# Here Goes Nothin'



## TRIG

Alright so last night I finally got all my stuff setup or my planted tank. Ill go into greater detail later and post pictures, but my co2 reactor is leaking. I cant tell if there's a crack in the reactor or if the hose connecting it isn't sitting on there right. Pretty sure I f'ed something up too cause when I was making sure the co2 was working, I had all the valves totally open but the solenoid was plugged into a bad outlet. I switched it to a different outlet and forgot to close the needle valve and the think just blew, there a was a small kink in the line and it popped the freaking line, but I fixed that already. This reactor though basically just sits in the return tube of my fluval with no clamps or anything (ista mix max reactor) and I'm worried this things gonna fall off while I'm at work and totally drain my tank. Any advice as of right now? At lease till I get home and can get more info?


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## DiPpY eGgS

First I want to say congrats, welcome to the wonderful world of aquatic plant keeping!!

Maybe get some silicone, and try and fix the leak with it.

I have a rigid airline tube 'siliconed' into my XP3 intake, and it has never failed me.

If you do silicone it, then you would have to break the seal to service it if you ever needed to, so why don't you stop @ Home Depot, and get some metal clamps that you can tighten with a screwdriver for it

Hope that helped?


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## TRIG

Thanks Dippy,

I was thinking about doing that then I found this putty epoxy stuff that dries even when wet so I got that. The problem was a small seam on the plastic that wasnt allowing the connection to be flush. It's drying as we speak so I'll let you know how it goes. Pics to come too, I'm pumped to finally have all this!


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## notaverage

Nice Trig..can't wait to see the pics! What size tank and what kind of plants? Any fish going in?
Good to see your still around Dippy!! The best advice i've ever read or received about tanks came from this man! Not taking anything away from the other members that had helped me in the past though.


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## TRIG

yea dippy, you really got me pumped to get up and make things happen with my setup. Pics will be up shortly...


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## TRIG

Ok here we go,

Tank: 55gallon
lighting: 4x65 watt current orbit PC, 2 of the 65 watts I have on for 12 hours, the other two only come on for three hours in the middle of that.
Co2: Milwaukee regulator, ista Mix Max reactor, 1 bubble ever 8 tenth's of a second starting 30min before my lights come on then shutting off simultaneously.
substrate: Right now only caribsea torpedo beach sand. I have a bunch of Amazonia aquasoil II from a couple years back but I'm waiting to put it in the tank until I move it back to school in a month or so.

Plants I currently have in there:
rotala indica
rotala nanjenshan
rotala magenta
rotala walichii
ludwigia natans
limnophilia aromatica "hippuroides"
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
echinodorus uruguayensis
cryptocorne parva
cryptocorne wendtii
cryptocorne undulata
cryptocorne wendtii 'red'
glossostigma elatinoides
Hemianthus callitrichoides
hygrophilia difformis
anubias nana
anubias lancecolata
java moss
java ferns

Finally my reactor and everything is running smoothly, I ended up getting this stuff called water weld which is a life saver, very easy to use. You can see in the pictures below where I used it to connect the return hose to the reactor, it's the white stuff around the connection. Some of the plants I got locally and from other hobbyists near by but most I ordered from aquariumplants.com. Everything came alright, but the limnophilia aromatica was particularly melted. I'm not sure if the stuff is gonna make it. All the other plants that came in that weren't looking so hot have new growth so they should be alright. I'm proably going to start dosing tomorrow unless you guys think it would be better to wait a week or so till the plants really start to take off. I haven't really done any aquascaping at all except for grouping the plants. I just wanted to get them all in there so they start growing then I'll make it all look good later. Brandtii is acting super skittish though, I took out his big piece of driftwood and he's not having it lol







.

Here you can see where I used that epoxy putty to seal the connection:









the entire reactor:









Co2:



























The rotala indica and ludwigia are growing great here. You can see the rotala walichii off to the right which came in pretty bad but is showing new growth on top:









Here you can see the limnophilia aromatica in the upper left behind the rotala magenta. This picture makes it look a lot better than it actually is, the stuff looks really bad actually, any suggestions?


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## TRIG

wow my brandtii is not taking this too well. He's biting the sh*t out of all the crypt parva and my swords I'm guesing cause thats where his "spot" used to be. Just moved that peice of driftwood into that corner so hopefully he wont wanna sit there anymore.


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## bob351

looking good trig and yeah i had some pygos that loved to eat and tear up plants sucked but i had a lot less plants


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## TRIG

bob351 said:


> looking good trig and yeah i had some pygos that loved to eat and tear up plants sucked but i had a lot less plants


thanks bob


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## Guest

Very nice


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## His Majesty

congrats trig on taking the plunge. everything is looking real nice


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## DiPpY eGgS

Hah, I hope this works out well for you!!

Don't forget to post all your probs if you need help quickly, because letting them go can make it become a worse problem.

1, about your fish.. Nice fish! He is cool! -But if it was me, I would leave him a hiding place so he can get used to it in there. Also, leave him some room to get behind some plants for shade, until he gets used to all the light.
2 hiding spots in essence lol

2, I would definitely check the water params, and if there were 0 nitrates, I would dose them right away, because plants NEED n03 or they will flat out die. And I would add phosphates if they were 0 as well. micros and iron--why not just feed the plants? We feed our fish when we get them, why not the plants? But if everything is good in there? Keep an eye on the tank









But remember, if there is an imbalance, algae will start to form. If it is only a little bit, that is quite normal, but if it looks like too much is forming too quickly, there is a problem, and you need to find out what it is within a few days.

3, Make sure when both of your lights kick on, that your co2 has been on for 15 mins before.. it will help, and make sure your co2 gets to 30-40ppm. while the full blast is on. You should see pearling at the end of the 3 hrs on the underneath of the plant leaves.
More problems happen as a result of too little co2 in a high lighted aquarium, and too little plant life, than anything in my experience.

If everything is doing good in your tank, the _Limnophila aromatica_ should bounce back like no tomorrow.. it's one of the most explosive growers you could put in your tank..

Hope that helps a bit!



notaverage said:


> yea dippy, you really got me pumped to get up and make things happen with my setup. Pics will be up shortly...


I really do hope this works out for you!!

Keep an eye on that tank!! and make sure you post up any problems before they get out of hand!! If I'm not around, someone who can help will be there ASAP.

The biggest problems with a planted tank come within a few weeks of setup!! Make sure you are observing carefully!


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## TRIG

Ok, my first question is what should my output co2 pressure be? The regulator instructions say that it should be at 10psi or less but I feel like I remember hearing 50 psi somewhere. Alright I'll move that wood out for my p, I just felt like you should kind of force them into the open so they get used to it but have you found that this is not the case? Should I get test kits for GH, phosphates, iron, and whatever else I am fertilizing, and how necessary is it? I'm thinking about putting a powerhead in there. Where do you think the best place for it would be (if you look at the pics you can see the fluval return hose to the reght center and the ac110 returns to the left center)? Is there a prime time to fertilize the plants? I don't think the limnophilia will make it, none of the stems have a single leaf left on them.


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## DiPpY eGgS

TRIG said:


> Ok, my first question is what should my output co2 pressure be? The regulator instructions say that it should be at 10psi or less but I feel like I remember hearing 50 psi somewhere. Alright I'll move that wood out for my p, I just felt like you should kind of force them into the open so they get used to it but have you found that this is not the case? Should I get test kits for GH, phosphates, iron, and whatever else I am fertilizing, and how necessary is it? I'm thinking about putting a powerhead in there. Where do you think the best place for it would be (if you look at the pics you can see the fluval return hose to the reght center and the ac110 returns to the left center)? Is there a prime time to fertilize the plants? I don't think the limnophilia will make it, none of the stems have a single leaf left on them.


I have my output press @ around 10-20? works fine.

I never forced my p's into the open, they came there when they were ready, and it took i dunno, 5 days, maybe less lol

I was always under the assumption that if they have a place to hide and don't, they are doing well as far as stress goes anyway.

I never had a GH test.. I know my water has a low KH (which I use with pH to determine co2 ppm) and a higher GH.

GH was never too bad a problem for me, and I never got around to hooking up my R/O unit, so I just don't worry about it at the moment.
I have a phosphate test kit, because I was running high light, and plants really suck up the nutrients in high lighting.
With lower lighting and a P eating in there, it shouldn't be much of a problem, but they are nice to have around so if you get GSA, you can see if it is because of low phosphates.
Iron, never ever used one of those either.. If your plants are on the 'whitish' side, dose more iron. I do every time I notice a white color on the leaves. The plants should turn more green after you dose more.

I use KH, phosphate, pH, and nitrate test kits only. It will get you by unless you are the kind of person that wants to know all that is going on in your tank. I know guys who buy serious water test kits, because they really dose perfectly, and everything is absolutely perfect in their tanks.

I'm not like that really. If everything is doing good in the tank, I;m happy lol

I always put my powerheads and spraybars facing to the left or right in the tank so the water blows across. But as long as you have lots of water movement, you should be fine.

The pic shows leaves on your _aromatica_, so I thought it would make it.. However, that plant really wants LIGHT!! It is a light lover!

No prime time to dose ferts, but I only dose mAcros when needed, and I try to get used to how the tank is using them up by testing the water for a few weeks.
It will change when you get killer growth, the plants should eat up much more mAcros.

I dose mIcros on the next day from mAcros, to ease my mind about chelating..

Hope that helps..

Keep an eye on those plants!!! If you see BBA forming, either scale your lights back for a while, or get some floaters, and some hornwart ASAP to save the rest of your plants..


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## TRIG

thanks for all the help so far dippy, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to come so stay active


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## DiPpY eGgS

POST AWAY!!

I'd love to see your tank explode with killer growth so you can make a killer home for your fish

I love when that happens here.. I've seen it many times here, and that is what it's all about

So I want to see you be successful, and help someone else out in the hobby, and I have faith in you!

one thing::

I would try and break apart that bunch of chain sword, and put little plugs over the foreground, because the exposed sand might get some algae.


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## TRIG

Great suggestion, actually though that is the cryptocorne parva. I try and do that tomorrow, those two bunches came in pots and I thought of doing that at first but it was just such a dense cluster of them I was just like "ah screw it". I just looked at my drop shecker and for the first time it went from blue to a light green so tomorrow should be perfect. Thanks for the advice, keep it coming!


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## DiPpY eGgS

Crypt parva is a REALLY cool plant.. I love it.

I don't have any, but always want it









Definitely, any foreground plants that you do have, such as Crypt parva, make sure you break them apart gently, and plant in little pieces, instead of the whole pot.

They will all do better that way, or should... has been my experience anyway


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## TRIG

awesome, and thanks for the fast respone man


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## TRIG

Alright, just learned my first lesson. A lot of my plants that I ordered last week were in bad shape except for the very top. Yesterday I pinched off all of the top parts of these plants and planted them. When I came home from work today they were all melted in the sand. Do you think I made them too small then, they were definitely alive when I planted them.


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## DiPpY eGgS

If I'm trying to revive plants, most of the time I just let them float on top, because there is so much light, and water movement up there.

Them when they sprout new shoots, I let them go until they look like they can make it on their own, then I replant.

Hope that helped--maybe a tad too late>? sorry


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## TRIG

No, it's never too late







, I checked my water yesterday after a W/C and my nitrates were still at 5. Do I need to does nitates still? If so at what level should I not dose anymore at?


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## DiPpY eGgS

5ppm nitrate is good, but it is low.

Just keep checking it, and make sure it never bottoms out.

When my nitrates get to 5, I sometimes feed the fish. and feed them until they are kinda fat lol


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## TRIG

haha, alright, so do you ever dose nitrates at all or just make sure there is a constant flow of them coming from your fish? How high will your nitrates get?


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## DiPpY eGgS

Oh yes!
Sometimes I like to make a 'cushion' of nitrates so they don't bottom out on me.. I feel comfy @ 10-15ppm

But my current tank never gets much over 5ppm. if you like it like that, keep an eye on it!


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## TRIG

ok cool, and when you dose, are you very precise or you you just use a teaspoon and estimate (estimative index method I guess)?


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## DiPpY eGgS

lol, ya, I use my own estimative index..lol

I mix 1 tbspn dry ferts per 250ml distilled water. I then dose a little, and figure out how much it raises levels..

I know, I know, highly sophisticated.. NOT!

I have friends who are so precise with it.. I'm just not.


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## TRIG

good to hear that you dont have to be so precise to get tanks as nice as yours


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## JustJoshinYa

If you top your plants let them float in. The top of the tank to growsome roots before planting them I. Had better success that way


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## DiPpY eGgS

JustJoshinYa said:


> If you top your plants let them float in. The top of the tank to growsome roots before planting them I. Had better success that way


I usually uproot fast growing stem plants, while siphoning the debris that is kicked up while uprooting.

Then replant the tops right in the substrate.

Sometimes, I use weights,(one individual weight for each stem) and don't disturb substrate.


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## TRIG

DiPpY eGgS said:


> If you top your plants let them float in. The top of the tank to growsome roots before planting them I. Had better success that way


I usually uproot fast growing stem plants, while siphoning the debris that is kicked up while uprooting.

Then replant the tops right in the substrate.

Sometimes, I use weights,(one individual weight for each stem) and don't disturb substrate.
[/quote]

I'm a little confused by that, so you cut the tops off and plant them and discard the bottom stem? And why do you need to use weights if you burry them well enough.

ok so far the only think I am noticing that is not acceptable is some hair algae. I did have some in the tank before I got all these plants and now Im noticing a lot of very fine, small strands of hair like everywhere. It's nowhere near overtaking the tank but what can I do to eliminate this before it becomes a problem? Just incase your wondering, I haven't changed anything from the first page and as of right now my drop checker shows a nice greenish blue (it's at most 30ppm, probably less). Just dosed a tiny bit of plantex and iron.


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## DiPpY eGgS

Yes, I keep the length I need from the tops of the stem plants, and discard the bottoms.

If I use a plant weight, I don't plant the stem in the substrate.. I used to do that a lot when I had lots of fast growing stem plants, like _Limnophilla aromatica_

I'd say manually remove all signs of that hair algae, and stop dosing the micros for now. Wait until water change, and dose 1x a week unless you notice white growth, or some other ailment


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## TRIG

Micros are the CSM and iron right? And I should still dose macros regularly correct?


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## DiPpY eGgS

correct

Only dose the mAcros if your tank needs them. Test your water daily for a few weeks, especially in the beginning!

Then you get an idea of what's going on in there


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## Guest

Also do yourself a favour and buy some root tabs, I've had success with Jobes organic fertilizer spikes for vegetables(2-7-4). One thing that annoys me more then anything when it comes to maintenance is trimming roots that stems shoot out when buried roots are having trouble.


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## JustJoshinYa

I also suggest root tabs work great for focused dosing I don't like the plastic spikes though cause you gotta remove them eventually


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## TRIG

yea I initially bought a pack of the seachem flourish root tabs, but then found that aquariumplants.com offered a root tab that had basically all the same ingredients in it for way cheaper and got those.


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## TRIG

Ok, heres another little update :

Last Friday I got another shipment of plants is. I added rotala macrandra, pogostom helferi, myriophllium turbulatem, some more R. walichii and some more R. magenta and they threw in some more L. aromatica for free. Everything is looking much better now. My AC 110's filter was pretty clogged up with plant matter so I cleaned that which greatly increased the flow rate. Once I didn that I noticed an increase in the amount of Co2 that was escaping from the water (my drop checker went more to the blue side again). So I increased Co2 to about 5 b/s now, decreased lihgt a couple of hours. I have noticed that when I clean algae, it takes longer for it to come back which is good. Also, I have not added any ferts, whenever I have checked my water the nitrates have been at least 20 ppm. Brandtii is still pretty skittish but he sits in front of the tank most of the time now so I can enjoy him which is nice. I'll try and get some pictures up soon but I am busy as hell these next couple of weeks, and next week I'll be moving my tank like 2 hours away into my new apartment so wish me luck on that...


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## DiPpY eGgS

No need to dose nitrate if they are 20ppm, you are fine there.
If that is high like that, I'm sure your phosphates are on target as well, or even high. It's only an issue if things start looking bad, so it's fine.

I have to dose tons of iron in my tank, my plants turn white a lot. I've added iron more than anything, just to keep my plants nice n green.

Be blessed in your move. Remember to not hurry getting your fish in his new surroundings, we just had a gibbus death here on pfury land, and we don't need another


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## TRIG

Wow, came home today and my Co2 drop checker was pretty yellow so I lowered that from 6 bps to about 5. Hair algae came pretty quick, I noticed a good amount on most of my slower growing plants like crypts and java. I also lowered my photo-period from 12 hours to about 10 with a 2 hour burst in between. Plants are looking well, and the pogostmon helferi is growing like mad, that stuff is so easy to propagate.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS

Pics?


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## TRIG

Didn't take any pics of the algae but you can see a there's a lot on the glass. Still have yet to aquascape which will happen on Thursday when I finally move my tank!







Please give me some suggestions for aquascaping. I'll probable either have most of the plants in both corners sloping down towards the middle with a blank are where I could grow a carpet out. Or maybe a slope down from one side of the tank to the other. Let me know what your thoughts are. I have two bags of Aquasoil that I'll be putting in the tank based on how I decide to aquascape it.

Sorry for the crappy quality pics


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## JoeDizzleMPLS

As far as the scape goes, I'd probably try to figure out a bit more hardscape and then let your plants grow a bit, once you have all your co2, ferts, and lighting dialed in and the plants start taking off, then you can sit back and get a better idea for placement.


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## TRIG

I agree with what your saying but I'd like to plan out exactly what I want in the future. No way am I gonna try to move that aquasoil around, I'd just end up mixing it together with the sand. I'll probably get some manzanita though


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## JoeDizzleMPLS

I'd at least figure out your hardscape first and then plan around that, especially if you want something branchy like manzanita. You have a lot of stems, so I'd try to group them together and either place them coming out from one corner or place them along the back. Maybe try to add some bushier midground plants to add a bit of depth to the tank, crypts, maybe even some blyxa.


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## DiPpY eGgS

Don't forget about the foreground! I'd get a nice low grower too


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## TRIG

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Don't forget about the foreground! I'd get a nice low grower too


Oh I didn't, I've got some patches of HC and a lot of pogo helferi, also spread out those cryp parva's. Damn this tank move has been a bitch, glad it's overwith. I'll try and get some pics up tonight!


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## TRIG

Sorry for such a long wait guys, these are this pictures I should have posted months ago. Been super busy with school, but anyways, the first two pictures are of the tank in my basement before I moved it and what I did to the substrate. The picture with the tank setup is after moving into my apartment and having the tank running for a couple of days. I'll have to post some more recent pictures now as the tank doesn't look the same at all anymore lol. I have some bad news though, my roomates and I signed a lease for an apartment next year and the place doesn't allow any pets, not even aquariums. I'll be looking to get rid of this guys within the next 7 months or so, anyone hears of interest in a brandtii around the Chicagoland area send em my way please!


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## DiPpY eGgS

nice growth!

ty for sharing, sorry you have to sell


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## TRIG

yea sorry it took so long. Maybe I'll get a video up soon...


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