Adam T
Member
I just planted my established, previously fish-only tank. 30 gallon tall 12 x 24 x 24 high. Eclipse 2 hood. My substrate is 3" of epoxy coated gravel (about 3mm). I have put some fertilizer blocks from my LFS in the gravel at the recommended spacing.
My current plant list is:
Amazon Sword
Hair Grass
Babytears
Water Wisteria
Java Moss
Mayaca
Indica Crypt
Gold Ribbon (Dracaena variegatus) (non-aquatic, purchased in ignorance from Petco as my one of my first plants)
Kyoto (Ophiopogon japonica) (non-aquatic, purchased in ignorance from Petco as my one of my first plants)
My water parameters are:
Temp: 83F
pH 6.5 (measured at the end of the lighted day)
Total Alkalinity: 120 ppm
Total Hardness: 120 ppm
KH: 4
GH: 7
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: >20 ppm
Calculated CO2 value: 40 mg/l
Right now I'm only running 30 watts (1 wpg), but my AHS 55 watt PC light is on its way. (See my retrofit thread, which I will update with pictures, here: ). Lights on 12 hours/day from noon to midnight. Tank is at core of house, so it only gets ambient light from a well lit room from sunup to noon.
I'm injecting CO2 with a yeast unit connected to a powerhead which disburses the CO2 as microbubbles about an inch above the substrate. I'm running the power head during lights on, and I run a bubble wand for 3 hours in the middle of the lights off period. I'm a bit worried about the CO2 level because it's supposed to be between 20-30, so I may start cycling the CO2 powerhead on and off during the lighted period, but my fish seem ok and I'm not sure the calculated value is accurate -- it's based on a chart included with my Tetra Laborette liquid test set
Here's how it looks:
Questions:
First, how does this all sound?
Second: I fear my aquascaping will require some adjustments unless I really keep the foreground plants well groomed. How hard is it on the plants to relocate them later?
Third: One of the things I did was spread a thin layer of Java Moss on my rock work, which I secured with some mono-filament that I'd like to remove once it takes root.
How long should it take for the Java Moss to take root and start growing into the fluffy green mound I'm looking for? Just looking for some guidelines to see if the plant's performance is as it should be.
Thanks very much!
My current plant list is:
Amazon Sword
Hair Grass
Babytears
Water Wisteria
Java Moss
Mayaca
Indica Crypt
Gold Ribbon (Dracaena variegatus) (non-aquatic, purchased in ignorance from Petco as my one of my first plants)
Kyoto (Ophiopogon japonica) (non-aquatic, purchased in ignorance from Petco as my one of my first plants)
My water parameters are:
Temp: 83F
pH 6.5 (measured at the end of the lighted day)
Total Alkalinity: 120 ppm
Total Hardness: 120 ppm
KH: 4
GH: 7
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: >20 ppm
Calculated CO2 value: 40 mg/l
Right now I'm only running 30 watts (1 wpg), but my AHS 55 watt PC light is on its way. (See my retrofit thread, which I will update with pictures, here: ). Lights on 12 hours/day from noon to midnight. Tank is at core of house, so it only gets ambient light from a well lit room from sunup to noon.
I'm injecting CO2 with a yeast unit connected to a powerhead which disburses the CO2 as microbubbles about an inch above the substrate. I'm running the power head during lights on, and I run a bubble wand for 3 hours in the middle of the lights off period. I'm a bit worried about the CO2 level because it's supposed to be between 20-30, so I may start cycling the CO2 powerhead on and off during the lighted period, but my fish seem ok and I'm not sure the calculated value is accurate -- it's based on a chart included with my Tetra Laborette liquid test set
Here's how it looks:
Questions:
First, how does this all sound?
Second: I fear my aquascaping will require some adjustments unless I really keep the foreground plants well groomed. How hard is it on the plants to relocate them later?
Third: One of the things I did was spread a thin layer of Java Moss on my rock work, which I secured with some mono-filament that I'd like to remove once it takes root.
How long should it take for the Java Moss to take root and start growing into the fluffy green mound I'm looking for? Just looking for some guidelines to see if the plant's performance is as it should be.
Thanks very much!