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iam_koi's Planted Aquarium 35 gal

7K views 34 replies 9 participants last post by  iam_koi 
#1 ·
I am a newbie for planted aquariums. but fish keeping is not new to me and my family. we used to sell tetras before, bred them in lengthwise barrels in our garden. but since my dad past away we haven't got a single aquarium.

now, inspired by my younger brothers red ear slider turtle tank (40 gal). i ventured on a new journey, planted tank has always been my dream.

after 2 months of reading and researching, here comes my 35 gal tank, this tank serves as a divider between the living room and the dining table.

i live here in the Philippines, plants are not readily available on our part of the island so we have to go out and do trekking and plant hunting.hehehe

here's my tank (35 gal):

Eheim 2215, 2 55W PL lights, garden soil and riversand substrate, as of the moment DIY CO2, AGT is still under repair.

tank is a month old. no fertilizers yet, only CO2 and lighting.





back view:

suggestions, comments, etc. are highly appreciated. :)
 
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#3 ·
thank you so much willow. :D so happy to hear that.

as of the moment, its the home of 10 juvy lampeyes, 1 honey gourami, 3 SAE, 4 flying foxes... ramhorns and malaysian trumpet snails. :)

i like putting more honey gouramis...i love the color. but it's not available yet on our LFS.
 
#4 ·
Your tank is looking really lovely iam_koi! I see you have some small plants in the foreground - could you tell me what they are? One of them looks like it could be mini-hairgrass, but it's hard to tell from the picture.
 
#5 ·
kateyoup said:
Your tank is looking really lovely iam_koi! I see you have some small plants in the foreground - could you tell me what they are? One of them looks like it could be mini-hairgrass, but it's hard to tell from the picture.
thank you so much! :D

yes, my glossostigmata are still young and crawling.hehehe at the center, there are dwarf hair grass(Eleocharis Parvulus) and bunches of HC(Hemianthus micranthemoides).

Sorry my pictures are a bit blur and no micro shots yet.
:(
 
#6 ·
No probs :) The way you have it planted gives a very nice effect, and once the foreground plants start to spread a bit it'll look awesome!

Thanks for the plant info and please post updates as it comes along! :)
 
#7 ·
kateyoup said:
No probs :) The way you have it planted gives a very nice effect, and once the foreground plants start to spread a bit it'll look awesome!

Thanks for the plant info and please post updates as it comes along! :)

thank you.. :) :oops: (blushing)

i will post updates from time to time... im excited that glosso would fill the foreground. yeah, it would look much nicier.hehehe

thank you so much.

i would just like to say that no matter what part of the globe you are, planted tank is possible. you just give your heart into it. :wink:
 
#9 ·
your tank looks absolutly STUNNING!!!!!! i wish i could make mine look that nice! i love the blue betta too. what kind of fish is in the last pic?
 
#10 ·
crazy4fish said:
your tank looks absolutly STUNNING!!!!!! i wish i could make mine look that nice! i love the blue betta too. what kind of fish is in the last pic?
thank you very much crazy4fish. like your name, me, im crazy about my plants AND fish.hehehe :D im still actually a newbie, and im definitely sure that you can do better if you just put your heart into it.

there are a lot of equipments, plants, foods, fishes, etc. readily available there in the states compared here in the philippines.

the fish on the last pic is a sunset gourami. i have 4 in the tank and they look awesome with their red and blue color. :)

Thank you very much for appreciating my tank... go, start planting... :wink:

here's a closer look of the sunset gourami on my tank.

 
#11 ·
i have always wanted a planted tank. maybe when i get another i'll plant it. :)

yes there are a lot of things at my lfs for plants and whenever i see a planted tank i want one even more. i just dont want to do over a whole tank with the substrate and everything. :( besides my grandfather is thinking about getting me a really big tank so if he does i will just use that one for plants! :wink:

the pic you just posted of the gourami is really good. you should put it in a contest. :D
 
#12 ·
crazy4fish said:
i have always wanted a planted tank. maybe when i get another i'll plant it. :)

yes there are a lot of things at my lfs for plants and whenever i see a planted tank i want one even more. i just dont want to do over a whole tank with the substrate and everything. :( besides my grandfather is thinking about getting me a really big tank so if he does i will just use that one for plants! :wink:

the pic you just posted of the gourami is really good. you should put it in a contest. :D
you should try planted aquarium. i guarantee you, you will have ultimate satisfication. =)

you could ask me if you need more info about planted tanks..maybe i could shed some light. thank you very much.

about that pic...hmmm...yeah maybe i could try joining. thanks! goodluck on your endeavor.. peace!
 
#14 ·
tank looks awesome as usual!
 
#16 ·
crazy4fish said:
tank looks awesome as usual!
thanks crazy4fish, do you think any improvements needed on the scape? will be glad to accept suggestions. thanks. =)

Ptrain said:
do you have eco-complete in there for your plants? and what type of CO2 do you have? How much did that cost (the CO2), im planning on planting a tank, and i want to learn what i should do.
actually, here in the philippines, we don't have immediate access to those nice substrates. would you believe that i am using garden soil (got it from our backyard) about 2-3 inches of it as the first layer and then an inch or two of riversand. no eco complete or any substrate from lfs. i washed the two substrate well and sifted it.
my CO2 started with airgun tanks, but since i havent had time to fill er up, i used DIY CO2. one bottle of 1.5 liters. Fed the output to a small submersible pump, letting the bubbles get crushed by the impeller. im not sure about the price, but it only cost me the submersible pump, i got the smallest one i could find.
uhmm.. for planted tanks, you must choose your substrate well, the lighting is also a factor. you must choose if you are into low light, mediu lighting or high light. i've actually researched for a month since i didnt have a know how on planted tanks. forums to forums, getting all the experiences from well known people.
for me, know the plants the you want to keep, what are their requirements, their needs and how they grow. then setup your aquarium to their needs.
 
#17 ·
nice tank!

Man I think your tank is awesome! I too have a heavily planted tank I've posted photos of on this forum and almost the same fish. 6 gouramis, one male betta, 2 koi angelfish, 3 otos, 4 schartzi cories, and 3 boesemani rainbows... How do your fancy tail guppies get along with the betta? I wanted to do that but was worried the betta might think they are enemies?
Excellent tank!
 
#19 ·
yeah how do your betta and guppies get along? i was always told it was a bad combo.
 
#20 ·
It's really pretty! I was going to say you should add some more ground cover, but it looks like you have some that hasn't quite filled in yet. I wouldn't rearrange anything, but I bet some good Crypt Wendtii, or some other plant that likes to flatten out would look great in the front. I like the red variation- once your grass fills out the red will look very nice against the bright green.
 
#21 ·
jaybyrd said:
Man I think your tank is awesome! I too have a heavily planted tank I've posted photos of on this forum and almost the same fish. 6 gouramis, one male betta, 2 koi angelfish, 3 otos, 4 schartzi cories, and 3 boesemani rainbows... How do your fancy tail guppies get along with the betta? I wanted to do that but was worried the betta might think they are enemies?
Excellent tank!
thanks jaybyrd! wow..nice fauna. if its ok with you, please post your tank here also. i would love to see it too.

uhmm..actually, the betta would chase the fancy guppies but could never catch up since it has a very long and large veiltail..hehehe so basically, betta cant catch up with the guppies.hehe

thanks again.



kritas said:
That is one awesome looking tank koi. It really looks like you put ur back into it to make it look beautiful. GREAT JOB :thumbsup:
well, i didn't feel any effort..i love what i've done with it. it's true that if you love what you're doing, its effortless. thanks kritas! =)


crazy4fish said:
yeah how do your betta and guppies get along? i was always told it was a bad combo.
my betta is veiltail, so it doesn't swim fast because the tail would slow it down. the guppies are much faster swimmers even if they have larger tails too. so the betta can't catch up with them.hehehe
 
#22 ·
thanks I am koi

Thanks for the response. Actually it seems the Betta fish is fast only in close quarters. And in knowing this I wanted to drop some fancy tail guppies in the water in my tank - but I was warned about it too much by everyone... Still like your tank a whole bunch. I will post one picture of my tank - probably the most recent one. I tried to allow the plants to overwhelm the aquarium and allow for surface cover with all the gouramis. My plants are not as interesting as yours but - oh well...


 
#24 ·
nice tank jaybyrd! it looks really nice! and i love the fish you got in it!
 
#25 ·
awe thanks...

Thank you. Iam Koi you rock! I love my two aquariums - they just bring a peaceful release at the end of busy days. :oops:

Everyone have some fun out there! :lol:
 
#26 ·
i love to just watch my fish after a long day. it is quite relaxing. i think thats why they have fish tanks at doctors offices.
 
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