Beginner Planted Aquarium (Stage 2)

[sushischnitzel]

nice aquarium :-)

[Stingraylord]

How do you clean out all of the algae without disturbing all those plants? Or do the plants just hog all the nutrients and starve the algae?

[Psittac20]

@Stingraylord It's a mixture of both, when the algae does show up I would just pull it out in clumps.

[EringStart]

is it okay if i skip the use of commercial CO2 and depend only on CO2 produced by fish? will it have any differences on the plants growth?

[Psittac20]

@EringStart The difference is night and day, plants will survive better grow faster and be fuller with a professional CO2 system. Half the plants in this tank didn't survive for a variety of reasons. A tank without CO2 can easily be done, it's just that CO2 makes the tank that much better.

[TheWolverineiscool]

this looks awesome though it looks like its very hard to clean

[Psittac20]

@TheWolverineiscool Nope, fish poo = fertilizer =D

[ratherrather]

is CO2 indespensable in planted acquriums?

[Psittac20]

@ratherrather CO2 is very important in planted aquariums, when I had this tank I simply couldn't afford it because it's a major investment (nothing about planted tanks are cheap). This is a beginner tank, just PC lighting flourite and plants. All of the plants were freshly planted so they look good (a real test of skill is long term) Look at my video of the mated angels to see what survived over a years time. CO2 would keep more plants alive and if properly done reduce algae. faster growthtoo

[crankyboiy]

how much did all the plants cost?

[Psittac20]

@crankyboiy Not much, the LFS owner is a friend and always has great deals on plants.

[cradleofify]

how do u clean the tank?

[Psittac20]

@cradleofify fish poo = natural fertilizer

[lcaul4]

hey im a beginner aquarist, ur tank is amazing

reckon u could take a look at mine?

type in "mywittlefishies" first one on the top.

would be great if u could thanx :)

[FictitiousMe]

Is this tank Diana Walstad inspired?

[Psittac20]

@FictitiousMe Nope, not even sure who that is (time to search for it) I just did stuff randomly

[Nayrb255]

incredible!!

i luv it! :D

[XpianoxboyX]

Can someone please tell me how the person would clean this tank?

Lol thanks a bunch fellow fish people :-(

[Psittac20]

@XpianoxboyX I never did a gravel vac, fish poo = fertilizer =D The rest of the tank you just let grow natural and the only thing you worry about is the glass..... just scrape that and your good to go.

[dialga997]

all of those guppies look preg

[tengazako]

How's the aquarium doing now? Any video updates?

[Psittac20]

@tengazako The video has been long since taken down, the male of the mated pair died and I threw a fit and tore the whole thing down. It's a sand tank with Geophagus in it now.

[iBsCraig]

can you grow these plants in gravel or sand or is it something else please say :D

[Psittac20]

@iBsCraig I use Flourite, there are other fertelized substrates as well. It's rather expensive, I found someone giving some away. Simpler plants can grow without it.

[iBsCraig]

@Psittac20 thank you yeah i dont have much money your tank looks amazing

[tengazako]

@Psittac20 It's not fertilized, it just has some initial benefits like better circulation to get nutrients flowing by roots. Fluorite, Eco-Complete, Floramax, Red Sea, etc. are all inert substrates. That is, they don't provide nutrients to the plants. The porosity of the substrates allow for bacteria to grow better and thus convert waste to nitrogen closer to the roots, making it easier for the plants to absorb. However, phosphates, iron, calcium, carbonates, etc are not present.

[tengazako]

Basically, your plants will do better in these substrates over pea gravel and sand, but will eventually need an outside source of fertilization. Yellowing of leaves, threading, poor root growth, leaves with holes, and whatnot are all examples of a mineral deficiency. The only commercial substrate that has nutrients for the long term is ADA Aquasoil, but even that will wear out in under a year.

I combined an inert substrate, similar to Eco-Complete, with a homemade fertilized substrate.

[Psittac20]

@tengazako yeah what he said

[Sasukesorrow]

OMG HOW DO YOU DO THIS!!??? After christmas when I get money from my aunts I have my eyes set on this nice looking 29G aquarium for 100$ and I really want it to look nice not only for me but for my three little fishies and I think they would LOVE this!(They'd probably love anything after that one plastic plant they have) so how do you so it?

[Psittac20]

@Sasukesorrow Most of this is because the plants were all new..... they're easy to stick into a tank but hard to keep alive. Second I had the proper lighting and a good local fish store. Plants need light, look into either plants meant for low light tanks or wait until you've invested in a T5 HO fixture. Once you've got the light you just let them grow.  (oh good substrate is a must, flourite)

[Poreoxide]

Hmm good to know i will try and find some of that at a LFS around here because i really like that

[NewEdge04GT]

what setup are you running? Co2? filter? what kind of lights?

[Psittac20]

@NewEdge04GT 65w PC x4 6700kx2 10000kx2 no co2 just a medium sponge filter (the plants ate the rest of the nutrients plus light stocking)

[Psittac20]

@NewEdge04GT Most of these plants were brand new and didn't last very long, the stocking level was later reduced to a pair of full grown angels and some guppies.

[Poreoxide]

Question... what are the tall plants in the back at 0:15

???

[Psittac20]

@Poreoxide Valsneria (this is the large version, theres several typse) Easy plant to take care of and grow

[mark2109111]

you should get a pair of kribs too, along with the angle pair they would not bother eachother and breed easily 5* by the way very nice

[Psittac20]

@mark2109111 Thanks for the comments, I agree kribs are awsome fish and I probably should have put some in here. This tank has gone through about 3 or 4 stages since this video and was taken down entirely about a week ago. If you want to see the last video taken of this tank check my vids and look at the mated angels, i'll put it as a video reply on here too :)

[maxima423]

what song is that?

[Psittac20]

@maxima423 not sure..... just a random one I picked off the youtube site.

[Psittac20]

@maxima423 probably from the christian section

[maxima423]

@Psittac20 the what? song title and artist please, i tried looking it up but cant find it

[Psittac20]

@maxima423 I don't know, I tried to look in the edit audio section to find it and it doesn't list the name.

[maxima423]

@Psittac20 awwww okay =[

[stifmiceter]

What kind of light did u use 4 this tank ? How much gallons is your tank?

[Psittac20]

@stifmiceter Power Compact 65w x4 2x6500 2x10k 75g 48x18x21

[whiteblade212]

what type of plants

[Psittac20]

@whiteblade212 Just misc plants from my lfs

[Boslee2009]

Do you have a filter or a air pump to keep those fish alive?

[Psittac20]

@Boslee2009 An aquarium typically needs both, a filter is always required and an air pump is almost always a good idea. I have a sponge filter that is powered by an air pump so it's both wrapped up into one.

[Psittac20]

Starting a planted tank is the easy part, maintaining it and keeping the plants alive and growing strong is actually the hard part. About half of these plants died off while I was learning what I was doing. Now the tank is a guppy hatchery =D

[edmcadam]

This is one of my favorites! :D

[famousstunners]

can u hellp me get started with planting aquarium

[Psittac20]

@famousstunners Best place to go is a planted tank forum. It's been so long since I started the tank that I can't remember most of it. Now all I do is pull algae out every now and then and change water.

[zerocool212121]

just get some otto's they the best cleaners for planted tanks. ive got a super bright growlight and without them i would have mass algae but they keep it spotless. also narite snails are good to.

[UniteForgetLeftRight]

i got a 55 gal that ive been "yeast bombing" i took some large aquarium tubing and put co2 stones in each end arched with the underside cut out it so all the gas collects at the top and spills out when theres too much. but im a cheap ass lol

[Toucan38]

Like what your doing in the aqarium but the top is way too crowded. Keep some of the water lettuce but get rid of the other floating stuff other than that great job!

[Psittac20]

The floating plants were a requirement, it was essential to get the tank started otherwise it would fill with algae. I had a system of pulling most of the floating plant, let the tank grow, get algae, then the floating plants would starve the algae. Now that my tank is established I don't need them.

BTW I think my days of critiqueing tanks is over now, I almost forgot what it's like to tell other people how to do what they're enjoying, gotta love it.

[Psittac20]

I don't use ferts or co2 yet, the reason it looks nice is probably the number of plants, my lfs sells them for $2 a bunch so I got alot of them and it filled my tank. Right now i'm learning to balance light with algae using floating plants so once I've got that down I'll probably start using flourish and trace and at some point i'll put on DIY CO2. For now it's just a jungle of unorganized plants lol

[Psittac20]

duckweed water lettuce and two others that I got from my lfs and I don't know the name. They're working out pretty good though, keeps the algae down and the light from getting to high

[protazerg]

The porn music is great for the guppies :P