# difficult fish in npt ?



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Hello all !

I am setting up a 22 gal tank for blue german rams . It will be semi-NPT . Semi because i ll be using eco-complete as the topper and there will be not much of sun light. i ll be using canister filter for mostly mechanical filtration plus some bacteria holding media. 
Thats how its gonna look ( plus soil, eco-complete, and plants).









The plants will be:
Frazeri (Anubias 'Frazeri')
Sword, Red Melon (Echinodorus Barthii v. "red melon") 
Hygrophila balsamica (Hygrophila balsamica)
Ludwigia Peruensis (Ludwigia peruensis)
Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides)(potted)
Subulata, Dwarf (Sagittaria subulata) 10 Plants per order
Telanthera Rosefolia (Alternanthera reineckii)
Wendtii, Red (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Wendtii, Green (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Wendtii, Bronze (Cryptocoryne wendtii v. 'Tropica')

They will be getting 40 watts for 12-14 hrs and additional 20 watts for for around 4 hours in the mid day(within those 12-14hrs)

Anyone with similar fish/plants setup please share some expieriance.

Thank you .

P.S. Thank you Shiruk for all ur helpful input on PMs  . Hope my rams will be as happy as ur goldfish


----------



## yum (Feb 11, 2008)

man, i am so loving the look of these tanks without framed edges.

sorry i don't have any experience to share but it looks like it will be a great set up.


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Thank you Yum ! 
I fell in love with this tank once i saw it . Found out that they have a store in Brooklyn NY , went there and came back with it  price wasnt too bad neither 3 bucks per gallon  They make them from 5 gallons to 39 gallons. 
I am just waiting for the eco complete to come and i ll be setting it up shortly . Soil is being mineralized for about 2 weeks now .Weather has been good so it dries fast . New canister filter c-160 just came in today . This time next week it will be up and running  I am gonna wait probobly 2-4 weeks before adding blue rams as i read they need well established water . 
I ll keep updating this Thread .
Thanks for stopping by yum


----------



## 2oto&acory&not.much.else (Jun 5, 2008)

i'd love updates. i plan on something very similar. I'm going w/ soil and Eco- complete, with a canister as well. I love Blue Rams! Never had them before though so not sure if they'll be in my tank


----------



## tames (Apr 18, 2008)

Curious as to why people are using Eco-Complete as a topper rather than gravel or sand? I have it in one of my tanks (no other substrate), and it is very gravel like. Had quite a nutrient spike for a few weeks too (lots of algae). After about 6 weeks tank is now pretty good. 

I would think soil + EcoComplete would be overkill on the ferts. But, I have seen people here use Miracle Grow potting soil as a substrate with success too! They did have a nutrient spike for a while though. I guess what I'm saying is, if you get a lot of algae at first, don't be too concerned. The EcoComplete by itself is quite rich.


----------



## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I had Eco-Complete by itself in one tank and my plants grew okay. I then read about a soil underlayer and decided to try it. I liked the look, size, and weight of the Eco so I reused it instead of getting something different. My plants, especially crypts, took off. I had some Eco left over so I used it as a top layer for the next tank I set up. 

Then there's the fact that I don't like searching all around town for supplies, I'm lazy and prefer online shopping, so I picked up some more Eco when I saw a good deal since it's worked for me. I have tried a couple other substrates as a cap layer and they're okay but I don't like them as well.


----------



## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

i have my female german blue ram just kicking it in my 10 gallon NPT and loves it.... should be good


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Yeah I like eco-complete for its look and they come with two different colors black and red . I lan to use both colors hoping that its not gonna mix up and stay that way for years .
By the way looks like i am having a spike in my 55 gal which has regular gravel and cheapest soil i could find . every day i see more algees for like 3 days now . i guess i shouldnt worry about it too much but i reduced feeding , hoping fish will eat some of the algea also .


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

HI all 
Just an update on my 22 gal , I got soil in ...:








notice that the rock is sittting on the glass.

and got eco-complete in :

















now just waiting on the plants 

another update tommorow i hope.


----------



## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

Kubalik- Just wondering about that rock in the left corner. Is it sitting on the glass or on top of the substrate? If it's sitting on top of all the substrate, it could cause anaerobic pockets later on.


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Revernance said:


> Kubalik- Just wondering about that rock in the left corner. Is it sitting on the glass or on top of the substrate? If it's sitting on top of all the substrate, it could cause anaerobic pockets later on.


That big rock is sitting on the glass - did my homework here...
the small ones tho are on the top of eco-complete but they very small and light so i am hoping it shouldnt be a problem


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Ok plants arrived !!!
They are actually different then stated in the first post . I changed my mind and ordered from another source .
here we can see them








left side close up :









right side :









added background and filter and couple of guppies  

















Didnt plant anything on the forground yet , partially because i like that red in the front and partially bacuase i dont have enough light yet . Just gonna wait few weeks see whats happening and then maaybe add babytears on the forground ...


----------



## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Nice setup! The stem plants will do better if you separate the bunches and plant each stem individually so the leaves just barely touch or slightly overlap the leaves of the stem next to it. As it is now, the stems in the middle of the bunch won't get enough light at the base and will lose leaves and possible the stem will rot. It helps to use tweezers when planting stems, I have 10" tweezers and I can't imagine trying to plant stems without them.


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Hey cs_gaardener . 
Thx for stopping by . I was actually thinking about it . What you say makes lots of sense . I dont have the tweezers that are that long but i am sure i can find smaller ones somewhere . I ll try later on tonight . Thx for the advice


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Ok i replanted the stem plants into small groups 1-3 each :










and side view:


----------



## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Nicely done! That makes the tank look more heavily planted now.


----------



## Shurik (Mar 22, 2008)

I am constantly getting lost in all the threads and finally!  I made it here! Phew!.. 

Dear Kubalik, 
I am totally in love with this tank and can’t wait to see further developments! 
I like red eco complete because it is matching with your rock, and it looks like it is pretty challenging rock (to me).


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Hello hello 
Finally a day off from work after working 12-14 hrs shifts i am off!!!

Thanks for good words cs_gardener and Shurik 

So far not much is going on in my 22 gallons . couple of smaller stems of ludwiga meleted , others have new branches , had to replant couple that came out , guppies look happy . 
Original lights are on for up to 12 hrs now ( thats 38 watts ) made a new fixture(had some free time during those long days at work ) with additional 40 watts to come on for 4 hrs mid day. 
In my 55 gallons mollies had babies - i saw one little one yesterday evening but looks like they all gone now . But i can see they are working hard to get more babies 
Anyways i am off to clean the algees in my 55 now . 
More updates will come when more will change.


----------



## Shurik (Mar 22, 2008)

Hello hello hellooooh! 

I just thought sometimes I think nothing really changed in the tank and everything looks the same day after day, but then I look at the two weeks old pictures, and see something totally different.

Waiting for the picture update!


----------



## Kubalik (May 24, 2008)

Hey all ! 
Finally got to take some pictures of my tank which is now stocked with 2 pairs of guppies and 4 bolivian rams and just added 5 minutes ago 2 green cories  I dont go with german rams yet because i read that they need to go into very well established tank. I got some hair algees growing and italian vals are growing nuts and spreading like crazy  ludwigias are slowly growing and Echinodorus Indian Red is doing fine . Only one that isnt growing seems like is Rotala Najenshan , but it isnt dying neither so we will see. I think I am short of some nutrients cuz above mentioned Rotala Najenshan is gorwing lots of roots ... as u will see on the pics , here they go :

whole tank:









left side ( see the roots ? )









and right side :









I read on another thread that plants will grow roots when they short of nitrogen ... i kinds dont know what to do to increase that tho .... any suggestions pleeeaaase ....

Thanks


----------

