My freshwater planted nano tank project

My freshwater planted nano tank project

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otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Monday 26th October 2015
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Once everything was thriving, I got lazy, just doing the weekly 50% change with a dose of the fertilizer mix and a dose of Ferropol. And that's now slipped to less than weekly. I think you have to do it properly to get it established, or the algae take over, but you can be a bit less strict once you have the growth you want.

Galsia

2,167 posts

189 months

Monday 26th October 2015
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otolith said:
Once everything was thriving, I got lazy, just doing the weekly 50% change with a dose of the fertilizer mix and a dose of Ferropol. And that's now slipped to less than weekly. I think you have to do it properly to get it established, or the algae take over, but you can be a bit less strict once you have the growth you want.
I've struggled with Algae in my tank. I've got dwarf hairgrass that is nice and green and has put out a few runners but is isn't exactly thriving. I keep getting algae which I have to remove with a toothbrush.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Monday 26th October 2015
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It's the curse of the planted tank. I think getting the lighting/fertilisers/CO2 balance right is as much an art as a science. I'm sure I will go through that stage with the next planted tank I set up, I did with this one. Herbivores help, though. Lots of shrimps and Otocinclus.

Galsia

2,167 posts

189 months

Wednesday 28th October 2015
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My feed arrived yesterday (really quick delivery) and I started with the Trace mix and have added my first doseage of Macro solution today. I'll keep this thread updated with my progess. smile

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 28th October 2015
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What lighting and CO2 are you running?

Galsia

2,167 posts

189 months

Wednesday 28th October 2015
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I'm using a DIY CO2 system. It isn't pumping out much at the moment but I could add more yeast to up the flowrate.

The tank is a 46L Fluval Edge. I'm not sure about the lighting, I ditched the standard unit and got a marine lighting system from eBay. Unfortunately the link is long dead so I don't know what the output is. It seems pretty bright though.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 28th October 2015
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Ah, OK - I've never tried the yeast option. I've got an end-of-life CO2 fire extinguisher and a commercial CO2 kit with solenoid so that it comes on and off with the lights. The lighting is three of these Interpet LED light bars;

http://www.aquatic-giant.co.uk/shop/tropical/ipet-...




Dr Mike Oxgreen

Original Poster:

4,101 posts

164 months

Thursday 29th October 2015
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My tank has arrived!

It's 40x25x25 cm.

Just waiting for the filter, which seems to be coming from Spain for some reason, and the lily pipes which appear to be coming from the US.

Here it is with the light unit on top...



Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Thursday 29th October 17:27

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Thursday 29th October 2015
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Excellent!

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Thursday 29th October 2015
quotequote all
One point if you are planning to run it open at the top - I tried that. I found crispy amano shrimp under the furniture...

Dr Mike Oxgreen

Original Poster:

4,101 posts

164 months

Thursday 29th October 2015
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Crispy amano shrimp - that's number 73 I think, isn't it? I prefer Kung-po prawns myself.

Thanks for the warning. Perhaps I'd better use some Perspex sheet.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Thursday 29th October 2015
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They did look quite tasty...

Yours might not be so inclined to escape, and I guess it probably also depends how you arrange your hard landscaping - I have a big piece of bogwood reaching up to the surface. But a heads-up, anyway.

ducgas

112 posts

139 months

Thursday 29th October 2015
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Might be worth having a look here. http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/
Been to the shop several times, I could spend hours & ££££££ there! Good look with the projects.

Dr Mike Oxgreen

Original Poster:

4,101 posts

164 months

Friday 30th October 2015
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ducgas said:
Might be worth having a look here. http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/
Bloody hell - they've got fish tanks similar size to mine for about £1600 (and that's a sale price!). Admittedly they're join-free tanks and do sound rather fantastic, but blimey! eek

I have now ordered a piece of 0.5mm, A3-sized Perspex from Amazon, out of which I will make a lid. Perhaps I'll silicone some kind of plastic runners to the inside ends of the tank so that I can make a two-piece sliding lid.

lufbramatt

5,318 posts

133 months

Friday 30th October 2015
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Look forward to seeing this set up and running. I've currently got a planted tank on the back burner as I've got to get some DIY finished before I invest too much time+money in more fish stuff. Got an empty 125l tank which I have converted the light unit to T5 (the odd length Juwel tubes mean it's easy to convert T8 fixtures to T5 by changing the ballast and plugs). Got most of the Co2 system just need the gas bottle, and have two spare external filters ready to go. Just need the contents and ferts!

Was thinking of going down the water filter housing Co2 reactor route rather than an in-tank diffuser, to get as much equipment out of the tank as possible. I use external heaters for the same reason.

Once the plants are all established I was going to get a nice group of corydoras and some small rainbowfish, maybe some cherry shrimp. Nice contrast to my rocky Tangayikan cichlid tank.

Edited by lufbramatt on Friday 30th October 12:07

Dr Mike Oxgreen

Original Poster:

4,101 posts

164 months

Friday 30th October 2015
quotequote all
I may yet go for an external CO2 diffuser, perhaps one that goes inline with the filter outlet. Probably much more efficient at dissolving CO2, and as you say it's another bit of gubbins removed from the tank.

Dr Mike Oxgreen

Original Poster:

4,101 posts

164 months

Sunday 1st November 2015
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Shelving partly done, and the tank placed in the corner of the room...


One Amp Andy

1,462 posts

189 months

Monday 2nd November 2015
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Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
Bloody hell - they've got fish tanks similar size to mine for about £1600 (and that's a sale price!). Admittedly they're join-free tanks and do sound rather fantastic, but blimey! eek

I have now ordered a piece of 0.5mm, A3-sized Perspex from Amazon, out of which I will make a lid. Perhaps I'll silicone some kind of plastic runners to the inside ends of the tank so that I can make a two-piece sliding lid.
These mesh covers are pretty good. Take about ten minutes to fit exactly, don't affect light much, and are easily removed when you want to see what your tank originally looked like before you discovered crispy carpet surfers.

Dr Mike Oxgreen

Original Poster:

4,101 posts

164 months

Thursday 12th November 2015
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The cabinet is nearing completion. Quite pleased with the double-hinged doors, which fold back giving full access.

I've connected up the filter and the heater, and filled it up to test the equipment. I have had to buy a better inline heater - the cheap one I bought online was crap and the hose connections were simply not watertight. The Hydor one I've now bought was a lot more expensive but seems very good.

I will obviously cut the hoses to more sensible sizes to get rid of the coils of excess hose. And I'll mount the heater and the socket strip on the wall as well.

The water is a little green, because I used rainwater from the water butt. Hopefully any single-celled algae will be out-competed once there are plants in the equation.

I did connect up the CO2 kit, but I think I must have had a leak because the cylinder emptied itself after only a week or so. I've got a refill, and will play with that once I've tidied up the plumbing.

Slightly surprised that the heater is cycling on and off so rapidly. It is on for about 30 seconds, then off for about 2 minutes. By my reckoning, that's a total of 40W - which surprises me. Also, the heater must be incredibly sensitive - by my calculations, a 200W heater operating for 30 seconds on a 25 litre tank would raise the temperature by about 0.06 degrees, which appears to be enough for the heater to decide to switch off again. It is certainly holding a very tight temperature.

I saw some Phoenix rasboras in the shop yesterday, and they are now a strong contender for a little shoal of fish. Quite similar to the Chili rasboras that I'm also considering, but maybe even smaller. I'm now thinking about having more than one Otocinclus because a single specimen might not be happy on its own - if I can keep them fed then do you think two will be okay in a tank 40x25x25 (25 litres)? I'll be having some little shrimps as well - possibly these blue ones.




Edited to add: At the moment, the lily pipe is pointing in the wrong direction and the water is possibly reaching the outflow siphon tube before mixing properly. This might mean that the heater is sensing its own output heat almost as soon as it switches on. Perhaps once I've got the plumbing sorted out properly and the lily pipe is pointing where I want it, then the heater might not cycle quite so rapidly.

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Thursday 12th November 11:15

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Thursday 12th November 2015
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I've no idea how many otos I have, they are away in the vegetation doing their stuff, but I think I put six in 60 litres.

I am wondering slightly whether the rain water was a good idea - you've probably introduced a lot of algal species you wouldn't have got in tap water.