280 planted tank in progress (ideas and opinions welcome)

[bandraoi dúchasach]

look brilliant job well done. i would start shaping the larger plants at the back a bit but other then that well done. I will have to take a few tips from you how to grow aquatics like you do!!

[phea2]

calm down ''John''. i use easylife: easycarbo, profito, and sometimes ferro (i dose the ferro not because the plants show the need, i just do it cause i have it sitting there...lol).

look brilliant job well done. i would start shaping the larger plants at the back a bit but other then that well done. I will have to take a few tips from you how to grow aquatics like you do!!

pruning, pruning, and pruning... did i mention pruning? oh and enough amount of lights, ferts, and Co2.

[phea2]

Did a pruning today and decided to take some photos and make a video to show you how its getting on.

The Angelfish had eggs about a week... a bit early to be honest, they are only about 4 months old. The eggs were ate by the parents few minutes after being laid.

Recap of Fauna:
8 Angelfish,
3 Discus,
6 Harlequin Rasbora,
3 Oto,
2 black widow,
1 Albino Corydoras,
2 Sterbai Corydoras,
4 Cardinal Tetras,
14 Neon Tetras,
4 Amano Shrimps,
An uncountable amount of Red Cherry.

Flora:
Rotala Rotundifolia,
Ludwigia Brevipes,
Micranthemum Micranthemoides,
Vallisneria Spiralis,
Vallisneria Nana,
Hydrophila Difformis
Eleocharis Parvula (hairgrass)
Hemianthus Callitrichoides (HC Cuba)
Blyxa Japonica need some massive pruning as well.
Some Moss got into my tank probably when i moved some stones from my shrimp tank... the moss has started to take over the foreground..

[Dclifford]

Well done. All plants and fish looking really healthy.

[bandraoi dúchasach]

did i see shrimp in there.. do the discus leave them alone?

[kopidol]

Great bloody job phea!

[Acara]

Excellent mate,when did I see it? Was when you were pulling it apart and starting this,about Jan-Feb?

[phea2]

Excellent mate,when did I see it? Was when you were pulling it apart and starting this,about Jan-Feb?

It was in May.

did i see shrimp in there.. do the discus leave them alone?

Discus leaves them alone but not the Angelfish.. they keep picking on them. but they are red cherry shrimps (breed like mad).


And thanks to everybody else.

[The DAWG]

Verry nice mate
I have to admit I am a fan of the planted tanks

[phea2]

been thinking of redoing my tank or get a bigger one, what you think of those two tanks?





this is a sketch i made... just realised that its only displaying 2/3 of the drawing.

[keith-b]

i like the one in the first pic above your tank also looks very well

[gerryberry]

Has to be the first one

You own tank is stunning well done


Jeff

[phea2]

The problem with the three tanks are that the discus and angelfish won't have any shade areas to hide. That's why I was thinking to do kind of a replique of the first one with some tall grass on the right corner and put some blyxa japonica in front of the tall grass. For the foreground I'm going to use hc Cuba. And the rest would be like in the first photo. With some staurogyne sp. in front of the stones.

[phea2]

hey forks, did a winter cleaning.. Adult angelfish are gone.. here are some photos.. it's been a week already and the plants are starting to show some growth. i've added some more manado and a bag of fertiliser under that. i already started to add liquid fertiliser but no Co2 yet. will probably start the Co2 during this week.

Flora: ludwigia brevipes, rotala rotundifolia, hemianthus micranthemoides, Staurogyne sp, eleocharis parvula (hairgrass), hemianthus callitrichoides ''cuba'' (HC cuba), Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis, pogostemon erectus, Blyxa Japonica, and Anubias barteri var. nana

Flauna: Fauna: 6 Blue Angelfish fry, 3 Discus, 6 Harlequin Rasbora, 13 Neon Tetra, 5 Cardinal Tetra,
2 Black Widow Tetra, 5 Oto, 1 Albino Cory, 2 Stebai Cory, some endlers, some Cherry Shrimps (lost a lot of shrimps while emptying the tank).



That's a little sketch i made few weeks before starting everything (i always make sketches first) first photo is the plants layout and second is the contour lines of the gravel. It's not exactly the same tho


Plants are starting to kick off nicely


left side of tank


close up of the hard scape on the left


middle of the tank.


you might not really notice that the gravel drop at the middle back


Right corner of the tank.


close up of the mid ground.


My anubias managed to get a place in the tank on the external filter intake.

[phea2]

Some more update:

Upgraded my light from 4x39w to 4x54w. The new light unit arrived yesterday.



Full tank


Right corner (had a bit of trouble with the HC Cuba, but it is starting to show some growth)


Left corner


Middle side


Micranthemum Micranthemoides after trim (forgot to take photos of before trimming)



First first i bought in the country.. (4 years ago??!!!)


Added a female sterbai after finding out that the two i had was boys


Oto having a feast!!


Discus hiding almost all the time


Did i say ''hiding''?