# First go at a planted tank journal



## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

I've always had an aquarium in my house growing up. Recently moved out to Toronto and finally decided to get another tank going. Diving into a planted tank, they have always fascinated me. Planted tanks are my second favorite next to salt-water which I'm not financially able to get into plus the time commitment.

My goal is to create something that looks great and overall is a better environment for the fish versus a good filter, inert substrate and plastic decorations. Plants in the house is something else I enjoy however my apartment layout isn't practical for keeping them.

I'm hoping the hours and hours I have spent researching everything from lighting to substrates makes this a smooth process. I'm about a month in and I'm starting to see some algae growth so obviously I don't have everything figured out.

Setup: 
- 29 Gallon tank
- 30" Finnex 24/7 Planted Plus 
- Nutrafin Natural Plant CO2
- Ehiem 2213 Canister Filter
- Aqueon 100W heater
- 60lbs Flourite Dark

Fish
- 1 black skirted tetra
- Handful of guppies that won't stop reproducing
- 5 Black neon tetra
- 6 Harlequin Rasporas
- 4 Siamese Algae Eaters

Planned:
- Shrimp of some sort
- Blue German Rams

Plants:
- Java Moss
- Brown crypts
- Java Fern
- Thick jungle val
- Thin vals

Ferts:
- Flourish and Flourish trace with 30% water changes twice a week.
This is probably the biggest area I have to learn, and would appreciate any information members can share in regards to appropriate amounts and what is missing from Toronto's tap water.

Now onto pictures and what's happened so far

First tank I adopted from kijiji, it looked like it had not been cleaned in a year and had been severely neglected. I stripped out down and washed everything. Tried to remove the snails but had no luck on the front.










Bought a 30 gallon tank because it came with the eheim canister and fit the space in my apartment better. Did not realize how expensive the media is for the canister, I would have been better off buying it new. Also ended up replacing the shaft and impeller as it was extremely loud. Eheim is working great now.

Lesson learned on working with flourite... wash it thoroughly. This was after I spent 2 hours washing it in a 5 gallon bucket one bag at a time.










After taking 60lbs of flourite out and washing it one small bowlful at a time in the kitchen sink things were looking a little better. This is with a 24" t8 hood that came with the tank. Also the leftover plants from the adopted tank.










I knew the T8 wasn't going to cut it, so after hours and hours of research I decided on the Finnex 24/7. Also picked up most of my plants from kijiji. Had not setup the CO2 system to this point.










Trimmed and planted things where I wanted them and got the CO2 started. Using yeast and sugar. Going to be a trial and error system with this. Suggestions on working with CO2 would be appreciated if anyone is using this system.










Last pic to show the finnex, I love this light. Currently sorting out some algae issues so I'll have to update how much I love it in the coming weeks.


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

Dude! I had media for canister filter for dirt cheap! some other guy bought it from me way after you came over. yup media is pretty expensive. I sold it for pennies on the dollar I paid. it's looking good. good luck with your tank and exams also.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Getting algea in the tank on the back wall and some black beard. After some advice I think it's a nutrient deficiency. Really did not intend on this being a high tech setup. I put the finnex on a timer and dimmed to around 50% of the max setting. 4 hours in the morning, one hour break then 3 more hours.

I'm going to order some dry ferts to see if I can get everything in check. Spent some time reading up on the Tom Barr EI dosing. I like the idea of having the powder in a daily pill container that I can pre-measure out for the week. I guess my next concern is the CO2, I'm getting a bubble every 2 seconds or so out of it. I would think it should be higher, currently using the nutrafin system with sugar to the line and 1/2 tsp yeast. The last batch I used baking soda to see if the output would last longer than one week, but I got around the same result. Something else I wanted to look into was adding the yeast to water instead of dumping sugar yeast and baking soda into the container and just giving it a stir.

Added a few fishes.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Update!

Added plants, guppies had more guppies, I realized mid birthing and moved her to a 2 gallon planted jar. about 15 made it.. No idea what I'm going to do with them. Probably just give them away on kijiji. Plants are doing great! Everything is showing growth. Moved a few things around. Liking the layout a little more now, have to work on the right side.

Started adding dry ferts, picked up some powder from Homegrown hydroponics. It was really inexpensive, still waiting to see the response. Have the finnex back on 24/7 mode.

Also figuring out the diy co2. I read if you mix the yeast with a pinch of sugar and water first then whisk it with a fork it helps. So far I would agree. Hoping this batch lasts longer than 7 days.


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## Silverkitty26 (Jun 18, 2015)

I like the tank so far. Can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Quick update, went on vacation for 11 days and was pleasantly surprised to come back to all of the fish still alive. This is after I cut back all the vals and a quick water change. Need to figure out what the tall plants in the middle are and how to cut them back. Added guppies babies back into the main tank from the jar, going to give them a couple weeks to grow and see if anyone will trade them for plants. I think I want to do the jar with a couple shrimp. Another project when I get more time.


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## Reckon (Mar 6, 2013)

Wow. Your start into planted tanks looks a lot like mine!
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/start-recks-journey-into-planted-tanks-aug-2012-aug-2014-a-30994/

When it comes to trimming stem plants, you can either trim the top and let the plant grow back (doesn't look too good though), or it's more work but you can pull the whole plant, trim the top, discard the bottom, and replant the top.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your skills develop. 
Try to keep the crypts in the front and your stem plants in the back. If you are running CO2 you can even try some glosso as a carpeting plant in the foreground. Carpets get pretty addictive once you learn how to grow it. They look fantastic.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Lots of new growth, fish are staying healthy I'm happy with the tank. 
Trimmed the stem plants, thanks Reckon, tried to do the top and bottom as they were too large. Replanted the stems to see if a new plant would form, but nothing yet.










I need to get rid of the guppies, it's getting ridiculous how many are in the tank and I keep finding new ones. My favourite fish hands down are the Siamese Algae Eaters. Very entertaining to watch!

Something I'm starting to notice though is a few of my plants are developing holes in the leaves and look a little dirty..? maybe.. Not sure if it's just the algae. Also the plants don't look as vibrant as when I first put them in the tank, almost like the color is getting washed out.

I've been keeping up with EI dosing 1/4tsp nitrates and 1/16th phosphates with 1.5ml flourish on alternating days. I'm going to start adding 1/16th potassium sulphates to see if it has to do with potassium.


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

*some possible issues*

What's the par on your lighting? How deep is the tank? Are you dosing CO2? Is circulation good in the tank?


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

iamaloner said:


> What's the par on your lighting? How deep is the tank? Are you dosing CO2? Is circulation good in the tank?


PAR should be around 50 at the peak time. The finnex is a funny fixture as it ramps up lighting and slowly backs off in the evening. I don't have it full on with a timer. 
Tank is 18" deep with about 2.5 - 3" substrate depending on where you are in the tank.
Yeast mixture being used for CO2, I know it's not consistent, but haven't been willing to put the money into a paint ball or other pressurized CO2 setup.
Circulation is provided by a eheim 2213 with a spray bar mounted about 2" below water level when full pointed slightly up.
I have been less consistent with dosing nutrients for the tank and it has been doing better, I'm starting to believe I was over dosing the tank. I don't have a test kit to actually tell what's going on with the nutrient levels, just judging based off plants.

One thing I find funny is the crypts have been getting smaller and smaller. They are still making new leaves, but the physical size of the plants have been decreasing.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Those holes look like a potassium deficiency to me. the browning looks like it could be diatoms or algae. You could add potassium to see if that helps. The fact that your crypts are growing that way are a sign of other nutrient deficiencies. 

You ever increasing fish load is not helping either. 

Before anything I would reduce the light and change nothing else. Your co2 is not going to be consistent, and will serve you better with lower light. You may not need to dose as much ferts with lower as well. 

Nice first planted tank BTW it looked much better than my first one.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

This is how it looks now. I'm reluctant to cut back the lighting as I like viewing the tank in the evening. The disadvantage to the finnex is with 24/7 mode it is not adjustable. 
Attached is a picture of the crypt. One thing I find funny is the roots growing up from the base of the plant. I don't know if this is normal or not. What other nutrients would a tank need other than ei with flourish? 
Also I'm trying to not add anymore fish, gave away several of the guppies and waiting for the fry that are in the tank to get big enough for me to catch.


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## mitko1994 (Dec 12, 2012)

I have a similar problem with browning on my plant leaves. If I rub it, it does come off. From what I read it's probably brown algae. I have 3- 50W led flood lights hanging about 10" above the surface of the tank (90g bowfront, 18-20" tall). They were scheduled as follows: 4 hours on - 4-hours off- 3 hours on; I changed that to 4 hours on - 6-hours off - 1hour on a few days ago. I also bought a power head to help with the flow around the tank. I have vals, sags, crypts, java fern, hygrophila and anubias. I mostly notice the browning on the sag, anubias and on the hygro. I also have a few p frogbit plants. I used to dose the tank with dry ferts every day (1ml/10g) but I noticed that I was getting a fair amount of algae on the glass (green spots). Nowadays I still get it but not as much but every time I do a wc I still need to use my glass scrubber to remove the green spots. At the time when I was dosing, plants were growing better but my nitrates would be very high and so I stopped after I lost a couple of fish to dropsy. The weird part is that when I was dosing I had the frogbit cover almost half the tank and after I stopped it started to die off and 5 months later I'm down to ~15 plants. This makes me think that the nitrates are not that high in the water after all since frogbit feeds off the water column and is known to soak up nitrates. I haven't done maintenance on my canister in 6 months or so so that may be another reason. I will be cleaning it this weekend and will add a fresh pack of purigen. I don't know how to handle my algae problem. I don't mean to hijack the topic but I figured it's a good spot to post this since you have a similar problem Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I don't know if the roots growing upwards are a sign of anything regarding deficiencies in nutrients but I had a similar issue years back and I found that the soil was not deep enough. I replanted the crypt in and increased the soil depth and it never did it again. The root structures on crypts are fialy large. It could be that you substrate is not deep enough. It's hard to tell from the pictures though.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Trimmed everything and cleaned the glass. Going to be posting some plants soon, hopefully will be able to trade some. Also more guppies to go.

Still algae, I know it's too much light and too little CO2. Been taking a break from EI dosing. Plants are responding better, less holes in leaves.

I would like to add another fish or two once I get the guppies out.


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## j.thomson (Mar 28, 2014)

I could be wrong but are crypts not one of the plants who strive from getting nutrients by roots? Judging you didnt put any ferts in ur substrate your plants roots are most likely going to where they can get what they need... in ur water aka above the substrate, I have crypts and have split/ moved them many times and always find the roots to surprise me just how far the stretch and find ferts and tabs ive put so far away but under the substrate.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Crypts are definitely root feeders but I thought a substrate with a high cec value would be enough for plants that need those nutrients. I definitely could be wrong, I'm thinking about moving away from the crypts for some faster growing plants.


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## Boreas (Dec 8, 2015)

R4ve you have a very similar set up to me and I'm also pretty new to planted tanks.

What you're doing with the CO2 is as good as it gets. I have the same set up. I use 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and it tends to last longer. Takes longer to start producing bubbles when you change it out though.

I've started adding excel as well. It does an excellent job keeping algae in check. Also, pick up a few Nerite Snails and you'll never have to scrape algae off your glass again. Pretty entertaining to watch them munch away too.


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## Boreas (Dec 8, 2015)

Forgot to mention that I use root tabs. My swords and crypts really respond to them. They last 3 - 6 months so it's not adding much work for you.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Right so the news:

The finnex died on me after I unplugged it to redirect the cable. Contacted finnex and was initially told I was not covered under warranty living in Canada. =( They ended up working with me though. I took the light apart, send the tech some pics and he diagnosed it as the IR board. They mailed the parts out and I did the soldering to replace myself. Fired right up, so I have the light back. It was a little strange having components mailed and replacing it myself, but it is certainly better than having no light at all. I also dropped the remote.. it exploded and is currently held together with tape... but still working.

I picked up some fish from Menageries, a little mixed on buying. 3 of the 4 rasporas died within a week. Bristlenose pleco, cardinal tetras and assassin snails are all alive and well though. Really dislike the look of snails in the tank so I'm hoping the assassins take care of it. The pleco has cleaned the back of the glass up quite nicely.

For lighting I've put it back on a timer, 7 hours a day with an hour in the afternoon without. Have the finnex running about 65% max brightness. Algae has been much more manageable with a few green spots on the glass and string algae.

Dosing I've cut back quite a bit as well, following EI amounts but only 1 - 2 a week. Plants are looking much better, so I'm guessing it was too much ferts or not enough CO2 which not only hurt the plants but also accelerated algae. I'm happy with how things are going with the tank, filled in so much. Love going back through this thread.. Even if no one else reads this I'm happy to keep a log =)

As an aside I'm looking to trade my foreground plants if anyone is interested. Looking for some variety in the tank now that things are stabilizing. Or if anyone has suggestions on what would compliment the tank I'm open.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying the updates. I'm always open to feedback or suggestions!

I did a complete re-scape and completely forgot to post updates! A few new plants turned into me digging everything up.. Moving my crypts didn't cause them to completely melt which is amazing. Removed a piece of driftwood I wasn't happy with to make room for more plants.

Much happier with the tank. I'm sure it will take another 4 months for everything to fill back in to where it was.

Massive shout out to cb1021 for the plant trade!
Added:
AR Mini
Rotala Bonsai
Monte carlo
Ludwigia repens
and what i think is Sunset hygro (left of monte carlo in picture)

Need to figure out how to get the Monte carlo to caret but still stay contained. They were started emersed, my first time dealing with plants grown that way.

Also, photos with an SLR are great!


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

WOW nice tank man. Great color and photo with the DSLR. 

Planted tanks rock. Maybe a pair of Apistos or German rams for your tank?


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Looks great I wish I could take pictures like that. 

Do you have a lid on your tank?


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

planter said:


> Looks great I wish I could take pictures like that.
> 
> Do you have a lid on your tank?


No lid. Have had two fish jump out unfortunately. I actually like not having a lid, makes pulling stray leaves or grabbing a snail quick and easy.

If you have access to a camera that has the ability to set a manual shutter and aperture it would not be difficult to replicate the pictures. Choose shutter speed quick enough that the fish aren't blurry (1/60 sec) and bump iso up until the tank is bright enough.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

r4ve said:


> No lid. Have had two fish jump out unfortunately. I actually like not having a lid, makes pulling stray leaves or grabbing a snail quick and easy.
> 
> If you have access to a camera that has the ability to set a manual shutter and aperture it would not be difficult to replicate the pictures. Choose shutter speed quick enough that the fish aren't blurry (1/60 sec) and bump iso up until the tank is bright enough.


Thanks for the tip I'll give that a shot. Yeah the open top thing is a trade off. I've lost several fish due to jumping but getting in and out of the tank is so convenient. I'm actually considering on getting a lid on mine.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Quick update.

Monte Carlo is doing great. I'm ready to rip out the AR Mini, it looks like its being eaten but there is nothing in the tank to eat it.

Assassin snails are being weird, I often find them upside down on the gravel and burying themselves. The other snail population has taken a dramatic decline though so I'm happy about that.

Fish are all doing great. I've stepped back on the ferts, once or twice between water changes. Lights still running on a timer. Overall I would recommend the Finnex even though it died once on me.

Went through my first bag of sugar. DIY co2 still seems to be the economical choice and seems to be working.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Quick picture update. So much has happened with this tank. It was super lush and I was loving it at the end of May right before I moved.. The move was hard on the tank and plants for sure. Never fully recovered, I've lost a lot of plant life and had to move the tank again last night. Going to try the finnx back onto a 24/7 schedule but with some frogbit to hopefully limit the light. Algae has not been a problem lately.

Pond snail population is non-existent.
Monte carlo is all dead, assuming the frogbit starved it out of light and nutrients. AR mini is dead as well, never did take hold in this tank.


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## r4ve (Oct 4, 2015)

Been quite some time. Just went through a major trim. It's insane how much plant material needs to be removed. Just got a gravel vacuum for the first time with this tank. Have had problems with ich and other random deaths. Working on keeping everything cleaner.


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