# New 30 gallon



## TheBigCheese (Jun 16, 2011)

Hi All,

I'm new to planted tanks although I've had Java fern for quite some time
It hasn't flourished or really grown much. Here's my set up:

Equip: 
New Hagen Glo T5 Single with Power-Glo 39W soon to be Life-Glo.
Aquaclear 30 filter.
Marineland Penguin 150B Filter. 
Hagen Radiant Heater - 100W.

Flourish

Plants: 
Java Fern

Fish: 
Green Severum 6" 
Pleco
Clown Loach
Weather Loach

My problem is the Severum has been constantly tugging at the 
java fern and I'm afraid i'll have to trade him or replace it with 
something else. I cant seem to really get the Java fern to grow.
They're all tied with cotton thred onto drift wood but just not 
grabbing on.

Is a single T5HO enough light for a 30 gallon? and does the Life-Glo really
make that much of a difference over the Power-glo or is it just the 
colour temperature.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm not familiar with the Hagen bulbs, but I usually aim for a "daylight" bulb. The best, in my opinion, is the Geismann Midday. 

One t5HO is plenty for Java Fern. With the fish load you have, I'm surprised you don't have growth, even on this slow species. Maybe your severum is hammering them too hard, or you are short on some nutrient. Have you ever tested for nitrates, potassium, etc...? 

The "Excel" is not a fertilizer, but is intended as a carbon supplement. Try Flourish Comprehensive (mostly micronutrients with negligible amounts of nitrates). I think that will help since your fish load should be providing plenty nitrogen source and the food you feed should give you the phosphorus.

That's a beautiful severum by the way. I really miss keeping that species, but they really are rough on plants...if you plant some Vallisneria (eelgrass, tapegrass, etc... ) or a sword plant it will focus it's energy on that while your Java Fern attaches...provided you address the nutrient needs.


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## TheBigCheese (Jun 16, 2011)

Thanks DaveMonkey, I've been looking at Geismanns. not sure if my LFS has them, mostly Hagens. 
Do Plecos chew on plants? I do have flourish not excel, sorry my bad in miss posting. I usualy do a few ML dose twice a week but could try more. I'll run some water parameter tests and post them. 
I've been trying pieces of lettuce in hopes that he'll get his veggie fix with that and not my plants. I heard anubias would be good too. Thanks for the reply!


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## TheBigCheese (Jun 16, 2011)

EDIT: Just did some water parameter tests with the kit I had. no Nitrates or potassium test kits yet.

PH ----------- 7.4 
Ammonia ----- 0
Nitrite ------- 0
GH ---------- 60 ppm
KH ---------- 70 ppm

I swapped out the Power-glo for a Life-glo today 
and it looks WAAAY better. It's a lot more 'warmer'
and doesnt light up my room with a blue colour. 
Also picked up some a few new test plants to see
how they go. (Severum loves the Bolbitis..... grrr)

New light and plants. Anubias and Bolbitis


Bolbitis heteroclita. (thought these propagated from the rizome. Growing sprouts on the leaves?)



Severum was chowing on the Bolbitis so bad I just stuck it in a glass to protect it untill I figure out what to do haha.


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## TheBigCheese (Jun 16, 2011)

DIY Co2 added with a 2L pop bottle, 2 cups sugar, & 1 tsp yeast.
It releases a bubble of gas every 5 seconds into 1 of my 2 filter
intakes. I'll post some pictures of the set up later. but its fairly simple. 
PH at install was 7.5 fairly high so i'll test it in the morning to see
if there's a change.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

BigCheese,

It would be very, very nice of you if you give away this big fish to someone with a larger tank. You have a prisoner in your house. A 30 gallon tank is not what is good for him.

With such a big fish you will always encounter all sorts of pollution problems. Also plain mechanical damage. You are trying to design a pretty room around an elephant living in it. 

Looking at the last picture of the Severum: Stand in the middle of your room. Spread your hands. Imagine that you are living in a room that is so narrow that between your fingers and the 2 walls there is only 1 foot distance.

One way to handle all that is to do 1/5 - 1/10 water changes every other day. If you think you can keep up with that the fish will love you and you will have him AND a very clean tank. In that case you can keep him and have plants grow like crazy. With frequent water changes you can allow yourself to feed the fish a lot and he will look great and quickly learn to swim by the front glass actively waiting for food when he sees you. It's wonderful. But trust me - very few people can keep up with such frequent water changes day after day.

--Nikolay


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## TheBigCheese (Jun 16, 2011)

Hi Niko,

I have talked to my LFS and planned to have them take my
fish as ALL are too big for my tank. I plan on getting a planted
tank stabilized and adding just a few tetras. I actually got 
this tank from a friend and didn't realize until some research 
that it was way overcrowded. Appreciate the advice!


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## TheBigCheese (Jun 16, 2011)

I've now moved my CO2 and plants over 
to a 10 gal untill my fish have been removed
from the 30 gal. Shows my DIY Co2 and if 
you're wondering what the blue things are 
on the corners it's Lucky bamboo that's held
in foam with just their roots in the water. 
Kinda fun. Maybe a shrimp tank in the future
once some plants are stabilized?



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