# 40g breeder, First planted tank



## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Hey everyone,
Here is my first planted tank.
specs:
40g breeder tank
pressurized CO2 (tank will be here next week then it will be up and running)
ADA ferts & Excell
70w MH lighting
CF4 cannister filter

plants (courtesy of members here and at P-fury):
java fern 
java moss 
anubias nana 
najas grass
Rotala rotundifolia
Monosolenium tenerum 
Taiwan moss
HC
Bacopa caroliniana
blyxa
stargrass
crypt

here's the tank!









let me know what you think.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Nice start  ... I like your background. You will most than likely want to move the Blyxa back to the mid-ground becuase they do get quiet large to be in the forground.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Thanks Trina.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Good start. 

I have a 40 gallon I'm planting now too, so this thread will help me out.

If I were you, I'd remove the background and paint it black...it'll bring our plants out more. 

Your 70MH lighting is good, but the plants on the sides might suffer and grow towards the middle instead of straight up...how high is the light mounted off the tank? I'm in the process of geting materials to have a 2x70W MH setup instead of just one for a better spread.


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## steelhead004 (Mar 4, 2007)

Good ... I like what you've done


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Great start Joe!

It looks very well planned out.


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## bristles (Mar 7, 2006)

Very nice, can't wait to see it grown in.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

epic,
thanks for the kind words. I did the background like that because I like the stony look plus i plug java ferns into it, lol. This tank is designed for the piranha I am going to put into it, so I am not so much concerned about the plants really sticking out, I just want it to look really jungle like and wild. I built the canopy 14" high and the actual light sits a comfy 7" above the water just about. I checked and as you can see from the pic the spread of light hits the whole 36", even the tall plants will get light right up to the surface! I didn't want the light to be too extreme so I am sticking with only one 70w. I bet your tank will be quite bright. I will watch for it.

steelhead, 
thank you.

JanS,
thanks again for the plants. I think they look great in there. it was planned the best I could and hope it works out that way, ahaha.

bristles, 
thank you. i am going for a really grown out jungle type wild feel with the tank so we'll see how it turns out.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Here's my 1st week update:


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## oblongshrimp (Aug 8, 2006)

where did you get your 70w MH light from?


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

It's a DIY pendant. I used a Brinks home security fixture from Walmart ($8 ), a 10k bulb from reefshop ($18 shipped), and a 70w ballast I bought off the classifieds ($35 shipped).


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Can you give us your thoughts on the MH lighting? Like how the light spread is, plant growth, effect on tank temp, etc.

I'm interested in that.

Tank looks fantastic. I have a 40g breeder as well, great size tank!


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Hey Burks,
Thanks for the compliments. I first got hooked on MH lighting when I got into reef tanks. My saltwater tank had a 150w MH light on it and I thought it was amazing. I love the shimmer it gives and really makes me think I am looking at a real natural habitat.

*"Can you give us your thoughts on the MH lighting? Like how the light spread is, plant growth, effect on tank temp, etc."*

I tested this tank with the single pendant and ended up putting the pendant about 7" above the water. This gives me a light spread that covers the entire length of the tank and the width easily. In the pics it looks like the stem plants are growing in towards the center but that is actually just the way the current is blowing them. If I turn off the filter they stand staight up. The stem plants have been growing almost an inch a day. The crypt has gotten over 5 new leaves in over a week and the anubias are finally starting to throw out some new leaves here and there. The blyxa has really gotten bushy and the HC has been spreading nicely. I noticed that all of the plants have gotten extremely green and love the way the 10k bulb shows them off.

The bonus of the 70w is that it is very energy efficient, only have to run it on about a 9 hour photo period, and with it hanging at an adequate hight you will never notice a temp change of more than 1 or 2 degrees F. You can hang them pretty high and have them be adequate because they have great PAR raitings so they will reach the bottom of the tank with high enough intensity to grow anything you want.

Hope that helps. Ask any more questions you want and I'll try to answer.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Ooh, I see the HC I sent you! If you have time, you'll get better results planting them 3-4 stems at a time.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Hey James,
Yeah I know what you are saying. I actually just seperated and replanted a lot of it yesterday, it is growing very fast for me. It sits right under the MH light so I think it will continue progressing fast and cover the area quickly. Thanks for the tip.

-Joe


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Here's my weekly update. The blyxa has really taken off and the HC is growing well still. I did some re-aquascaping with the tank and it is looking more and more like what I want it to. I can't wait until there is a nice thick carpet of HC in the middle!

March 23rd, 2007:


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

March 28, 2007









rescaped to allow more plant growth and open area.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Looking very nice. I like it better now that you've rescaped. A less is more approach that is quite effective.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

cs_gardener,
thanks for the feedback and kind words. I was thinking the same thing. It's less busy now and more pleasing.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

was bored so here is another update with it only being 3 days, the HC has grown in some and the stems obviously put on height, lol. I added some of the anubas nana to my DIY background and also added some broad leaf java ferns.:










enjoy, I know I do  .


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Well It has almost been a month since the tank was originally planted so here is those comparison shots to see how far it has come since then:









March 9th, 2007 (1st day)









April 5th, 2007 (almost a whole month)

enjoy.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 18, 2006)

I like where this is going. Cant wait to see some more growth.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

This is coming along very nicely. One thing though, on the right side of the tank the left edge of the main stem plant mound, and the left edge of the blyxa are both in the same place and it gives a rather abrupt feel. On the left side, the moss slope is further to the right than the blyxa and it gives a sense of distance. So perhaps let the stem mound fill in a bit more to the left or keep the blyxa a bit more to the right. I kinda think that letting the stem slope more to the left would be better since it has a nearly perfect vertical edge right now. A more gradual slope might be more effective. Other than that I really like how it's maturing.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

ownager,
thanks a lot for the kind words.

cs,
thanks and I appreciate the advice. I'll see about trying that. The main challenge is going to be seeing how my piranha reacts to the tank when I put him in. I hope he doesn't decide to do pruning of his own  .


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

Well the beast has been unleashed in the tank. Here's the new king of the 40g forest.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Whoa, just one month of growth and it looks great already. It's simple, yet elaborate in design and execution. That little moss slab is so healthy and beautiful. I think the Blyxa should be pushed back slightly and set at an angle, so that the tank opens up into a "v" shape foreground of HC. 

That's one mean looking fish too! 

-John N.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

John N,
thank you very much sir. I do plan on doing some more rescaping, I just want to let him settle in and see how he handles the initial clipping process before rescaping. Gotta be a little more careful poking around in there now, lol. I am hoping that with his size and regular feedings he will leave my tetras alone. I have had luck with piranhas and tetras co-existing in the past but it usually comes down to the individual fish. wish me luck!


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Genin,


That looks really good and it sounds like a fun concept with the big guy in there.
I'll be curious to see how it works out for you. I like the nana in the background and everything looks super healthy. 

It's funny the other day I had my hand in my tank and I have a school of Gold Tetras and they actually bit me pretty hard I was really shocked. I could only imagine what your big cousin would do.


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

houseofcards,
thanks for the kind words. my first concern was that the piranha would do some clipping of his own, but so far no bites to plants *knock on wood*. I let the tank mature for a month with plants in it before adding him because I didn't want him to knock around the tank and uproot them. The plants are rooted very firmly to the substrate and even with him darting and back and forth when he was first put in, all I got was some dust in the water. Even the stem plants didn't budge. 

I have to admit that I am worried thinking about the amount of waste that piranha is going to add to the tank so I am going to focus on keeping a crap load of plants to eat up the waste and large water changes weekly (not too large though, I like to keep my nutrient levels consistent). 

All tetras seem to have some sass to them, I would hate to see what this bad boy would do to my hand. The good thing is that he seems very cowardly of me, and I hope it stays that way.


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