5g planted nano tank?
- Thread starter lauraf
- Start date
D'aw! Welcome back! Am I the only one who is totally oblivious to your return?! Shame on me. Glad to see you back in action :]
HC is difficult
I refuse to even attempt it, but the tanks I have seen it thrive really well in did not have sand substrate. I just halfway finished up my 40 gallon and it has sand that I'm concerned for planting.. But if you work with it I think you could accomplish having HC on the sand, I just think it'd take twice the work to get it how regular substrate could.
And you don't need perfect plants silly! Besides all plants are perfect in their own way :] just get them pretty situated and let them grow wild!
Anyway, I do love the sand look but might suggest a different substrate for the HC if you want to use that.
HC is difficult
I refuse to even attempt it, but the tanks I have seen it thrive really well in did not have sand substrate. I just halfway finished up my 40 gallon and it has sand that I'm concerned for planting.. But if you work with it I think you could accomplish having HC on the sand, I just think it'd take twice the work to get it how regular substrate could.And you don't need perfect plants silly! Besides all plants are perfect in their own way :] just get them pretty situated and let them grow wild!
Anyway, I do love the sand look but might suggest a different substrate for the HC if you want to use that.
What kind of sand did you end up using? I'd have to say I most often hear (about sand) the hassle of keeping it clean and then even cleaning it. I'd have to agree a bit, my 10 gallon has play sand which is a breeze to clean, but can sometimes get dirty quick. Then my 40 gallon has thin pure white sand that dirties very quick and is impossible to clean...I have yet to plant anything in it, not sure what I want in it and I'm still working on the drift wood.
But anyway, sand is a tough one. Beautiful, but a hassle. Eco-complete is super fabulous, though I've only seen it in black and a reddish color. that reminds me of Arizona..
But anyway, sand is a tough one. Beautiful, but a hassle. Eco-complete is super fabulous, though I've only seen it in black and a reddish color. that reminds me of Arizona..
The sand was "Instant Aquarium" sand - it looks terrible now. Hmmm, black substrate . . . interesting . . . . but quite frankly I'm think I'm over getting the aesthetics with plants etc. 'perfect' because they won't stay that way for long anyway. Happy critters, easy maintenance. This what I need in my life right now . . . .
Oh, happiness is a must! Once you get the plants planted in a nice substrate and keep the water conditions great, it will be totally fine! I kind of let my heavily planted tank do it's own thing, I even rarely trim things, just let them sprout new leaves/flowers, let the critters eat the decay and let it be. Of course some trimming happens.
Black is a lovely color, really brings out the colors of plants and fish, I love it. I do love the brown natural look though...
Black is a lovely color, really brings out the colors of plants and fish, I love it. I do love the brown natural look though...
Water is interesting. Water with live plants left alone for several weeks is very interesting. I not only have weird flourescent green stringy algae, an infestation of tiny snails, and at least one 1/2 inch trumpet snail, but also small red wormy things crawling around. Wtf?
Total dismantle coming soon. Black Eco-Complete as substrate likely a go.
Total dismantle coming soon. Black Eco-Complete as substrate likely a go.
Yup, I've got cyanobacteria along with the algae. I tried to get a handle on it, but it's extremely persistent, it's throughout the whole filter, and so I've kinda given up on trying to eliminate it as I'm planning on redoing the tank with a different substrate. I'm going to have to scrub down the whole tank and hardware - probably with bleach - to eliminate any remaining nasties. I've read about using a bleach/water solution to clean the live plants too - anyone have any experience with this?
It depends on the plant species. Rhizome plants take it best, stem plants are more sensitive.
I've used 19parts water to 1part bleach, then adjust my 'dip' times according to the type of plant. Then you have to rinse like crazy (just tapwater initially), then soak plants in a buck of dechlorinated water with 5x the dose of dechlor.
Sadly, there is always a chance of killing the plants with the treatment.
Some just rinse the plants well in a bucket of dechlorinated water and then put the plants and enough water to cover them in a plastic bag that is completely dark (black garbage bags work well). Then leave them in there, tied shut, no light at all, for a week, and see what survives.
Cyanobacteria is nasty and hard to get rid of. Until I ordered the plants from an online source (who has refused to refund my money but instead wants to replace the plants ~but no way am I going to go through all that again~), I've never experienced it. And I've been keeping planted tanks since the mid 70s.
I've used 19parts water to 1part bleach, then adjust my 'dip' times according to the type of plant. Then you have to rinse like crazy (just tapwater initially), then soak plants in a buck of dechlorinated water with 5x the dose of dechlor.
Sadly, there is always a chance of killing the plants with the treatment.
Some just rinse the plants well in a bucket of dechlorinated water and then put the plants and enough water to cover them in a plastic bag that is completely dark (black garbage bags work well). Then leave them in there, tied shut, no light at all, for a week, and see what survives.
Cyanobacteria is nasty and hard to get rid of. Until I ordered the plants from an online source (who has refused to refund my money but instead wants to replace the plants ~but no way am I going to go through all that again~), I've never experienced it. And I've been keeping planted tanks since the mid 70s.
Yeah, I'm not exactly clear on what happened to my 5g while I was away. I suspect the snail infestation caused massive nitrate buildup.
Right now my pea puffer gets some bloodworms tweezer-fed to him every other day, and I'm doing water changes twice a week. I've only seen a handful of the planaria in the tank, and they aren't dangerous per se, so I'm not overly concerned . . . .
Right now my pea puffer gets some bloodworms tweezer-fed to him every other day, and I'm doing water changes twice a week. I've only seen a handful of the planaria in the tank, and they aren't dangerous per se, so I'm not overly concerned . . . .
Yay! Rehaul done. I got some beautiful substrate from my lfs - its meant for the Fluval Ebi shrimp tank. It takes fussy plant roots really easily. Did the plants in bleach solution and soaked in Prime - the val didn't make it (started turning white a day later), but so far the anubias, pennywort and lila-whatever grass look good. Fingers crossed I eradicated the cyanobacteria.
Added two ADFs yesterday. Still a little shy, but they gobbled up their bloodworms tonight . . . . And just now one was stretching after his meal at the front of the tank . . . . Say hello to the folks, Mercedes.
Added two ADFs yesterday. Still a little shy, but they gobbled up their bloodworms tonight . . . . And just now one was stretching after his meal at the front of the tank . . . . Say hello to the folks, Mercedes.
