I haven't been on mfk in a while. This is a go through from April when I started this to now..
This is what works for me..
Light: T5 HO 2 24W bulbs.
I took florite and covered the bottom, capped it with Lake Erie beach gravel and tossed in some beach glass for looks. Just florite is a mess if you ask me. I also take ice cubes and freeze osmocote with water and push them into the substrate to dissolve.
I don't run any co2, I dose excel carbon. (also helps with algae.) Most any other ferts I tried over the past few months hurt the juvi shrimp population, so I don't use any water column ferts, just some osmocote pellets, and I started with a good substrate.
My current stock is
11 cardinal tetras
pair of australe killies
cherry shrimp
4 bristlenose plecos
snails.. I have a few species.. nerite, and some small hitch hikers that came on the plant that play around in the gravel.
I never added more crypts, those ones in the first picture are the same plants I have today, same with the java moss and driftwood. I did take the pots out as it filled in. Tank looks better in person.. my camera phone sucks.
Hope you guys like it, this tank has been a lot of fun! Any questions I will do my best to help out with.. this tank is very low tech.. not hard to setup and run.
Pictures go from April to Today.. Should be in order if I loaded them all right!!
Hope you guys like it! Not an "mfk tank" but I like it.
This is what works for me..
Light: T5 HO 2 24W bulbs.
I took florite and covered the bottom, capped it with Lake Erie beach gravel and tossed in some beach glass for looks. Just florite is a mess if you ask me. I also take ice cubes and freeze osmocote with water and push them into the substrate to dissolve.
I don't run any co2, I dose excel carbon. (also helps with algae.) Most any other ferts I tried over the past few months hurt the juvi shrimp population, so I don't use any water column ferts, just some osmocote pellets, and I started with a good substrate.
My current stock is
11 cardinal tetras
pair of australe killies
cherry shrimp
4 bristlenose plecos
snails.. I have a few species.. nerite, and some small hitch hikers that came on the plant that play around in the gravel.
I never added more crypts, those ones in the first picture are the same plants I have today, same with the java moss and driftwood. I did take the pots out as it filled in. Tank looks better in person.. my camera phone sucks.
Hope you guys like it, this tank has been a lot of fun! Any questions I will do my best to help out with.. this tank is very low tech.. not hard to setup and run.
Pictures go from April to Today.. Should be in order if I loaded them all right!!
Hope you guys like it! Not an "mfk tank" but I like it.
