Introduce yourself and tell us what do you keep?

Steven Kirby

New Member
Sep 23, 2017
2
3
1
28
US
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Hello everyone, i've been in the hobby for roughly 7 years, i've had great success with the EI dosing method, thank you for all this site offers, im glad to be here :) here's a pic of my 40gal
 

John Ververoglou

New Member
Oct 4, 2017
2
2
3
36
Athens
Hi everyone.
I'm John and I am 30 years old. I have had freshwater aquarium almost a decade but never saltwater and the main reason is that I love the planted tanks.
I have a 240 liters aquarium that runs 4 years but now I am really thinking to change the aquascape or to restart it.
I also consider to change my t5 lighting to led as it is more efficient.
My second aquarium is a simple 30lt. cube without co2.
 

Baqi Bullah

New Member
Oct 16, 2017
5
3
3
44
Karachi, Pakistan
I am from Pakistan, Karachi having two planted tank both HighTech

First Tank was my pilot project which is have specs
20g Freshwater
ADA aquasoil (dont know its original or Chinese)
DIY canister filter (cannot afford to by USD 300 canister filter)
DIY LED lights (two LED 18w philips bulb with 2000 lumens bright white light)
CO2 diffiuser (imported from AliExpress)
Plants imported from Dubai

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Baqi Bullah

New Member
Oct 16, 2017
5
3
3
44
Karachi, Pakistan
Second Tank was my dad aquarium since 1985 which i turned in to planted Tank and specs are
50g Freshwater
ADA aquasoil (dont know its original or Chinese) with base of Local sand to build height and front white gravels.
DIY canister filter (cannot afford to by USD 300 canister filter)
DIY LED lights (two LED 18w philips bulb with 2000 lumens bright white light and 24w full spectrum )
CO2 diffiuser (imported from AliExpress)
Plants imported from Dubai and from first tank

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Leafinaforest

New Member
Nov 3, 2017
13
3
3
38
Oahu
I am from oahu,hi. The first pic is my wife's 20 gal, the second tank is my 5 gal. Both setups are 3-4 months old, pressurized co2, LED lights, and the same plants and substrate. I would like to say thanks to Tom and associates for providing us with The Barr Report, many answers to questions that arise.

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alessandro

New Member
Nov 8, 2017
29
14
3
61
italy
Hi,

I'm an old aquarist from Italy with more than 30 years aquarium experiences and I find your Report very interesting full of usefull information and experiences.
I hope I will be able to give my small contribution with few suggestions or different point of views.

Sicerely

Alex

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alessandro

New Member
Nov 8, 2017
29
14
3
61
italy
a little more about myself:
I'm now 55, but since I was 5 or even earlier than that I have always been attracted by water and fish.
I clearly remember when at the age of 5 my mom used to take me along the city park where there was a pond populated by gold fish, I could spend hours watching them and she had a hard time pulling me back home.

Since then I have Always been involved in keeping, breeding fish and having ponds and aquariums, but this was not enough for me, in summer time I started snorkelling at sea or when at home snorkelling in rivers and lakes.
Everything related to water and what lived underwater was of my interest.

Soon I started my first steel bucket with fish and plants collected in the nearby rivers, no filter no pump no nothing, just a steel bucket, some sand collected in the river water fish and plants.
Then I started digging in my home garden my first pond and coverd it , with some waste plastic foil I could find around, I had no money back then and I had to be creative to feed my hobby.....

to be continued
 

alessandro

New Member
Nov 8, 2017
29
14
3
61
italy
I learned a lot from my very first experiences with very natural Systems, no pumps no filters no artificial lightning.
After having algae blooms and many dead fish I learned not to overstock my small systems with fish and naturally shade my systems with
floating plants either lemma minor or water lily or both, ceratophillum demersum was also a great help to keep my fish healthy and water clear.

By that time there were no computer nor internet and not much information about aquariums and ponds, in Italy there was just a magazine "Aquarium"
which i devotely red and collected, I still have all of those.

When I grew up a little,I was able to work and buy my first aquarium. I still remember that day as one of my happiest day ever.
Having understood already that a water biotope would never work without plants,.I started it with many of those, but driven by enthusiasm I tried to overdue everything including
substrate, which I made as rich as possible, putting in anything from cow manure to oak Leaves and I don't remember how many more things ........................

Inevitably, shortly after I had unimmaginable algae blooms of any possible kind and regardless of how many water changes I made, they were always coming back.

After many trials and errors and being testing any possible material in the substrate, including volcanic lava personally collected on the Vesuvio volcano in Naples,
I finally understood that yes a rich substrate helps aquatic plants to grow faster, but algae problems always outbalance this advantage by keep coming back on a regular base.

Since then SIMPLE CLEAN GRAVEL is the richest substare I use today (iron nails are added always and very little osmocote, sometimes but not Always).

Dutch acquarium style is my model and I do it with very good success (but it is very labour intensive, three hours a week is the minimum requirement for a 200 l tank).

In between, when i was studying at University I was one of the first hobbysts in Italy to breed Discus and I could finance all my studies with that.
Discus was a very rare and very expensive fish back then not to mention that in Italy it was almost impossible to buy Quality fish at any price.
I visited Jack Wattley in Fort Lauderdale, FL and brought back home my future breeders then I visited Singapore and Thailand were all the best Discus breeders were thriving
and brought back the best varieties availabe at that time.

To breed Discus you need to understand water chemestry very well and have plenty of quality water to chance daily, not to mention fish patology and advanced treatments.
These fish are delicate, subject to many parasites and diseases if not properly kept.

to be continued............

2 Discus tra le piante .jpg
 

Sourpuss

Member
Nov 20, 2017
37
6
8
Minnesota
Greetings! I am a 42 years old and I hail from Minnesota. I currently have 6 tanks.1-40g breeder and 5 nanos. All of my tanks are low tech. So I am here to become educated on the high tech end of the spectrum. Hopefully I will be able to grasp the concepts without too much trouble.
 
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Marilu

New Member
Nov 23, 2017
2
1
1
New Jersey
Hello everyone. I'm back in the hobby after a 5 year hiatus precipitated by a super storm, loss of fish and a move that left no space for my 37 gallon mostly amazonian biotope. In September I found a tiny 5 gallon Fluval spec V and a spot for it in my home. I was inspired by Rachel O'Leary's fluval tank saw it had better lighting and thought aquascaping was possible in the little tank. I'm so glad to be back in the hobby and return to reading, note taking and observing the tiny slice of nature in my home. Observing the tank with a magnifying glass and watching fish behavior is fascinating to me. My fluval currently houses 4 CPDs and had 2 dwarf cherry shrimp that did not survive my attempt to use H202 to rid it of the algae I'd been trying to control. The CPDs have been mating regularly (and eating the little fry) but I've been battling algae and trying a few things from reducing water changes to increasing them. The tank is planted with anubias nana (doing super well); anubias barteri (algae attached its rhizome so it lost 2 leaves); tiny amounts of dwarf hairgrass and a long leaf crypt that has grown well after its initial melting. I've attempting adding hydrocoytle trip. 3 times only to see them all melt away. I thought it would survive in the hard water. I used small doses of AQ Envy but I don't think its the right fert. It fed the algae and added green algae to tank walls and plants. I've done black outs and have tried to fill the tank with more plants it is a slow process. I know the tank has to mature. I keep thinking it will do better in time. For now, I'm beginning daily water changes, zeolite in the filter along with biomax and an old carbon media for its beneficial bacteria at this point and lights on a timer about 8 hours in 3 different segments. I plan to start dosing using some kind of liquid carbon. Flourish? Thoughts? Root tabs?
-6.6 pH thanks to the wood in tank.
-KH is 5 dKh / 89.5ppm
-Gh is 8.6 dGH / 143 ppm
 

AquariumGoonie

New Member
Dec 25, 2017
1
2
1
Portland Metro, OR
Hi all!

I've had fish only tanks for about 30 years except for a 3 year foray into a marine reef 120 gallon aquarium 15 years ago. I just set up my first planted tank a few days ago. It's 20 gallon with driftwood and rocks. So far, I planted Java Fern (attached to wood and rock), Wendti crypts, dwarf hair grass, christmas moss, cardinal plant, dwarf lily, banana plant and 3 marimo moss balls. Hoping when it's done cycling to house a betta, 6-10 cherry rasboras, amano & cherry shrimp, nerite, malaysian trumpet and mystery snails, a few otocinclus and some dwarf cory cats...Too much? If so, what would you eliminate from the list? (Running 2 HOB filters right now full of sponge media with sponges on the intakes.)

Looking forward to learning a lot!

Any advice for a newbie to planted aquarium is welcome and appreciated. I'm sure I'll be busy reading the forums and articles for a while!
 

Tejasn324

New Member
Dec 26, 2017
1
0
1
33
bangalore
hi,

I am Tejas from Bengaluru, India.
Currently learning ways to combat filamentous diatoms :p
Still amatuer want to learn more from this site :)

Regards
 

hyperkoule

New Member
Jan 13, 2018
5
0
1
NL
Hi, I'm Vojtech,

I have three months ago started with fish aquarium, soon i have felt in love with planted aquariums.

Started with Juwel 110 Primo with internal filter and 860lm led light. Since that i bought 2 more led, external filter, co2 system from JBL with JBL touch control to keep my PH at stable level.

I have still lot of issues with my aquarium and that is main reason why i have registered, as reading seems not to be enough and i need to start asking question. Thank you already
 

aquanewb

New Member
Jan 20, 2018
6
2
3
Presque Isle, ME
Hi all!
My name is Rob, I live in Maine and have had fish only tanks on and off for the last 20 years. I've recently set up 2 tanks and put a few easy/cheap live plants in each tank. now I've found myself obsessed and wanting to get much more involved into the whole planted aquarium.

I have a 180 gallon tank at work with a few plants and fish that I'm going to keep low tech (at least for now).

At home I have a 54 gallon corner bowfront that I want to make into a high tech tank. Currently it has a Finnex Planted+ 24/7 light and a Fluval 406 canister filter. I've ordered a pressurized CO2 setup, a Milwaukee pH controller, and a drop checker. I have no clue what I'm doing yet but this forum has great information and I'm sure it will be invaluable as a get my high tech setup going.
 

David Brown

New Member
Jan 28, 2018
2
0
1
40
North Carolina
Hello, I'm David, I have a new 75 gallon Walstad South American tank, with Angelfish and cuban tetras. I am excited after reading her book. I have another Walstad fluval spec with platys. Yesterday I set up a dry start tank and have been agonizing whether its going to be ok or not. I read the posts on here if I have problems but wanted to see the pictures. Lots of them I can't see and was thinking signing up would do it. I guess I'll try to get a picture of my tanks.

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Shane Wilson

New Member
Feb 6, 2018
24
3
3
38
Apple Valley, CA
Hello all!

My name is Shane Wilson and I live in Apple Valley California. I currently have a 40 breeder with ludwigia, anubias, crypts, s. repens, swords, and central/south American fish.

The hobby has become a great passion and I look forward to learning from everyone here!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

fishfreaknewbie

New Member
Feb 9, 2018
4
0
1
Riverside, CA.
Hi Guys,
My name is David and I live in Riverside, CA. After having kept a 55 gallon tank with gold fish & 10 gallon low tech planted aquarium, I took a break from the hobby. Recently I decided to get back into the hobby and I wanted to go big or go home. So I decided to go high tech with a 46 gallon bowfront tank and pressurized CO2 and LED lights. It's been a few years so I'm pretty excited and a little nervous, but that's what makes it fun! I'm starting with some baby tears, about 10 anubias (different varieties, barteri, nana petite, coffeefolia, etc. ), and some bucephalandras, also different varieties, as well as some pilo moss. My tank is about 1 and half weeks old. No fish yet, because I want to get the tank cycled and stable before I add them. I'm planning on adding 1 or two schooling types like tetras or rasboras. I am a little worried though because I some of my anubia's leaves have turned yellow some have started to show a little bit of decay. Also my moss has started to turn brown. I decided to use an old heater that come with the tank I bought (used) and the next day I found that the temperature was around 81.4 degrees. I immediately took it out and have since purchased a brand new one. I'm thinking that this affected my plants. We'll see... In any case I'm definitely excited to be back and am also excited to be part of this community!
 

KC Hapa

New Member
Oct 14, 2017
2
0
1
53
Honolulu, HI
Hello everyone,
KC from Oahu, Hawaii. I keep Malawi Cichlids. Shrimp, Ember, Neon Tetra, Albino, Panda, Peppered Corydoras and soon Angels, Gouramis, Harlequin Rasbora and Scarlet Badis in a Planted 40 Breeder Community aquarium.
 

Macek

New Member
Feb 13, 2018
7
3
3
Praha, Czechia
Hello,
I am from Praha, Czechia, I have one 24 l (which is 6gal) planted tank. My only aquarium is situated on the kitchen desk. It brings me a lot of enjoyment these days and I spend a lot of spare time by watching it and by taking care of it. My wife is not always happy about it :)

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