Jump to content
Innovative Marine Aquariums

Beware the Shallows


jedimasterben

Recommended Posts

jedimasterben

..... thinking.... I was thinking of doing a macro algae only tank but it seems like freshwater planted would be fun. What kind of lights do you need for freshwater planted? Or I guess macro algae as well!

Standard cool white CFLs work just fine, as do fancy schmancy LED arrays like I made :D

 

The only problem is you have to balance the amount of light with fertilizers and the tank's CO2 level or you will literally grow algae only :lol: It's not difficult to find that balance, especially for a low-tech tank without CO2 injection and little to no ferts. Algae starts to grow, dose some glut to kill it and raise your lights up just a bit or dim them down :)

This looks like an underwater version (but better ) of my crested gecko habitat

It must look pretty good then :D

Link to comment
  • Replies 4.4k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Standard cool white CFLs work just fine, as do fancy schmancy LED arrays like I made :D

 

The only problem is you have to balance the amount of light with fertilizers and the tank's CO2 level or you will literally grow algae only :lol: It's not difficult to find that balance, especially for a low-tech tank without CO2 injection and little to no ferts. Algae starts to grow, dose some glut to kill it and raise your lights up just a bit or dim them down :)

It must look pretty good then :D

I really need to clean that screen cage out today and add some vines,hmmm maybe I'll splurge on a fogger. The ferret needs a bedding change too. Hmmmm looks like I'm going to blow money at the pet store after my first shift this morning
Link to comment
jedimasterben

That cat!

Isn't he going to throw up with the chemicals in the water

Nah, same thing he'd get in tap water. Iron, nitrate, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, trace, etc. A little gluteraldehyde won't hurt. ;)

Link to comment

Nah, same thing he'd get in tap water. Iron, nitrate, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, trace, etc. A little gluteraldehyde won't hurt. ;)

To quote my dad after our field beagle ate 2 lbs of chocolate and mom was having a panic attack," Tammy the dog has eaten his own s*** before ,don't think chocolate is gonna hurt him!"

Link to comment

Nah, same thing he'd get in tap water. Iron, nitrate, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, trace, etc. A little gluteraldehyde won't hurt. ;)

Until he starts pooping his brains out.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

Until he starts pooping his brains out.

Nah, the dose is so tiny in the tank and the half-life is so short that it won't be an issue unless I start dumping the stuff in, which would also kill all the fish and shrimp and probably damage the plants, too :lol:

Link to comment

Nah, the dose is so tiny in the tank and the half-life is so short that it won't be an issue unless I start dumping the stuff in, which would also kill all the fish and shrimp and probably damage the plants, too :lol:

Franklin, one of our standards, thought it would be fun to drink salt water one year when we were at the cape. The end result was NOT fun. We needed to keep a 12 foot distance from him as salt water was shooting out his butt like a firehose. it actually was quite comical. You definitely didn't want to follow him up any stairs.

(probably TMI, but it was hilarious. Who doesn't love toilet talk???)

Link to comment

Franklin, one of our standards, thought it would be fun to drink salt water one year when we were at the cape. The end result was NOT fun. We needed to keep a 12 foot distance from him as salt water was shooting out his butt like a firehose. it actually was quite comical. You definitely didn't want to follow him up any stairs.

(probably TMI, but it was hilarious. Who doesn't love toilet talk???)

 

My cat eats to fast and then throws it all up. Usually on the carpet. Sometimes I try to catch it with a paper towel, or my hands. :wacko:

 

It's much easier to toss a paper towel or wash my hands than shampoo the carpet.

Link to comment

 

My cat eats to fast and then throws it all up. Usually on the carpet. Sometimes I try to catch it with a paper towel, or my hands. :wacko:

 

It's much easier to toss a paper towel or wash my hands than shampoo the carpet.

Pets are so gross, aren't they? But at the same time, I can't imagine life without them :)

Link to comment

Love the photos and video of the planted tank. How many gallons is it? They're so easy compared to reef tanks! I pretty much follow the same maintenance as you, which is do nothing and add some Excel once in a while and top off when needed :lol: LOVE the new betta! I'm glad you bought it so I couldn't be tempted anymore. Absolutely stunning! glad Christina was able to ship it to you.

Link to comment

I haven't done a water change in many months in this tank. When I do, I just stir up the sand, drain 100% of the water, and refill with tap water. I topoff with DI water, but that's mostly because I forget to change my RO/DI to just RO, that way I am not adding hard water all the time as topoff.

 

I dose the tank every 1-8 weeks (lol) with gluteraldehyde (like teenyreef mentions above, it is both a carbon source and algaecide) and about 5-10mL of Tropica Plant Nutrition+, which is an all in one liquid fertilizer that I DIY for super cheap, and its super easy.

 

A lot of people will inject CO2 and use dry ferts in very specific ratios daily, but realistically I don't care about growth at all in this tank, because the plants I have will grow no matter what lol. I only does the glut to kill any algae that happens (algae comes when there is an imbalance of fertilizers, CO2, and light), but luckily I really don't see any, which is a big step up from how this tank used to be about a year and a half ago, which was an algae farm.

 

Oh my god, that tank has turned into plant city. Have I mentioned I'm jealous? I need to find a billion plants, stat, because there aren't enough to eat up the nutrients in this tank so no matter how much Excel I dose it's algae galore. Grr.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

 

Oh my god, that tank has turned into plant city. Have I mentioned I'm jealous? I need to find a billion plants, stat, because there aren't enough to eat up the nutrients in this tank so no matter how much Excel I dose it's algae galore. Grr.

I don't know when I'm going to trim it, but this staurogyne repens (the "carpeting" plant that is most of the tank) will need it at some point, I want to see how long it takes to reach the water surface lol. It is also super cheap if you want it quickly, I got around 50 stems for $20 shipped from someone on TPT.
Link to comment

I lost it in the battle with brook from the Blue Zoo orders. Still pretty mad about it. :angry:

Ugh I'm so sorry, they're my favorite fish. So cool.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

Well that's craptastic sir. More like blew zoo lol.

How's the Ritteri doing after its little walk?

It looks decent. Not good, not horrific, but decent. I won't think I will know right away.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...