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Coral Vue Hydros

Show off your Freshwater!


JoeMan02

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Just now, Friendly said:

anyone know if dragon stone can be used in a sw tank?  

it may be able to but not sure. It is however very expensive + it usually has allot of dirt in it so it must be thoroughly cleaned.

 

there also is always the off chance that it would leach out minerals which would be... bad

 

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1 minute ago, Pjanssen said:

Oh wow! Fooled me! :D. So how do export nutrients then, and keep it so clean?

I do weekly 50% water changes and the cichlids move to sand around so much that it doesn't build up gas

 

on all other tanks i do monthly 50%. cichlids are messy

 

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8 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

Oh wow! Fooled me! :D. So how do export nutrients then, and keep it so clean?

oh and I've also got a big ol Bristlenose pleco in there that keeps the glass spotless

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35 minutes ago, Friendly said:

 

Joe...that centre piece. is it stone or wood?  if it's stone, what's it called?

 

 

'Tis stone, called Ohko or dragon stone. I bought mine from buce plant- it's spendy but I'm happy with splurging every now and then.

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1 hour ago, Friendly said:

what makes cichlid's tear up real plants but not the fakes?  

Cichlids tear up everything.  They chew, dig, collapse rock............ that's why they are a pain. 

 

1 hour ago, Pjanssen said:

Oh wow! Fooled me! :D. So how do export nutrients then, and keep it so clean?

Triple the filtration and large water changes.   They will keep the substrate mixed up.   

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fishfreak0114
6 hours ago, Thunder Goose said:

@Lula_Mae I'm glad to hear someone else struggles with the "oh, so easy, they breed like crazy" cherry shrimp. I'm trying to removed the lead plant weights to see if that helps. I even tested my water for copper, just in case some was leaching in somewhere along the way [spoiler: nope]. Wanting shrimp is one reason I got into salt water. I wanted to do invertebrates!

I have had the same two amano shrimp for around two years now, but I have no luck breeding cherries!  I mean, I see a little one here and there, but my population slowly dwindles.  Maybe If I redo the tank to be more shrimp friendly, or move them to my other tank I'll have more luck.  I need to re stock, because I probably only have 6 now. 

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Thunder Goose

@Pjanssen Freshwater plants can be challenging but there are easy options! You need decent substrate (not gravel, although you can get away with that for a while with some plants) and lighting (If you've got fluorescent tubes you can buy plant specific tubes at a Big Box Hardware store) - then pick easy plants: Java, crypts.

 

Aquariumplants.com has a lot of plants with good information about them (kind like LA does). 

 

Go for it!

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13 hours ago, Friendly said:

what makes cichlid's tear up real plants but not the fakes?  

like WV said, they tear up everything! They eat live plants (mbunas do) and being constantly uprooted would kill live plants as well

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this is my #1 apex self running ecosystem, amazon bowl. I think its 14 yrs now maybe 12 Id have to check the old build threads on reefs.org but either way shes ten feet tall :) and can dunk without reaching. by self running, I mean topoffs only if you want to run it that way, I did for 7 yrs. It had wild type guppies and had no water changes the first 7 yrs, to load up the special substrate for the long haul. at that point, changed from guppies to fw shrimp and they run the rest of the ecosystem I feed maybe a few times a yr and change water annually pretty much so that I can see them better on the bottom with less detritus. I also choose to add ferts for strong greenery, the system can run without anything other than topoff but the chlorosis is stronger without iron added in addition. There's 4 pounds of powdered laterite at the base of the substrate as a reserve, but with minimal spraying of ferts and adding only ozarka drinking water as topoff that's as stand alone as it gets with moving life inside. 

 

Its true you can seal a system with these shrimp and get years, but eventually things have to be replenished its a rule of ecosystem design so I find it easier just to let the plants grow out the top and topoff and feed occasionally. This system has no biological lifespan, it can run for a hundred years. of course that w take some generations to prove, check up w my great grandkids to see I guess!

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42 minutes ago, JoeMan02 said:

like WV said, they tear up everything! They eat live plants (mbunas do) and being constantly uprooted would kill live plants as well

Have a look at my tank. I have two different species of Valisneria. They do uproot them every now and then and constantly chomp pieces from them but the growth keeps up with the abuse, so much that I sometimes prune them by taking out the oldest/most abused and letting the new growth sprout. There is one plant that is said to be cichlid proof but I can't remember the name.
Don't just believe the interwebb. Have a go and see if your cichlids can live with plants. You may be surprised!

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3 hours ago, Thunder Goose said:

@Pjanssen Freshwater plants can be challenging but there are easy options! You need decent substrate (not gravel, although you can get away with that for a while with some plants) and lighting (If you've got fluorescent tubes you can buy plant specific tubes at a Big Box Hardware store) - then pick easy plants: Java, crypts.

 

Aquariumplants.com has a lot of plants with good information about them (kind like LA does). 

 

Go for it!

Haha I have gravel in mine that's been there 9 years.  Just gave all the gravel a good rinse last night to get rid of 9 years of gunk and dead plant detritus lol.

 

I don't necessarily recommend my methods lol.

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If I could give a helpsecret to anyone starting a freshwater tank it would be to use the dirt capping method

 

Walstad method, google it, it works nearly always even for finicky ground plants like baby tears (w melt in all but the best tanks)

 

the #1 reason first go planted tanks fail is due to weak substrate support, and not injecting CO2 gas and from trying all the dosers to offset those important details (which then fuel algae really well via water column dosing)

 

the simplest and most outstanding performance you can get is using the walstad method, have fun. that setup above is stilled, the only electricity it uses is the led lights. no heat, no circulation, stand alone and its using a similar method but its not Walstad, its called don't change the water for seven years with fish in order to build good substrate.

 

 

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19 minutes ago, brandon429 said:

If I could give a helpsecret to anyone starting a freshwater tank it would be to use the dirt capping method

 

Walstad method, google it, it works nearly always even for finicky ground plants like baby tears (w melt in all but the best tanks)

 

the #1 reason first go planted tanks fail is due to weak substrate support, and not injecting CO2 gas and from trying all the dosers to offset those important details (which then fuel algae really well via water column dosing)

 

the simplest and most outstanding performance you can get is using the walstad method, have fun.

 

 

I had a 20 gallon FW for years and my plants grew like MAD and all I had was gravel. I didn't inject CO2, but I did add some plant food supplements, but it's been so long, I don't remember what.

 

my understanding is that CO2 isn't needed unless you have a heavily planted tank...usually a larger one than what's referred to as a nano tank now.

 

 

 

 

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52 minutes ago, .Boris said:

Have a look at my tank. I have two different species of Valisneria. They do uproot them every now and then and constantly chomp pieces from them but the growth keeps up with the abuse, so much that I sometimes prune them by taking out the oldest/most abused and letting the new growth sprout. There is one plant that is said to be cichlid proof but I can't remember the name.
Don't just believe the interwebb. Have a go and see if your cichlids can live with plants. You may be surprised!

Your tank looks awesome with those plants! I'm going to make an exclusively planted tank at some point with maybe tiger barbs or neon tetras. My neon tank already has dwarf hairgrass.

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fishfreak0114
1 hour ago, .Boris said:

Have a look at my tank. I have two different species of Valisneria. They do uproot them every now and then and constantly chomp pieces from them but the growth keeps up with the abuse, so much that I sometimes prune them by taking out the oldest/most abused and letting the new growth sprout. There is one plant that is said to be cichlid proof but I can't remember the name.
Don't just believe the interwebb. Have a go and see if your cichlids can live with plants. You may be surprised!

I've had an echinodorus with mine for over 6 months, and anubias for longer.  The anubias is attached to driftwood though.  I plan to add more plants at some point. 

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I swear the pics don't do it justice... the deep reds and oranges in the rock don't come through at all in pictures, and you can't tell that the ultra clear tank makes for a Super vivid "HD" look. Anyway this is attempt #2, after the tank rescape. I was hoping the tall red plants would have more red than they do, they're kinda pink atm, but I think once they straighten out, the Monte Carlo takes root, and the repents grows bushy it should look awesome. I have high hopes.

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1 hour ago, JoeR said:

I swear the pics don't do it justice... the deep reds and oranges in the rock don't come through at all in pictures, and you can't tell that the ultra clear tank makes for a Super vivid "HD" look. Anyway this is attempt #2, after the tank rescape. I was hoping the tall red plants would have more red than they do, they're kinda pink atm, but I think once they straighten out, the Monte Carlo takes root, and the repents grows bushy it should look awesome. I have high hopes.

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Very nice. What is the black wire rack in the substrate for?

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16 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

Very nice. What is the black wire rack in the substrate for?

Thanks! It's actually aluminum wire that I'm using to weigh the Monte Carlo down until it roots into the substrate. They float a little without the wire 

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