Roy's 30g Planted 'old Skool' Indian Ocean Biotope

HI All,

New Year's day I was feeling energetic and 'broke down' my 30 gallon that has been set up since 12/3/2009 (9+ years). During that 9 year period I did several re-scapes and one major clean up in 2016 but the substrate and equipment remained the same until I replaced the 2X39W Power Compact with and LED fixture in 5/16.

I decided to reuse the 9 year old montmorillonite clay substrate (Soilmaster Select) and all the other equipment so, without further ado, here is my 30 gallon 'old skool' which I am going to stock with plants from countries that surround the Indian Ocean!

Day 1, Immediately after filling



Definitely 'milky'

12 hours after filling



Not quite so milky

24 hours after filling



Almost perfectly clear, filtration is a Marineland 160 gph canister filter and the underground filter (yes, this tank has a UGF). Water parameters were: ph=7.2 (de-gassed); dKH=3.0; dGH=2.0; Nitrates=0 ppm

4 days after filling



On Day 3 I turned on the CO2. On Day 4 I attached the Microsorium pteroptus 'Trident' and 'Windelov' to hardscape, added Ceratopteris thalictroides, Limnophila chinensis, Cryptocoryne wendtiI 'Green Gecko' (TC), Pogostemon erectus (TC that I waited 2 weeks to plant), Hygrophila polysperma 'Sunset', Rotala 'Vietman / H'ra' (TC), Nymphoides hydrophylla (aka 'Taiwan'), Hydrocotle tripartita, and a few non-Indian Ocean plants just to fill in some spaces temporarily like Ceratopteris cornuta, Nymphaea micrantha, Helantium tennellum, Ludwigia inclinata 'Pantanal', I still have some Limnophila rugosa and some Hygrophila serpyllum that I am growing emerged to add to the tank this week. After dosing fertilizers the water parameters were: pH=6.2, dKH=15, dGH=21, nitrates 10 ppm (Yes, I badly overdosed my dKH and dGH booster). The drop checker with 4.0 dKH indicator solution reads approximately 48 ppm of CO2.

 

You should do a video of this! Can't wait to see more updates!

 

HI All,

Day 7 and a few changes and additions. I removed most of the Pogostemon erectus because it was dead but salvaged 3 small shoots.




I added some plants from my emersed plant bank. Added some Eleocharis sp. (hairgrass) behind the Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'



I also added some: #1 - Ludwigia simpsonii; #2 - Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia'; #3 - Limnophila rugosa



Also added: #2 - Hygrophila sep; and #1 is Rotala 'Vietman / H'ra' which was a tissue culture (TC) that I added a couple of days ago.



Also earlier I planted some emersed grown Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka sp. 'Japan')

 

HI All,

I apologize, for some reason some of the pics did not appear in the post from last evening....hopefully you can see them now.

 

looks great! I love the java fern wood. I was wondering why a lot of the plants were so tiny until I realized tc stands for tissue culture haha.

so what's the deal with hygrophila polysperma? I know it's illegal in the states. I love how it looks and grows like a weed (especially the sunset variety) but i'd feel weird trying to get some. I see it in a lot of americans' tanks though. is it because they've had it in their tanks from before it was illegal, or are they just unaware of the laws/don't care? is it still available on some websites or stores or are they getting it from other hobbyists? it's probably both but I wanted to ask. not trying to offend, of course; i'm just curious/jealous

 

Tank looks great!

 

HI midna,

Sorry, I guess I should explain my abbreviations better, yes TC = tissue culture.

Good question about Hygrophila polysperma (and it variants) which is on the USDA Noxious Weed list and as such "it is prohibited to transport, buy, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute" the species (which I do not do). In the State of Washington it is not listed as a "Invasive or Noxious Plant" so it can be kept but it is still subject to the limitations of the USDA Noxious Weed requirements.

 

HI All,

It's been a busy week but I did take some pictures on Day 10. I moved some fish into the tank on day 7. The drop checker (with 4.0 dKH indicator solution) showed pH 6.2 - 6.4 which would mean about the ppm of CO2 was likely over 60 ppm. The Trigonostigma heteromorpha (Harlequin Rasbora) that I put in went to the surface and started showing distress within five minutes. I immediately turned off the CO2, added an airstone, and cranked the output to maximum. Within 5 minutes the fish were showing less distress and after 30 minutes were swimming normally....only one casually.






The Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka 'Japan') has started pearling so I am guessing they are definitely liking the tank. Currently the light is PAR@100 and the CO2 is 30 - 48 ppm. The nitrates are still low (10 ppm) so I dosed KNO3 again today. The phosphates (PO4) are 2.0 - 5.0 ppm, in two days I will be doing a water change to get the 15.0 dKH and 21.0 dGH down to a more normal level.




I noticed some hair type algae starting so I added a Crossocheilus oblongus (Siamese Algae Eater / SAE) to the tank as well along with three (3) Otocinclus (yes not Asian) to control the diatoms to always show up in new tanks here in our soft water.




The Rotala 'Vietnam' is starting to put out new 'submerged' leaves and the tissue culture leaves are dying. The Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia' is showing signs of life (look closely and you will see one of the nine Eriocaluon 'Vietnam' in the photo as well).

 

HI All,

A week has gone by and it is time for another update on the tank. Yesterday I did my regular weekly water change and after filling the parameters were:
pH - 6.4
dKH - 5.0
dGH - 11.0 (197 ppm)
Nitrates - 10 ppm




In the last 7 days I moved several species placing, most notably moving the Hygro Sunset behind the Microsporum pteropus 'Windelov'




You may notice that in the last week the Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka 'Japan') has started to fill in nicely. Here is what it looked like 5 days after planting:




And here it is yesterday:




You can see that the Ludwigia simpsoni, Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia', and Limnophila rugosa are all starting to show signs of growth.

 

HI All,

It is the end of the weekend (for me) and Day 20 of the Bay of Bengal 'scape. This week I added two (2) new species of fish. The first is a loach, Ambastaia sidthimunkI (Dwarf Chain Loach) and the second is a barb, Pethia padamya (Odessa Barb). I had hoped to get some Pethia erythromycter (Lipstick Barb) for the tank but our local club member had a tank failure and lost most of the spawn from which I hoped to acquire 8-10 specimens. All the plants are looking good and filling in, I am seeing a lot of root growth on the Microsorum pteropus which I attribute to the extra potassium (K) I am dosing since the phosphate (P) dosing as not changed significantly.

Day 20 - tank overall picture


Day 20 - left side of tank, the Ceratopteris thalictroides is starting to fill in nicely behind the Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'



Day 20 - all three of my emersed grown plants (Ludwigia simpsoni, Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia', and Limnophila rugosa) are showing the start of good growth



Day 20 - here is one of the seven dwarf chain loaches I added, note the new runners coming off the Eleocharis (hairgrass)



Day 20 - Two more of the loaches, the Rotala 'Vietnam' has about 1" of submerged growth



Day 20 - Right side of tank. The Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka 'Japan') as really started spreading well, the Hygrophylla behind the Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov' is finally tall enough to start showing up and making a backdrop. One of the seven Odessa Barbs is in the picture as well.



Day 20 - Rotala 'Vietnam' / 'Hra' in foreground showing about 1" of new growth, Eriocaulon vietnam in background with only a couple of new leaves to day.



Day 20 - Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov' showing massive new growth of hair roots

 

HI All,

I just realized it had been a couple of weeks since an update; here you go!

The 30 gallon has filled in nicely. I have already done a trim on the Hygrophila 'Sunset', Ceratopteris (Watersprite), and the Limnophila 'Wavy'. The Rotala macrandra is growing although slowly. I am constantly trimming leaves of the Nymphoides hygrophylla (sp 'Taiwan'). New leaves are emerging all over the 'Windelov' rhizomes; the 'Trident' is just starting to sprout new leaves. The Erio 'Vietnam' are starting to become well established.



The Hydrocotyle tripartita (sp. 'Japan') has filled in very well and I have done several trims....here are early January and current pictures.

 

the way that hydrocotyle exploded... wow!!

 

Wow, your Japan clover looks beautiful! My sister is currently letting hers float in her tank but I think your tank will convince her to plant it so it may begin to carpet. So far I really like your plant placement as the light and dark colors of your plants are balancing well. I can’t wait to see how they continue to grow!

As a side note I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to very clearly label your pictures so that every time I saw a plant I was able to remember your previous pictures so I could mentally compare the growth. It also helps me learn the scientific name for plants I may or may not know.

 

Gorgeous!
I have 9 A. Sidthimunkis ready to go into my 40 b as soon as I finish rescaping it.

 

Nice look, and really enjoy all the updates! It's great to see the before and afters.
I would love to get some of the dwarf chain loaches, but they're hideously expensive here ($15-$25 each, times 6 to get started). Do you (or others) see better prices elsewhere?
Would the hydrocotyle grow in a low tech well planted and well growing setup? Or does it really need the CO2 to do well?

 

Nice look, and really enjoy all the updates! It's great to see the before and afters.
I would love to get some of the dwarf chain loaches, but they're hideously expensive here ($15-$25 each, times 6 to get started). Do you (or others) see better prices elsewhere?
Would the hydrocotyle grow in a low tech well planted and well growing setup? Or does it really need the CO2 to do well?

I paid $13.95 each for mine at House of Tropicals in MD. I got them back in November.
They are a bit pricey. I paid $9.95 each for my Botia Darios (Queen or Bengal loach).

 

What a terrific thread! Glad I stumbled across it; thanks for posting.

 

HI All,

I agree that Dwarf Chain Loaches (Ambastaia sidthimunki) are on the pricey side; I paid $13 each for tank raised specimens from a LFS and they had been quarantined for a week where they were medicated for parasites, worms, and fungus. I like to keep odd number of fish in tanks and was debating 5 or 7....decided on 7 since they like to school. They are very active and unafraid, out in front foraging for food all the time, especially in the Hydrocotyle tripartita.

bitseriously

Would the hydrocotyle grow in a low tech well planted and well growing setup? Or does it really need the CO2 to do well?

That is a good question. I have one non-CO2 tank a 10 gallon with PAR@ 50 (medium light), the next time I do a tear-down I will try it and see.

 

HI All,

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated this thread. The phosphates (PO4) continue to drop, currently at 2.0. Nitrates are 20 - 40 ppm. Hardness is 6.0 dKH and 8.0 dGH. New growth has been sprouting on both the 'Windelov' and 'Trident'. The Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka sp. 'Japan') is requiring a weekly trim. The Rotala macrandra seems to be putting out submerged leaves on most stems although the new leaves on some of the Rotala macrandra stems appear to be stunted. Also some of the leaves of the Rotala macrandra show signs of physical damage, trying to determine if it is the Odessa Barbs (Pethia padamya) or Dwarf Chain Loaches (Ambastaia sidthimunki).

Approximately 9 weeks after planting

 

HI All,

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated this thread. The phosphates (PO4) continue to drop, currently at 2.0. Nitrates are 20 - 40 ppm. Hardness is 6.0 dKH and 8.0 dGH. New growth has been sprouting on both the 'Windelov' and 'Trident'. The Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka sp. 'Japan') is requiring a weekly trim. The Rotala macrandra seems to be putting out submerged leaves on most stems although the new leaves on some of the Rotala macrandra stems appear to be stunted. Also some of the leaves of the Rotala macrandra show signs of physical damage, trying to determine if it is the Odessa Barbs (Pethia padamya) or Dwarf Chain Loaches (Ambastaia sidthimunki).

Approximately 9 weeks after planting

I hope it’s not the Odessa barbs because my brother is thinking of getting some. Please let us know when you find the perps

 

HI Giul

I haven't actually seen the Odessa Barbs nibbling on the plants, and it is only the one plant species (Rotala macrandra) that seems to be affected; it could also be a deficiency. Apparently the species is native to habitats that do not have plants due to being extremely high pH (11.0) and hardness (dGH). The specimens I purchased where tank raised and have adapted well to my tank which is pH 6.2, with a hardness of about 9.0 dGH.

Habitat
The specimens were collected at an altitude of around 3000m above sea level.

The waters were generally clear, lacking in plants, and flowing over limestone resulting in a value of around 11.0.

Substrates in the area were of or mud (R. Britz, pers. comm.).

 

You have inspired me to dig out one of my 50 gallon tanks and start planning. Excellent idea to begin a thread to help with the process. Not sure if you know about Buce Plants (Not Bruce). I love their unusual to common variety of plants.
As another reader commented your careful labeling and pointers have been a tremendous help.
Keep up the good work.

 

HI MiaD.

Thank you for the kind words.

I am familiar with the species Bucephalandra as well as Buceplant.com the plant seller.

The genus in general is good in moderate to low-light tanks (or shaded areas in higher light tanks) with most species needing conditions similar to Anubias and Microsporum pteropus (java ferns).

I have mixed feelings about the seller for two reasons, there have been several issues with plant quality and/or shipping issues posted on forums (like this one); secondly many of the plants that they sell are collected in the wild (typically in Borneo), sold to a local plant distributor in Borneo, and then sold and shipped to companies like Buceplant.com. This results in devastation of the local Borneo environment where the species have been literally stripped entirely from an area. If I purchase a Bucephalandra I always buy a 'tissue culture' specimen where it was grown in a lab and not removed from nature.

 

HI Roy Your tank looks amazing! I love all the variety of plants. I just picked up some hygro araguaia myself last week, I didn't know anything about it. It's already transitioning nicely to submerged growth, nice narrow pink and red leaves. I'm thinking it would make a good low ground cover carpet as a contrast to a green one. How is it working out for you?

I have a deep 26" tank and no co2 though.

 

HI angelcraze

Here is a picture of the tank as of the end of March. I was underdosing my potassium and had a lot of melt, especially with the Hydrocotyle tripartita, but everything started to fill in nicely. Unfortunately the Hygrophila araguaia was planted near the back and became over-shaded by the 'Sunset' and I removed it when it started to look badly. I hop yours does well, it may be a challenge in a 26" deep tank.

30 gallon Old Skool as of 3/31/19

 

So pretty! I love all the red fish too Hygro sunset is also one of my fave hygros. I rebought some recently and discovered someone is eating the new growth, so I'll be moving it ASAP. Seems to me I had to move it from this tank like 4 years ago for the same reason!

We have a lot of the same plants lol. And I just bought one of those lilies too (which someone was also eating! So I moved it last night) I'm not familiar with it either.

Thanks, so far I'm very impressed with the araguaria. I'm lucky with my deep tanks because I figured out which lights work best for them. Maybe not the color and growth I'd get using co2, but ok for me.

The Hydrocotyle is difficult, I've never attempted it, I hope it makes a comeback for you. I'm just starting with dosing ferts again, can I ask why you underdosed potassium? I know that's one of the quickest depleted ferts.

 

HI angelcraze

Yes, a month has gone by and it filled in again nicely.