Hello everyone,
I am going to open a thread about a new 20gl tank I put in the garage a couple of months ago. I didn't think to talk about it on these forums, because the idea was just to have an extra tank to "store" extra plants.
But at the end, this small tank became home for over 20 plants, and the growth results were so amazing that I decided to let you know about it.
So, here is some information about the tank:
1. 20gl Aqueon shallow tank (you can find it for around $30 at any PetSmart store here in the US)
2. Substrate: BBS (black diamond blasting sand)
3. Light: Beamswork DA FSPEC LED Aquarium Light Pent Freshwater 0.50W (tweaked with some aluminum screen to give around 50-60 PAR at the substrate). 8 hours a day.
4. Filter: super-cheap air-filter
5. Co2: 1.2 pH drop, 1 hour before photoperiod until 1 hour before the end of it. Regulator: cheap Milwaukee regulator. Reactor: Sera Flore Active CO2 Reactor 500 driven by a cheap but powerful 160 GPH Powerhead.
AirFilter:
Reactor:
Plants:
Rotala Rotundifolia
Higrophila Polysperma
Higrophila Sunset
Limnophila Aromatica
Star Grass
Lobelia Cardinalis
Java Moss
Pearlweed
Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides
Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa Carolianana
Ludwigia arcuata
Rotala Nenjasan
Didiplis Diandra
Oldenlandia salzmannii
Ambulia
Ludwigia repens
Rotala Indica 'true'
Althernanthera Reneckii
Ranunculus inundatus
Rotala Nanjenshan
Bacopa Colorata
Penthorum
Oldenlandia salzmannii
Staurogyne Repens
Cabomba Furcata
Ammania Senegalensis Golden
All plants are growing great, with only one exception (strangely)... Cabomba Furcata.
Also, I think I'll need to increase my trace dosing because I am beginning to see some Fe deficiency around and some wonky tips that I didn't have until the last week.
Here are some interesting pictures:
Hygros (easy weed, but useful to spot issues right away):
Bacopas:
Bacopa Colorata (thanks Joe!) and Ludwigia Red
Ludwigia Repens (grows like a weed):
Rotala Nanjenshan and AR (I haven't been able to grow those plants in years with CSM):
Pearlweed and Ludwigia Red:
Rotala Rotundifolia and Ambulia:
Stauro:
AR (notice the nice roots. When you have those roots, plant is pretty happy despite leaves are not completely flat, trying to see if increasing traces is going to fix that... but that plant grows a lot!)
And it looks like Ammania is growing pretty well in this tank... slowly, but well:
This Ammania was almost dead and completely deformed in my 75gl, removed the top and put in this tank, after just 3 days is already putting out new sprouts, I'll be curious to see if it'll flourish like the one above:
And here is a final shot from the top. Notice the Aromatica how it is a little bit white, which could indicate a lack of Fe... I am going to increase traces in the upcoming weeks and see if that's going to fix it.
So... I am sure you are wondering how I dose, water change, etc...
Well.... I am experimenting with just 60% water change every 2 weeks (twice a month). If I can find the right dosing, that'll mean half work for me (my goal: max results with minimum effort... is that yours as well?)
So, I am dosing the following macros 3x a week:
KNO3: 3.5ppm
PO4: 0.4ppm
And the following micros, 3x a week alternated with macros, based on Burr's ratios, version 1.0 (custom made trace mix, in ppm):
Fe DTPA 0.075
Mn 0.03
B 0.013
Zn 0.006
Mo 0.0006
Cu 0.0008
But it looks like I need to increase those... so... I am trying to double the dose in the upcoming week and see what's gonna happen. Burr (Joe) suggested to increase Zn, and I am going to try that in the 75, whereas for now I'll just double the above in this tank seen that 99% of plants are growing well so far.
Very interestingly I have ben dosing the same mix in my 75gl, but results were a little bit different. Most plants grow well in the 75, with some plants stunting a little bit. The same plants grow well in this 20gl tank, stunt in the 75. I am trying to understand why the difference. The two tanks are basically identical: inert substrate (the 75 uses old-recycled Eco Complete), same Co2 level, same light (PAR and photoperiod). The only differences are these:
1. 20gl tank uses an AirFilter which gives more O2 (it could be beneficial to plants)
2. 20gl tank has fresh substrate. The 75 has 9 years old substrate.
3. 20gl is shallower, which means PAR increases faster toward the surface.
If you want to follow me on my 75gl journal as well, here is the link:
https://barrreport.com/threads/fablau-75-gallon-tank.14097/
Thanks for following, and please, let me know your thoughts about all this. I'd love to talk about it
I am going to open a thread about a new 20gl tank I put in the garage a couple of months ago. I didn't think to talk about it on these forums, because the idea was just to have an extra tank to "store" extra plants.
But at the end, this small tank became home for over 20 plants, and the growth results were so amazing that I decided to let you know about it.
So, here is some information about the tank:
1. 20gl Aqueon shallow tank (you can find it for around $30 at any PetSmart store here in the US)
2. Substrate: BBS (black diamond blasting sand)
3. Light: Beamswork DA FSPEC LED Aquarium Light Pent Freshwater 0.50W (tweaked with some aluminum screen to give around 50-60 PAR at the substrate). 8 hours a day.
4. Filter: super-cheap air-filter
5. Co2: 1.2 pH drop, 1 hour before photoperiod until 1 hour before the end of it. Regulator: cheap Milwaukee regulator. Reactor: Sera Flore Active CO2 Reactor 500 driven by a cheap but powerful 160 GPH Powerhead.
AirFilter:
Reactor:
Plants:
Rotala Rotundifolia
Higrophila Polysperma
Higrophila Sunset
Limnophila Aromatica
Star Grass
Lobelia Cardinalis
Java Moss
Pearlweed
Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides
Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa Carolianana
Ludwigia arcuata
Rotala Nenjasan
Didiplis Diandra
Oldenlandia salzmannii
Ambulia
Ludwigia repens
Rotala Indica 'true'
Althernanthera Reneckii
Ranunculus inundatus
Rotala Nanjenshan
Bacopa Colorata
Penthorum
Oldenlandia salzmannii
Staurogyne Repens
Cabomba Furcata
Ammania Senegalensis Golden
All plants are growing great, with only one exception (strangely)... Cabomba Furcata.
Also, I think I'll need to increase my trace dosing because I am beginning to see some Fe deficiency around and some wonky tips that I didn't have until the last week.
Here are some interesting pictures:
Hygros (easy weed, but useful to spot issues right away):
Bacopas:
Bacopa Colorata (thanks Joe!) and Ludwigia Red
Ludwigia Repens (grows like a weed):
Rotala Nanjenshan and AR (I haven't been able to grow those plants in years with CSM):
Pearlweed and Ludwigia Red:
Rotala Rotundifolia and Ambulia:
Stauro:
AR (notice the nice roots. When you have those roots, plant is pretty happy despite leaves are not completely flat, trying to see if increasing traces is going to fix that... but that plant grows a lot!)
And it looks like Ammania is growing pretty well in this tank... slowly, but well:
This Ammania was almost dead and completely deformed in my 75gl, removed the top and put in this tank, after just 3 days is already putting out new sprouts, I'll be curious to see if it'll flourish like the one above:
And here is a final shot from the top. Notice the Aromatica how it is a little bit white, which could indicate a lack of Fe... I am going to increase traces in the upcoming weeks and see if that's going to fix it.
So... I am sure you are wondering how I dose, water change, etc...
Well.... I am experimenting with just 60% water change every 2 weeks (twice a month). If I can find the right dosing, that'll mean half work for me (my goal: max results with minimum effort... is that yours as well?)
So, I am dosing the following macros 3x a week:
KNO3: 3.5ppm
PO4: 0.4ppm
And the following micros, 3x a week alternated with macros, based on Burr's ratios, version 1.0 (custom made trace mix, in ppm):
Fe DTPA 0.075
Mn 0.03
B 0.013
Zn 0.006
Mo 0.0006
Cu 0.0008
But it looks like I need to increase those... so... I am trying to double the dose in the upcoming week and see what's gonna happen. Burr (Joe) suggested to increase Zn, and I am going to try that in the 75, whereas for now I'll just double the above in this tank seen that 99% of plants are growing well so far.
Very interestingly I have ben dosing the same mix in my 75gl, but results were a little bit different. Most plants grow well in the 75, with some plants stunting a little bit. The same plants grow well in this 20gl tank, stunt in the 75. I am trying to understand why the difference. The two tanks are basically identical: inert substrate (the 75 uses old-recycled Eco Complete), same Co2 level, same light (PAR and photoperiod). The only differences are these:
1. 20gl tank uses an AirFilter which gives more O2 (it could be beneficial to plants)
2. 20gl tank has fresh substrate. The 75 has 9 years old substrate.
3. 20gl is shallower, which means PAR increases faster toward the surface.
If you want to follow me on my 75gl journal as well, here is the link:
https://barrreport.com/threads/fablau-75-gallon-tank.14097/
Thanks for following, and please, let me know your thoughts about all this. I'd love to talk about it
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