Ruud's Tank collection (formerly "a 100 liter tank in Spain")

[Ruud]

Hello all, 

I have been having tanks off and on over the past years, been a while without them when I moved to Spain but started again about 3 years ago. 

This tank I started a while back, then broke it down as the brown algae and lack of plant growth drew me nuts... its a recurring theme in my tanks - bb algae - so happy to hear any guidance on doing things better this time. Not sure what I am doing wrong as I have strong filtration and little nitrate. Perhaps I need to do a better job of cleaning bottom etc, not sure

Any way, the tank is a 100 Liter tank, 80cm wide . Its got around 20 liters of "Ocean Free Aqua gro plants & shrimp soil"  in it and I just put in some pieces of finger wood (still need to submerge) and an Anubia I picked up last week. Not sure if it will stay as I am lacking a planting plan still. Filtration is run through a 207 Fluval external cannister filter and its been cycling for a few days now with a bit of Seachem stability. Lighting is done by Nicrew G2 classic led with 1910lm turned down to its maximum to get started (I think I have powered it on too much in the past)

Happy to hear peoples thoughts on EASY and LOW TECH plants that I can't kill. Would love a bit of carpeting on the soil. Defo will put in some moss balls when I can find them. What else?? Love to hear people's thoughts to set this up in a good way. 

Fish? I am thinking Apisto Borelli's or supered agasizi's, some shrimps perhaps (never had them) and a group of tbc Cory's (I have Sterbai's in my cube tank) . Maybe move the lemon tetra's from my cube to this one, not sure

Love to hear people's thoughts and inputs! 

 

Besides this tank I also have a 70L Cube tank that is stocked and a 35L currently empty

Edited October 26, 2023 by Ruud

[Sora]

I would recommend dwarf aquarium Lilly. buy it as a bulb and bury it in the soil. they grow huge and will put up Lilly pads. very hard to kill and takes up space.

 

[nabokovfan87]

Carpeting plants, I think you could get away with something like S.Repens, Hydrocotyle species, and even something like microsword. They are very unique, each have their own little challenges.  I think of those three, the S.Repens can probably be the "most challenging. 

As for other plants, I don't think you can go wrong at all with a pile of plants and some nice anubias.  Because you have the soil substrate and you have the nice big tank, a generic amazon sword should do really nicely for you.  There is also red melon swords and other things.  With those plants all you would need to do is add some root tabs every 2-3 months and fertilize as normal with your liquid ferts.

Alright, what else.... I love the red lotus recommendation above.  Val is also a really easy one to manage and to grow.  There's a lot of really impactful plants that work well for a bigger setup.  If you want 2 slightly more challenging ones.  I would check out pogostemon erectus (not the octopus) and then look into bacopa species. Bacopa Caroliniana being my personal favorite.  Ludwigia is another stem plant that should do really well in those situations once you get more comfortable.

[Ruud]

Thanks Sora, not sure I can find these here easily but will check. 

Thanks Nabokov, I definitely don't want challenging plans. I am not sure what I am doing wrong but am always killing plants and tanks turning brown with algae... Yes to Valisneria and perhaps a Sword (though it seems swords to attract brown algae). I would love some carpeting but definitely the most easy possible. 

I want to start looking into getting some shrimp which would help too. I am able to get my water to PH 7-7.2 so that should still be doable for shrimp I feel. 

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

 

[beastie]

I love my Marsilea hirsuta as a carpeting plant. Does not require too much light or fertilizer, grows slow, no need to trim. A winner in my book. You just ave to be patient as it takes it few weeks to switch from emersed to submersed. Cryptocoryne affinis and echinodorus bleherae are mine "didnt kill them yet" plants. Dwarf lillies are fun, but they tend to react badly to swings and shed leaves. Sort o like hornwort. Too sensitive for me

Regarding stocking, corydoras and apistograma work only if the apistos are not paired and you only have a single one. if you want a pair, dont get another bottom dweller and focus more on the upper region for some dither fish, tetra, nannostomus,...

 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 9/25/2023 at 8:31 PM, Sora said:

very hard to kill and takes up space.

Also makes for great hiding spaces for fish and ✨spawning spots✨.

[Ruud]

On 9/26/2023 at 1:15 PM, beastie said:

I love my Marsilea hirsuta as a carpeting plant. Does not require too much light or fertilizer, grows slow, no need to trim. A winner in my book. You just ave to be patient as it takes it few weeks to switch from emersed to submersed. Cryptocoryne affinis and echinodorus bleherae are mine "didnt kill them yet" plants. Dwarf lillies are fun, but they tend to react badly to swings and shed leaves. Sort o like hornwort. Too sensitive for me

Regarding stocking, corydoras and apistograma work only if the apistos are not paired and you only have a single one. if you want a pair, dont get another bottom dweller and focus more on the upper region for some dither fish, tetra, nannostomus,...

 

Thanks, that's good info.... I never thought about that with Apisto's and Cories, so will take that into account. And look into the recommended plants

 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 9/26/2023 at 6:36 PM, Ruud said:

Marsilea hirsuta

I’m definitely trying that! 

[Ruud]

I am going to one LFS this afternoon, let's see what I can find. Usually I don't find what I want or they have weird names and I don't know what it is. There is not much here in terms of LFS unfortunately. 

[Ruud]

Ok got some plants, off course not what I was looking for but here's the score:

- Moss balls

- Amazon sword

- Java fern 

and a few others I forgot the name and forgot to take a pic of what it is . Most of these will go in this tank, if I have overflow there is still lots of room in the 10G and the Cube (which I need to re-do too - pull out the fine sand and put real substrate in it)

 

Btw in the end I went to 2 different shops ... both didn't have any easy carpet plants except for Monte Carlo but haven't had the best of luck with that. Both also told me they can't get any quality Vallisneria (a plant I wanted) which seems odd to me. 

[Ruud]

Just realizing I forgot to get glue for the Java Fern and Anubis.... is it dangerous to use regular cva glue?

[beastie]

all glue that is cyanoacrylate is safe. I use a superglue 🙂 

[Ruud]

Thanks Beastie! 

Another question... what is the popular opinion for a planted tank: cannister filter or sponge. I am reading more and more people saying use a sponge and avoid too much current which plants don't like and will increase algae. Currently have a Fluval 207 which is quite over capacity.... but pulling it out and putting a sponge in is a cheap solution if it helps me avoiding algae and have plants that are blossoming. Or maybe add a spray bar to the 207 to increase oxygen flow? Thanks as always!

Edited September 27, 2023 by Ruud

[nabokovfan87]

I would run the 207 with a spraybar.

[Ruud]

Current state, still need to find a spot for the carpet plant that's now up front in the plastic pot. Still have a big Java fern and a big Anubia I could plant, not sure. 

Question: what is my next step ? What amount of hours of light do I put and at what point in time should I start adding fertilizer. There should be plenty of food in the substrate as is. As said I am not too worried about adding fish, just want to ensure that I have a nice and healthy planted balanced tank with good plant growth and little algae

[beastie]

I have canister filter in my 360liter tank, but even my 150 liter is just a large sponge filter. But I wanted a current 🙂 Four other of my tanks, 60, 54, 40 and 25 l, are run on sponges with almost full throttle, so virtually no flow. But I have fish that like it that way.

You should adjust the flow based on a sensory test - put your hand slowly into the tank in various places, if water is colder in some, the flow needs to be adjusted. 

 

As tank beginnings go, now is the hardest part - waiting. In the beginnings, before bacteria is established, I often dont even do a water change. It will take at least a month for plants to start growing or switch from emersed to submersed. At this point, and maybe another few months, there is zero point in fertilizing. The plants wont use it and you will end up with bacterial blooms and protein films on the surface. Deploy an army of snails ( I love ramshorns) to help with the decomposing leaves and to create natural fertilizers.  There are many who will disagree with my approach, there are many products you can waste money on, there are many ways to achieve a balanced state. I usually go with plants from other people fishtanks ( accommodated to fish tank water and will start growing after initial two week shock period unlike storebought), gunk from other peoples tanks/spongefilters/filters that I ran in other tanks. People do not like to wait, but giving the tank two months, with snails and some water changes, is ensuring the most stable environment that wont be swayed by a bioload change once you add fish. 

You may end up regretting the mossballs, like I often did, read up on them, take them out, wash them, squeeze them, blame them for hair algae. You will need more plans, waiting for the initial ones to grow and not buying more from the start is a common mistake we are all guilty off. That is why I opt for some trash plant, like hornwort, naias or anything else that is fast growing nd most often gifted by other keepers who throw it out by buttloads. Check FB marketplace and groups

[Ruud]

Cheers Beastie, I don't mind waiting and have 0 urgency to add fish. Hell I don't even know what to put in there yet, choosing fish is always the hardest for me.

I will read up on moss balls and put them in my Cube for now which already has had plenty of algae (fighting the battle). So if I understand you correctly you would add more plants still?

What about hours of light and light intensity initially, to ensure growth and keep away from algae whilst the tank is cycling?

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated! 

[beastie]

I propose you do a little reading, since for me it has been years since I did a cycle without some jumpstart, so I dont follow the whole process and dont need to wait for the bacterial equilibrium, which makes me a bad example for your case

https://www.myaquariumclub.com/why-you-should-limit-light-usage-when-cycling-an-aquarium-6707.html

There are many pros and cons to limiting lighting, using light in a normal period or extending. All will play a role in bacteria balance, algae and plants picking up on growth

There is always place for more plants. I love the MD tank channel on youtube and even if his designs are oneoff and he makes many mistakes and the designs wont stand a chance long term and in terms of maintenance, you can see he uses four times as much plants right from the start. Some of his scapes are georgeous https://www.youtube.com/c/MDFishTanks I do not agree with adding too many stones ,as they just take the water volume, and unlike wood have lower usage for the tank, in terms of plants, he is not a bad inspiration for the volume or some kinds or combination. I wish I had his eye for this. 

I did very recently bump my tank from low on plants to not so low, but not too filled yet

to this

and in few weeks this

And while initially I was like " well this doesnt look bad" now I am "oh wow this is so much better" 🙂

 

You have time to add more, so check the swap places, check some of his designs, read up on other plans, do a 6 hour light cycle or whatever you figure out is best and slowly will see

[Ruud]

Yeah I know and am following the MD channel. Partially it makes me sad as I never had such clear water tanks and such nicely scaled tanks, but also know that all tanks look good when you start them. 

I forgot to say, I used media from my other tank into this Fluval, so there is some headstart on cycling but with the new substrate and all will still have to be very careful. Yup will read on more and see how it goes and adjust accordingly. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/28/2023 at 4:08 AM, Ruud said:

Question: what is my next step ? What amount of hours of light do I put and at what point in time should I start adding fertilizer. There should be plenty of food in the substrate as is. As said I am not too worried about adding fish, just want to ensure that I have a nice and healthy planted balanced tank with good plant growth and little algae

8 hours is about the usual start spot.

Depending on the light in question, based on tank size and all that, I would start at 30-40% and then keep an eye on everything. Run it for 2-3 weeks and then adjust accordingly.

[Ruud]

On 9/28/2023 at 10:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

8 hours is about the usual start spot.

Depending on the light in question, based on tank size and all that, I would start at 30-40% and then keep an eye on everything. Run it for 2-3 weeks and then adjust accordingly.

Thanks Nabokov, my light is a Nicer G2 classic led currently set at 6 hours and around 30% intensity. I will up the hours a bit and keep it at the same level of intensity and see how it goes! 

[Ruud]

Update after around 5 days of plants in the tank - I don't see much or any growth to be honest. Temperature is at 26 degrees, lights are on approx 30% and on continuous for 7 hours a day. I am adding Seachem Flourish advance every other day. The wood has a little film of biofilm and the 207 has some bio media from my 107. Thoughts/Advice appreciated to get these growing. As you can see on one of the pics, the Sword has some leaves that are melting. 

 

Edit : Later today or tomorrow I will visit another LFS that I never been to, and see what they have in plants. Ideally I would like to add 1 or 2 fast growers still to this tank. 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Ruud

[Ruud]

Went to another LFS and added these two plants

One is a Crypto, not sure which maybe Lucens? The other plant I am not quite sure of it's name, so happy to hear if anyone knows. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:21 AM, Ruud said:

The other plant I am not quite sure of it's name, so happy to hear if anyone knows. 

Looks like pogostemon stellatus, depending  how it grows and colors I think it might be dassen version.

Edited October 3, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Ruud]

Cheers Nakobovfan87! It has a tiny bit of red on top, they told me it wasn't the easiest plant but since its pretty I am giving it a try. I googled and you are right, its a Pogostemon stellatus. 

I will post an update picture of the current state tomorrow. Upped the lighting with 15 minutes for now, let's see. 

I have decided to move my 8 lemon tetra's and pair of baby Angels to this tank for sure, and potentially the 6 Sterbai cory's . 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Ruud