tank beautifying tips. planted tank...

yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
i want to have a respectable fw planted tank. this tank is my moms (as i am in to sw) but i thought i would clean it up for her and make it look nice. here are some pics of the tank
DSCF0199.jpg

DSCF0200.jpg
here is a pic of the filter that came with it. it is a whisper power filter 20. i added the aqua tech 10 today cause it was just laying around
DSCF0196.jpg
this first one is the wpf and the second one is th at
DSCF0197.jpg

also should i run this inside of the filter like it says?
DSCF0195.jpg

here the pic of the light. it has a blue tint and is like 15 watts
DSCF0198.jpg
 
PEMfish

PEMfish

Well-Known Member
Clean the glass, add a background, hide the heater, and remove the white objects and we'll see were we're at.
 
R

RyanG

Member
Agree with PEMfish, also you should look into adding a few more plants. Low light stuff IE anubias look into adding some foreground stuff to give the tank some more depth.
 
yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
okay i'l remove the shells and clean the glass tonight. the heater should be well hidden behind that bunch of plants. could i add anymore fish? what should the temperature of the water be? would sand as a substrate work better? what type of new light should i do if i want to make that upgrade? also what do i do about the black thing. if i do run do i have to clean it like once a week?
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
dwarf grass in front of the java fren would look lice and give a gradiet to the back. the best planting scheme is few plant species in abundance. think planting a reak garden. ground cover and show pieces.
 
yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
okay i will try this out. what about the co2 reator? i have seen things about DIY one... should i atempt this? what does gradeit look like? really what is it?
 
yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
should i run the black thing in the pic? what type of lighting upgrade do i need to do if i need to do one? what should the temperture be like 80-82? i think my heater is broken as it seems to always be on
 
yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
right now the heater is broken its always the temp is like 85*f i don't know how they are still alive if its suposed to be that cold
 
pinantanjohn

pinantanjohn

Member
yungreefer2410 said:
okay i will try this out. what about the co2 reator? i have seen things about DIY one... should i atempt this? what does gradeit look like? really what is it?
Click to expand...



If you have a bubble curtain in the back you won't need to inject CO2 and it helps keep the water mixed and the fish have a bit of a current to play in. It is only if you are having a lot of high light, fast growing plants that this becomes necessary. Also, the shells are saltwater species and it has been my rule not to mix salt stuff with fresh... Not sure why, maybe a calcium thing...

If you slope the gravel you will simulate a deeper tank as well. Do a search for "forced perspective" and see how they do it in the movies.
 
pinantanjohn

pinantanjohn

Member
Ok, but the only times I've had problems with plants in the tank was when I didn't have active air input. Plants actually use both co2 and o2. I learned that with hydroponics. The root system needs good gas exchange or there will be problems with root development. I don't think it that much different with aquatic based plants. Maybe not as important...

John
 
evallarta1

evallarta1

Member
Depending on how far your willing to go, you could do a lot. How full do you want to make it? There are two kind of fresh tanks, fish and plant (normally in a plant tank youll only have a small amount of fish). Either way I would get rid of you HOB filter and go with a canister filter like a fluval. Youll have more options as to media and your flow and quality of water will be so much better. AND like in salt bigger is better. Most dedicated plant tanks are built in levels, like stadium seating, divided by pieces of glass or plexi. The back being the highest. Usually they have some sort of soil substrate covered by gravel. The plants will get most of their nutrients from the soil. And the gravel keeps the soil from floating into your water. You can also put a "plant light" in there. You can pick one up at any Pet store for pretty cheap. Also there is plant food that you can add to the water. And as for CO2, I dont know if you would really need to put in a CO2 reactor. Water plants produce 02 and consume CO2 during the day. At night they actual consume 02 and produce CO2. So your going to have CO2 along with water ever fish you have in the tank. Depending on how serious you are your wallet and room would be the limit.
 
yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
i'm not real serious about it as it will be transformed into saltwater in a few months i just want it to look nice and "full" with easy plants
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top