Jump to content

yannachka

Members
  • Posts

    273
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1
  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by yannachka

  1. My 9.5 gallon household plant experiment My apologies for this very image heavy thread but I like taking pictures of my tanks and I have no where else to share them. Sorry. Photo taken March 15, 2022 Hey all! It has been quite a while since I've been active on here. Life got busy and I kind of took a passive break from the hobby where I was sustaining my existing tanks but not really much else. I was inspired last year to make a new build and I documented my journey. The tank itself I bought a couple years ago and it had been sitting unused in its original shipping box. My ultimate goal was to only use supplies I already had. Sorry in advance to what is going to be a very long post but I've got months of content to share at once. Most photos are taken on my phone and are questionable but I did try to take some with my camera as well so quality is kind of all over the place. If anyone here happens to remember me somehow then you know that I love plants and I love combining my love of houseplants with my love of aquariums. This build is no different. Before I go into detail there are a few problems that I have been having with the tank. They're "good" problems but problems still. I'll go into more detail on how I've been trying to solve them but the biggest is that the large amounts of plants are just stripping the water of its minerals and nutrients. Also tannins. I always forget about tannins. Tank Specs Size: 9.5g 17.7"Lx11"Wx11.8"H Filtration: water pumped over a log through plants, basically just plants Heat: more temperate, it ranges from 72-77F Stocking: initially I was open to anything that could handle sub 77F temps Tank Build October 13, 2021 I knew that I wanted a lot of emersed growth so I could grow cuttings from my houseplant collection out of it to root. I set up the driftwood in a way that would allow me to set up a small pump to pump water over the wood as the form of filtration. My ultimate goal was to have the plants growing on this driftwood to filter the water. I got lucky that they all kinda fit together and there was one pretty wide/broad pieces that already had a hole perfect for a water fall. For the substrate I used a mix of eco-complete, fluorite, safe-t-sorb (already seeded from a different tank), and fluval stratum. I basically threw a bunch of extra substrates I had together but I wanted a courser, more natural looking blend that could absorb nutrients from the water well. I used some seiryu stone I had to add some dimension and help secure the driftwood. Below are my notes screenshots where I drew my plan. I love using this on my phone since I can quickly snap a photo and mark it up to help myself visualize what I want the outcome to be. The mister ended up not working, the plant growth and moss covered it up too much and I kinda can't access underneath the driftwood anymore to adjust it (or the pump, also a future problem for me). I used the rocks to hide the small pump underneath the driftwood and I added some java moss to the opening to help angle the water flow correctly. My hope was that the moss would attach to the driftwood and I can use that as the base to grow plants off of. You can see that there is very good flow across the length of the wood and it pours off in two spots (this is foreshadowing to some future problems once this moss did attach itself). The is a day after I first filled it and yes, there are tannins. Now I did not want this to become a black water tank, at all, but it happened. Smart me would have taken it apart and boiled the driftwood but I was lazy and figured it would eventually go away. It did not. I now have another black water tank. I am using poth-o-carry, i personally like them and it's an easy way to plop cuttings into the tank. I ended up adding a third one later on. October 18, 2021 I added my first batch of plants and I am letting you all know that the dwarf papyrus, rabbit foot fern and holy basil eventually did not make it. The papyrus did well until I cut it back and it never recovered. The holy basil crisped up pretty quickly, I should have stuck with a standard variety but I like experimenting. The rabbit foot fern was already on its way out (clearance bin from a big box store, love experimenting with those since its only a couple bucks if it doesn't work) and me shoving it in moss and a higher humidity environment was a hail mary that did not work. My other mistake that didn't really become apparent was that I really should have potted that big elephant ear somehow to contain the roots. I've grown a lot of different alo/colocasias and I really should have known better but I thought it would be alright. I did add some more moss to the driftwood. it's a mix of java, subwassertang, and riccia flutens. October 20, 2021 I decided to add a few cuttings I took of some pilea glauca "aquamarine", tradescantia zebrina, and a few others. RIP to the pilea, it did not die but you never see it cause it's hidden under everything. The zebrina took over the driftwood naturally. I also shoved some baby elephant ear bulbs I took from my outdoor plants and shoved them into the moss. This actually has been working long term with keeping the roots more contained and the leaves smaller and more manageable. November 25, 2021 Over a month later and the zebrina is starting to form a nice cover. Take note of the sad looking moss, once it converts it really looks cool. Lots of melt back and such from the plants which is to be expected as well, there will always be a period of ugly before the plants adjust. I also wanted to highlight this publyx splash, you will see it in recent photos and it has grown. This was a clipping from an old plant my mum got rid of a while ago. It sat in a jar of water for a long time not really growing. The elephant ear bulb threw some leaves out. I also added a snake plant cutting to root, some aloe cuttings, various pothos cuttings, and a good sized air plant. This was when I decided to start throwing different cuttings in to see which thrived and which didn't do too well. Elephant ear roots when they're not planted and are forced to only get nutrients from the water. Still a lot but much more manageable. The pilea flowered, given that it has only been a month since it was a fresh cutting that's kinda impressive in my opinion. It still regularly flowers for me alongside the zebrina. The tank also looked bare inside for me so I ended up taking a medusa statue I had in a different tank and moving it to this one. This is my favorite addition and has had the unplanned effect of the statue slowly appearing out of the water as the water evaporates. Yes, the basil is gone. It got crispy within a couple weeks and I ended up pulling it. The papyrus is still doing very well and this might be the last time the pretty pilea is that visible. December 6, 2021 The tank is not this dark in person and you can still see the green plants inside but the dramatic lighting difference means cameras make it dark. The tank is not this dark in person and you can still see the green plants inside but the dramatic lighting difference means cameras make it dark. December 13, 2021 Up until now I only had snails in the tank. I was asked to take in a couple pea puffers so I decided to make them the inhabitants. The issue is that I very rarely saw them, they were very shy and with how dark the tank is they may as well have not been there. This photo also gives a nice glimpse into my elephant ear root problem. In a way the black water aspect of the tank makes the roots fit in much better with the overall vibe but I gave up on trimming them. I think trimming them encouraged them to grow even more. Rare glimpse of one of the puffers, I later add more fish which really helped bring them out. Also so sorry about the quality, it was dark and my phone just butchered the photo (I did have to do like 10x zoom too). Those roots are everywhere. December 15, 2021 The fateful day I noticed mealies on the elephant ears, the dwarf papyrus, and some others. The cuttings that had obvious mealies were removed but my only option with the papyrus was to chop it down, so I did. It unfortunately never recovered from this but I was able to get the mealies under control. The elephant ears were all chopped down as well but that honestly does nothing to slow elephant ears down. December 29, 2021 Full tank shot as of now. The elephant ears pushed out new leaves quickly and everything else is settling in nicely. The moss is still in the process of converting. This site keeps auto rotating my vertical photos randomly and I can't figure out how to fix it. Sorry. January 5, 2022 New year means adding some more cuttings. I went around my plant room and clipped whatever I thought would adjust well. I also added some more riccia to the driftwood. March 16, 2022 I ended up adding more cuttings over the last couple of months but I didn't really take photos. I wanted to share a photo drop of how it is looking now before I go into the problems I am having and how I plan to fix them. Since January I did end up adding quite a few fish in and this has made the puffers more comfortable. I initially added in 5 celestial pearl danios someone rehomed to me alongside some guppy/endler hybrids and some baby platies. This last saturday I impulse bought a trio of gardneri killis at a local swap event that I also added. I'm hoping they help control the fry population a bit as well since these are breeding out of control. The second purpose of adding way more fish in was because I could not keep up with fertilizing this tank. The two puffers and hundreds of snails were not enough and I was dosing easy green constantly. Hopefully the large bioload helps a little and it seems to be working well. I picked up this painting from a local artist and it felt like a good place to hang it. I am really happy that I added that statue in, before I would have to stay on top of evaporation since it made it look somewhat unflattering but now you can watch the statue slowly reveal itself which is fun. I have a very strong full spectrum light hanging for the emersed growth and it is blasting this tank. The statue has grown a nice layer of algae and the plants are thriving under it. corner view of the tank, you can see just how dense all of the growth is. The publyx from before, you can see it extended in the back as well from where I trimmed this original cutting into two. I've been trying to add different colors and textures to the tank. This is the back of the tank, I never removed the papyrus stumps in the hope that maybe they'll come back. Their roots were also pretty big so pulling them is gonna make a massive mess in the tank. That snake plant cutting has not only rooted but made a baby of its own! I took off the air plant to show the plants hidden behind. I I know I keep harping about this statue but it may be my favorite tank decoration I've had and I feel like this tank was made for it. The previous tank it was in I ended up rehauling as well. You can see the converted moss on the right piece of driftwood which I think adds a really cool touch aesthetically and functionally. All of the moss as converted on the main dirftwood. A small glimpse into the ever growing livebearer colony. There has to be 30+ of them at this point + lots of new fry swimming on top yet my nitrates barely show on the strips so I still have to dose easy green 2-3x a week. Some plant highlights. I will be hiding that cord somehow. I will be posting a comment with my troubleshooting, problems, etc. I took notes for a while where I was testing marine reef salt to help buffer the water and I'll type them all out tonight. As always I'd love to hear feedback, comments, etc. If you have any questions I can try to answer them as well. I hope you all enjoyed my ongoing journey and I really will try to be more active on here.
  2. thank you! i'm going to be setting some more up soon and i'll update this post with the rest of them ☺️
  3. so i finally redid this tank the other week while listening to the sunday livestream. i'm going to give it a month or two to let the plants grow in and i'll do a full update on here. in the meantime i wanted to show off this group of red-orange platies i got from a local breeder. the color on these is incredible and i can't wait to breed them. peep the medusa statue super excited for those. i also expanded the rasbora schools, here is one of my established chilis looking gorgeous. these are arguable the best looking nano fish out there. here is a gorgeous red lizard that i got from a local breeder as well. he is very difficult to photograph so this is the only clear one i could get. and lastly, a happy oto is a fat oto
  4. it's been a while but i have had this bowl set up for over 6 months now. everything is grown from those assorted seed packets from ebay. i am using fluval stratum as the soil and keep it covered 24/7 with clingwrap. It was set up in the beginning of december. i didn't think to grab any photos of me first setting it up but just imagine a bowl with stratum in it and that's all there was. it gets direct sunlight from the window and is zero maintenance. this is what it looked like in march about 3.5 months later. and this is what it looks like as of today now that i'm having some more free time im excited to play with more jars and bowls. i have quite a few in storage i can use and i'll try to be more active on this thread. thanks for looking!
  5. i wouldn't consider myself an expert but i can definitely give some tips for creating a planted goldfish tank. you will have much more success with fancy goldfish vs common/comets in my experience, those wreck havoc on all plant life. when you set up your goldfish tank you should take the goldfishes' natural digging behavior into consideration. it is best if you find some way to block off the plants so they goldfish cant dig them up. the coop plant holders are a good option. i used black river stone and driftwood to block off the back 1/2 of the tank so the goldfish can swim through the plants but they cant reach the substrate to dig. i left them the front 1/3-1/2 mostly open (although lots of val and other plants have grown in now) so they can dig to their hearts' content. if possible, set up the tank without any goldfish for at least 2-4 weeks. you can do this while it is cycling but this allows the plants to grow in and develop a good root system so they are much more difficult to pull out. this also gives them the best chance of surviving any nibbling since they will have a healthy root system to bounce back. i didn't do this but i highly recommend it, even though i have swords, crypts, and val in the front open area, the roots are so deep that the goldfish can try to suck them up but they stay put. avoid fine stem plants and mosses. i have had the best luck with: vals (i have giant) swords crypts pogostemon stellatus oct. bolbitis ferns/anubias subwassertang floaters emersed plants are your friend. they look nice and are very effective at removing nitrates from the water. pothos are the most common and easiest but i also have various monstera, peace lilies, and a host of other plants growing as well. i struggle with keeping nitrates in the water so i fertilize heavily and only do water changes every 2-3 weeks (which for the stocking i have in this tank would be impossible to maintain without the plants). i hope this helps, a combo of this should set you up for the best success.
  6. they're definitely going to outgrow this so it will need to be upgraded. for now it is fine, i agree, and they definitely take advantage of the plants.
  7. i am planning to be more active on here, ive just been so busy with life and work that i havent had time but its all slowing down just a bit and i have cool projects up my sleeve! i just redid my medusa tank (after many months of saying i would) and am excited to give updates on that.
  8. thank you! im scared of what it will look like in another year, i might not be able to see any fish. i am planning on moving once the market is somewhat more stable and i will probable have to drain this tank and move it as is lol
  9. photo dump + updates it's been a little bit since my last update and there has been a new addition so thought i would do a photo dump of the current tank. it is pretty overgrown but i dont want to make any changes since it is balanced, i tried to clean up the emersed plants on top but wasn't very successful as you can see 😂 excuse the poor photos, it's hard to get a good photo without reflections and at night. full tank shot. i added a school of blue danios (danio kerri) which i think are a seriously underrated fish. i wanted some fast moving schooling fish to add some activity to the tank and these did the trick. they've been in for about a month and a half and are doing fantastic, very active and they are gorgeous with their blues, purples, and reds. i had a hard time photographing them so i hope the photos do them justice. watching the males dance in the morning is always fun, i have around 20 something of them currently. some photos of the rest of the inhabitants billy the rescue moor this is robert, i was picking up the danios at my local store and he looked so sad. the other goldies were active and swimming and this poor guy was listless in the back giving me the saddest look. so naturally i took him home and now you would never be able to tell! (don't worry he and the danios went through a full round of qt with meds) the knight goby is doing great this is one eyed joe, he came to me this way but his lack of an eye definitely does not affect his behavior and how much he loves to eat. another underrated fish in my opinion. given the right set up these guys are amazing tankmates for goldfish. they need a lot of cover and plants so as long as you can manage those they do well. my pair (sam and susan) are 8" or so and much more bold/comfortable the larger they get. i dont expect them to get much bigger than this though. once i have the space i want to breed this pair. sam loves his krill flakes. here's him lost in the sauce... here are a few photos of the emersed plants up top. i have a rather extensive houseplant collection and i cant stop myself from adding new, random plants into the mix to see if they will work. these are all quick iphone shots i just grabbed (it was too dark last night). the tank is in an upstairs loft and the pothos has started trailing down the wall th these golden leaves are larger than my hand! i hope you all enjoyed this update and the photo dump.
  10. i eyed her too until i realized i unfortunately live across the country 😢 luckily i live near some really good breeders
  11. thank you! the first is a sumo loach and the second is a violet goby: he is nearing 8” now and getting chunky
  12. this needs a trim! i threw in some leftover subwassertang hoping the goldies would eat it and they didnt so now i have it everywhere
  13. my plants came from a goldfish tank where goldfish were actively breeding, i wouldnt expect plants to come with fish as hitchhikers to be a common thing. the only time i do plant dips is when i know the plants are coming from outdoor ponds/groweries and thats only so i dont bring in various larvae that are common in those set ups.
  14. thats gonna be tough to do with any plants that will give you a tree or leaf appearance. mosses can have issues with hair algae and anubias would probably be the same. you can try creating a floating ring and fill it with floaters above the tree to shield it from the light?
  15. hey all! a well(-ish) known online fish seller/supplier recently told me that salt makes erythromycin ineffective and the two should not be used together. it was my first time ever hearing this and i can’t find anything online really discussing this either. is there truth to this or does anyone else have any experience? i have always kept some salt in my qt and hospital tanks while treating with meds.
  16. the goldfish loft is slowly coming together
  17. thank you! it’s such a shame that most don’t color up well in stores cause they are such stunning fish. great shoalers/schoolers as well, these new ones have already joined the others and move as a big group
  18. i thought that we could start a thread sharing our fish glow-ups from the store to established. here are some chili + strawberry that are established (6+ months) next to some new ones i added in today: its hard to believe these are the same fish.
  19. thank you! try the coop planters and see if that stops them from getting dug up
  20. I have always loved planted aquariums and I have also always loved goldfish. whenever I would try to find suggestions for setting up a planted goldfish tank I was always told that it wasn't possible so naturally, I decided to test that. Now maybe I lucked out and got goldfish who don't really want to eat plants but from my experience, goldfish are more prone to digging them up than actually eating them. The only two plants that I've witnessed my goldfish actually eat are mosses and duckweed. I wanted to share my journey in the world of goldfish and plants. My Planted Goldfish Tank Journey Let's start with the tank info first. tank size: 90 gallon filtration: 2x fluval fx6 (they were on sale so I splurged, flow is way too high so I've turned the outflow down by like 50% which I know is not good for the motors long term but that's a future problem), 2x zeiss filters (once again over-kill but I had a couple extra ones with no other tanks to put them in so why not. they double as airstones as well) lighting: 3x fluval 3.0s (2 on the glass and 1 suspended from the ceiling for the emersed plants) substrate: Safe T Sorb - it was the cheapest substrate I could find that had the natural brown gravel look I wanted in the tank. I did no presoaking which I highly recommend and I have found that it absorbs nutrients/ferts very well. co2: none at first but I decided to set it up for faster growth later on. ferts: Flourish comprehensive, it's the lowest nitrate comprehensive fert I've found + root tabs temp: between 74-76F Planning Stage I knew from my experience with goldfish that they would likely dig up all of the plants. There are really only two ways this can be avoided. The first is to let the plants grow in for the first 1-6 months before adding the fish in so they develop strong, large root systems and are more difficult to dig up. The second option is to block the plants somehow with various decor (or Aquarium Co-ops plant holders) so that the goldfish can't reach them to dig. A combination of the two is your best chance at success. I used driftwood and large black river stones to block off the back 1/3 of the tank so the goldies would have a more difficult time digging there and left the front 2/3 open for them to dig to their hearts' content. Ignore the mess but this is the newly set up 90g. I built the stand for it as well out of butcher block. At this point I only had 1 fx6 from their previous tank and I was using a hob with media from a different filter to help quickly cycle the tank. You can see the caves hidden in the substrate for the plecos/catfish. This is from November 2019. I picked up some more driftwood to add and some more plants. This is when I tried to add riccia flutens to the driftwood and it did not last. Photos are between February-March 2020. I tried covering the moss to give it a chance to attach to the wood but they are right through that. goldfish tax. You can see the substrate better here, I am a big fan of it personally. Very good absorption and it has a very natural look. The only negatives are how dusty it can be, it breaks down over time as it compresses, and it's lighter than eco-complete so it is harder to get plants to stay rooted. April 2020 I added some emersed plants using a diy planter. Being furloughed and locked in my house meant I had time to dedicate to this tank. Plants include: 2x peace lilies (one on each side), lots of photos, corkscrew rush (did not do well long term even though it is a pond/marsh plant), and a sweet potato. The diy planters hold a mix of fluval stratum and red eco-complete which was the extra substrate I had laying around. I also added a second Fluval fx6 at this point cause I impulse bought it on sale. Still only running the one Fluval 3.0 at this point. Growth of the tank as of May 2020, the emersed plants really took off. I picked up a second 3.0 to add since the plants were blocking the light for the hanging light. A few days later I decided to get co2 for the tank. You can see the rock retaining wall blocking off the plants well here alongside the driftwood. I have pleco caves hidden underneath the rocks as well dug into the substrate so the plecos and catfish have good hiding spots that are still visible to me. Because they are in the substrate, I can plant plants above them so they aren't taking up valuable space. The cave on the left is a 3" pvc I cut and spray painted brown for a larger hiding spot. There is one on the right corner as well. Ignore the empty snail shells, goldfish love snails as I learned. July 1, the emersed plants are looking amazing and are doing fantastic. I added a few red mangroves I wanted to try out as well. Unfortunately I didn't take photos but I did add some new plants to the tank between June and August. I added some leopard val, giant jungle val, pogo stellatus octopus, and a few others I can't remember. August 2020 and the tank is being filled in well. The barriers for the plants is working and the goldfish don't have access to dig behind the driftwood and rock barrier wall. It also doubles as a great safe space for the plecos, platys, and snakeskin gourami. Taken during a water change so you can see the diy planters I made. They're positioned in front of the fx6 outflows so they get plenty of water flow through the roots. You can see that at this point the corkscrew rush isn't doing well, I think it was not getting enough light since it would turn brown where it extends above the light. Peak summer so I have a fan going to keep the tank from being 80F. The pogo stellatus is a great goldfish plant, they don't touch the stems and it is a fast grower so it is one I recommend trying with goldies. Post water change September 2020, kitten tax with Benji my rescue goldfish up top. You can see that the plants are nearly reaching the surface at this point. I am still only dosing Flourish comp and iron whenever I remember to. I have added a third 3.0 now to add light to the front of the tank as well. Also taken September 2020 during sunset hours. You may have noticed that a few goldies are missing, I fed some newly nought frozen foods from my lfs one night and the next morning half of them were dead. I think the food was thawed and refrozen at some point or I got a bad batch but it killed most of them. It was heartbreaking and I've avoided both that lfs and that food since. October, this guy was a gift from a friend in the beginning of the year. He was about 2-3" when I got him and this is him at around 7". We have very hard and mineral rich water so he is thriving in it. You can see the plant growth behind him as well. This is the tank in November, the giant val and pogo stellatus took off and I added some monstera to the top. catfish eating some rasberries. I have some amazon swords in here that neither the goldfish nor the plecos touch. Maybe I'm just lucky in that aspect. December 2020, the emersed plants are looking amazing and the aquarium plants are also filled in and looking fantastic. No issues with the goldies digging them up and the val that has spread to the front of the tank as no issues either cause of the dense root system. Taken as the lights are dimming so it's a little dark. late night water change. I removed the planter from the left and the roots just hang in the water since they outgrew it. No issues that I can see of the roots being nibbled on And that brings me to 2021. These photos are of my snakeskin gourami pair from January hiding in the val. The platys are constantly breeding as are the plecos, I just allow whatever fry to survive in the plants to survive. I finally had the heart to add some new goldies in January. Goldfish tax. A couple of the new additions: A good shot of the pleco caves. And finally, some glamour shots from last week showing the tank as it is now. I have added some bolbitis earlier this year. I need to trim the emersed plants since they are getting choked out now for light with how dense they are. susan and sam (snakeskin pair) have really grown since I first got them at 3". They're between 7-8" now and I want to breed them this year. The blue gourami is an opaline gourami, she has also been in here since the beginning. I wouldn't recommend this combo to anyone but I've had her for about 5 years now so I'm attached and she's too much of a bully to go into my other tanks. In this tank I think the combo of cooler water and bigger fish keep her calm and I have zero issues with her picking on anyone. She's a big girl at around 5" as well. You can see how big Benji has gotten in the few months I've had him/her as well. new ranchu tax If you scrolled through all of that, thank you! I would love to hear suggestions, thoughts, etc. I can also answer any questions you may have. I plant to keep this journal updated with future growth and progress, I did remove half of the bolbitis to add to a different tank I am redoing. I do also have a tank upgrade in the future for these guys since I know they're gonna outgrow the 90g. The pandemic put a hold on that but I think this home is good for them for this year at least. Thanks for reading!
  21. i used my heart gun to loosen the silicone (you can use a hair dryer) and a new razor blade to cut through it. just take your time and it should be relatively easy
  22. i see what you mean now, i might do that, thanks! it definitely looks neater than wrapped around. im thinking if doing a trimming cause the undergrowth is dying off from being choked out now so i’ll do it then. thanks again.
  23. thank you! i do have the light cord wrapped and taped (electrical tape) to the handle, the cord goes behind the aloe planter so it is hidden the sponge filter and air pump are hidden behind the driftwood on the right side of the tank so neither are visible either. i do need to tuck the airline hose in so it isnt sticking out though so good call. i appreciate the compliment, thank you!
  24. thank you! orange mexican dwarf crayfish, they go by cpo as well.
×
×
  • Create New...