My 180 lit Dutch wannabe

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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I'm doing this thread so i could run something like a diary of my tank progress(or problems) without openning a new thread every time there's something new....
If i'm in a wrong subforum than maybe a mod should place this thread where it belongs.. thanx!

My plan , or a goal is to make a nice dutch stile scape..
...but primarily i would like to have a tank full of healthy plants without algae..

I've made a lot of changes in my tank lately , taking out a lot of plants because i will replace them with other species..
Now , as i will get new plants , i will try to keep them growing nice and healthy , in the meantime maybe arrange them so the tank looks decent...

I'm hoping to get some advices from the great people on this forum...

I will ask a lot of questions:gw

Well , i better stop talking with my bad english and write about the tank a little...

Juwel Rio 180 , 100cm X50cmX 40cm

Lights: T5-2x45w with reflectors (i found i need the reflectors so the lower leaves recive enough light)
Fotoperiod : 9hrs

Filtration: Fluval 405
Flow: Fluval's aprox 800lit-h , 2x Atman 500lit-h powerheads. (i ordered a 3000lit-h wawemaker from ebay but hasn't arrived yet)

CO2 : 20kg pressurised , fabco NV , diy reactor(used the Juwel int filter for this, disolves realy good)
-I'm adjusting co2 manualy every morning and shutting it out at night
- In the process of finding the max amount of co2 without fish gasping -big progress here since i got the rasboras out of the tank , because they were the first fish that would start gasping..
-Also, i recently started to dose Easy carbo every day..

JBL substrate , without NO3 or PO4 , 1-3mm gravel

Ferts: EI (KNO3 , KH2PO4 , K2SO4 , Plantex CSM+B )

Weekly dosing
NO3: 21ppm (I cut down from 45 ppm for a few reasons , one is because i got something like 30
more fishes+ and two is because i'm trying to get some red color in my ''reddish '' plants)
PO4: 11ppm
K: 30ppm
Csm+b : I dose as much to get Fe-1ppm

That's it for now , got to go now because my wife is screaming it's dinner time.

Thanx for reading...
 
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Gerryd

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Hi,

Looks good so far....Plants look pretty healthy..can you id them all for us? Makes it easier for suggestions to know what you have already :)

You need a carpet plant or something to take up some of that white space in the middle lol that is bright!

Maybe take the crypts and split them up to take up the center space some? Than group your stems around them on the backs and sides?
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Hi Gerry!
Thanx for your reply!

Carpet plant is planted , HC cuba , only you can't see it because i only menaged to get a little and i spread it all over the front , now waiting for it to thicken up..

Other plants are (left to right) : Bacopa Caroliniana , Alternanthera Reineckii , Ludwigia Ovalis , Limnophila Aromatica , Heteranthera Zosterfolia , Rotala Rotudifolia and Crypt Wendtii Brown.

In a week or two i'm gonna get some Ludwigia Arcuata , Eustralis stellata , Alternanthera Rosaefolia and Rotalla Macrandra so i was thinking of waiting a little with rearangement to see what from that plants i will get and maybe get some idea for the setup.

You think the crypt would be best in the middle? I kind of put it in the cornet to keep in control her big leaves , maybe Wendtii Brown was a bad choice for my tank , too big..?

After making the changes in my tank , ripping the complete carpet of Sagitaria Subulata , Hygrophilla Polysperma and Valisneria , also adding reflectors , i got Spirogyra blooming for a couple of days , realy unplesant bugger..
Now it looks under control after turning up co2 a little more , also i started to add Easy carbo to be sure i got enough carbon inside , maybe it will help..

I'm not completly satisfied with the flow , these powerheads are very directional , but i hope the Wawemaker i ordered will change that..
 

dutchy

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Hi,

You could try not to put plants in a straight line in the back. If you put one of them a little bit forward it will give the suggestion of more depth. Also between one of them, leave a little space like a see-through. and lead your carpet plant through that space to the back.
Also I would try to hide the hardware more. JBL sells nice black pipes that wouldn't stick out that much. If you look at my tank, I have 4 filter pipes, 2 UV pipes, a surface skimmer and a wavemaker in there. Hardly visible.

regards,
dutchy.
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Thanx 4 advices Dutchy!
I will try to do like you say..

The ugliest peace of hardware is ex internal Juwel filter which i use as a co2 reactor now..
Although i'm very satisfied with the way he does his work, i don't like that big box in my tank..
Was thinking of getting a Rhinox 5000 difusser and put it under a Wawemaker that is on the way..
...or something like this http://cgi.ebay.com/UP-CO2-Atomizer...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5633d4c84e

Anyway, i do plan to take most of the hardware out for photographies in the future..
 

dutchy

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The Rhinox or the UP-CO2-Atomizer look a lot better in the aspect of hardware. The space of the internal filter box can be used for extra plants :)

regards,
dutchy.
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Just to put a new pitcure , the last one was a disgrace :)
I have bought a new camera , Canon eos550d so i'm trying to get my photography to a non disgrace level..

I'm still waiting for some new plants so i've not changed my tank a lot.
Having some isues with spirogyra , atcualy it slowed down but i've noticed that some of it has tangled in my HC cuba , i guess the water flow gets it there and it stays there...
...the problem is that i can't get it out of there , from limnophilla i take it out with a toothbrush no problem, but i can't do that with hc because i pull it out , it's root is too weak..
I'm afraid that if it continues to spread on the hc that eventualy i will be forced to take it all out..

IMG_1120..jpg
 

dutchy

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Hi Ibanez....,

Nice picture, it looks clean. Maybe on the HC, if you have to remove it, you could think about changing to Staurogyne, if you can buy it there. It's a really nice plant that grows well and forms a nice carpet and roots well.

I'm noticing your plants bend a lot. Personally I wouldn't have more average flow than 2 inch per second. More causes mechanical stress to plants and inhibited growth (Madsen et al, 2001) So it's good to find a point in where the flow is not too much but CO2 is still dispersed everywhere, which shouldn't be too difficult in a tank your size.

regards,
dutchy
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Hi Dutchy!
I actualy have few stems of Staurogyne in one of my small tanks , i got it with some plants that i bought..
Never thought about using it .. thanx for the idea!
...for now i still hope i won't have to use it and that the ''hairs'' will go away from my tank .

I'm much more satisfied with my flow now that i've got my wawemaker with 3000lit-h ,it has a wide and gentile flow unlike the Atman powerheads i used before.
Still, i'm trying different ways all the time.
On the pitcure it seams very strong because of the flomsy stargrass that i've let grow too high and it bends on the slighest flow..

Thnx again!
 

Wet

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Once that stuff gets near the roots of HC especially, it's just going to tangle and get worse, and you'll never be able to mechanically remove all of it even after the HC forms. I would actually suggest just dealing with it now. Could also try a little spot treatment/cheating with H2O2 and/or Excel, but I'd only suggest this if the HC is already growing (and, actually, do not recommend H2O2 as it has never ended well for me and I believe we should never damage plants). Sounds like you are addressing the issue, but you'll know for sure if it stops growing and then outcompeted by HC.

Tweezers might help too. Yes, it will suck.
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Wet;53309 said:
Once that stuff gets near the roots of HC especially, it's just going to tangle and get worse, and you'll never be able to mechanically remove all of it even after the HC forms. I would actually suggest just dealing with it now. Could also try a little spot treatment/cheating with H2O2 and/or Excel, but I'd only suggest this if the HC is already growing (and, actually, do not recommend H2O2 as it has never ended well for me and I believe we should never damage plants). Sounds like you are addressing the issue, but you'll know for sure if it stops growing and then outcompeted by HC.

Tweezers might help too. Yes, it will suck.
Hi Wet!
Thanx for your advices!

I'm trying to save my cuba , been cleaning it daily with tweezers but it's very dificult , i keep pulling it out of the substrate and replanting it after i clean it..
Gonna try to keep it clean for a few weeks and i hope it will stop (algae) coming back..
...if not, i'm gonna take it out and do as Dutchy suggested and put Staurogyne in her place..
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Tank update , help me with rotala somebody

I've made some changes with the tank setup.
The HC cuba had to go because it was collecting spirogyra and i couldn't keep it clean manualy..
The Staurogyne took it's place as Dutchy suggested and i'm waiting for it to spread because i've only had a little of it.. It's not very representative now because it was in my 8gal tank without co2 .

I've got few stems of rotala walchii , ludwigia arcuata and repens so i just planted them in front to see what will become of them and maybe later i do something more ''artistic'' with those plants :) (i just can't refuse when someone offeres me a new plant)

And now, problem; i trimmed the rotala bush few days ago and i was dissapointed with the shape of the rotala's lower parts.. The bush is full of those.. ..those secondary roots , side shoots or how you call those.. The leaves are small and lifeless..
I suspect that maybe i've made that bush too thick so the lower parts don't get enough light , co2 etc.
This is the secomd trimminh since i've made that bush..
After the first trim it was fine and now...
Maybe i should uproot it after a few trimming or something?
Suggestions are welcome..:eek:

br..jpg


br2..jpg
 

Gerryd

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Hi,

yes, you may want to top the rotala and plant the tops to start over...2-4 trimming is usually the max for me on the thickest bunches....

Provide more spacing on each stem as you can see, they will use it up.

Many of the stems can get too thick this way...
 

ibanezfrelon

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May 18, 2010
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Thanx Gerry!
So , it's not so easy to maintain that rotala.. I thouht i could keep it like that and just trim it all the time..