# My VAHS planted tank contest entry



## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

So my entry definitely needs a journal!

*Aquarium:* The tank is an Oceanic Illuminata 57 gallon (36 x 18 x 22" )










*Lighting:* I went the LED route ith this one. I'm using three Vertex Illumilux 36" strips. one 'Dolce Rosso' (all warm white LEDs) one 'Dolce Sole' 50 50 nuetral and cool white) and one Marino Sole which is a blend of royal blue and cool white LEDs










*Decor:* basically have some river stones from my private stash and some manzanita twigs

*Equipment:*

5lb co2 tank with inline atomizer and JBJ Regulator, Eheim Ecco 2236, glass intake and return, CO2 drop checker and a 200watt heater

*Substrate:* Gone the ADA route! 3 9L bags of new amazonia, power sand Medium and all the lovely additives!

Plants: this list will change over time remove and add species as required for the scape

the list thus far:
ammania sp. 'bonsai'
ammania gracilis
rotala colorata
Fissidens sp. Thailand
mini bolbitis
Bucepalandra Sekadau Hilir
Bucepalandra sp. un IDed at this point
Lagenandra nairii 
Lagenandra meeoboldi pink
Ranunculus inundatus
Lindernia rotundifolia 'Variegated'
Cuphea anagalloidea
Pogostemon helferi (Downoi)
Rotala sp. 'Vietnam'
Rotala Macranda
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'
Proserpinaca palustris
Myriophyllum sp.
hygrophila corymbosa angustifolia
and a few emersed rhizomes of Crepidomanes auriculatum

and so begins the progression





































attaching the mini pelia 









making stones covered in fissidens sp thailand









then everything goes in again and i start planting the stems





































and Mojo wanted to help


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Looking great so far Kevin, I like your method for plant attachment.


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

thanks! it was tedious, but it should be worth it


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## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Looking great ! I haven't had chance to start mine yet ! too busy at the moment


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks good, Kevin. You got plants I can't even name (much less know what they are).

Good luck !

Stuart


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

There's actually plants out there that you don't know the id ...Stu ?? lol 
Looks great Kevin! Great journal and best if luck!


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

.Time for an update!

things are humming along, fighting a small outbreak of BGA and some thread algae. hence the mollies in there eating everything that is algae.

i have been tinkering with what stem species grow best under these lighting conditions. I am contemplating swapping the Hygrophilia corymbosa angustifolia in the right back corner for something with a little more colour and presence. maybe some oludwigia glandulosa?

did away with the exotic carpet plants i had and switched to glosso and downoi.










left side oblique










right side oblique









left side









right side









top down 









enjoy! more pics to come!


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## Keri (Aug 2, 2010)

Beautiful!


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## AquaAddict (Dec 4, 2010)

Hi,

Your tank is so beautiful, but...where is the cat? I don't see him anwhere in that tank.

AquaAddict


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Looking good Kevin.

I will be posting some updates of my entry in the next week or 2 .

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## Tiwaz (May 5, 2011)

Looking good


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## miyabi-aqua (May 20, 2011)

looking good.


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

another update! the glosso at the front became overrun with some bizzare algae from h*ll. I pulled it all up and replanted some healthy, algae-free pieces. I also decided at this point to remove the wood and river rocks, and opted for some 'dragon stone'. I am pleased with the effect.










the Lagenandras I have in the tank have perked up significantly since this change! added some other miidground plants to see which grows best. The LEDs make some plants go into hyperdrive, and others not so much. the balancing of this effect with the scape is my only serious challenge!

I also moved the two bucephalandra species in this tank to my emersed setup as they were suffering from the same algae that caked the glosso.




























I also added a few fish

17 x oryzias woworae
22 x iriatherina werneri
3 x crossocheilus siamensis
1 x crossocheilus reticulatus

and a few silver mollies to help keep algae in check (their time of need is drawing to a close)


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## miyabi-aqua (May 20, 2011)

ground cover seems to be growing slowly but overall tank looking good.


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

miyabi-aqua said:


> ground cover seems to be growing slowly but overall tank looking good.


i pulled up the glosso and removed 95% of it as it was filled with a strange algae i have never seen before. give it 2 weeks lol, it is glosso after all!


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## miyabi-aqua (May 20, 2011)

Oh...well...let me know if you still need any help.


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

Time for an update ... getting there


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Looks pretty damn good! Beautiful tank


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## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Beautiful tank!


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

many thanks for the compliments


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## djamm (Sep 25, 2010)

Background sure has filled in alot! The glosso still needs a little bit more time, but I am sure will come in nice! Looking good so far!


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## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

I am guilty of ignoring this thread ... sorry

things have changed a little in the tank, some species left, others took over. I could have done without the 10 day period I was away and the tank was not being fertilized. this caused green water to tank over rapidly! (that and the tank was getting 2 -3 hours of direct sunlight daily). I got that remedied, and tried to spur the plants in the background back to lushness.




































New Zebra otos from Fantasy.

In the end I think the tank could have done with another week to fill in the R. Macranda, and Lindernia rotundifolia (which REALLY hated the green water algae)


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## TheBigCheese (Oct 1, 2012)

Great looking tank. Well done!


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