley

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thanks guys yea I been reading all toms stuff actually abt 3 to 4 times so it all soaks in. will take me a couple readings of your replies to comprehend what all you are saying but I will get there trial and error happens as long as it isnt too drastic I can weasle my way out of most with the wife unless it is a fish then i better not lose one or she will give it to me for not keeping it simple rofl.

anyways My Original wood has most of the slime going away finally but I am getting some bubbles in the slime I assume thats what is popping it off when they burst but I noticed some white spots on the wood now they remind me of little tiny calcium baubles are these normal or some kind of fungus or something to worry abt. kind of hard to see in the pics

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Joseph Huntley

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the specks on the wood is sand but the bottom pic if you look at the horizontal end piece, on the sid abt 1/3 way down you can see a little white nodule thats what i am talking about, and in the first pic between the slime globs it left some white residue things
 

Joseph Huntley

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aamir9110;120596 said:
If you go with a good nutrient rich substrate and dose the water column ( 1/5 - 1/10th usual EI doses in non-co2 ) you DONT need em sticks :). Atleast not till a year or longer. You may use osmocote Plus with micronutrients capsules/ ice cubes etc later.

well for my first planted here I just used PFS for a substrate so I will read up on the other types for my next tank

thanks I think I understand most of what you were saying and have read all them articles a couple times so far. will have to look up some of the nutrient stuffs etc to know more abt them next
 

Joseph Huntley

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Tug;120598 said:
What are your tap water's chlorine levels? Yeast and chlorine are no better off then fish and chlorine. Tank water is best used in fermentations, IME.

I have a bucket of tank water I used already hit with Prime. Nothing goes near my tank that has been near my faucet lol I learned that lesson last time so I keep a 5 gal bucket of primed water for topping off evaporation, cleaning filters, and used it in this CO2 device

I don't want to discourage you. DIY is in your blood. I can see that. If done right this makes for a great fermentation project. And adding CO2 is a great idea. Yeast produce a good amount of CO2 and the ones we use do it when deprived of oxygen. They are contained and allowed to gas off into our planted tanks. What could be better? Well, we know the answer to that and a 75 gallon tank will require a lot of effort on your part.

Yes I have always been able to invent ways around stuff dad was a big inventor when it came to fixing stuff around the farm, However I do most of my Stuff just to get by til I can afford to replace iot with proper stuff. I never buy used other than house or car it is always new as I dont want other peoples problems. So I make do while I save up to purchase.

Mostly, the yeast are used to run CO2 generators. It helps a great deal if we can keep their CO2 output as consistent as is posable - fluctuating CO2 levels are not the ideal. Depending on changing growth and reproduction rates, yeast strains, colony strength, temperature and available Oxygen, yeast can produce optimal CO2 levels - for about 20 days. Taste characteristics at this early date, should be somewhat dry. :02.47-tranquillity:

Well with the plants I will be using the CO2 isnt really anything more than a slight suppliment for them I am not really using it because I will have plants that require it but more as a booster. I will change one bottle im abt 5 days and 5 later change the other so that each week for a bit I have a constant. this is mainly to boost some of my plants to get them started then prob wont really use it after that, and will use other stuff to help them (i could be doing it all Bass Ackwards etc but I am a mad scientist experimenting in my Evil Lab right now

I had success growing plants in a 20gal tank using a 1 gallon CO2 generator. How to get the CO2 dissolved in water? That was and is the real question. No need for expensive, high pressure valves and parts. Here are, the throw away if you can't clean them parts. Cheap pumps with a reaction chamber will do and are the best option I found for the 20 gallon tank I had.

I have mine feeding directly into the bottom of My Ehim 2217 canister filter and will let my canister diffuse it into the water efficiently



Your DIY model in theory, might be better suited to your tank's 75 gallons if you make two of the 6 liter model and have diffusers at each end of the tank.

If you haven't seen it, here is as comprehensive an article on DIY CO2 as I've seen. John LeVasseur's, "A Treatise on DIY CO2 Systems for Freshwater-Planted Aquaria." http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

One of the better pump DIY diffuser models is found here at the Barr Report, http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/41-DIY-internal-Reactor-great-for-Yeast-CO2-users

Thanks I might have read them will have to look