Tag Archives: planted aquarium

Local glass blower saves the day

24 Sunday Jun 2012

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When I broke my expensive Aqua Design Amano Lily pipe intake tube, I went to a local (Eugene, OR) glass blower to see if he could replicate it for cheaper than the costly ADA product. He could. Alejandro Hernandez at Studio West charged me $30. I had paid almost $100 for the ADA version. As you can see from the picture, Hernandez used slightly thicker glass tubing, so hopefully it will stand up to my periodic cleanings better than the ADA version.

And, like the ADA product, once it’s in the aquarium, it virtually disappears.

The only thing Hernandez didn’t do was sand down the intake slits. It could be a problem later for algae growth, and I’ll report on that, but for now, it looks fine. He used borosilicate glass, essentially Pyrex. And he tells me that Eugene’s rather large community of street glass-blowers (they make bongs) specialize in borosilicate glass and could easily have done this for me.

I use 1/2 inch Lees tubing to connect the glass pipes to the filter, and the fit is fine.

Delighted so far.

Filter flow rate, part 2

31 Saturday Mar 2012

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I have read that planted tanks should have a filter flow rate that turns over the tank volume 10 times per hour. My filter, the Eheim classic 2213 claims a flow rate of 120 gallons per hour and I just tested mine. It’s flowing at about 78 gallons per hour. My 36 gallon tank, heavily planted with lots of rock and substrate, probably has just 31 gallons of water in it, all said and done. So it’s turning over the tank volume just 2.5 times an hour.

The tank has been set up for two months. The plants are growing the fish are healthy. I think I’m just taking a wait and see approach on this. Maybe it’s not ideal but it ain’t broke, so I’m not fixing it.

 

Help me!

24 Saturday Mar 2012

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You know how it is. You need some advice right now for your planted aquarium. And it’s midnight or Sunday morning and your local store isn’t open, so you Google your question and then get lost in the endless chatter of the various aquarium forums online, which often turns out to be (no offense) uninformed people advising other uninformed people. Or, conversely, really well-informed people belittling the newbies.

Here’s where I’ve found helpful information:

Rex’s Planted Tank Guide: Something seems to have happened to Rex, who hasn’t posted anything on his site in over a year, at least as far as I can tell.  But he has easy to understand information and a blunt style of communicating that I really like. For my first two small planted aquariums, his site was my go-to place and he kept me from making a lot of dumb mistakes. Plus he lives in Portland, Oregon, just up the highway from me.

The Barr Report: Good information in those forums, although it helps if you know a little something about planted aquariums before you venture in. If you don’t, definitely start on their “new to aquatic plants” forum. It’s weird how I always feel both inspired and yet kinda stupid after my visits there.

The Green Machine: The website for a planted aquarium store in Wales. I’m so crazy about this web site, I actually want to visit Wales just so I can check out the bricks and mortar store. I learned about them after stumbling on this great how-to video which was helpful to me and they’ve got a tips section that I’ve used. The advice for how to spruce up my aquarium was great. Only one caveat: a lot of the advice centers around the products they sell (buy this! it will help you!), but they are merchants, after all.

Of course the danger in checking out these Web sites is that there are glorious pictures and pretty soon you will find yourself wanting to aquascape yet another tank and all your money will be in glassware, filters, flora and fauna and your friends will be talking about you behind your back. Still, small price to pay…

The livestock

24 Saturday Mar 2012

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Clown loaches and yoyo loaches in my 40 gallon ADA rimless aquarium (a few cardinal tetra in the background). The yoyo loach that had been near death is on the right, recovered now and happily rooting through the glossostigma and Hemianthus callitrichoides for bits of food. So here’s what I have learned since setting up this tank in early February.

If you want a pristine “lawn” of low-growing plants, like the most excellent HC, do not under any circumstances have loaches in your tank. They dig in it, sending up small clouds of sand or dirt or whatever the planting medium is. They uproot HC whose roots are quite delicate. If you are fantasizing about one day having a perfect Takashi Amano style tank like this, you will be unfulfilled.

On the other hand, if you are not a perfectionist and you enjoy the livestock as much as you do the plants, go for it. The more robust glossostigma can stand the abuse and appears to be thriving despite the fish. Because I overplanted the HC, it hasn’t completely disappeared, although I do fear for it longterm.

I have enjoyed this well-lighted tank, a sunny summer landscape during the last couple of rainy chilly weeks.

Thriving cube garden

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

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A month ago, the cube garden was a disaster, overrun with a stubborn algae the otos couldn’t keep up with and rotting fish food because I hadn’t yet figured out how much the neon tetras were eating. Cleaned it out. Cut out the plants that were algae-choked, replanted with micro sword and glossostigma, recharged the DIY CO2 and moved the whole system back into the kitchen where it won’t be neglected. Now it’s positively glowing. Seven gallons of planted tank heaven. I love this little set-up because it’s my first aquarium, purchased almost three years ago. Beautiful, simple (well, complicated but in a good way) and makes me happy.

Evolution of a newly planted aquarium

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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When you set up a heavily planted aquarium with everything that life loves — oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, etc. — you should not be surprised that the very first thing that comes to call is algae. Here’s the algae in my new  40-gallon planted tank a mere two weeks after set up. I held off adding fish that would munch the algae because the specialty soil I selected is off-gassing ammonia that will kill fish and my filter system doesn’t yet have the beneficial bacteria established that will break down the ammonia. Patience is a virtue. Technical detail: yes, it is true, that lower PH with temps in the 75-77 degree Farhenheit range render the ammonia mostly harmless, but I don’t have a trustworthy thermometer yet and don’t want to needlessly risk fish.

Morning has broken

07 Saturday Jan 2012

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Neon tetras in my cube garden

At 7:04 a.m. on a Saturday morning, it is January dark. Coffee on, gratitude so-so. Flick on the fish tank light, bright light. It illuminates a veritable forest of plants with neon tetras darting about. This is why I have a tank. For these January mornings when the southerly sun lags in the sky and will most likely be hidden by high flat gray. The fish tank is a bright waterscape, alive and thriving.