After paying relatively little attention to my tank for most of the summer months I have turned my attention back to it and my blog. At the moment I have in my tank one adult plady, six juvenile plady's, five neon tetras and an assassin snail. I have managed to keep my plants in good shape but between somewhat less water changes and keeping a less watchful eye on things some hair algae began to grow inside my Java moss. It slowly spread and I first noticed it when doing water changes and some of it had spread to the other plants. I will be talking about how to deal with this in the next few days. Other then that I have plans for building a larger yeast based Co2 system with better, gasket type seals and made out of metal, so that it will not soften when I go to sterilize it. Now that I am back from vacation my interest has returned to my Aquarium and my other hobbies. I will be paying more attention to my blog now and continue to post on things that I do with the tank and the research that I do on the internet.Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Back from a Break
After paying relatively little attention to my tank for most of the summer months I have turned my attention back to it and my blog. At the moment I have in my tank one adult plady, six juvenile plady's, five neon tetras and an assassin snail. I have managed to keep my plants in good shape but between somewhat less water changes and keeping a less watchful eye on things some hair algae began to grow inside my Java moss. It slowly spread and I first noticed it when doing water changes and some of it had spread to the other plants. I will be talking about how to deal with this in the next few days. Other then that I have plans for building a larger yeast based Co2 system with better, gasket type seals and made out of metal, so that it will not soften when I go to sterilize it. Now that I am back from vacation my interest has returned to my Aquarium and my other hobbies. I will be paying more attention to my blog now and continue to post on things that I do with the tank and the research that I do on the internet.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Slope Aquascape
A slope aquascape is an interesting aquascape in that is very versatile like all aquascape but is quite easy to do. The basics component is just a slope, low on one end of the tank and rising up on the other side.
Creating the Slope
The simplest way to create a slope aquascape is to just take some gravel (preferably medium grade as sand will slowly erode flat with the water currents and too course can be difficult to arrange) and create your slope in your tank.
Focal Point
As always in aquascaping your going to want to have your focal point, whatever it may be, one third away from either side. Even though the slope ends at the edge of the tank it will look better if the focal point is one third away from one side of the tank. It will probably be easier to put your focal point on the high end of the slope but if you had a relatively gentle slope or a slope that curved up sharply at the end then I suppose you could put the focal point on the low end.
Plants
Simple, small leaved, low growing plants are going to be the easiest and probably the most fitting plants for this. You want them to be low growing so the they match the shape of the slope. My personal advice would be to go with java moss as this is going to be incredibly cheap, requires no Co2, only low light and little fertilizer to grow. And it will grow nicely along your slope and can be used to cover rocks or the substrate. Choose whatever you'd like as that's just my opinion but I would warn not to get any stem plants as they are going to require a massive amount of trimming in order to keep them short and in line with the form of the slope.
I will probably be using a slope in my new small tank and I will post pictures once it is done.
The simplest way to create a slope aquascape is to just take some gravel (preferably medium grade as sand will slowly erode flat with the water currents and too course can be difficult to arrange) and create your slope in your tank.
Focal Point
As always in aquascaping your going to want to have your focal point, whatever it may be, one third away from either side. Even though the slope ends at the edge of the tank it will look better if the focal point is one third away from one side of the tank. It will probably be easier to put your focal point on the high end of the slope but if you had a relatively gentle slope or a slope that curved up sharply at the end then I suppose you could put the focal point on the low end.
Plants
Simple, small leaved, low growing plants are going to be the easiest and probably the most fitting plants for this. You want them to be low growing so the they match the shape of the slope. My personal advice would be to go with java moss as this is going to be incredibly cheap, requires no Co2, only low light and little fertilizer to grow. And it will grow nicely along your slope and can be used to cover rocks or the substrate. Choose whatever you'd like as that's just my opinion but I would warn not to get any stem plants as they are going to require a massive amount of trimming in order to keep them short and in line with the form of the slope.
I will probably be using a slope in my new small tank and I will post pictures once it is done.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
The Parts of Fertilizer
Fertilizer is an important part of a planted tank. Many people do it but not many people know what the various chemicals and minerals inside fertilizer actually do. So I did a little research and this is what I came up with.
Groups of Nutrients
There are three groups of nutrients. Macro, Micro and trace elements. These nutrients are used in varying amounts in different places of the plant.
Macro Nutrients
These are your standard NPK fertilizers that you would find in most fertilizers. They are Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Chlorine, Iron and Sodium. These nutrients are used in large quantities and are essential to plant growth. These nutrients are used in different amounts so they should be dosed separate from a broad range fertilizer.
Micro Nutrients
These nutrients are a wide range of slowly used nutrients that include trace elements. These include things such as Boron, Cobalt, Copper, Magnesium, Molybdenum and Zinc. They are less essential then Macro Nutrients and because of there shorter life span they are harder to overdose and will not usually cause algae blooms.
I will be posting some short post on the use and how to detect deficiency of each nutrient.
Groups of Nutrients
There are three groups of nutrients. Macro, Micro and trace elements. These nutrients are used in varying amounts in different places of the plant.
Macro Nutrients
These are your standard NPK fertilizers that you would find in most fertilizers. They are Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Chlorine, Iron and Sodium. These nutrients are used in large quantities and are essential to plant growth. These nutrients are used in different amounts so they should be dosed separate from a broad range fertilizer.
Micro Nutrients
These nutrients are a wide range of slowly used nutrients that include trace elements. These include things such as Boron, Cobalt, Copper, Magnesium, Molybdenum and Zinc. They are less essential then Macro Nutrients and because of there shorter life span they are harder to overdose and will not usually cause algae blooms.
I will be posting some short post on the use and how to detect deficiency of each nutrient.
Friday, 1 June 2012
New Feeding Schedule
I recently switched from feeding once a day in the evening to feeding my fish twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I haven't done much research into this but the fish seem to be quite a bit more lively and the neon's seem to have a bit brighter color. Just something to try if your fish are sluggish and you are feeding only once a day.
IF your fish are sluggish it could be many other things too. Low oxygen, high nitrites or nitrates, too much Co2, shock, too much or too little light, environment (moving rocks, or having no places to hide, no plants) are all things you should consider before feeding more food to your fish because the increase in waste could overpower the bacteria in a bare bottom or overstocked tank.
IF your fish are sluggish it could be many other things too. Low oxygen, high nitrites or nitrates, too much Co2, shock, too much or too little light, environment (moving rocks, or having no places to hide, no plants) are all things you should consider before feeding more food to your fish because the increase in waste could overpower the bacteria in a bare bottom or overstocked tank.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Fertilizer Dosing
If your are keeping a planted tank you probably use some sort of fertilizer. There are many types and brands of fertilizer out there which are all fairly similar but there are a few that rise above the rest. But to decide on which type you must find the needs of your tank.
Low Growth Tank
In a low growth tank there is low lighting at or under 1 watt per gallon and has no Co2. Growth will be slow and often quite weak although with the right plants it can still turn out to be a nice display. Nutrients in the water will be absorbed very slowly and there is not a high demand for them. For this type of tank the dissolved minerals in the tap water from water changes may be enough to supply the plants and if not a low dose of wide coverage fertilizer such as Seachem Flourish will be enough.
What you need: Wide Coverage Fertilizer
Medium Growth Tank
In this tank there is at least some source of Co2 such as yeast based Co2 and has between 1 and 2 watts per gallon. In this tank there is medium paced fairly thick growth and there is a stronger demand for nutrients. In this tank there is a greater chance that the nutrients will become unbalanced as there will be higher demand for some nutrients then others so I would recommend using some wide range fertilizer and a three different fertilizers for your macro nutrients.
What you need: Wide Coverge and Trace Fertilizer
High Growth Tank
A high growth tank there is over 2 watts per gallon, a high amount of Co2 and vigorous growth. In this tank there is a high possibility for the nutrients to become unbalanced so i would say to dose a wide range, separate macro nutrients and trace elements to keep thing s running smoothly. Things happen very quickly in this tank so it is important to keep a close eye in things.
What you need: Wide Coverage, Trace, and NPK Fertilizer
Note that watts per gallon is a very rough way of measuring light and Lumens per watt varies between T12 T8 and T5 bulbs.
Types of Fertiliser
Wide Coverage Fertilizer
These types of fertilizer such as Seachem Flourish cover all nutrients, both macro and micro in small amounts. Often the macro nutrients are only supplied in small amounts so that you can dose you NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium). This type of fertilizer works well in a low growth tank.
Trace Fertilizer
Supplies only the trace and micro nutrients. Can be used in a medium growth tank along with a wide coverage fertilizer.
NPK
Individual fertilizers for each of the three top nutrients Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, so that you can precisely control levels of each fertilizer so that in a high growth tank you do not get a potentially toxic imbalance of nutrients that can cause algae blooms.
Low Growth Tank
In a low growth tank there is low lighting at or under 1 watt per gallon and has no Co2. Growth will be slow and often quite weak although with the right plants it can still turn out to be a nice display. Nutrients in the water will be absorbed very slowly and there is not a high demand for them. For this type of tank the dissolved minerals in the tap water from water changes may be enough to supply the plants and if not a low dose of wide coverage fertilizer such as Seachem Flourish will be enough.
What you need: Wide Coverage Fertilizer
Medium Growth Tank
In this tank there is at least some source of Co2 such as yeast based Co2 and has between 1 and 2 watts per gallon. In this tank there is medium paced fairly thick growth and there is a stronger demand for nutrients. In this tank there is a greater chance that the nutrients will become unbalanced as there will be higher demand for some nutrients then others so I would recommend using some wide range fertilizer and a three different fertilizers for your macro nutrients.
What you need: Wide Coverge and Trace Fertilizer
High Growth Tank
A high growth tank there is over 2 watts per gallon, a high amount of Co2 and vigorous growth. In this tank there is a high possibility for the nutrients to become unbalanced so i would say to dose a wide range, separate macro nutrients and trace elements to keep thing s running smoothly. Things happen very quickly in this tank so it is important to keep a close eye in things.
What you need: Wide Coverage, Trace, and NPK Fertilizer
Note that watts per gallon is a very rough way of measuring light and Lumens per watt varies between T12 T8 and T5 bulbs.
Types of Fertiliser
Wide Coverage Fertilizer
These types of fertilizer such as Seachem Flourish cover all nutrients, both macro and micro in small amounts. Often the macro nutrients are only supplied in small amounts so that you can dose you NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium). This type of fertilizer works well in a low growth tank.
Trace Fertilizer
Supplies only the trace and micro nutrients. Can be used in a medium growth tank along with a wide coverage fertilizer.
NPK
Individual fertilizers for each of the three top nutrients Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, so that you can precisely control levels of each fertilizer so that in a high growth tank you do not get a potentially toxic imbalance of nutrients that can cause algae blooms.
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