Anybody have freshwater planted tank ?
- Thread starter Letsgotothezoo
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check out this planted 16 gallon orb. it is aged now, about 7 years old. these pics were from the first 6 months in about '02. making planted tanks in these acrylic spheres is really sick, the whole tank and stand is only about 120 bucks from naturesocean.com i think it was. it has grown in densely and runs itself. its had a 20k metal halide above it the whole time, ferns appeared in there that i did not plant, amazing to me to see how it evolved. i haven't done a water change in two years and now the vines grow out of the top of it and about 15 feet around the perimeter of my living room.
this is a multi habitat system, it can keep both dart frogs or common amphibians and a colony of wild type guppies in the aquatic portion. all the waste nitrogen is sent to the plants via internal waterfall and hose ducting system. to keep dart frogs you have to screen off the aquatic portion or they will drown, don't know how these things survived in a freakin forest.
check out this planted 16 gallon orb. it is aged now, about 7 years old. these pics were from the first 6 months in about '02. making planted tanks in these acrylic spheres is really sick, the whole tank and stand is only about 120 bucks from naturesocean.com i think it was. it has grown in densely and runs itself. its had a 20k metal halide above it the whole time, ferns appeared in there that i did not plant, amazing to me to see how it evolved. i haven't done a water change in two years and now the vines grow out of the top of it and about 15 feet around the perimeter of my living room.
this is a multi habitat system, it can keep both dart frogs or common amphibians and a colony of wild type guppies in the aquatic portion. all the waste nitrogen is sent to the plants via internal waterfall and hose ducting system. to keep dart frogs you have to screen off the aquatic portion or they will drown, don't know how these things survived in a freakin forest.
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hey thanks for checking them out man I wish I still had my quality 6 mp camera!
aw that picture reminds me of when my house was a baby. here is an updated pic with just a cell phone taken now, it's all I have. the plants are so enormous they reach to the ceiling and the walls and I sometimes let a chameleon walk around in them for a few days uncaged, a jackson's I bought from petmart. the poop cleanings are gross so he does not live in them permanently, just for vacations in the 'hilton'. he catches moths that are attracted to the light that get in, cool.
hey thanks for checking them out man I wish I still had my quality 6 mp camera!
aw that picture reminds me of when my house was a baby. here is an updated pic with just a cell phone taken now, it's all I have. the plants are so enormous they reach to the ceiling and the walls and I sometimes let a chameleon walk around in them for a few days uncaged, a jackson's I bought from petmart. the poop cleanings are gross so he does not live in them permanently, just for vacations in the 'hilton'. he catches moths that are attracted to the light that get in, cool.
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most people end up getting the tanks with bright lighting and are amano balanced and the like, which is also very nice because things stay so bright and clean with a little added work and cost. I can tell you one piece of equipment I'd not be without and that is a uv sterilizer. its very possible to not use them, but they help amazingly in algae control (as they do as well in larger marine tanks, great device I've used) which is often a familiar phase during planted tank management and is more often than not the reason people who start planted tanks end up taking them down
my globe terrarium has natural algae control-age and light variance. the nutrient levels are always high, I have six inches of snail poop substrate on top of my red laterite planted substrate
so I control for the other variables.
the light is very high above the tank you can see, this makes for a bright canopy strike, then medium for inside the canopy on the tiny fern generations of about 10 genera, and then it filters down to dark when it hits the water, so no algae forms in this tank which is usually uncirculated. i only turn on the waterfall when showing it or something, the amount of roots, natural convections, and the fact it's old enough to have cycled all through sporulation of standards molds and fungi (egon from ghostbusters) means it's stable and will basically run indefinately.
the point of this rant is to say that whatever planted tank you get will go through changes in the first year or three that if you stick it out will streamline into permanent growth
most people end up getting the tanks with bright lighting and are amano balanced and the like, which is also very nice because things stay so bright and clean with a little added work and cost. I can tell you one piece of equipment I'd not be without and that is a uv sterilizer. its very possible to not use them, but they help amazingly in algae control (as they do as well in larger marine tanks, great device I've used) which is often a familiar phase during planted tank management and is more often than not the reason people who start planted tanks end up taking them down
my globe terrarium has natural algae control-age and light variance. the nutrient levels are always high, I have six inches of snail poop substrate on top of my red laterite planted substrate
so I control for the other variables. the light is very high above the tank you can see, this makes for a bright canopy strike, then medium for inside the canopy on the tiny fern generations of about 10 genera, and then it filters down to dark when it hits the water, so no algae forms in this tank which is usually uncirculated. i only turn on the waterfall when showing it or something, the amount of roots, natural convections, and the fact it's old enough to have cycled all through sporulation of standards molds and fungi (egon from ghostbusters) means it's stable and will basically run indefinately.
the point of this rant is to say that whatever planted tank you get will go through changes in the first year or three that if you stick it out will streamline into permanent growth
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i loved my fw planted tank but found it more work than my reef tanks.
some will say yes, some will say no...but for me, it was a constant chore of trimming the plants and trimming the plants, water changes with rodi that i reconstituted with whatever ions, fertilizer, etc etc. i had a gorgeous tank and i really loved it but...i was always drawn back to reef...so i eventually just took the fw planted tank down. i salvaged the 150w halide, the pH controller, canister filter, in line heater but have no use for the aqua medic 1000 co2 reactor.
it was nice while i had it up!
some will say yes, some will say no...but for me, it was a constant chore of trimming the plants and trimming the plants, water changes with rodi that i reconstituted with whatever ions, fertilizer, etc etc. i had a gorgeous tank and i really loved it but...i was always drawn back to reef...so i eventually just took the fw planted tank down. i salvaged the 150w halide, the pH controller, canister filter, in line heater but have no use for the aqua medic 1000 co2 reactor.
it was nice while i had it up!
After having done salt water for 18+ years I took a break. Ended up with a planted tank.
Not at all less work but the work for me has always been part of the joy of keeping any tank. One thing for certain it's a lot easier on the Edison bill... lots.
I really find it much more relaxing to look at that any reef tank I've had in the past and I've had lots.
SteveU
Not at all less work but the work for me has always been part of the joy of keeping any tank. One thing for certain it's a lot easier on the Edison bill... lots.
I really find it much more relaxing to look at that any reef tank I've had in the past and I've had lots.
SteveU
