# My 15 Gallon High Diary



## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Hello all, I am very new to the planted aquarium thing. But have been an aquarsit for close to ten years. So I wanted to share with you all what I have.

Lighting-150w Sunpod Metal halides
Filtering-Fluval 205 Canister (no carbon) suggestions? 
Attached to filter I have a Fluval Surface Skimmer
Co2-Nutrafin Canister
Substrate-4inches of Planting substrate with Clay on top

Plants-Scarlet temple
Water Wisteria
Green and White Acorus
Moneywort
Red Ludwigia
Green Mondo Grass
Frill
Java Fern

Inhabitants-Flying Fox

I think thats about everything, I hope you all like. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time, and talk to you all soon!



















Most recent right before water change and cleaning.


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## JBarlak (May 11, 2008)

why so much wattage?


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Welcome to APC!... The mondo grass & Acorus is not a true aquatic plants. They will soon die if not removed from your tank. The tank itself looks good. You may want to rearrange the wood & rock so they are not laying flat down.


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Thank you very much trenac, I have removed the mondo grass and the acorus. I also moved the wood and rock a litle bit.

Here are some updated pictures after a cleaning and water change.




























Let me know what you all think! Also if any of you have any ideas for more plants!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I rather liked the arrangement of wood and stones before, it was a sort of happy jumble. The current layout is very symmetrical and rather stark. The flat stones are also covering up a lot of potential planting area (an utter horror to someone like me with severe collectoritis - must use every available millimeter to get more plants in tank!  ). 

I can't tell if the rhizome for the java fern is above the gravel or not. If it's below the gravel it will rot, so pull it up so just the roots are covered or tie it to some driftwood or a rock. While it will take a while, java ferns can get very large (leaves over a foot long and 1.5" wide) so it helps to be able to move it easily by attaching it to a small piece of wood or rock. 

You've got some great background plants with a nice mix of color and texture but you could use some fore and mid ground plants like smaller crypts, Anubias nana 'petite', and maybe a ground cover like Marsilea minuta.


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## BruceWatts (Mar 1, 2008)

The shale like rocks look totally out of place to me and the wood is too dead center. I would redo the middle and foreground as the back ground plants look very good so far.

Bruce


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## cassiusclay (Feb 19, 2007)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH where did you find a 15 tall ive been looking for one to use as a nano reef in. BTW you may want to cut the lights down to PC's. or a 70 watt HQI bulb 150 is enough for a much larger tank. algae will follow soon if you dont just a thought.great job for a 1st timer though i wish my 1st tank looked so clean and to the point good job!!!!!!
EDIT:the stem plants will do much better if you un-bunch them and plant them individually with a tweezers its a pain but they will do MUCH better!!!


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## aquaphish (Jan 22, 2005)

Since you have the flat rocks, and if you want to use them take a hammer to them and break them up into smaller chunks. Once this is done then stack them up like a wall. If you can do say one corner of the tank, about 1/3, with an elevated area using the rocks as a wall this will give you a better look if you want to use the rocks. You will now have an elevated like plateau that you can add plants.


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Will the stem plants still do fine in bunches. Or do you recommend planting individually. I have about 125 stems total.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

The stems will do better planted individually. When they're in bunches light can't reach the bottom of the plants so lower leaves tend to die off and sometimes the stem itself will disintegrate. Try to plant each stem far enough apart so that the ends of the leaves just touch the neighbor -> Hygrophila difformis should be planted further apart than Bacopas. This will also give you the ability to trim the tops off and leave the bottoms when the stems are tall enough in order to encourage the plants to branch and grow into a denser clump.


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Cool this weekend I will plan on attempting to plant the stems idividually. Also how long can the plants be out of the water while I rescape.

I have also changed my light from a 150 watt metal halide to a 96 watt coralife pc 50\50. Which I hope will do better for me.

Then I have a question about mystery snails. I had one come in on a plant I purchased. Now I have close to 50 of them. What can I do about these, and what fish will eat them.

Thanks for the help ahead of time, and I will have updated photos later this weekend.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

If I'm going to be doing a major rescape I put my plants in a bucket or other container with enough tank water to cover them and only take out what I'm currently working with. Some plants are pretty tough, but other plants, especially those with fine leaves, can be badly stressed if they get dry. I haven't had any problems with keeping plants out for about 20 to 30 minutes but I try to keep the time out of the water as short as possible.

Snails multiply when there is abundant food so limiting what you feed the tank would help although at the start-up of a tank there is usually a lot of decaying plant matter as the plants adjust to the new conditions and the snails love it and multiply. You can put a piece of zucchini, cucumber, lettuce leaf, etc in the tank in the evening and then take it out in the morning with your haul of snails. If I do this I'll put the veggie in a fish net or shallow dish so I can remove the net/dish without dislodging the snails and having them fall back into the tank.


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## Shua (May 15, 2008)

I think the entire setup is gorgeous! I wouldn't personally change a thing..


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Thank you that helps a lot. I'm not looking forward to the rescape but it needs to be done. I wish I would have known right off the bat that I should have ungrouped the plants.


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## cassiusclay (Feb 19, 2007)

myrxseven said:


> Thank you that helps a lot. I'm not looking forward to the rescape but it needs to be done. I wish I would have known right off the bat that I should have ungrouped the plants.


i did the exact same thing with my first planted tank and had alot of rotting plants come a month.


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Alright thanks. When I go to put the stem plants back in, should I trim the bottoms?


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Also what plants should I get to cover the substrate? Nothing big.


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## cassiusclay (Feb 19, 2007)

glosso or HC,dwarf hair grass may get a bit tall for a smaller tank but look at some of the tanks around here youll get some good ideas about the direction you want to go :-D


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## The old man (Apr 12, 2008)

I noticed around my outdoor pond that I had planted zorsia grass around that it was running into the pond. Wonder if I planted some in small pots I could sell it to Petco for an aquarium submerged plant?


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

Alright, I finally have some updated photos of my reaquascape.

Also since my last post I have added 2 otos 5 neons and 4 ghost shrimp.

Let me know what you all think!


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## myrxseven (May 6, 2008)

I was wondering if anyone could suggest any other fish or shrimp that would be fine with my current setup and inhabitants. 

Also I just wanted to say that since I have switched my light from a 150 watt mh to a 96 watt pc, things are coming along great. Same amount of growth and a lot less algae.

Any recommendations on what to do about the build of algae and film along the backside of the aquarium.

Thanks a lot ahead of time.


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

myrxseven said:


> Alright, I finally have some updated photos of my reaquascape.
> 
> Also since my last post I have added 2 otos 5 neons and 4 ghost shrimp.
> 
> Let me know what you all think!


getting mucha better!


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