New planted tank

[GBBUDD]

Oh alright cool, Yea I follow king of DIY also. I love his videos and I love a good DIY project!

My first fish tank was kinda like the pond I went for broke I went straight to the reef tank. and this is going back a ways like to 1982 . wet dry and protein skimmer was the way to go then . I designed a double drip tray so that the water was even over the bio balls and then I made a maze with live rock. To top it off I put the 70 gallon tank into a custom entertainment center built into the wall and above my TV. And yes in the ten years I did have to replace one tv because water got into the back of the tv. Hard corals were a challenge back then but gorgonians, sponges and soft corals grew like a weed.

 

[Nick83]

Just and quick update on the tank. It had a snail explosion but they seem to be dwindling in numbers. I haven't really touched this tank other than a water change a couple weeks ago from and algae bloom but it seems to be leveling out now. It's definitely not the prettiest tank and I'm just letting it don't it's own thing while I supervise.

 

[JamieB]

If you’re getting algae blooms, add a pothos cutting to the water to pull excess nutrients.

 

[Nick83]

If you’re getting algae blooms, add a pothos cutting to the water to pull excess nutrients.

I really only had one big algae bloom and its looking like the tank is fixing itself. Theres a little here and there but it is decreasing along with the snail population that was out of control for a bit which Im guessing helped waste build up... adding a pothos is something im thinking of doing when my cats cant get

 

[GBBUDD]

you say you want aquatic plants in an aquarium?
You say you'd like to rid your self of algae?
If your serious about a planted tank?
get a co2 system read up about it and your algae problems will be history and ripping plants out by the handful will be your new problem.

 

[Nick83]

Lol Yes to all 3! I have been holding off on getting a co² system set up. I dabbled with the DIY and its great but constantly making fresh bottles gets messy and just plain ugly. When the opportunity arises I'm definitely getting a good system but I would like to have more challenging not beginner plants to grow that need more attention to keep healthy. Right now I'm at the crawl phase learning about how to grow and care for planted tanks. There's still a lot for me to learn and experience.

 

[GBBUDD]

Lol Yes to all 3! I have been holding off on getting a co² system set up. I dabbled with the DIY and its great but constantly making fresh bottles gets messy and just plain ugly. When the opportunity arises I'm definitely getting a good system but I would like to have more challenging not beginner plants to grow that need more attention to keep healthy. Right now I'm at the crawl phase learning about how to grow and care for planted tanks. There's still a lot for me to learn and experience.

Downoi and hc and pelia I would pull out of the tank in hand fulls weekly the amount of pruning to keep the tank looking like the pic I have as my omogee was crazy at least a couple hours every week plants like rottala magenta I gave up on trimming the roots that grew out of the stalk wasn't worth the time

 

[Stephen Noble]

Great looking plant tank! It has matured well. How did your DIY Co2 system work out? Your first picture shows a drop checker and little water agitation and i was just curious. I went full circle over a period of 20 years with Co2. Started out low tech, went to all sorts of DIY systems, then to ‘full blown’ high tech systems and now back to relaxed, low/no tech.

 

[GBBUDD]

Great looking plant tank! It has matured well. How did your DIY Co2 system work out? Your first picture shows a drop checker and little water agitation and i was just curious. I went full circle over a period of 20 years with Co2. Started out low tech, went to all sorts of DIY systems, then to ‘full blown’ high tech systems and now back to relaxed, low/no tech.

Thank you it was a labor of love
I did the same though the whole co2 meter etc was more work then it was worth shutting down the co2lead to replacing needle valves. I set the system up at 3 bubbles a seconds 24 /7 and left it there. The constant pruning and pulling out plants b the handful weekly was a lot of work but one I liked. Except foe the Rotala family the colors were great I hated the roots growing out the stems. without the co2 the hc, riccia and others became a constant battle one I was unable to fight as I traveled for ten years I would be gone two and three weeks at a time, the wife did a great job baby sitting the tank but when she started traveling with me my son well he just didn't have the old mans desire for the hobby.
So the planted tank is no more I am about to start traveling again and what do I do I go and build a pond. At the prime I had two bio ball chambers and the needle went to a little venture system then that was diffused further onto the boi balls. Narrow chamber similar to a uv