Wednesday, March 30, 2016

"64.8L Passionately Curious": Week 3 Updates

It has been three weeks since the tank was setup. I decided to name my first planted tank "Passionately Curious". I hope to keep my curiosity remains for the whole journey of the planted tank and keep learning new interesting things. 


It is the time to share the tank overall information as of now.

Tank Size:
60cm x 30cm x 36cm (High Clarity / Low Iron Glass: GUSH Crystal Garden 60M)
Gross Tank Volume:
64.8L
Actual Tank Volume:
54.0L (without substrate, hardscape...etc.)
 
Substrate:
ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia Powder (9L)
Filter System:
Eheim Ecco Pro 300 + 13mm Eheim inflow pipe / VIV glass lily pipe ouflow. 
Filter Media:
Seachem Matrix + Eheim BioMech + Eheim SubstratPro
Temperature:
About 29°C to 30°C 
Lighting:
Up Aqua Z-Series Pro LED Z-20 (60cm) 2nd Generation Version (30LED x 0.5W)
Light Duration:
6 hours (0700hrs- 1300hrs)- First week
7 hours: Second and third week
8 hours: 4th week onward
Pressurized Co2:
OceanFree Co2 System + ISTA Inline Reactor / 2bps / 25-30 ppm
Co2 Duration:
6 hours (0700hrs- 1300hrs)
7 hours: 2nd and 3rd week 
8 hours: 4th week onward
Carbon Supplement:
Seachem Excel / 1.25ml daily
Fertilizer:
Seachem Florish / 1ml weekly
Seachem Iron/ 1.25ml every other day
Seachem Potassium / 2ml every 2 days
Other additives:
Seachem Prime
WaterLife BacterLife / 5ml weekly
Fan/Chiller:
None
Water Change Regimen:
25% every 2-3 days
Flora:
Foreground
Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini'
Mid-ground
Rotala 'Bonsai'
Mid-ground
Riccia fluitans
Mid-ground
Staurogyne repens
Background
Pogostemon 'erectus'
Background
Echinodorus tenellus 'Green'
Background
Heteranthera zosterifolia

The plants so far have been growing very well under the routine mentioned above on lighting, CO2 and fertilizer given. No signs of any algae or snails, touch wood. I believe that all of the careful preparation steps really help. From boiling driftwood, rocks to choosing plants which were algae/snail free (i.e. Tropica 1-2 Grow!), all these works really made the difference and it is worth the time investment. I bet no beginner would want to see algae and unwanted snails in their very first planted tank. :)

Some of the photos update on Day 18 that I captured here:-

Carpet Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini' has grown quite well and filling the foreground progressively
Side view from the right
Side view from the left. I am waiting for the inlet glass lily pipe to come to replace Eheim inlet pipe. It works well so far but I think the tank will look much better with both inflow and outflow glass lily pipes. :)
Heteranthera zosterifolia has grown so fast and touched water surface. Soon, trimming session will be done so that it can look bushier and denser. :)
The tank from a side view
Front view of the tank. Behind background look a bit messy now, but I believe it will be better after few trimming sessions. 
Some videos recorded during the beginning period are posted below.

Day 1 to Day 7 Progress:-


Day 17 Progress:-



Overall, I am quite satisfied with the plants's growing progress so far. The tank, however is not cycled yet at this point of time. I will mention about cycling process in another post when the tank is fully cycled. Can't wait to see the first fauna introduced to the tank. Nevertheless, I really enjoy seeing the plants growing everyday. Cheers! :)

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