# 87 litre - 2 ft tank started



## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

I had an extra deep 2ft tank (87 litre/22 USG) housing my betta girls and the plants in pots in there were growing great so I thought I'd convert that to a natural planted tank.

The lighting is substandard because it is a single tube 4ft light that goes over two other standard 2ft tanks where juvenile bettas are growing out. But the tank gets a couple of hours of direct late morning sun in winter (in summer the sun is too high to get under the eaves... it's winter here). So what I have is three tanks lined up on one stand, one foot sides facing out, with this tank on the end, it's long side facing a window a few metres away and the one foot end against the wall under the lighting.

So I have a well lit end and a only decently lit a couple of hours a day end. But as I said, I had some plants in pots in there that were doing great so I thought I might get away with that amount of lighting.

I used regular supermarket potting mix and crushed shell grit. I made it quite deep in one back corner to lift it up a bit (will that cause problems?) tapering to the front stopping a cm back from the two front edges. I covered the potting mix with about 5cm of gold/white gravel, fine but not pea gravel (working with what I have as you can see).

I added 50/50 new aged and old tank water to about half way and added a drop of fertiliser and left it a couple of days to settle and the plants to take hold. Halfway full only to let more light down to the lower levels.

Then I added more tank water and popped in a well used alive sponge filter of the kind with the outlet that sends a current horizontally across the top of the water, an indian almond leaf (to soften the water ready for the betta girls to come back), and a few blackworms (it seems to be true that they don't burrow much... stoopid things... can't find tubifex tho).

In the bright end, I went with plants that were already coping well with the low light levels: hygrophila polysperma, bacopa carolina and an anubias barteri nana (?), I added some Ech. quads in the area that gets both flourescent lighting and direct sunlight (I think these will be the dodgiest plants in there), and an ozelot sword. Behind them I'm trying for the first time some utricularia australis, and in the end of less lighting I planted lots of java fern and plan to put some driftwood with java moss in the middle of them once they take off. The whole lot is covered by duckweed. Hopefully the sponge filter current will create holes to let more light thru.

I've tried feeding the utricularia australis with microworms since I perceive that the tank is currently low in microfauna... is this stupid or a stroke of genius? Maybe mw are just too large?

The plants have perked up nicely, the dips where the Ech quad stems are planted are the only places where there seems to be some haze, so soon I need to think about adding back the girls.

I want to add them all at once tho, since they get so bossy and territorial with each other but I don't know if the tank will cope. I think so, since it should be instantly cycled with the old water and old sponge filter so any issues should resolve themselves eventually. I have a few snails to add too and the java moss driftwood.

I suppose you want photos?


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Sounds good.


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

Of course we want photos!!


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## Inquisitive (Nov 7, 2003)

ahhhhhhhhh.....i cant wait to see it....


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

And it only took me two days to find the cable that links the camera to the pooter!

Okay, here it is, brand new plants, pre-fish, half-full, pre-wood and java moss. Please excuse the reflections and streaky aquarium... and lousy photography!


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

And a close up of the end with the interesting plants.

In the left foreground, a little area of Ech. quad, hard up against the left side behind that is lots of hygrophila. To the right, the fluffy plant with the little balls of air is utricularia australis, a meat eater... anyone know if mw is good food for this?

In front of the heater is a row of bacopa carolina and a hygrophila that had become intertwined with them also there's a thin val there too... somehow. Directly in front to the left, is one slightly dried out anubias, and just left of centre at the front is the reddish ocelot sword. I'm not terribly happy with the lay out... it was all about lighting... ??? Looks a bit amateur to me... but I suppose it has to be functional above all, I wish I'd swapped the anubias and the sword tho.

Away to the right are all the java ferns which will have the wood and java moss plonked on top of it.

In the photos above you can probably see the edge of the sponge filter in the vacant right front corner. I'll move this to the back next to the tip of the heater at some stage to be more hidden by the bacopa carolina.


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

I have a hard time visualizing the way things will turn out. My tank is a slow evolution. I can't realy coment on what you have there becaus I don't have any of those plants. (except the ocelot sword)

I have however been doing some research on the Carnivous plants. I am still trying to figgure out if they can utalize ferts but all the stuff I have read says they eat insect and invert larva. The ones with larger bladders will eat brine shrimp and such. There is one or two plants with large enough bladders to catch small fish and fry.

Please let me know how that plant works out. I have been contemplating a CP aquarium for a little while now.

dale


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Thanks, it has tiny bladders. I suspect the mw are slightly too large, but they are thinner than brine shrimp. Apparently this is an easy care version and can float or be anchored down, hopefully it can hang on until the microfauna takes off.

I don't know anything about CPs and didn't ask for this one but the guy who sent most of the plants said it was hard to get in shops, easy care/low light and should do well, he was out of swords.

A whole CP tank would be interesting. I would think you'd have to dose it with microfauna regularly?


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

It would be an interesting project. I am currently talking to a dealer out of colorado that has what apears to be a good variaty and understanding of CP's.

I am kind of hopeing that they don't _need_ meat but I would be willing to supply it if I needed.

Tropica in the UK is selling a grass like cp . I had thought about it before but not seriously till I saw they had it. I haven't found their variety in the states but I think it will get here eventualy.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Been topping up with tank water and tested the water today. The pH is a little high (despite the water being a little brown from the almond leaf) but everything else seems fine. 

There was a browny slime in the hollows so I removed that and topped up with more tank water and added five of the betta girls, another ramshorn snail and the driftwood with java moss.

The utricularia australis has bright green tips but at the base where it was anchored in the gravel, it has browned and now snapped and is free to float (I think it's its preferred place to grow anyway). The hygrophila polysperma has grown new tips and is emerging from the water as fast as I top it up. The other plants are just sitting there wondering what the hell happened. Will wait until they recover fully before adding other betta girls.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Thanks for the photos. 

It looks like the plants are doing very well. And the sword is beautiful. 

However, the heater is rather distracting. I would hide the heater by placing it a corner and let it hang vertically...if it were my tank. 

When are you going to add the fish?


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Thanks. Yes, heater is a bit annoying, hopefully something in the centre back will be bushy and I can put it vertically behind that. The sponge filter is a bit ugly too but now the utricularia australis has gone mobile, maybe I can hide it in amongst the hygrophila.

Five female bettas added yesterday with another snail. Seem happy so far. I've got five more to go in but wanted to see how these fish fared first.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

It looks more balanced with the driftwood on the left amongst the java fern... now there's something brownish on both sides.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Update!

One month on and we're up to 10 fat little betta girls in the 2ft tank. Snails too... I add one every couple of weeks... and I can still only count three. They may be masters of disguise...

The duckweed had an explosion, followed by blue/green algae. Definitely on the right track. I removed the worst algaed clumps of duckweed, rubbed the rest between my fingertips, wiped over the leaves of any plants that looked especially bad and then with an airline hose, vacced out a couple of litres catching most of the blue/green algae that had fallen to the gravel.

Topped it up with about 3 litres and all the remaining blue/green algae seems to have packed up and shuffled off.

The broader-leafed plants don't look enthusiastic but still chugging along. Lots of bubbles from the soil too so happy bacterial action going on down there somewhere.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Haven't had to do a scrap of maintenance in the last month. No algae, plenty of duckweed to give to other tanks. Easiest tank I've ever had.

Some of the hygrophila are getting leggy... is this a symptom of lack of light at the bottom? It's summer here now so the sun is above the eaves, as it should be, and the front of the tank doesn't get the light it did in winter, combined with the duckweed confiscating a lot of the light coming down from the tube at the top, means it is probably suffering at the bottom of the tank now.

Can I snip the tops and replant them beside the leggy stems?


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Tentacles said:


> Can I snip the tops and replant them beside the leggy stems?


Your tank sounds great! Can't wait to see outdated pictures. Has to the hygrophila, yes, you can cut the tops and replant them.

-ricardo


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

*BEFORE:*
Aug 2006









*AFTER:*
Aug 2007









Okay... it's not all val.. it's just that the val is a naughty sunlight hog and has crept around the front of the tank. At the back there are crypts and java ferns duelling it out and that lovely brown sword still lives, anubias and lots of other leggy things. The heater, filter and java moss log have vanished in there somewhere and once a month I have to lure a load of snails out with a piece of cucumber and get rid of them. Another little win is that there are still stems of the fluffy Aussie carnivorous plant... obviously a sign of good buggies abounding. Ohh... spot the fish...

I'm leaving it overgrown because I accidentally bought a 2ft cube. Don't you hate how you're online just browsing and your stupid finger pushes a button, next thing you know some guy is lugging something in thru your door and putting his hand out for cash!

Anyway I want to do a bigger NPT, using all these plants, because I haven't done anything but top this one up in 6 months! Love it! Gonna put lots of pretty tetras in the new one. Maybe I'll see them.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Does anyone know if black gravel and black backing are useful in a NPT? I would think they wouldn't bounce the light around as much as a lighter colour and might be something to avoid... but having bought a cube... I want to use black.


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