# [Wet Thumb Forum]-My 68 Litre (18 gallon) Low-tech Aquarium



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

I wrote about this tank in the thread "Some questions about my low-tech tank." but I thought I would start a new thread to follow its progress now that I finally have some photos. This was the second aquarium I set up after reading _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_. The first one I started before I read the part about maintaining a reasonable GH and not using clay subsoils, and as a result that tank had a rocky start due to the combination of very soft water and metal toxicity. When I set up this tank, however, I followed all the suggestions in the book and everything ran smoothly. I could not believe the plant growth in the first couple of months. This is a very poor photo of the tank only 12 days after planting:










I had planted a large group (about 60 individual plants) of _Myriophyllum simulans_ and for two months they were the dominant species in the tank; they grew right out of the water and trailed over the reflector. After a while their growth slowed and most of the stems dropped their leaves and slowly died off, causing nitrates to rise to 5 ppm. A period of slow growth followed as the other species became established but soon frequent pruning was necessary again. I drew a plan of how I wanted the tank to look and pruned accordingly. Here is the plan:










Of course the plants had their own ideas on aquascaping and decided to surprise me. Species that were not thriving took off and the resulting jungle was not quite what I intended. When I drew the plan most of the plants in the tank were either red or non-green but now the green plants have taken over and the remaining red plants have faded or been smothered. Since the demise of the milfoils the only emergent plants are the _Hygrophila_ sp. "Narrow Leaf", which is flowering, and some _Ludwigia repens_. The tank is now nine months old. Since the photo below was taken a month ago the tank already looks very different!










*Tank dimensions*: 60cm x 30cm x 38cm (24" x 12" x 15"). 
*Volume*: 68 litres (18 gallons). 
*Lighting*: two 20 watt Cool White fluorescents on for 10 hours per day, and the light from an East window. 
*Filtration/water movement*: none. 
*Substrate*: 3.75cm (1½ inches) of topsoil with 2.5cm (one inch) of 3mm gravel over the top. 
*Temperature*: 15°C - 25°C (59°F - 77°F). 
*pH*: 7.0. 
*KH*: 3°dH 
*GH*: 9°dH 
*Nitrates*: 0 ppm.
*Animals*: one seven-year-old male Western Pygmy Perch (_Edelia vittata_), Common Pond Snails (two different varieties), very small, see-through Ramshorn Snails, large red Ramshorn Snails, ostracods, blackworms, flatworms, Moina, Cyclops, Hydra, and tiny white free-swimming worms. 
*Plants*: _Chara_ sp., _Crassula helmsii_, _Didiplis diandra_, _Egeria_ sp., _Eleocharis acicularis_, _Eleocharis_ sp. (possibly _E. pusilla_), _Hemianthus micranthemoides_, _Hydrocotyle_ sp., _Hygrophila_ sp. "Narrow Leaf", _Landoltia punctata_, _Lilaeopsis polyantha_, _Ludwigia arcuata_, _Ludwigia repens_, _Marsilea drummondii_, _Myriophyllum aquaticum_ , _Myriophyllum simulans_, _Najas_ sp., _Rotala rotundifolia_, _Vallisneria spiralis_, Java Moss.

From Alex.


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

That looks awesome, Alex! How'd you get the hygro to grow and flower emersed? Did you lower the water level or take off the cover? Both? I wish I could see the hygro flowering ...

My hyrgo has been growing slowly, but surely. I took off the cover so it can send some aerial shoots and hopefully flower! How long would you say it took for your plants in general to really get going? My plants I've noticed, were in a kinda dormant stage for about two months after planting and just recently I've noticed that they're really starting to take off. The C. wendtii in particular has astonished me w/ it's growth... The tallest plant must be going on 12", a lot larger than I thought it would get.

Keep us posted on how the tank goes. Call me crazy but, one of the things I'm liking the most about this hobby is seeing how other people's tanks grow and getting ideas and inspirations from them. I don't think I would have ever thought to keep anything other than fish and plants in my tanks, but after seeing your 68L now I want to set another tank up for invertebrates alone! And I thought only reef aquarists would do that!

-ricardo


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## Dave P (Dec 13, 2005)

I must agree with Ricardo, this aquarium is indeed awesome!

You seem to be very detail-oriented; and that is what will benefit this thread enormously. I, for one, am delighted to see all the "specs" that you include with your photos. Your willingness to include both metric _and_ imperial measurements (I wish we were metric







)is icing on the cake.

Thank you for starting a thread on this aquarium, I'm sure it will benefit many!


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Thanks for the comments! 

Ricardo, the Hygro was determined to grow out of the water from the start so I didn't need to do anything to encourage it. This tank has no cover so the Hygro grows right out the top and leans towards the window. 

In this tank I think it took about three months for all the plants to settle in. This tank was set up at the end of summer so the dropping temperature and lower light made a difference, I think. I usually start new tanks and ponds in late winter or spring so that the newly planted plants can take advantage of the extra light and warm water. 

Dave, I do love the details! 

From Alex.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

This tank will soon be celebrating its first birthday so I thought it was high time for another update. Everything in the tank is thriving. The plants require pruning every two weeks; if I leave it longer than that everything gets so tangled that pruning takes an hour and a half! Here is a picture of the tank only one week after being pruned severely:










You can see the bright red photosynthetic bacteria just under the surface of the substrate in the right corner.

The _Hygrophila_ sp. "Narrow Leaf" is growing more and more emergent branches and still flowering:










It has also grown lots of roots down through the water in the only free space at the back, rather ruining the effect I was trying to create. The tank looks like a jungle now even when it has just been pruned. Oh well. It's lucky I like jungles.

The animal life is enjoying this tank too. The other day I counted over 100 Ramshorn snails! There is a large colony of green Hydra which lurk on every available leaf, and some even sit on the front glass. I found two more feathery worms, and there are hundreds of Blackworms and a few Tubifex worms too. There are even some tiny white worm-like creatures that swim slowly through the water in groups, and many Cyclops and Moina.

Here are two more pictures of the tangle and a picture of the underneath of the water surface with some _Landoltia punctata_ and _Ludwigia repens_.

From Alex.


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## imported_Winzzy (Jun 25, 2003)

Looks Fantastic!

Its also giving me hope and new ideas for my own 20H... I had never thought about doing emergant plants since water evaps quickly in Phoenix and I had lanned to use a glass cover... but if they flower nicely maybe it will be worth it!

Anyways I love your tank!


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## whiskey (Oct 9, 2004)

Very nice, that tank looks VERY healthy.

Great job,
Whiskey


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## Erin (Feb 18, 2005)

Awesome Alex! I happen to like the jungle look too but hubby starts to complain when he can't tell if there are any fish in the tank, LOL. 

It must be quite a task for you to have to prune that much every two weeks, you have some very happy healthy plants!! I so love all the little creatures that have migrated to my natural tanks. So much fun to watch!

Regards,
Erin


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## Inquisitive (Nov 7, 2003)

looks real good


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Thanks for compliments, everyone!

I forgot to mention that no water has been changed for over eight months; I just top the tank up every week or so. Wigglefin (the fish) gets two meals of live or sometimes frozen food per day, and I feed the little creatures three large pinches of dry fishfood once a day. There is a tiny bit of hard hair algae which sits on the substrate, but it grows so slowly that it doesn't cause any problems.

The _Eleocharis_ species which I bought at a fish club meeting five months ago is starting to take over the tank. The grower told me he found it in a local creek in the 1960s and that it needed cold water and lots of light to thrive. "Thrive" was an understatement - it has spread over the entire left half of the tank and is creeping steadily to the right. It even grows in the shade right under the tall stem plants. It looks very nice but it doesn't seem very friendly towards the other plants' roots. Wherever it has established itself the rooted stem plants are gradually dislodging from the substrate, so that the left side of the tank is now mostly inhabited by rootless plants (the _Chara_) and plants which can grow floating or with only a few roots (the _Hydrocotyle_ and _Egeria_).

From Alex.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Miss Fishy,

Beautiful tank!

You have even shown us the red photosynthetic bacteria. I am so impressed.


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

That really is a great looking tank, Alex. I just got the hygro. "narrow leaf" in my 10G tank to start growing emersed... I can't wait 'till it flowers.

-ricardo


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## substrate (Jan 6, 2006)

Great looking planted tank. Do you gather that fish would thrive in your tank too? There's no added CO2 at all? I'm amazed. 
I'm doing something with my new planted tank with lowered water levels to get some of the plants to thrive quickly (and flower too!). Once they are of reasonable height, I will raise the water levels.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Diana, the red photosynthetic bacteria has spread around the corner of the tank on the right, and a second patch is now growing on the left side. I think it is very interesting and also looks pretty. 

Ricardo, that emergent Hygro is turning into a monster. It now has 14 branches which try to attack me every time I have to get past them to open the window next to the tank! Lucky for it it looks nice or it would find itself facing the scissors. 

substrate, welcome to the forum! I hope you can post some pictures of your tank when the plants are flowering. 

There is one fish in this tank - a six-year-old Western Pygmy Perch. He is doing very well despite being rather cramped and lonely in such a small tank. He had to move out of my larger tank because he started to injure his mate, who unlike him is too old to breed. I hope that when I set up my 500 litre (132 gallon) tank he can move in with her again. In a tank that size there should be plenty of places for her to hide if she is feeling harassed. 

No, there is no CO2 injection for this tank. With so many snails, worms, Hydra and other creatures and all the bacteria there seems to be plenty of CO2 for the plants. 

From Alex.


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## substrate (Jan 6, 2006)

I'm scared to go low-tech but I left my other 4 ft tank overnight without lights and Co2. None of the fish died. So I will slowly turn it low-tech once I have the details. Just a little disappointed that my fish shipment didnt arrive so I have to find new fish for the new planted tank. Photos have to wait.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

You've come to the right place to find out more about low-tech tanks, substrate! 

From Alex.


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## substrate (Jan 6, 2006)

I am turning my high tech 4 ft tank into a low tech tank. I am now reducing the CO2 flow rate and the filter is off when the lights are on. Once my fish numbers are high enough, I will off the CO2 completely and only have the filter on at night.


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Just out of curiosity, why would you turn the filter off at all? 

-ricardo


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## substrate (Jan 6, 2006)

Told by someone that the corner filter causes ripples and removes CO2. Dont know whether there's any truth in this. Any comments.


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## Dave P (Dec 13, 2005)

substrate,

The more I read your comments regarding nocturnal filter operation, the more I'm intriqued and have questions of my own...

I'll start a new thread in this forum so that we don't push Miss Fishy's wonderful thread off-topic.

Dave


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## Tankman (Feb 19, 2006)

I'm impressed at how close you've got it to the desired look in your sketch. kudos to you


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Thanks, TankMan! When I drew the sketch there were lots of red plants in the tank. Soon after I drew it, the tank went through a period when the red plants either died off or turned green, but now that the reds are coming back I'm quite pleased with the tank. The _Lilaeopsis polyantha_ started out very short but has now grown right out of the water (it's the thick green grass-like plant amongst the Hairgrass), so the tank looks different yet again.

Wigglefin gave me a big scare about a week ago. We had a very hot day - it was 42°C (108°F) outside - and I forgot to shut the canvas blind on the outside of the window that the tank sits next to. The sun shines directly on the tank for about an hour each morning, and when I checked the temperature in the afternoon it was 28°C (82°F). Poor Wigglefin was having difficulty breathing and wouldn't eat or come out of hiding. After shutting the blind, I raised the lights up on blocks of wood so the water was more open to the air, and ran an airstone. I was so relieved when he started to breathe normally and came out to eat the next day. I put the airstone on a timer to run during the night while the hot weather lasts, and he has been fine ever since. I'm also remembering to shut that blind!

From Alex.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Time for another update! This tank has been going through some very interesting times lately...

Around the middle of January the plants started to slow down. Instead of having to do a major prune every two weeks, I was only having to trim the stem plants every three weeks. In addition to this, some of the stem plants (in particular the _Ludwigia arcuata, Myriophyllum aquaticum, Didiplis diandra, Rotala rotundifolia_ and _Egeria_ species) were starting to produce small, yellowish, weak-looking leaves, and green spot algae was beginning to grow profusely on the glass. The fluorescent tubes were almost a year old so I changed them, but plant growth rates did not pick up.

I was not too worried since the animals were still thriving but I decided it was time to do something. I checked the water parameters and they were unchanged, except that nitrates had risen to from 0 ppm to 5 ppm. I then tried to determine the cause of the decline in growth. At first I thought it might be that the airstone I was running at night (see previous post) was removing too much CO2, but this didn't account for the small, weak leaves on the stem plants. Sure enough, when the hot weather abated and I removed the airstone, things did not improve. I then thought it might be lack of light due to the tannins in the water (it was a very, very dark brown) but thought this also unlikely since the tank gets plenty of direct sunlight. I added some activated carbon anyway, but although the colour of the water faded, nothing else changed. I then remembered reading two threads by Diana about salt accumulation in one of her tanks (here is the first thread about it and the second one) which had gone for a long time without a water change. Well, this tank had gone for nine months without a water change, and on top of that I feed Wigglefin live brine shrimps which I often don't rinse before tipping into the tank. After much consideration I decided to gradually change 80% of the water.

Before I actually got around to doing this, a greyish cloud appeared just above the surface of the substrate in one corner of the tank. At first I thought it was the beginnings of greenwater algae, but then one day it had moved to another corner and then continued to move around the tank! I decided it must be another travelling bacteria cloud, like the one I had a while ago in My Newest Low-tech Aquarium. The tank started to look like something out of an old horror film, with ghostly worms waving about in the greyish cloud and Ramshorn snails appearing out of nowhere and then gliding away into the mist.

Two and a half weeks ago I began the partial water changes; I did three in total. The response of the plants was truly amazing. Four days after the second water change, the stem plants started putting out new, bright green, normal-sized growth. By the time I did the final one, one and a half weeks ago, the plants were back to their old selves and were going berserk. The algae on the glass stopped growing, and I felt very relieved! I can't be sure that salt accumulation was the problem or even, since I don't own a conductivity meter, whether salts had built up to a level that might inhibit the plants in the first place. Whatever the cause was, however, the water changes seem to have done the trick and everything is back to normal.

The bacteria cloud is still around, but it has shrunk in size and spends most of its time near the surface in the right hand corner of the tank. Now that the tannins are mostly gone, I have discovered a gigantic colony of Tubifex worms and those interesting feathery worms I wrote about here. Every centimetre of the substrate is covered in waving worm noses, which I couldn't see before because they were the same colour as the brown water. There must be thousands and thousands of them! The largest feathery worms are more than 7cm (nearly 3 inches) long, and that is just the part sticking out of the substrate! The little Tubifex worms pulse constantly, and together with the feathery worms, herds of Blackworms, bright red Ramshorn snails, green Hydra and other small creatures, not to mention Wigglefin the fish, the tank is a hive of activity.

From Alex.


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

Wow! Very interesting indeed! I'll bet you were right on, on salinity levels. Glad you got it situated!!


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

The bacteria cloud has now disappeared completely. I don't know whether the cloud just died or whether the Cyclops and Moina ate it. The plants are still going berserk, so it seems everything really is back to normal. Phew! 

From Alex.


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