Dynara's 40 gallon planted

[dynara]

So I thought I'd keep a journal for this tank as it's my first real attempt at a planted setup.

Equipment is as follows:
Tank: 40 gallon (36" x 15" x 18") with pine stand
Filtration: Eheim Classis 2213 and AquaClear 70
Heater: 150w but thinking of upping this to a 200w
Light: Hagen Glo T5HO 2x39w (don't have this yet but about to order it)

My current thinking is to do a Southeast Asian biotope with small fish that will complement the plants - so nothing too flashy and distracting (but still beautiful). I want the plants/aquascaping to be as much a focus as the fish. Never attempted anything like this before and have no idea if I can pull it of to my satisfaction but, hey, it'll be fun trying.

As far as plants go I know I want Crypts, Java Moss, Java Fern and Aponogeton, but other than that I'm not too sure. I'd like to have a few other species - something with a different types of leaves as, other than the moss, those listed above all have similar shaped leaves. I'll have to trowel through plantgeek and see what I can find that's from the same region and has suitable light requirements etc (I'd like to avoid doing co2 if I can).

Fish I'm a little less certain on. For those of you who've seen my introduction thread you'll know that I'll potentially be travelling fairly often for work and my mum'll be looking after the tank whenever I'm away. I'd like to make this tank as low maintenance as possible so she doesn't have too much to do and there's less chance of things going wrong. So I'll be keeping things well understocked with just one school of small fish (probably rasboras). I'd like to have a 'final picture' in mind of what the stocking will be once the tanks well established and my mum and I are both more confident about maintaining it though. I'd still like to keep it well below capacity stocking but would eventually like to flesh things out a little, add one or two other species and get a more rounded biotope going.

So here's what I was thinking I'd eventually like to see in the tank:
a decent sized school of smaller rasboras - probably harlequins
a small (but at least half a dozen) school of small loaches - either dwarf chain or khuli
and either a single or a small group of one of the smaller species of gourami - sparkling or chocolate maybe

For now it would just be a school of rasboras. The fish places around here occasionally have some of the less common species but I think I'll be going for the harlequins, I like the shape of the fish and I think the black/orange colouring would look really good with all the greens of the plants without being too bright.

So what does everyone think? Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The tank is currently out on the verandah being tested for leaks (so far so good - the cat's name is Mr Toes by the way) but will be moved into place this afternoon. Then I just need to buy some dechlorinator (I have a bottle but it's been sitting around half empty for the last six months and I don't trust it) and a few other bits and pieces and I can start cycling!

[cichlids209]

So I thought I'd keep a journal for this tank as it's my first real attempt at a planted setup.

Equipment is as follows:
Tank: 40 gallon (36" x 15" x 18") with pine stand
Filtration: Eheim Classis 2213 and AquaClear 70
Heater: 150w but thinking of upping this to a 200w
Light: Hagen Glo T5HO 2x39w (don't have this yet but about to order it)

My current thinking is to do a Southeast Asian biotope with small fish that will complement the plants - so nothing too flashy and distracting (but still beautiful). I want the plants/aquascaping to be as much a focus as the fish. Never attempted anything like this before and have no idea if I can pull it of to my satisfaction but, hey, it'll be fun trying.

As far as plants go I know I want Crypts, Java Moss, Java Fern and Aponogeton, but other than that I'm not too sure. I'd like to have a few other species - something with a different types of leaves as, other than the moss, those listed above all have similar shaped leaves. I'll have to trowel through plantgeek and see what I can find that's from the same region and has suitable light requirements etc (I'd like to avoid doing co2 if I can).

Fish I'm a little less certain on. For those of you who've seen my introduction thread you'll know that I'll potentially be travelling fairly often for work and my mum'll be looking after the tank whenever I'm away. I'd like to make this tank as low maintenance as possible so she doesn't have too much to do and there's less chance of things going wrong. So I'll be keeping things well understocked with just one school of small fish (probably rasboras). I'd like to have a 'final picture' in mind of what the stocking will be once the tanks well established and my mum and I are both more confident about maintaining it though. I'd still like to keep it well below capacity stocking but would eventually like to flesh things out a little, add one or two other species and get a more rounded biotope going.

So here's what I was thinking I'd eventually like to see in the tank:
a decent sized school of smaller rasboras - probably harlequins
a small (but at least half a dozen) school of small loaches - either dwarf chain or khuli
and either a single or a small group of one of the smaller species of gourami - sparkling or chocolate maybe

For now it would just be a school of rasboras. The fish places around here occasionally have some of the less common species but I think I'll be going for the harlequins, I like the shape of the fish and I think the black/orange colouring would look really good with all the greens of the plants without being too bright.

So what does everyone think? Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The tank is currently out on the verandah being tested for leaks (so far so good - the cat's name is Mr Toes by the way) but will be moved into place this afternoon. Then I just need to buy some dechlorinator (I have a bottle but it's been sitting around half empty for the last six months and I don't trust it) and a few other bits and pieces and I can start cycling!


Very nice tank ! :) congrats my only suggestion is maybe a glass tops for it. To keep Mr. Toes out lol he already likes hanging out by it . i have some Harlequin rasboras there awesome lil piggies and active

[dynara]

Thanks dane. The tank does have glass lids but if my cats stay true to form there shouldn't be any problems - we already have a pond in the backyard full of white cloud mountain minnows and they completely ignore them - same with the cockatiel.

Adding Ambulia and Hygrophila to the list of plants I want to have.

[dynara]

So I got the dechlorinator, the 200 watt heater and some new filter media today. Got home set everything up, put the background on the tank (black wrapping paper - only thing I could find that was large enough that I wouldn't have a seam showing, think it'll look good with a dark substrate and plants) and started the filters up. The AC works fine but when I turned the canister on... damn, a leak. It's in one of the taps (or whatever those things are with the switches that let you keep the suction when you take the filter off to clean it so you don't have to prime it everytime). I checked everything I could think of, it's definitely not the connections to the hose and I tried switching around the taps and it still leaks, so it looks like I have to go shopping for spare parts tomorrow. Oh well, the AC can start the cycling process going in the meantime. I'm cycling with fish food - can't get hold of soap-free ammonia for love or money around here.

On a brighter note I ordered the light today, and a new test kit - half the things in my old one are almost empty and it's been kicking around for a good six or seven months.

[wolf_eyes]

Hello,
It sounds like you have really nice setup in planning. Asian fish are very beautiful. In my spare time, just to tell you how much of a nerd I am, I made a list of plants and the areas they are native to. If you want I can give you the Asian part of the list so you can see what plant interest you. With the hagen glo that you ordered you will have about 2 wpg. This will allow for more than just low light plants, usually 2wpg is considered in the medium low/medium range.

As for fish have you thought of a pearl gourami? They are pretty peaceful if given enough space and are very striking. I had one in a 20g long and he was just stunning, especially when he emerged from a group of plants. I would personally stay away from chocolate gouramis as they are considered very fragile and need soft water.

[dynara]

Thanks wolf, that plant list would be great. I've considered the pearls. At the moment I'm thinking I'd like to keep the fish all roughly the same size but the gourami will be the last thing I'll be adding and I fully expect to change my mind several times between now and then, so I'm not ruling out anything yet (within the Southeast Asian biotope framework, I'm sure about this one thing at least).

[dynara]

Well I did a ring around of the lfs near me and no one had the part I need for my Eheim in stock, but one of the places is going to order it in for me. Will take a couple of weeks though :scry: Oh well, I guess there's no real hurry while I'm doing the fishless cycle, the AC can keep that going until the canister's back up and running - I'm just feeling impatient.

[dynara]

My new light arrived yesterday. It took about 10 minutes just to unwrap the thing there was so much bubble wrap. But I now have the light set up on the tank... and a mound of bubble wrap about 1m high sitting in the middle of my floor.

Also, the pet store rang - the part for my Eheim filter is in (much sooner than anticipated, yay!) so I'll be picking that up tomorrow.

Now I just have to teach mum how to do the water testing so she can keep the cycling process going while I go to Austria for a three and a half week holiday. lol. Maybe this wasn't the best time to start setting up a tank... But I figure this way mum can get used to taking care of the tank without there being any fish in it to worry about killing, if something goes wrong I haven't really wasted any time, and if all goes to plan I'll come home to a fully cycled tank all ready for fish. thumbs2:

[dynara]

Well I'm back home (Austria was fantastic!) and now, after nearly 24 hours on various planes and a couple days of serious jet lag, I'm ready to get back to work on this tank. As hoped, I've come back to a fully cycled tank (thanks mum!) so I should be able to get things happening fairly quickly.

The plan is to keep using fish food to keep the cycle going while I get together everything I'll need - namely substrate, driftwood, rocks - then when the plants arrive (I'll be ordering them from a local internet-based company I've dealt with before) I'll drain and clean out all the rotting fish food from the tank, get everything set up, planted out and refilled then head off to the lfs for the fish (a school - probably about 12 - of Harlequin rasboras).

I spent the last few hours trawling through websites, narrowing down a list of plants to get. I'm pretty happy with the list as it stands currently:

Aponogeton crispus (a red variety if I can get it)
Ambulia
Hygrophila
A whole bunch of crypts, including Cryptocoryne wendtii
A moss of some sort, either java moss or willow moss
I also need to find a floating plant of some sort (perhaps riccia)

[hockeyhead019]

... I'll drain and clean out all the rotting fish food from the tank, get everything set up, planted out and refilled then head off to the lfs for the fish (a school - probably about 12 - of Harlequin rasboras).

just to make sure we're on the same page don't drain the tank completely of water or you will lose you benifitial bacteria colonies... from how prepared you are it seems as though you've already done you're hw on this and i congratulate you on that haha

best of luck when you get the fish and lets see some pics when you get the plants in!

[dynara]

Thanks hockeyhead. Doing a fishless cycle does tend to give you a lot of time to plan.

From what I understand of the nitrogen cycle though, the water doesn't actually contain much in the way of bacteria which are mostly found in the filter media. So as long as I don't let the filter media dry out (and don't take days fiddling around with driftwood and plants trying to get it just right) I shouldn't lose the cycle.

[SunSchein89]

Welcome back, glad to hear you had a good time on the trip. Harlequin rasboras definitely look good in planted tanks, I have them in one of mine and have seen them in others too; they compliment the plants really well just like you said.

The ambulia looks nice, too, I wish I had found that one earlier. I may consider putting it into my 20 now. I think petco has a fake plant that tries to mimic this one since they do look pretty similar.

Also, what kind of hygrophilia were you planning on using?

Definitely post pics when you get some stuff running thumbs2: .

[korweabo0]

was the stand made by you? i'm planing on doing one exactly like that!

[dynara]

Sunschein89 - Thanks. I was planning on getting Hygrophila polysperma. The other species I can easily get hold of is Hygrophila difformis (Wisteria) but I thought the leaves on that one looked quite similar to the ambulia and I wanted a few different leaf forms in there.

korweabo0 - The stand is just the basic tank stand you can get at most lfs' around here. I'm not at all handy with that kind of stuff and wouldn't really trust anything I built to hold up under the weight of a 40g tank.

[dynara]

Well I spent most of this morning going from one place to another looking for substrate. Eventually I gave up and ordered some eco complete online - thankfully shipping was a flat rate. Oh man, if they charged according to weight... :ssmile:
But it'll probably be a week before it gets here (she sighs impatiently).

I did get three good pieces of driftwood though, which, placed in a certain way and with a few strategically positioned plants, should look like a single, tangled piece. I think it'll look pretty good. For now, they're soaking in a tub of water.

[dynara]

The eco complete arrived today. I got 36kg (80lbs) which should be enough for a good 2.5 - 3 inches of substrate in the tank. My brother's amazed I paid money for 'dirt' (and quite a bit of money, that stuff's not cheap). I'm amazed the company felt the need to bubble wrap substrate. lol. It's from the same place I got my light and they seem to favour copious amounts of packaging. Not exactly environmentally friendly but good for things getting to you in one piece.

Quick question - should I rinse the eco complete? It says not to but I feel a bit iffy about adding any substrate without giving it at least a quick rinse.

I also ordered the plants today (literally the minute the substrate got here, didn't want to order plants and then have the substrate not show up for some reason so I've just been waiting, and waiting, really looking forward to planting this tank up!). I threw caution - and my budget - to the wind and ordered a few extra things that I'd wanted but had decided would make things just that little bit too pricey. But hey, what's $20 more here or there.

So this is the final plant list:
2 x red Aponogeton crispus
2 x bunches of Hygrophila polysperma
2 x bunches of Limnophila sessiliflora (ambulia)
2 x Blyxa japonica
2 x Cryptocoryne wendtii (brown variety)
2 x pot of small assorted crypts
1 x pot of medium assorted crypts
2 x java fern
1 x bag of fontinalis moss

And I still need to get a floating plant but they didn't have anything in stock. The plants probably won't arrive until some time towards the end of next week - they only ship on Tuesdays... and today is Tuesday... but I think I missed the boat this week. But that'll give the driftwood time to get waterlogged, it's still floating at the moment.

[dynara]

OK, so the plants arrived first thing this morning (yay!). There was way more java fern and dwarf blyxa than expected (yay again) but they only had one Crypt. wendtii available and no red Aponogeton crispus (they put in the normal green ones instead - actually think they might look better now that everythings in the tank). They'd put in a freebie too. Not sure what it is though - I'm thinking pygmy chain sword, which doesn't exactly fit my biotope plans but it can stay in there until I'm sure what it is (front left side of the final tank shot in front of the dwarf blyxa if anyone can identify it).

Now, five hours and an exhausted me later, the tank is set up, plants are in, and as soon as I've caught my breath I'm heading out to get fish! :19:

I'm not completely happy with the placement of some of the rocks (particularly the one on the driftwood but it'll float otherwise) or some of the plants. I love the driftwood though, with the java fern and fontinalis moss (which looks a lot like java moss to me) all over it. I'm too tired to keep fiddling with things though. It can wait for a couple of days while the fish settle in - and I decide exactly where I want things.

[dynara]

The harlequins seem to have settled in and have coloured up nicely. A couple of them are missing an eye - something I didn't notice until after I got them in the tank. At the pet store they were in a way overcrowded tank with cichlids and female bettas of all things (not the best pet store around but the only one near here that had harlequins). They seem to be doing fine though, no signs of illness and they're all eating well.

The plants are doing well also, although some of the crypts are melting (not unexpected but annoying nonetheless).

I've been trying for the last couple of days to get some decent photos of these guys. I'm not doing too well so far, gonna have to read up on the subject a bit. If only they'd stay still... (hope the photos show up, still getting the hang of posting images)

My fuzzy efforts so far:
http://s795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/?action=view&current=022.jpg

Not a bad shot of the one in the background although the orange doesn't show well, the lowest fish is one of the one's missing an eye:
http://s795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/?action=view&current=025.jpg

Full tank shot:
http://s795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/?action=view&current=013.jpg

edit: damn, just links, will have to work on that.

[domjd05]

Tank looks good!

[chrisfraser05]

Thats looking really good fella :)

I wish I'd started mine with a plan in mind. Can't wait to get a new tank then take my time and plan like you have thumbs2:

[dynara]

Thanks guys. I'm a bit of an obsessive planner - I think I get almost as much enjoyment out of planning something like an aquarium as I do actually setting it up and maintaining it.

The tank's going well. I've been keeping a close eye on the parameters and no spikes so far. There's new growth on the Hygrophila and the Ambulia and I'm actually seeing some pearling! Mostly on the Apogon, dwarf blyxa and the moss.

New reddish growth on the Ambulia:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/008-1.jpg

[Ashley]

very nice!!! I like all your scaping, very pretty!!! I'm sure you like relaxing and watching it!!!

[dynara]

Thanks Ashley. I'm really happy with the scape. Even the things I wasn't entirely happy with when I first set it up have grown on me.

Quick update: The fish are all doing great. Plants are mostly doing well too. Some of the Crypts are still melting but others have new leaves growing. The Aponogeton and moss are still pearling every day and the Blyxa seems to be flowering - they have a bunch of buds but I don't know if they'll open. On the negative side the diatoms are starting up a little and there seems to be some algae (hair algae I think) in the moss, but nothing too bad.

[dynara]

Well today was not the best of days. I found a small crack/chip in one of the sides of the tank today. So with horrifying visions of water and fish all over the floor I raced around setting up my spare 10gal, getting the filter and fish transferred across and draining most of the water out of the 40gal. It looks quite sad now, with the plants all tangled together in just a few inches of water - I moved the driftwood into the tub I had them soaking in before setting up the tank to keep the moss and java fern submerged.

The fish look ok - much more relaxed than I am at the moment. When I was moving them across to the 10gal, one of them decided he didn't like the net and would prefer to explore my floor :ssuprised: but it doesn't seem to have done him any harm (can't tell which one it was actually).

I've got a replacement tank coming tomorrow. I need to go out tomorrow afternoon/evening so depending of when the new tank arrives I'll either have it back up and running tomorrow or Saturday.

[chrisfraser05]

Ouch... not good bud!

At least you noticed now and not when it started to leak.

Have you got the same size or bigger coming?

[dynara]

Same size. I was tempted to go bigger. Very tempted. But I've just spent a lot of cash getting this tank set up and if I got a bigger tank I'd have to fork out again for a bigger stand, light etc. (that light wasn't cheap).

[dynara]

:banghead: Argh! Can't I get a break with this thing? About to go to bed (just on midnight here), one last check on the fish in the 10gal and I notice a puddle of water behind the tank. The AC70 has a crack in the casing and is leaking. So I pulled it apart and dumped the media in the tank, hopefully won't lose too many bacteria (the Eheim is running on the 10gal but really could do without a mini-cycle just now). Just one more thing I'm going to have to replace. At least now I can get those few little things I've been wanting to order but weren't worth the shipping charges on their own.

Really though, not a good day.

[dynara]

More setbacks. Replacement tank arrived today but there is a bubble in the glass (in the same spot where the other tank chipped too, not sure whether to call that irony or just plain annoying). The lfs is happy to replace the tank but they can't get a new one out to me until Monday so the fish will have to stay in their smaller digs for a few more days. I'll keep a close eye on the parameters and do waterchanges as necessary (hopefully won't be but without the AC on there I've probably lost about a third of the BB).

When this latest tank arrives I'll be inspecting every square inch of it before I even let the delivery guy drive away.

[dynara]

New tank arrived yesterday, was inspected very closely and, thankfully, passed muster. I filled it and let it sit for a day to make sure it didn't leak (it didn't) and then set it up today. thumbs2: The fish are back in and are looking good. The plants survived OK but while they were in buckets they started growing in odd directions reaching for the light, so things look a little strange at the moment but hopefully they'll straighten out.

[dynara]

Just a quick update. Everything seems to be going well. The plants have straightened out for the most part and are putting on new growth. I decided to celebrate the successful transfer of everything to the new tank with some new plants, so I have some more Crypts and some riccia coming this week. I'm well into the diatom stage now which is a little annoying but what can you do.

The fish are doing great. They've coloured up really well and have started to display some mating behaviour in the mornings. I haven't caught anyone actually laying eggs yet, but they've been doing the swim upside down under leaves move (they're doing it as I type this). They just seem to be doing it individually rather than in pairs... not sure what the deal is with that...

[Lab_Rat]

Glad you got the replacement tank and everything is going well. It's cool when the fish start breeding, lets you know they're happy with their conditions.

[dynara]

Well, it seems practice really does make perfect. The harlequins are definitely spawning now. I've spotted them at it twice in the last 10 minutes. Hang on, make that 3 times, there they go again.

[FishGirl-Seattle]

Wow, sounds like you have had quite a time with your project! Glad to hear the fish are spawning - you deserve some good news! Bad enough to find the tank had chips but a leaking filter too - that's just not fair! Good to hear things are finally going your way!

[dynara]

Just a quick update. I finally got my hands on some hornwort so I've got some floating plants in there now. I had some riccia for a couple of days but decided I didn't like it much (looked like I'd thrown in a handful of lawn clippings). I like the hornwort, it fills in a bit more space at the top. I also decided I didn't like the blyxa much so I ripped that out and moved a few things around to fill in the gap. The ambulia doesn't seem to be doing too great. There's a lot of new growth but the old leaves seem to be dying. I might not have enough light for it. The diatom phase seems to be coming to an end though. Pics will follow when I can be bothered replacing the batteries in my camera.

[dynara]

Well I definitely didn't have enough light for the ambulia. Replaced it with more hygrophila - I think the fish prefer it, they're always swimming through the hygro and it's their chosen spawning plant. Moved the aponogetons over to the right side of the tank and added some more fontinalis moss. Getting a bit of algae cropping up. I'm not too fussed about it as long as it doesn't get out of hand but I've started splitting up the lighting period (4 1/2 hours on 1 hour off 4 1/2 hours on) just to keep it in check.

A few pics:

Full tank shot:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/007-1.jpg

Fish - these shots don't do their colours justice:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/046.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/051.jpg

A hitchhiker:

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/076.jpg

[dynara]

I haven't had much to write about this tank for the last couple of weeks. Lack of funds meant that I wasn't really making any changes. I had a bit of a problem with hair algae for a while but I increased the ferts and excel and I seem to be getting the better of it now. The plants are looking better for it too - the crypts are getting a lovely shiny/waxy look to them and the hygrophila needs to be trimmed weekly.

I found a new job a couple of weeks ago so I've got some money to spend on the tank again, sooo.... NEW FISH! :19: As I type this I have a beautiful little pearl gourami in a bucket drip acclimating. It'll be going into the QT for a few weeks and then into the main tank. Not sure of gender yet, will have to have a good look when it gets out of the bucket, but I'm thinking probably male. Will post pics of the gourami and an update pic of the tank when he's settled in a bit.

[Dave66]

Thanks hockeyhead. Doing a fishless cycle does tend to give you a lot of time to plan.

From what I understand of the nitrogen cycle though, the water doesn't actually contain much in the way of bacteria which are mostly found in the filter media. So as long as I don't let the filter media dry out (and don't take days fiddling around with driftwood and plants trying to get it just right) I shouldn't lose the cycle.

Actually, the greatest colonies of Nitrifying bacteria are indeed in the filter, but they are also on every hard surface in your tank, including the fishes.

I might hunt for espei rasboras instead of regular harlequins, as they are a touch smaller and slimmer, meaning you could have more, and a good deal more intensely colored than regular harlequins. Trigonostigma espei is the scientific name if you want to look them up. Dark background, darker green plants and good top light they are almost luminous.

Pearl goramies prefer to be in groups of at least eight, and since they grow close to five inches, you may want to rethink your choice.

Dave

[Australian natives]

great tank dynara, i am not sure if those stones go well with your substrate though. (but i have never been a fan of smooth stones =P so my opinion is bias.) otherwise it is amazing, great setup and ur plants seem to be doing awesome. nice one.

[dynara]

Thanks for the suggestions Dave. I looked into the espei rasboras before I started stocking the tank but I prefer the harlequins. I like the slightly deeper bodied look these guys have. I even prefer the more orangey colour of the harlequins.

I didn't know that about the pearls. I've alread got him/her now though and wouldn't want to return him/her unless it was really necessary. I know many members here successfully keep pearls singly. It does give me thoughts for a possible upgrade in the future though, maybe once I've moved into my own place (hopefully not too far into the future). I think a large group of pearl gouramis would look spectacular!

[dynara]

Here are the pics I promised (better late than never, busy week).

Pearl gourami, she prefers the back of the tank so it's a little hard to get a good shot of her:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/016-1.jpg

And a shot of the main tank, not a great shot but I was in a hurry:
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy233/dynara/Aquarium/008-3.jpg

Looking back over some of the old pics I'm quite surprised by how much the moss has grown, I'm gonna have to trim it back a bit soon.