dSerk's 30gal.

[dSerk]

Just started a gallery.

http://www.gwapa.org/forum/modules.php? ... _album.php

Only the one picture for now. I've got to sift through a gamillion photos and find the good ones. The one I posted today was taken today right after I finished trimming. I even got the killis and tetras to pose; the rams are camera shy. I have too many "rapid growth" plants.... I spent about 2 hours trimming and cleaning.

[Aaron]

Hey, that's looking pretty good so far.

You can link it directly into the thread too.

It looks like this without the spaces, or just click the "Img" button.

[ img ] http://www.gwapa.org/membergallery/albu ... .sized.jpg [ /img ]

[krisw]

Yeah, nice looking tank! Trimming can definitely be a time consuming part of your maintenance, but as long as you don't let it get so overgrown that you really have to whack it back, it's a bit easier to maintain. Keep us updated.

[PaulS]

Dserk, your tank looks great. What's your setup?
Paul

[dSerk]

The tank is about 36"X16"X12" and 30 gallons. The glass is full of scratches; it was a hand-me-down. How did the glass get so bad? Can turtles do that?

The substrate has a first layer of potting soil and organic peat moss about 1-2 inches, then a mixed layer of eco-complete, fuller's earth and plain 'ol gravel. On top is a layer of unmixed eco-complete. The middle layer is the stuff from my first attempt.

Lighting fixture is 4x39W T5. 39W 10000K + 39W 6700K + 21W "ColorMax" + 21W 6700k. Period is 7AM - 11PM. Too long some would say.

Filter is Eheim 2217.

CO2 is DIY delivered via a diffuser stone. Cheap one

Water is "hard" haven't taken measurements lately. Temps stays around 80-82F. pH usually around 7.4-7.6 down to nearly 6.6 when CO2 is working.

I started fertilizing every other day (or abouts) for a couple weeks. For about 9 days I've been fertilizing every day. I've got fert tabs in the substrate.

I use the Seachem Flourish line:

Flourish (NPK stuff) 5ml
Trace 2-3ml
Iron 1-2ml
Excel 5-10ml
Potassium 5ml

I feel like my plants are looking a little yellow.

I had hair algae REALLY bad. A couple plants were covered in a yellow-green fuzz for a couple weeks, but that stuff is in retreat. There's a coat of it on the back wall and it can stay there for the otos and SAEs. I still get velvet (?)/spot algae on the glass each week. I've got a little staghorn and some nasty thread algae that grows into a little rats nest thing. There's some BBA, too... it turned grey then brownish last week but seems to be coming back. I started a new batch of CO2 this weekend so hopefully we'll give it a good run this week.

I'm upgrading to pressurized CO2 real soon now. Anyone want to suggest a regulator? Does anyone go to Bars by Bud for CO2? They're really close to me.

I think that's everything.

I think my killifish were spawning this weekend

[dSerk]

Wow, next time I build a tank I hope I'm able to pick plants that will fit better. The R. macranda I got from Viktor and the Cabomba/Myriophyllum I got from Damian at the January auction are in the middle-back. I think what makes the macranda so difficult is keeping is pruned nicely. A demo on pruning/trimming techniques and strategies might be a good for a meeting; maybe there's more to it than just hacking away.... Really, that seems to be the most challenging part of keeping a planted tank for me. That and not drowning one's fish.



Here's a BIG version: http://www.gwapa.org/membergallery/albu ... 01486b.jpg