# My sunny tank in the street - photo session



## Trebol-a

There i present me and greetings. Some photos and data of my hi-tech tank.

Cap: 100 lits.
Tap water: 24 Gh - 8 Kh
Co2: max tolerate from fishs (20-30 mg/l aprox)
Temp: 22ºC (night) - 25/26ºC (day) 
Light: a lot of... thousands w/liter !!  At full sun in the yard.
Fertilizer dayly: NPK

Some pictures i take in the last weeks.
Any comments are welcome.









General view, at one moth ago















Hetheranthera, Limnophila aormatica and others















Eusterrallis, Didiplis and Rotala
















Here all the rest pictures
Regards.

Pd: Updated the links


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## antreasgr

thats very beautiful!!!!


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## Bavarian3

amazing! those flowers are awesome..great pics


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## dennis

Absolutely impressive!!!! How to you keep it so clean and algae free with no top and so much sun? Do you ever get local fauna (animals, birds, insects) playing in it. Teriffic photography also.


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## soniacbt

Wow! Awesome!. I too am curious as to how you keep it algae free with all that sunlight. I live in the tropics and outdoor tanks are usually very green - with algae that is!!.


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## Sir_BlackhOle

Unbelievable! More info more info!!


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## plantella

That's really amazing...I never saw a planted aquarium with a natural lightning in this condition.

Congratulation...from the cold Germany to the sunny Spain.

Best regards,
Oliver Knott
www.plantella.com


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## Jdinh04

Tank looks great, aren't you scared to leave it outside though?


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## Xema

Hey Trebol, cool pics!!!
is good see spanish people here....


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## Trebol-a

Well, i´m glad if you like my little pool Really is the most luxurious fountain from my sparrows and somes dragonfly !! 

*Jdinh04*, the tank is on my yard, is not a public place, no problem.

More info more info... let´s me see.... 
substrate: below is a mix of older fine gravel, on top a few ctms, of Flourite (Seachem)
Co2: presurized at 24h. When the fish go up at the surface at breathe, then i take the phmeter and to keep this level only a tenths below. Now: ph 6,3
Fertilizer: well, just i have trying at low levels of No3. But in "standart" situations add everyday: N 2 ppm - P 0,03 ppm - K 3 ppm
Fe: 2-3 doses per week, but low levels.... about 0,03 ppm every doses.
Trace: very irregular, every 20-30 days add 1 ml Flourish.

The evaporation is bestial, everyday 5 lit. 
the change of water in winter is minimo, 10 lit every week. In summer, when i use this water from the plant´s garden, i can change 10 lt. every day.

Fauna: 3 otocinclus - 12-15 Rasbora & Albonubes and a lot of snails.

As you can see, the maintenance is no-orden... :neutral:


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## Laith

Wow!

I was just wondering recently whether the "direct sunlight causes algae to overtake everything in and out of your tank" rule was also a myth...

And there is the answer!

Amazingly algae free...


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## Trebol-a

hi, 
yes, there are algae, but in a amount i think "reasonable".
As I see it "direct sunlight causes algae"?, not. The sunlight CAN be the unleasher, but not direct responsable. The question is set a ambient stable along the time, because i think is fundamental a daily fertilize.

Perdon me aiport english !! :???:


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## niko

Trebol-a,

To me your tank very much revolutionary - breaking the planted tank myths for "too much light" and "high light tanks needs a whole lot of iron".

In addition to that the tank looks beautiful.

One other interesting thing that I see is that you don't use rich substrate. With that much light one could say that a rich substrate is a must but you prove otherwise.

Tell us some more about the first stages of the tank - when it was still not established. What were some problems you encountered (if any) and how did you go about resolving them?

What is your GH again?

--Nikolay


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## Trebol-a

Hi niko,
yes, this is a very interesting theme from me. I too knew this "myth" because i get out my tanks... i wanna believe iit, ... but i cann´t  
too much = algae, welll, lets me see it.
I have always thought what recommend levels of iron was too much high. My experience with quelate iron (now i use Flourish Iron) is what levels>0,5 = algae. Water? balance N-Fe? i don´t know, i used tapwater with Kh 8, Gh24 and ph 7,4 (in South-East of Spain the water is very hard).

The substrate is a older mix of other tanks, with 90% fine gravel and 10% clay+MO+vegetable rest (and earthworm of my garden  ). Like this








In my personal page (in spanihs, of course) you can see other photos about progress in the last months.

Now, the first problem is the temperature, for the fishs not plants... my 300 w heater is ON all the night. For the plants the "problem" more serius is the period of light, because, for example, i think my rotala indica, after four moths submersed look like this:








just this plant in my tank inside home have fine and large leaves :-s ,
look the *limnophila aromatica*








When the plant just go out of the denseness stop the growth and turning very slowly, i think this is blame of light period, but i don´t sure.
Other curiosus problem is the abrupt change between shadow and light.The plants suffer a soft whiten.This photo was make with flash from exposition control and white balance.








well, i think this is a minor problem.

Pd: i hope you can understand my english. :neutral:


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## turtlehead

AWESOME setup! Won't things get in it? And what happens when the sun is not out?


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## freshreef

beautiful and revolutionary ...


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## Navarro

this is one of the coolest tanks I have ever seen!
Navarro


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## Wheeler

Certainly food for thought... I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it, but there it is.

Your English is fine


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## Leopardess

I don't post a lot here, but I have to say, great job! It's nice to see someone is trying something a little different! I'd love to keep my tanks outside, but since it is 15 degrees Fahrenheit outside, I don't think it's a good idea!

Your English is perfectly understandable, don't worry about it


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## Sir_BlackhOle

Thanks for the info! I wish the weather would allow something like that down here!


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## MTechnik

I wonder if you could do a 30 outdoors with like 8 100w heaters... I mean, it's snowing now, but if you had many heaters dispersed through the tank, it may work... 1 big heater would make just 1 part of the tank warm, but if you had 'em dispersed... 

-MT


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## baj

Wow! That literally blew some theories out of the water.... now I have seen everything.... great tank!


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## Trebol-a

MTechnik said:


> I wonder if you could do a 30 outdoors with like 8 100w heaters... I mean, it's snowing now, but if you had many heaters dispersed through the tank, it may work... 1 big heater would make just 1 part of the tank warm, but if you had 'em dispersed...
> 
> -MT


Sure, but i can hide one heater!! Where do you hide 8 heaters? :-s 
Here, the winter will finish soon. Some advantage must be live in the European desert zone (even though this year had snow for first time in thirty years!! Murphy where you are?)

Thank you all again, hope only somebody encourage to test it!!


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## niko

Trebol-a,

Did you take the pictures of the plants outside, under the sunlight?

--Nikolay


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## Trebol-a

Yes, all was make under sunlight except the macros: didiplis, limn. aquatica, myriophillum and heteranthera, that was make with a GROWLUX at the night, by eliminate reflections.
The general views moreover with polarizer filter, and all photos with Nikon D-70+ micro nikkor 55mm


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## travis

I just found this thread and can only say - absolutely amazing! Another old planted tank theory bites the dust. Your tank is incredibly beautiful and serves as an inspiration for me and I'm sure many others. I'm putting a tank on my balcony as soon as it quits freezing at night. I'm sure lighting suppliers all over the country are cringing when they read this thread :razz:


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## cS

Wow. The light is so intense that many of the plants are producing leaves, typical of emersed growth, submersed. :shock:

I had a 10G tank outside last summer, but the biggest problem I had was how to protect the equipments from the rain. Would you show/tell us how you are able to achieve this? Thanks.



Trebol-a said:


> As I see it "direct sunlight causes algae"?, not. The sunlight CAN be the unleasher, but not direct responsable. The question is set a ambient stable along the time, because i think is fundamental a daily fertilize.


I do not recall where I've read this but scientists working with water bodies in Florida, USA (many of which are clear and beaming with plants) say that, all things equal, water clarity is caused and maintained if a body of water is comprised of at least 30% plant matter by volume.


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## Trebol-a

cS said:


> Wow. The light is so intense that many of the plants are producing leaves, typical of emersed growth, submersed. :shock:


I don´t sure, but i suspect this not-transformation is prompted because a short light period not from intensity of light, but any case is enough rare.



cS said:


> I had a 10G tank outside last summer, but the biggest problem I had was how to protect the equipments from the rain. Would you show/tell us how you are able to achieve this? Thanks.


Rain? What it is?  I haven´t this problem, no rain. Look..








Below you can see the *Fluval 104* and at the back the Co2 bottle.



cS said:


> I do not recall where I've read this but scientists working with water bodies in Florida, USA (many of which are clear and beaming with plants) say that, all things equal, water clarity is caused and maintained if a body of water is comprised of at least 30% plant matter by volume.


i don´t know, but i think this percentage is too much high...most our tanks have dense plants very more high that in the nature. Of course, if only sunlight was directly responsible for algae reproduction, our rivers would be green by now


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## cS

Trebol-a said:


> I don´t sure, but i suspect this not-transformation is prompted because a short light period not from intensity of light, but any case is enough rare.


Hmmm. Perhaps. From observations in my own tank, as plants reach the light but still below the water surface, the leaves suddenly became very broad, as if ready to transform into emersed growth. I've always equated this with the higher light intensity. I wonder: why does a shorter light period induce larger leaves (and in the case of your _Limnophila aromatica_, less leaves per node)? If I were to reduce my lighting from 12 hr/day to 6 hr/day, would I start getting larger leaves (and less leaves per node)? Whatever the cause, I am amazed at the incredible similarities. Really neat. 



> Rain? What it is?  I haven´t this problem, no rain.


::laughs:: So lucky. :axe: How dry is it in Cartagena?



> if only sunlight was directly responsible for algae reproduction, our rivers would be green by now


I agree that sunlight isn't the sole determinant. It merely provides the energy to sustain a bloom, not initiate it. I simply quoted that study because it reinforces the advice we've so often heard: stuff the tank full of plants to prevent algae. Why? No one knows for sure, but it works.

I thought that it was funny that we've seen plants-filled lakes/rivers bathed in sunlight that are so clear; yet we've never made the connection that the same can be achieved in an aquarium...until you came along. :mrgreen: Thomas Barr would probably argue that the reason why your tank is not green is because all that plants are sucking up all the NH4, preventing its build-up, which he believes to be the stimulus for green water under high light.

As to why rivers do not turn green, I think it is because rivers possess a relatively fast flow rate. The turn over of water is much too high for suspended species of algae (those responsible for the green murky hue) to proliferate, even if the nutrient levels are high, light is abundant, 0% plant coverage, and you dump in a bunch of NH4. In fact, you can prove this for yourself: take a sample of water from your river and place it under direct sunlight. I am confident that it will turn green in no time. [smilie=k:

---Sorry for taking the thread off topic. Back to pretty pictures. [smilie=l:


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## Trebol-a

cS said:


> Hmmm. Perhaps. From observations in my own tank, as plants reach the light but still below the water surface, the leaves suddenly became very broad, as if ready to transform into emersed growth. I've always equated this with the higher light intensity. I wonder: why does a shorter light period induce larger leaves (and in the case of your _Limnophila aromatica_, less leaves per node)? If I were to reduce my lighting from 12 hr/day to 6 hr/day, would I start getting larger leaves (and less leaves per node)? Whatever the cause, I am amazed at the incredible similarities. Really neat.


good question! but i don´t, i hope this summer to leave doubts.



cS said:


> ::laughs:: So lucky. :axe: How dry is it in Cartagena?


About 300 mm/year..,.. and the total is falling today!! 



cS said:


> I agree that sunlight isn't the sole determinant. It merely provides the energy to sustain a bloom, not initiate it. I simply quoted that study because it reinforces the advice we've so often heard: stuff the tank full of plants to prevent algae. Why? No one knows for sure, but it works.
> 
> I thought that it was funny that we've seen plants-filled lakes/rivers bathed in sunlight that are so clear; yet we've never made the connection that the same can be achieved in an aquarium...until you came along. :mrgreen: Thomas Barr would probably argue that the reason why your tank is not green is because all that plants are sucking up all the NH4, preventing its build-up, which he believes to be the stimulus for green water under high light.
> 
> As to why rivers do not turn green, I think it is because rivers possess a relatively fast flow rate. The turn over of water is much too high for suspended species of algae (those responsible for the green murky hue) to proliferate, even if the nutrient levels are high, light is abundant, 0% plant coverage, and you dump in a bunch of NH4. In fact, you can prove this for yourself: take a sample of water from your river and place it under direct sunlight. I am confident that it will turn green in no time. [smilie=k:
> 
> ---Sorry for taking the thread off topic. Back to pretty pictures. [smilie=l:[/QUOTE]
> I agree,  not off-topic!


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## algae

Wow! I just thought that I'd resurrect this thread so that more recent posters could have a look. Simply awesome.


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## Edward

algae said:


> Wow! I just thought that I'd resurrect this thread so that more recent posters could have a look. Simply awesome.


Thank you for bringing it back,
BTW great nick name.


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## Edward

Please see this thread for fertilization discussion.

Thank you
Edward


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## Svennovitch

Thanks, Trebol-a! You're an inspiration!!!


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## BudiPT

Wow.. Trebol-a such a great tank. 
I envy you guys living in temperate region. Even in full sun daytime the water temperature is a pleasant 25-26 C. Along with the additional CO2, I do think that this difference in temperature help in better plant growth, thus less agae competition. I live in the tropic, where daytime temperature can reach 31C during hot season. Right now, nearing the end of rainy season, the temperature is about 28C daytime, 25C nightime, which is pretty good for my outdoor planted pond, but not totally algae free. Check out my sig link for the pond photos.


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## Trebol-a

Thanx for all,
*BudiPT*, I envy you too  (your ponds are fantastics) . In my region we have three cold months really hard from the tropical plants. Is true, it is easier to warm up the water that to cool it.


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## Silent Running

I don't know what's more depressing, Trebol-a's amazing outdoor tank or BudiPT's pond . Excellent job - the both of you. These are just fantastic examples of outdoor systems and are inspiring to even those of us in the more northern regions


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## RuslanJamil

Can't view the photos... looks like a very interesting topic and something that I intend to set up on my balcony... help!


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## jgc

I used googles language tools to translate his personal page - wish I could see the original posts, but the pictures I got were terrific.

http://translate.google.com/transla...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=/language_tools


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## spcyamada

Yeah, I wish I could see the pictures too!


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## jerseyjay

Check it out !

http://www.trebol-a.com/photos/album/acuario/


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## Plattykins

Jay Luto said:


> Check it out !
> 
> http://www.trebol-a.com/photos/album/acuario/


Got it now! Thanks Jay!


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## Trebol-a

Hi all,
*i was disconected at APC too much time*!!! . I have made several changes in my Web and the links is now broken, sorry. (in a moment rewrite at new url), in any case I posted an article about this tank at my weblog. You can see it here in spanish and ENGLISH article!.
All pictures are where say Jay Luto.(thanx)

Thank you for all.


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## spcyamada

*Excellent*

Wow! I am amazed by this tank. I've always wanted to have a tank outdoors, but I have more room indoors. Do you control the algae on the glass with higher phosphates? How much FLourish do you recommend for a 55 gallon? Your tank is an inspiration to me!


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## Trebol-a

thank you,
Flourish ór Flourite? Any case, After I have tested both and dont perceived significant changes... The flourite or any other, I prefered a soil about 7-8 centimeter or more.

PO4 (about 1-2 ppm) help me at control of spot algae, when this level are lower it begins to increase the spot algae poblation. The only i make is maintain stable the levels of PO4 vs Fe.


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## mlfishman

*whoa*

that tank is so money.....:clap2:


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## nap83

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

ok im a little late, but wow! very innovative & rule-breaking, what a nice tank... one of the best in my opinion... (wish i had the guts)


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## Edward

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

Direct Sunlight for few hours a day and daily dose of only 0.03 ppm Fe. There is no such thing as too much light, only too many hours.


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## pyramid

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

hi Trebol-a,
Your tank very nice. trees look very good.
Could you tell me the name of trees on the left corner of your tank?


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## black_lung

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

wow, you have such a beautiful and innovative display! gives a whole new depth to outdoor aquascapes. do you ever have problems with it overheating in the summer?


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## eklikewhoa

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

That is freaking amazing!!!


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## Haeun

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

Amazing tank.

http://www.trebol-a.com/photos/album/acuario/photo/cortejo-ii








What kind of gouramis are these?! I'd love to get my hands on some of those!


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## Trebol-a

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

Hi all, 
thanxk you for your comments.

*Haeun*, this fishs are "Gourami Golden" (Trichogaster trichopterus). This photos are not of outside tank.

*pyramid*, the branches in this photos are of *lemon tree*. (

__
https://flic.kr/p/94180757
 )

*Black_Lung* in summer we put a "shading mesh" (?¿ i dont sure the correct translation , ) over the yard and the temperature of the water dont exceed the 28-30 ºC, and as i use this water in my flowerpots is not problem, in winter is more difficult, the temperatura down at 5-10 ºC.

An last question, all photos in set ACUARIO ( http://www.trebol-a.com/photos/album/acuario/ ) do not correspond at the outside tank, some (like Gourami pictures) correspond to others tanks.
In this other set : http://www.trebol-a.com/photos/tags/patio/ , all pictures (of tanks  ) are the outside tank.

Regards


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## nap83

*Re: My sunny tank in the street - photo sesion*

simply amazing! ever considered entering this tank in contests?


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## Trebol-a

not, I am a gardener not an artist, my tanks change too much fast !


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## slickwillislim

Wow thats a gorgeous tank. I am really impressed that you can keep it so well maintained outside.


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## Edward

Hi Trebol-a
Good to see you again, You haven't been here for a year!


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## Trebol-a

yes, I had offline a lot of time, thank Edward


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## travis

Great to hear from you Trebol-a. Ever since I first read this thread I have wanted to try an outdoor tank. I finally set one up this spring and it is doing well so far. I will follow your advice on shading it in the summer


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## kiwik

wow..wow...wow..wow..wow


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## Chuppy

Great outdoor tank..


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## arowanaman

I read the thread the whole way threw simply amazing.

The lighting is making me think back to Amano's study of light intensity arround the world. Different latitudes arround the world give off different light intensity/Kelvine temps and maybe Spain has an ideal light temp. for aquatic plants. Here in the Deset of Arizona all you would grow is a hot hot algae farm outside 

It would be interesting to take a lux meter outside during mid afternoon and see what the Kelvine temp is reading.


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