First attempt at a planted tank

[Spiritofthesoul]

Here's a pic of my 70G planted tank.



Currently running on CO2 (2~3bps) and chiller (25 degree C)

Tank has been running for roughly a week now, can't wait to see the monte carlo carpet.

ps: Those round coloured rocks are temp there to keep the driftwoods from floating and will be removed once they get waterlogged.

 

[Manu8__too]

Looks good. What's your dosing regime like? Have you tried EI?

 

[Browning]

Even though the rocks are temps once its grown up a bit could still be a nice touch imo. But looks great so far.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Looks good. What's your dosing regime like? Have you tried EI?

Currently dosing Seachem Flourish and Liquid iron supplements as recommended.

I just started with Seachem NPK line and dosed P and K at half the dosage as advised for beginners and slowly increase if need be.

Currently still unsure if I should dose N as well as my livestock is pretty heavy. Any advise?

 

[Manu8__too]

Currently dosing Seachem Flourish and Liquid iron supplements as recommended.

I just started with Seachem NPK line and dosed P and K at half the dosage as advised for beginners and slowly increase if need be.

Currently still unsure if I should dose N as well as my livestock is pretty heavy. Any advise?

N uptake will depend largely on how well/fast your plants are growing. Once they really get going you'll find that they utilize N quite fast. When his happens, you'll likely want to start dosing KN03.

Also, with a tank that size you will need to make sure you're diffusing Co2 very efficiently. Are you using a drop checker? If not, I definitely recommend you pick one up. It may indicate that you need to run more than 2-3 bps.

 

[jay973]

Great start. Look forward to the plants growing.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

N uptake will depend largely on how well/fast your plants are growing. Once they really get going you'll find that they utilize N quite fast. When his happens, you'll likely want to start dosing KN03.

Also, with a tank that size you will need to make sure you're diffusing Co2 very efficiently. Are you using a drop checker? If not, I definitely recommend you pick one up. It may indicate that you need to run more than 2-3 bps.

Yup I'm using a drop checker. For diffusion, I'm using an external reactor which the LFS owner suggested a lower bps than usual (3-4) when using a ceramic diffuser as external reactor diffuse co2 much better.

I'm currently putting N on hold to see if my livestock is providing enough waste for my plants

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Great start. Look forward to the plants growing.

Thanks, I'm excited as well

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Just a quick update

Had an algae bloom recently. But fixed it by water changes, reducing light and increasing CO2 bps. Also I've added more yamato shrimps to deal with them, and my black mollys have been picking on algaes on the plants.

Here is the tank as of now

Hygrophila pinnatifia is definitely growing like weed! Monte carlo is slowing carpetting and I've added some mini fissiden on the rocks as well as flame moss.

Besides that, I also added some more livestocks, so check them out.

Congo Tetras

Hillstream loaches

Mexico dwarf lobsters

 

[Fat Homer]

Tank looks really sweet, should look even better once the carpet fills in...