My planted tank: An epic saga.

ehh

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Aug 30, 2013
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I took the dive into live plants. Here is their story...

I decided to use my 20 long for this attempt. Substrate is "Stoney river aquarium sand". It houses a stunted catfish, a bn pleco, and a deformed peacock cichlid(Stumps).



In my research of what lights to use I came to the conclusion that reptile UVA/UVB bulbs would do the job. I happened to have an exoterra light fixture laying around. So I thought I would put it to use.


I purchased a reptiglo 2.0 bulb because it is higher in the red spectrum and 7000k. And a reptiglo 5.0 because it is higher in the blue spectrum and 21000k.


I went with anubias and wendtii red.



I kept them in the pots because I honestly didn't know what else to do haha. I keep them out of direct light as they both don't require very strong lighting.

I also purchased a bottle of seachem flourish. I add about a table spoon once a week, at water change time.

The algae in the tank hasn't exploded but my bn helps keep it under control.

It's been three, going on four, months and the plants have been doing so well. I have not lost a single leaf and the plants continue to grow.



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jeremoose

Candiru
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Aug 10, 2011
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Love reading stuff like this. I'm impressed Stumpy hasn't shredded your plants, mine wouldn't even let me have Anubias. More pics?
 

ehh

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Love reading stuff like this. I'm impressed Stumpy hasn't shredded your plants, mine wouldn't even let me have Anubias. More pics?
He has taken a few bites of the anubias but nothing big. He completely ignores the wendtii.

More pics of the tank or the fish? Or both?


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F1 VET

THE serrasalmus rhom
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Nov 3, 2011
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Surprised the 21000k bulb hasn't caused algae. And uvb bulbs are certainly more expensive then other cfls at lhs. You can buy 6000-7000k lights at Walmart for <5$ and they will work just as good if not better!

I guess if it works it works, more plants and perhaps a nice piece of driftwood?

Nice start tho! And what happened to that dorsal fin?

×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
 

ehh

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Thanks!
I didn't know I could use those lights. Good to know. I work at the store I bought the bulbs from so I got them for pretty cheap. But good to know for when I need to replace them.
The 21k bulb grows a ton of algae on the lid but in the water, like I said, the pleco keeps it pretty clean.
The cichlid was born like that. We received him at our store as "mixed peacock" and I thought he would end up biting the dust. But he was actually the ONLY fish from that group to color up. My gf didn't want him to go to a bad home so I set up a tank for him.


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doomiedee

Fire Eel
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Nov 13, 2011
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Surprised the 21000k bulb hasn't caused algae. And uvb bulbs are certainly more expensive then other cfls at lhs. You can buy 6000-7000k lights at Walmart for <5$ and they will work just as good if not better!

I guess if it works it works, more plants and perhaps a nice piece of driftwood?

Nice start tho! And what happened to that dorsal fin?

×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
__________________________________________________________________
Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
+1 I just got a 6,500k full spectrum bulb for $5. I had my Anubis growing with this bulb for months now.


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