WickedOdie Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 So I started my first ever tank on Aug 8th 2015. I decided to put a lot of research into the hobby and as someone that is really into plants as it is, decided to go for a planted tank. I went the dirted route! If you're gunna get dirty, might as well do it the right way hey?! Anyways, I started out with just under an inch layer of miracle grow orcanic potting mix, otherwise known as MGOPM. I then put a healthy 1 inch layer of painted black gravel on top. Had I really put more thought into it at the time, I would have gone with a substrate that held nutrients better, such as eco complete, or flourite, or something along those lines. I then filled up the tank with water using a plate and a bowl. Thank god I bought a python, I would not have wanted to do this with buckets! I then decided I would aquascape! Boy were my first couple attempts terrible! HAH! I didn't like this very much so I went out and purchased a few more plants and I thought I'd get some ludwigia granulosa to add a bit of color to the picture. I read somewhere that planting in groups of 3 was the way to go. Well to my dismay, I had a terribly aquascaped tank that I thought at the time was heavily planted. I then went out and bought some micro sword, driftwood, crypts and an oriental sword. At the time I was getting this cloudy cloudy water. All my research suggested that it was just a bacteria bloom. That turned out to be false. I attributed the causes of my water color to big als brand dechlorinator. Ever since I switched to prime I haven't had cloudy water. I then went out and purchased a couple more plants and came out with this. I still wasn't 100% happy with the tank and in all honesty am still not. But i'm hoping my carpet will grow in nicely and once I do some trimming and get everything going it will look good. Here is the finished product and what it looks like today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Looking good :thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geleen Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickedOdie Posted September 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Yeah the Cabomba is gorgeous, this picture does no justice for it. I'm going to have to invest in a camera! Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingIsFishy Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Looks nice - I like the way you have lighter colored plants that play off the darker ones. Lots of different texture too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickedOdie Posted September 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Thank you, I tried to blend the best I could. I'm actually wondering how long I want my jungle val. I kinda like how it flows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickedOdie Posted October 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Surprisingly it's already had a trim 9 days ago. It's ready for another one on sunday when I do my big water change. Details: FERTS: I've started EI dosing of dry ferts 1 tsp KN03 3x a week, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday5/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday5/16 tsp Trace Elements 3x a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday I do plan to find some K2SO4 and start dosing that for the extra potassium CO2: My drop checker runs at lime green, which for my tank is about 5 bps of CO2. I distribute it via a reactor. The CO2 comes on 1 hour before lights are on, and turns off an hour before lights go out. LIGHTING: 9 hours 4 t5ho 6400 sunblaster bulbs, comes on at 9am-Noon then off, then back on at 3pm-9pm I'm thinking about changing this to Noon-9pm, and possibly raising the photo period. The plants are getting tons of food right now. My plants tend to pearl for most of the day, but it's really noticeable around 6pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komarnjicki Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 It turned out very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickedOdie Posted October 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Thank you very much, I plan to give it a nice trim tomorrow, I'll post an updated picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WickedOdie Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Before Haircut After Haircut: Some trimmings on the right hand side I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with. Moon lighting!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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