5 foot tank

[fish_r]

just me again "sorry i'm bored"
just a cpl of pics of the 5 footer, had a bit of a trim and added a bubble wall, should of done it long ago, my discus are much happier :)
also changed the background from plain black to a nice rocky background pic
couldnt believe how much of a difference it made to how dull it made the tank look. imo the rocky background looks lots better :)
also added a cpl of cave rocks with crypts growing out of them too...

the spraybar tube is just holding the driftwood down, cause it floats "still after about 9mths" :shock: but so it happens my discus like to lay eggs on it :)

[Flip03]

Hey mate awsome tank it looks real nice and your discus look real happy in there too. :D

[bun]

Hey mate, I just got a 5ft, and was wondering what you used as your background that was black?

[DiscusEden]

Wonderful as always fish_r!

Any chance of a close-up of the cave rocks?

[fiftycal]

The rock background looks really nice!

I was gonna get a black background for my upcoming 6footer, but now it looks as if I will get a rocky one!

[scott bowler]

fish_r very nice how do you get the corkscrew val to grow it always dies for me , ican get tall crips to grow but not the val

[fish_r]

the discus have picked up heaps and seem really happy and are back to eating like pigs again :)
"bun" the background was the black plastic on the rolls they sell at aquarium shops "same as bg pics" it is blk gloss one side and blue the other...
heres a pic of one DE, just started to see em for sale in a few shops, they "look a bit better in real life"
+ i added some moss.

[fish_r]

fish_r very nice how do you get the corkscrew val to grow it always dies for me
i use a good quality substrate, with a bit of peat below that too and i think the co2 helps a fair bit too, lightings around 2.5wpg. that lot started as 2 small plants not too long ago :)
i do have one in the other tank that looks similar, but has thicker leaves and they have more of a tight spiral. doesnt seem to grow as well as this though
i think mines corkscrew val
http://www.plantgeek.net/plant-194.htm
and in the other tank
http://www.plantgeek.net/plant-195.htm

[fiftycal]

Can you get a shot of your new background?

Theres some rock background for sale on ebay pretty cheap but the pictures are pretty dodgy so I dont know if it looks any good. I wanna see if yours looks any similar to the ebay one, since my new trend is to save money by shopping on the net lol.

[fish_r]

Can you get a shot of your new background?
will put a pic up after work this arvo :)

[ILLUSN]

Fish_r NICE TANK :!: looks great, how often do you run the bubble wall constantly or just at night?

[fish_r]

thx ILLUSN
i only run the bubble wall when the lights are off. and run my co2 constantly
i didnt want to really have an airstone or wall etc, but my fish need it so i have to.
had a problem a cpl of weeks ago where my fish were breathing really heavy and thought it was high nitrates, but in the end nitrates were fine "dodgy test kit" all that was needed was some air :) the fish are much happier

Can you get a shot of your new background?
this is the best i can get.
and a shot of a new leaf Echinodorus Paul Kloekner

[fiftycal]

Cool, thanks!

[ILLUSN]

Thanks for the pic Fish, i've been locking for a pick of Paul Kloekner for bout 9 months!!!!! finaly some one with a photo of one, could i be a pain and ask for a photo of the whole plant?

[fish_r]

lights have gone out for the night and just tried with a flash and no good, will post tomorrow.
it doesnt seem to grow much and hasn't sent any runners off yet, had it for about 6-8 mths i think ?
just put another fert tab under it yesterday and it's thanking me with a nice red leaf :)

[fish_r]

could i be a pain and ask for a photo of the whole plant?
it's not much too look @ the moment, it grows no where near as much as my other swords, which is not a bad thing :wink: [/quote]

[ILLUSN]

Thanks Fish_r not a bad looking plant, kinda a cross between red and green flame, if ever you get runners and want to sell some let me know.

[fish_r]

if ever you get runners and want to sell some let me know.
no probs...

[Erk]

Very nice looking tank, plants, and discus! :D They do seem very happy in there!


i only run the bubble wall when the lights are off. and run my co2 constantly
i didnt want to really have an airstone or wall etc, but my fish need it so i have to.
had a problem a cpl of weeks ago where my fish were breathing really heavy and thought it was high nitrates, but in the end nitrates were fine "dodgy test kit" all that was needed was some air the fish are much happier

What kind of co2 are you running that you run it constantly? I run 2 of the red sea turbo systems (fermented) without a pH controller, and I have the co2 indicator for the red sea pressurized system, and for the most part, its always blue greenish, eventually going blue, which means I dont have enough co2 (green is good) yellow mean too much...dunno if you've seen this(prolly) but I was afraid to run it constantly due to reading about pH swings? So i only run the co2 during the day and the airstone at night....my plants just dont seem to grow very fast...even the wysteria doesnt grow very fast, only the hornwort

Thanks very much :)

[fish_r]

Hi Erk. thx m8 :)
i run pressurised co2 on the 5ft tank and i test my Co2 level by measuring the kH and pH using this scale
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm
but is not real accurate cause the substrate buffers my pH a little so i add a little more Co2 to compensate.
i rarely test it now days though cause i just really go by how the plants are growing and how the fish are reacting and adjust to suit i try to run as much Co2 i can without lovering the pH too much and to make sure my fish arent breathing too fast and seem to have a pretty good ballance @ the moment and think i'm running approx 25ppm of Co2

[scott bowler]

it looks great Rob you do well with the plants , they always look good in your tanks mate how do you do it hehe well done

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r....so you dont have a pH controller then? Im rather afraid to let mine run all night, but according to your chart, and the last time I checked my kH, it says I have about 18ppm of co2...guess pressurized is def. the way to go :( I dunno how to make my plants grow faster...guess Im just too impatient. I use a pH stabilizer, which is supposed to stabilize my pH at 7.0...which it has been doing, but like I said, I dont run co2 at night....I have fert sticks, and the whole seachem line of liquid ferts, which I dont really use much of....just flourish, and flourish trace, about once a week, excel every other day, and iron once in a while, since the eco-complete is supposed to be rich in iron, and my red plants look red....guess I will just have to calm down and see how things go. My tank has been setup since the end of december

Thanks again, and your tank and discus look very nice! :D

[fish_r]

it looks great Rob you do well with the plants , they always look good in your tanks mate how do you do it hehe well done
nah m8 they dont always look good hehe, i just post pics when they are lol
like @ the moment i'm battling beard algae cause i thought id'e try a new diffuser that is crap and it caused a beard algae outbreak :( so iv'e put the better diffuser back on now :wink: and should come good again pretty quick. so i'll post some more pick again then lol :lol:

no probs Erk
no i dont run a controller, but i really should then might not have to use the air curtain.
remember cause u use a buffer that scale wont be too accurate.
but definitely pressurised Co2 would be the go for u as it makes things a lot more stable. and a lot easier for u too.
it's good to get a routine going with ur ferts, as this helps a lot too. u can dose flourish comp every 3 days with out any problems and iron twice a week too and u wont over dose "when u finish the trace u should get flourish comprehensive"
cause trace is just a week solution of comprehensive.
as long as ur plants look healthy and ur not getting any algae i wouldnt worry too much m8 and they will soon grow :)

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r, I will TRY to calm down! haha.....I will look for the flourish comprehensive next time Im at the LFS...I never heard of that fert before, so I def. dont have that one, and I will try to get a good routine going with the liquid ferts, and see how things go..I do get some black hair algae, but it looks much better now a days, then it has in the past

Thanks again, and keep up the nice work! :D

[Erk]

Oopss...also, pressurized is just too much money, and then I have to deal with finding a way to get the cylinder filled....maybe next tank! Im sure it would be very helpful, but I just dont have the money for that right now

Thanks again

[fish_r]

well after having problems with algae, mainly black beard algae for a while cause of using a crap Co2 diffuser and not being to be able to get the balance of ferts right. the tank is starting to come good again, stopped using seachem ferts as i got sick of using so many different kinds, now just using dupla tablets and dupla drops and it's made a hell of a difference to my algae problems along with fitting the old DIY inline reactor again...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/KharmaKazi/5ft16-6-07.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/KharmaKazi/5ft216-6-07.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/KharmaKazi/5ft316-6-07.jpg

[Roy]

What are the bushy green plants at the front ?
Tank looks good, i gotta get a pressurized co2 setup.

Roy

[Erk]

Rob, tank looks great :D Plants look huge! :D Good for you with the ferts and getting the algae under control

Is that dwarf sag in the front of your tank? I think its the same plant Roy is asking about? Did you plant that a special way? You suggested that to me as a grassy plant a lil bit ago, and I order two of them, but I just planted them as they came? Is there a need to separate them, or will it grow horizontally on its own?

Tank looks great tho....nice work :D

[fish_r]

the green bushie plants are blyxa japonica, some find it hard to grow, but it goes mad in my tank, doing a big trim tonight so gotta split it up a bit. i havnt tried dwarf sag yet Eric, have just read it's a good foreground plant.

thx for the replies...

[Davo]

fish r,

If you have any spare blyxa japonicaand any other bunch plants I will buy them and pay for the postage.

Thanks,
Dave.

[fish_r]

sorry Davo, but i wont post plants as it's just too much hassle and last time i posted some to a member here they all rocked up mouldy, grrr aust post.

[TW]

Hi fish_r

You have a beautiful planted tank. You obviously know you're stuff.

[fish_r]

Hey TW.
thx :) but always learning :wink:
the tank has changed a bit now, cause i ripped all the hygrophilia out, it was just a temp thing to eat up some nutrients. now got lots of ludwigia and green rotala mac and a few balansae plants in there.
gotta get some of the blyxa out too as it's going stupid now...

[Erk]

Looks great rob! :D

nice work :D

[fish_r]

thx Eric
i'll put some more picks up in a cpl of days, brought some nice wood last cpl of days and it's changed a bit again since them pics

[Robdog]

Looks tops Rob.
I had some Blyxa going well too a little while back. It got to a point that it had a beautiful red tint coming through in the leaves. Lovely plant to grow.
Looking forward to the updated pics.

[fish_r]

thx Robdog
i took some of the blyxa out last night, it has easily doubled it's size since them pics, but with my lighting i dont get the red tinge :( i need to pull more out in the next cpl of days to fit the wood in, but it makes a nice mess when i do as the roots go all the way to the peat moss base i have at the bottom. never using peat again :(