Kayen's Planted 2.5g - Learning Curve

[Kayen]

Alright update as i haven't given one inawhile...

Most of the HC died off i was stuck with 2-3 stems growing horizontally, however it started growing nice once i upped the lighting to 24 watts, and started dosing excel daily.

I got the betta out, hes currently living in a .5 gal container with duckweed and pellia in it. He seems to like it in there more active than in the 2.5, and i actually see a bubblenest for once. I'll be moving him to something bigger in the future.

In his place i got some great cherry shrimp from a member here.

Anyways enough talk:

Lots of algae...! The all the plants are growing nicely, the HC is a slight bit slow but it's expected. The stems are all growing rapidly.

For the left side of the tank, i'd like some E. Tenelus there.

Oh and that 5 gal i was planning for but gave to my friend, here's how it looks like now in his hands.. :

I must say it is looking pretty good, he only has 15 watts over that tank.

Edit: i might just switch to a 5gal because my stems keep outgrowing my tank, and plus i'd like something larger... plus his looks pretty good despite lack of maintenance aside from weekly fertilization and water changes, so far he only has snails in there.

I'm going to up my water chagnes as well... I'm not liking the algae, nor the black background.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Kayen

[Vallisneria]

For algae you could try a zebra snail. They are great algae eaters and leave plants alone.

[Kayen]

I might grab one or two if PJ's still carries them saw them there a few weeks ago, but i was there two days ago didn't bother checking that much, and just grabbed some dechlor and left.

Anyways if i do upsize i say no to a 5gal might as well start a 10gal because i have one with filter sitting in the closet (if parents let me.., but i'd rather redo the 33g)

Because i'm getting some fuzz algae all over, green spot algae on the glass, and diatoms at a few places, like on the java moss, making it all icky.

[rocker85675]

you're lights dont appear to be helping either. looks like awfully intense light for such a small tank. try difusing or dimming your light or even putting a lower wattage light and that will slow the overgrowth for sure

[Kayen]

Quick update after a week seems i have a huge burst of growth from the plants for some reason.

Anyways doing a huge trim off of the hygro and ambulia which both are growing mad crazy ( same with duckweed)

The leaves on the rotala and hygro are turning into a great red.

I will make no effort to aquascape this tank, as it's pretty much a learning tank.

Also the HC that is established looks great.

Algae growht is still going strong but not as bad, more green spot algae towards the top instead of diatoms which is clearing up, so cleanign hte glass is easier, will give pics after a trim.

[Kayen]

So i did a bit of maintenance today -

- before the trim there was a nice thick layer of duckweed and salvinia covering THE ENTIRE SURFACE. So i scooped alot of it out, and trimmed some of the plants :

and i'm left with:

Looks alright just need to clean the glass a bit. Looking for E. Tenellus though.

[Kayen]

Just thought i'd update this, Picture taken 11/11/08:

EDIT: I got bored, and went swapping ligght bulbs around the house ..

I now have total 38 watts of 6500k light beaming down onto this tank.

I'm not sure what to classify this tank anymore... high light ... med light ... low light?

It's definately a lowtech tank despite the high amount of light i have over it, and with this + API leafzone + Excel, i'd expect that i could grow pretty much everything, that is if i had a better substrate...

Edited November 16, 2008 by Kayen

[Slough Shark]

Wouldn't cost you too much to switch out that gravel for some flourite, just one bag.

Looks great though :thumbs:

[Kayen]

By better ... i meant ADA Aquasoil ;p.

Also I'm gonna try my hand at some fluorite black.

What's more ... 20 pounds .. or 7kg ?

LOL that will make me choose between Fluorite Black & Eco complete.

[Slough Shark]

For me, the appearance is the distinguishing factor. I'd definitely go with the Flourite.

[Kayen]

Well... bad news for this tank, once i'm setting up the 33g, i'll be decommisionning my learning tank.

But until then, i got curious, and i have 64 watts over the thing ... plants growing like mad, but so is algae ...

[Kayen]

Here are 2 stages of the tank that i never displayed :

Taken mid july - filter broke, ran without it for a couple weeks, bad idea, managed to fix it .

Prior to me taking hte tank down.

All you can see is algae, moss, and HC, which i tore apart to turn it into this :

-Jan 4 2009

And i'm finally seeing growth from this setup!

I just have to spray it daily to keep it moist .

I'll keep you updated on the progress of tank until it's taken down in a few months.

Though i will hang on to this tank forawhile, i like the size tbh.

I might see myself creating an iwagumi all e tenellus setup out of it .

Edited January 23, 2009 by Kayen

[Kayen]

Update:

HC is growing well.

And i just planted some hair grass in there just for kicks too ^^ .

We'll see how it all grows until i xfer it all into the new tank when it arrives ;O .

New tank will be run in the closet alongside the 2.5g ( moss & shrimp tank )

Will probably light both on the same light strip - so like a 20" or something long flourescent fixture.

Need not be strong probably 30 watts in total would do the job .

[Slough Shark]

I like the way it's looking dude. Update when it forms a nice carpet

[Kayen]

Will do !