# Planted Tanks > Aquascaping >  My first attempt to landscape a planted tank

## Realcaster

Hi Guy

I am really new to planted tank, have zero knowledge on this hobby. All advise welcome 😊

Below is my initial setup, still don't know what background plant, transition plant or foreground plant to buy, because I have zero knowledge 😝

Do share your suggestion as I progress 😃

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## BMcK

Looks good so far. How big is the tank? What is the plant that you have in there currently? 

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## Realcaster

Those are mini nana which I bought from LFS. I just dropped them in. They are not planted yet.

Tank : 60x40x48(HT)
Temp: 27-29C
Co2: Yes
Chiller: no (I hope no)
light: Beamworks Hi Lumen 60 (Plant) 28W

Do you have any suggestion for the plants?

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## Phillipians

You can look at some simple stem plants which are not too difficult to grow. Refer to the Tropica list and look for the EASY category. You can also eyeball the intermediate as well since you have co2.

http://tropica.com/en

Off hand, these are interesting plants for consideration:
Foreground: Hairgrass, Monte Carlo
Mid ground - Alternanthera Reinecki Sp Mini, Eriocaulon series, Blyxa Japonica, Pearl Grass (MM or HM) etc
Background - Too many to name.

I suggest that you take a look and come up with a concept. It is after all your own expression of art as well. You can ask for recommendations for pockets of spaces of plants but I think the tank should be something you do yourself. 

The hardscape looks very good for a beginner. Time to plan for the plants

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## Phillipians

One more thing. Take the nanas out of the soil. It is not meant to be planted into the soil.

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## Realcaster

Thank you Philippians. 

The list of plants helps a lot. I will be hunting for plants all over Singapore now.

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## Phillipians

The following LFS has got a wide selection of plants:

Fishybusiness
Greenchapter
Aquatic Avenue

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## Realcaster

Tied some Christmas moss to the wood. Added a few plant, and shifted a few rock ��
Attachment 51897

Attachment 51898

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## Realcaster

I have added "Anubias Afzelii" to the left as a back ground plant and planting it directly into the substrate, will that work as a background plant? 

Have a bunch of "Anubias Gabon" at the middle behind the rock, also planted into the substrate.

As Philipians have pointed out, Nanas should not be planted into substrate, so now i tied it to Lava rocks.

I am curious, does all Anusbias Family need to be tied to driftwood/Rocks or some spieces can be planted directly?

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## BMcK

> I have added "Anubias Afzelii" to the left as a back ground plant and planting it directly into the substrate, will that work as a background plant? 
> 
> Have a bunch of "Anubias Gabon" at the middle behind the rock, also planted into the substrate.
> 
> As Philipians have pointed out, Nanas should not be planted into substrate, so now i tied it to Lava rocks.
> 
> I am curious, does all Anusbias Family need to be tied to driftwood/Rocks or some spieces can be planted directly?


Yes, all anubias should be tied and not planted

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## Realcaster

> Yes, all anubias should be tied and not planted
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


Thanks, a newbie mistake again. Will have to go LFS shopping again during lunch time  :Smile:

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## BMcK

> Thanks, a newbie mistake again. Will have to go LFS shopping again during lunch time


No problem, we've all been newbies before  :Smile: 

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## Realcaster

Just completed most of my planting.... but hmmm water temp is averaging at 29C .... Just tell me straight in the face

DO I NEED A CHILLER !!  :Grin: 


List of my plants
-Christmoss
-MC
-Mini Taco
-Anubias
-Ludwiga
-Java Fern (Windelov)

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## Urban Aquaria

> DO I NEED A CHILLER !!


No need chiller... unless you have extra $$$ to burn and itchy fingers want to buy more equipment.  :Very Happy:

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## Realcaster

Lol... Now my tank is at 28.5 deg with the fan blowing... Not sure if my Mini Japanese hair grass will survive....

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## qool

I think out of your plant list the most affected by temperature should be Christmas moss. Never had success with Christmas moss at higher temperature all turn brown for me.

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## Urban Aquaria

> Lol... Now my tank is at 28.5 deg with the fan blowing... Not sure if my Mini Japanese hair grass will survive....


Hairgrass can grow well in normal room temperatures... my tanks average 28-30°C and those plants grow without issues.

Here is an example: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...Edge-quot-Tank!

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## Realcaster

> I think out of your plant list the most affected by temperature should be Christmas moss. Never had success with Christmas moss at higher temperature all turn brown for me.


My christmass miss is showing lots of light green tips. Does it means it's growing ?

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## Realcaster

Now I am adding live stocks

1. 30pcs X Rummy Nose
2. 4pcs X Oto
3. 10ps X Red Rili shrimps (XL)

I try to choose those that can survive in 28-30C water. Fingers are still very itchy .... Lol.
How about Cory ? Saw the Brazilian Golden Cory looks really nice.

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## qool

> My christmass miss is showing lots of light green tips. Does it means it's growing ?


If still green after 1 week means you are good. I had one tank around 28 degree and it never remain green for long. After 1 week all turn brown even with good flow and fert regime.

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## Realcaster

> Now I am adding live stocks
> 
> I try to choose those that can survive in 28-30C water. Fingers are still very itchy .... Lol.
> How about Cory ? Saw the Brazilian Golden Cory looks really nice.


Just got the name correct, it's Gold Laser.

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## Realcaster

> If still green after 1 week means you are good. I had one tank around 28 degree and it never remain green for long. After 1 week all turn brown even with good flow and fert regime.


 Well my finger crossed... It's being 1 week, hopefully, my moss survived.

something not quite right is my Anubias Azelii. The leaves are turning yellow one by one and eventually turning dark brown... Could it be a transition from emmerse to immerse ?

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## Urban Aquaria

Yeah, most of the anubias sold at LFS are in emersed form... the older leaves will eventually melt and new adapted submerged leaves will grow to replace them.

Just cut off all the melting leaves, even if all the leaves are gone and only left the healthy rhizome its still okay, that will encourage the plant to grow more new leaves.

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## Realcaster

> Yeah, most of the anubias sold at LFS are in emersed form... the older leaves will eventually melt and new adapted submerged leaves will grow to replace them.
> 
> Just cut off all the melting leaves, even if all the leaves are gone and only left the healthy rhizome its still okay, that will encourage the plant to grow more new leaves.


thank you for the info. I will post more update pics later tonight.

my planting is almost done, going to leave it alone now and see how the plant perform  :Razz:

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## Realcaster

My tank updates
Attachment 51956Attachment 51957Attachment 51958Attachment 51959

The photo was taken with a hand phone, the photo is not really very clear and crisps  :Razz:

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## Realcaster

Anyone know what plant is it ? It as labeled as wendtii when I bought it, but I check on line it seems incorrect. Btw I am referring to the plant which the shrimp is resting on  :Razz: 
Attachment 51972

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## Urban Aquaria

> Anyone know what plant is it ? It as labeled as wendtii when I bought it, but I check on line it seems incorrect. Btw I am referring to the plant which the shrimp is resting on 
> Attachment 51972


If you just bought it recently, the emersed leaves will be quite different from the submersed leaves... so wait until the submersed leaves grow out then you will see its actual variant.

Just do a google search on "cryptocoryne wendtii" and "cryptocoryne wendtii emersed", compare both sets of google images and you'll see the difference in their leaf forms.  :Smile:

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## Realcaster

Indeed the shape of the leaves looks different  :Smile:

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## Realcaster

My Christmas moss is growing well & pearling  :Smile: 

Attachment 51999

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## Realcaster

Due to itchy fingers, I bought a chiller off a reefer. Hailea 66a used on a 2 ft tank coupled with a ehiiem 2217.

Some observations, during the initial fast ramp down of temp, is it common to see some water leaking out of the unit?, I opened up to inspect inside and it seems to be from the cooling chamber that are wrapped by the black rubber. Are these condensation because I manage to drop from 29C to 24C in less than 2 hours . I didn't detect any leak at the joins or expose area.

next is my tank temp and the Hailea readings, I see a difference of 2 degree. Tank 25C, Hailea 23C My outlet from chiller goes straight into the tank.

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## Urban Aquaria

Sounds like condensation... i guess if you notice alot more water dripping out constantly then have to check the waterproofing.

To mitigate the difference in temperature readings, you can DIY mod an external temperature probe from the chiller to the tank, so that the chiller operates based on the actual tank water temperature in real-time (rather than its internal temperature sensor). Just do a search to find the how-to mod guides for your particular chiller brand and model.

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## Realcaster

Thank you. Anyway, it's confirm a leak and I returned the chiller to the nice reefer.

i bought a new Hailea HS-28. It's quite amazing, my mini jap hair grass was in m tank for 5 days and there was hardly any growth. With the chiller for 1 day and I can notice the hair grass is actual getting denser. I am amazed.

the Hailea chiller allows me to calibrate it to my tank temperature. The only challenge I have is the damn thermometer. I doubt my ista digital thermometer is give out the right reading.

i went to sea view and check out the analog and digital thermometer, even with the same brand and same model, all analog and digital thermometer have as much as 2 degrees difference in reading...". Smh.

Do you know what brand of thermometer are calibrated reading out of factory?

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## Urban Aquaria

Yeah, those analog and digital thermometers sold at LFS do tend to have a 1-2 degree variation in their read outs... its one of the reasons why some people see their tank thermometer show 31°C and start to panic but actually its 29°C, while another chap says his tank can hit 25°C with just an aquarium fan but actually its 27°C. So those thermometers can be a source of false alarm or info.

What i do with any new thermometers i get is to "calibrate" them using the ice cubes method. As most of those basic aquarium thermometers we get from LFS don't have temperature calibration features, i just write any significant temp differences on masking tape and paste it on the thermometer.

Here is a good example of DIY calibration using ice cubes method by Navanod: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...er-and-chiller

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## Realcaster

Thank you, I will likely buy from Tao Bao a temperature controller and use it to monitor my temperature and calibrate it as you have suggested.

Would also use the temp controller to turn on external exhaust fan when my chiller kicks in  :Smile: 

Just bought an external co2 reactor from Ista. Amazing stuff, just running my Co2 at 1bps my plants as bubbling like crazy :Smile:

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## Realcaster

> If you just bought it recently, the emersed leaves will be quite different from the submersed leaves... so wait until the submersed leaves grow out then you will see its actual variant.
> 
> Just do a google search on "cryptocoryne wendtii" and "cryptocoryne wendtii emersed", compare both sets of google images and you'll see the difference in their leaf forms.


now my wendtii leaf are melting away a few leaves a day. Should l cut alway all the leaves at one go so that new leafy will grow again?

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## Urban Aquaria

> now my wendtii leaf are melting away a few leaves a day. Should l cut alway all the leaves at one go so that new leafy will grow again?


Cryptocorynes do also exhibit melting and shedding of their leaves when introducted to new tank environment too... its commonly referred to as "crypt melt". Thats one of the ways crypts adapt to changing conditions.

Just trim off all the melting/rotting leaves, if the rhizome is healthy it will adapt and start growing new healthy leaves after a while.

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## Realcaster

Well great :Sad:  .... Trimmed off all my wendtii leaves, hopefully, they will re-grow. My Repens is melting too. I hate plants that are grew emmersed. The next plant I buy got to be grew immersed !! 
the rest of my plants that are grew immersed are doing great  :Smile: 

was as trying to find a holder for my lily pipe. Couldn't find any so I went to Daiso to look for some diy stuff and I found this. Spring loaded and now my lily pipe is height adjustable  :Smile: 

Attachment 52049Attachment 52050

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## Realcaster

Need some suggestion. My foreground plant is creeping and it's getting dense . I feed my tetra floating flakes, and I feed my cories sinking waffle. Most of my waffle will fall between the MC and hair grass...how do you guys overcome this?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Need some suggestion. My foreground plant is creeping and it's getting dense . I feed my tetra floating flakes, and I feed my cories sinking waffle. Most of my waffle will fall between the MC and hair grass...how do you guys overcome this?


Yeah, thats one of the reasons why most aquascapers with tanks that have carpet plants tend not to keep corydoras fishes. Its tough to cater to their bottom feeding behaviour without end up with alot of excess food stuck inside the carpet.

But there are some options which could help...

Option 1:

You can look at using an acrylic feeding tube and dish setup, its designed for shrimps but fishes will also feed from it. It looks like this:

 

Photo from Google Images.

You can get them from most good LFS or from online aquarium stores/sellers.

This is an example from one of my previous tanks... i just used only the acrylic dish and stuck it to the glass with a suction cup:



Some of food will still get kicked out and drop into the carpet plants though, but at least it helps to reduce the amount of lost food.


Option 2:

Remove a section of the carpet plants in front and put a sand bank in place so that the corydoras fishes have an area of their own to sift through and you can drop food there for them to feed. Excess food will stay on top of the sand so its easy to clear if there are still leftovers.

Here is an example of a nice aquascape that incorporates a sandy portion in the foreground:



Photo from Google Images.

Hope some of the suggestions help!  :Smile:

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## Realcaster

Great. Thank you. I went for the dish and feeder pipe method.

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## Realcaster

My plants are pearling  :Smile: 

Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Attachment 52111

Weeping moss
Attachment 52112

No no sure what's the name
Attachment 52113

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## WingCher

bro, can i buy a stalk of Myriophyllum mattogrossense trimming from you? i just need a 5cm trimming will do...

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## Realcaster

Please PM me your contact  :Smile:  I am trimming again today  :Smile:

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## Realcaster

Now my tank is 3 weeks old. The MC was carpeting well, but I find it too messy and lots of floating leave. So I decide to replace the MC on the right side with Japan sp mini hair grass 3 days ago. The same hair grass on the left is now 2 weeks old and it is carpeting pretty well. The rest of the plant is doing well too. Added a few mid ground red plant 5 days ago. And tied a few mini fussiden and US fussiden on the rock 2 days ago. The are doing pretty well and are rooting.

Did a DIY feeding dish like UA, what I did was buying a suction cup tube holder, cut off the 2 gripping arm leaving 5mm on each side. Soften it with a lighter and press it on the side of the dish to make it conform to the side of the dish and super glue it with Diaso jelly super glue. It have held pretty well for 1.5weeks now.

Is the growth rate of my plant normal?

My only regret is...... I should have bought a 6 footer  :Sad: . There are just so many more plants that I like but I don't have enough space to put it in my tank.  :Sad: 

All comments welcome.
Attachment 52138

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## WingCher

if you are living in HDB flat, you cant put any tank more then 600litres in volume, unless you have a permit...
Nice tank scape you have!

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## Realcaster

I live in apartment, hopefully it does not have such regulation  :Smile:

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## Realcaster

I think i got the wrong plant, it is not Rotala sp Green, it seem to be Rotala sp Nanjenshan, a Taiwan variety.

Could someone help me ID this plant! Thanks

Attachment 52113

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## Urban Aquaria

Yeah, that is Rotala Nanjenshan, i've kept it before too... very fast grower.

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## Realcaster

Yes, very fast grower. I just gave it a hair cut 2 days ago and it formed a tight bush very easily. :Cool: 

1. I notice, my plant is pearling less now, seems like the plants are all settling down pretty well and growing very fast including the moss.
Can i assume i need to increase in CO2 input, used to be 1.5 bps, I have increased to 3 bps now, and the pearling is still very occasional (Co2 indicator is dark green). Do you think I should increase to 4-5bps due to the plant mass i have now or even attempt to push the indicator to yellow?  :Grin: 

2. The christmas frones are very dense and it looks really nice. Is it due to the water temperature (now at 24~25C) 

3. Recently, I received some AR mini cutting from 2 different brothers here. I see some obvious difference in the cutting, one have much smaller leaves (3cm), and the other have bigger leaves (6cm). Does low temperature water produce denser bush and smaller leaves?

4. Hair algea started to attacked my plants, I reduce my light duration from 12 hours to 8 hrs now. I tried removing the hair algea quite successfully using a tooth brush (soft). I sort of gently combed the mosses with it and hair algea are readily picked up by the tooth brush without damaging my mosses. Brother with hair algea on mosses can try this, its very effective.

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## Realcaster

My chiller exhaust was placed 5 inch from the wall, air circulation isn't good at all. I measured the temperature when the chiller kicks in, it runs as high as 55C, as with all heat exchanger, the power consumption will be base on the temperature difference.
I ordered a thermostat control power extension. With the thermostat place just outside the chiller exhaust and clip an ANS cooling fan (L) blowing directly at the chiller exhaust. The ANS fan will kick in once the thermostat detect a reading above 35C and will shut off when temp drop below 35C. During my initial testing I manage to drop 10deg (55->44C). It would definitely help in my utility bills  :Grin: . If I reposition my fan or add another, the drop in temperature could be even more. Highly applicable if chiller is placed in the cabinet or spot with poor circulation.

The thermostat power adaptor cost less than $15 including shipping and the ANS fan is recycled  :Smile: 

i also bought a 4 outlet power adaptor. With independent timer for each outlet. I am suppose to be able to control my co2 solenoid, 2 aquarium lights (day n night mode) with just one timer  :Smile:  will post a report once I test it out.

Attachment 52163Attachment 52164

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