Behold, Excalibur 2

[rheann]

I think this is a start of a beautiful friendship

Twice a month I will get new plants, so twice a month I'll update with pictures of my new tank set-up with each adding.

The red plant I do not remember what the name is. It was in a tank with duck weed covering the top and it was flourishing with many other bunches. My camera killed it's beauty. It is bright red and the camera isn't very flattering!

I hope it does well. I know that red plants need a lot of care and lighting, but it seemed to be doing just fine in the tank with duck weed at the shop.

The fluffy plants in the corner are Fox tail. Also another plant that had duck weed covering the top of its tank and was also doing well. The little bunches of green are Java moss and I got a free rock with that

. I attached some to the tree root and also some to the rock.

And then there is some duck weed covering portions of the top. I have both lights on right now in the tank, and I can keep one on and turn the other off. I can also switch the lighting, so that during part of the day, one side will be on and the other will be off and it won't bother my Axolotls too much. They have been raised with some lighting so they don't seem to be bothered by it too much.

Comments are much appreciated

 

[rheann]

I was also wondering if anyone could tell me what I will do to keep the plants healthy and alive and what plant food will be safe to add to the tank so as to not hurt my Axolotls. They will be going into the tank once the cycling has finished, thanks

 

[lindsay]

Hey Rheann your new tank is massive! I wish I had the room for something like that! I think the red plant looks pretty sweet even though the camera hasn't done it justice. Your tank is gonna be awesome once you've finished decorating it I reckon! Sorry I don't know anything about caring for aquarium plants... Mine are all plastic LOL

 

[rheann]

LOL I forgot that in another post Joan said that my Axolotls will supply the Fertilizers. Leave it to me to forget easily lol. But I am also wondering about anything else that might be important not mentioned. Any suggestions are welcome

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Lindsay

I plant to fill most of the back of the wall with tall and medium sized plants. Augh! I just can't resist making it a planted tank! My Axolotls are so beautiful, and I think that if I can place the plants close enough together they will act as supports to one another, protection against trampling Axolotl feet lol.

The corners of the tank will also be planted with shorter plants, the two far back corners will be planted with taller plants. I'm going to add some more large to small rocks in the tank. I might get them from a river or see if Home Depot sells rocks, but I doubt they sell rocks individually. That wouldn't really make much sense

.

Or i can see if I can find some nice pretty ones around here, there seems to be an abundance of rocks at my apartment complex lol.

 

[rob]

tanks looking great Rheann

cant wait to see the finished product...
can u please post a close up of ur spray bar ?
as i have to make another and after some ideas..

p.s. i just found this link while googling that might come in handy for u...
http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Start/
Hmm i might have to find some more plug space so i can have a light

(Message edited by kharmakazi on November 16, 2005)

 

[rheann]

Hey Rob, thanks so much for the link! That's a lot of reading! I've book marked it and will read it after I make this post

Here are some close ups of the spray bar. Sorry that they aren't very good. My camera is really junky

Bottom View

Side View

Top View

I have the spray bar turned so that the holes along it face the back glass and spray somewhat up-ward which really baffles the current. It helps a lot to do this. Little suction cups keep it held in place against the glass. The spray bar comes with a knob that I can choose to install to adjust the current to the setting I want, or I don't have to install it. There is also another piece which isn't hooked on right now that is a bit longer which makes the spray bar droop into the water more. I chose not to put that one on.


Here is a nice link to a tank where the spray bar was made from some rubber aquarium tubing. It can be fixed to spray across and hit the glass and trickle down.

http://axolotls.org/housing.htm

Cynthia Gardener was using an RX pill bottle for while but she was able to get a spray bar for hers.

Once you figure something out and get it set-up, post some pictures of it

Spray bars I think are the best option and canister filters. Overhang filters don't work very well.

 

[gregory]

Look great, Rheann.

As for helping plants grow--what kind of bulb do you have in there? I've had grow bulbs help all kinds of plant growth, plus they give a bit of a different sheen to animals inside. I've always seen a positive effect from them--it's almost like the difference between sunlight and a light bulb.

They're generally only $1 or 2 more than the normal bulbs.

One more thing way off topic... did you know your "see something cool" link now goes to someone's blog instead of the falling lifeless body? If you search for tetka.swf you can find it again if you wanted. If not, then I don't suppose that's your Russian blog, is it?

 

[rheann]

Hey Gregory, thanks for telling me about my link

I haven't checked it in a while. I'll see if I can find something else cool to put as my signature lol.

About the bulbs, the bulbs I have in my lights now came with the hood and the tank all together. how much do bulbs normally cost? I'll take a peak at the petsmart website to see if I can find what you are talking about.

will they hurt my Axolotls at all? With my tank, as I am cycling I'm going to keep the tank lights on both sides on for about 8 hours or longer, but with that red plant I might have to go longer. Once my Axolotls are in there, I'll probably alternate between the lights. Keep one on during the day, the other at night that way both sides get lighting and my Axolotls will have shady side too

Anything else I should know about taking care of plants? I just hope they last lol. Should I get a Co2 Reactor or anything? Those are rather expensive... I don't think that is in my budget.

 

[gregory]

The bulbs will probably be (roughly) in the $5-$15ish range and will last for awhile. They act a lot like normal fluorescent bulbs in terms of their longevity, etc.

The lights in a standard aquarium shouldn't hurt the axolotls--especially considering the amount of shade/hiding places you're adding. What's more, the plants themselves will provide some shade, too.

You should not need a CO2 reactor--that would probably be overkill and something I'd wait on until I really knew I needed it. For one thing, I doubt you'll need the pH lowering effect of it. If you're worried about the plants not having enough CO2, normal gentle aeration should get the job done (which should be accomplished with your spray bar). What's more, your axolotls will obviously be doing some constant gas exchange.

If you don't want to have snails in your aquarium, you may want to quarantine plants before adding them, although your axolotls might be able to eat them. What's more important, though, is if you see them start to be in your tank and don't want them there to get rid of them right away--a few left that seem cute can breed like crazy seemingly overnight. Sometimes they take over a tank and wind up killing the plants inside.

Is this the 60 gallon tank from Petsmart that I keep seeing whenever I go in there? It's so tempting, but I guess I'll have to wait until my current batch are a bit more grown up before getting something like this. Right now they are in small tanks in the basement... but a 60 gallon one set up something like yours might make a great display case for the living room.

I'm looking forward to your continued review of this setup since this tank seems very attractive, especially now that I see images of some of the great possibilities that can be done with it.

 

[rheann]

Thanks Gregory

I'll check at Petsmart for the bulbs. Is there a brand you can recommend and also size and watts?

Yes, the tank was the 60 gallon one from Petsmart lol. I got 10 free gallons; it was the price of a 50 so that is why I got it

I'm so very happy with it. It was totally worth the investment.

 

[rheann]

The other thing is the Duck weed is beginning to spread! It's great! One side is nearly covered except for a few gaps

 

[monica]

Wow Rheann, your tank looks great! You weren't kidding when you said it was big!!!!!

Great news, Stubs has toes now! He's doing so much better! I think he'll be alright.

 

[hailz]

I really love your tank, I think its going to look great when you've got all your plants in. Im so jelous!lol. oh well, i managed to get my hands on a 3ft tank so i'll just have to work with a smaller space. I cant wait to see it when its all finished and your axies are running a muck in there,lol

 

[rob]

thx for posting the pics of the spray bar

i really only wanted to c what it looked like
ie length diam etc.... ta

thinking i can run a smaller one down the side instead of the back or front, how long is ur spray bar ? i have 18" to play with, down the side

 

[rheann]

Monica - Thanks, and that's great to hear about Stubs! now you just need to post some pictures of your lovely tank up for everyone to see!

Hailz - Thanks a lot

Yep, I'm pretty excited about getting them into the tank, its doing to be wonderful! I added some waste from my Axolotls containers so hopefully the cycling process will speed and I can add them in sooner than expected

That would be great.

Rob - The spray bar is about 12 inches, (24 cm's) I think. With the parts I have I have to arrange it along the back of the wall rather than on the side of the tank because it won't fit, but it works great and hardly any current right now

Oh my gosh.... without snails, the duckweed just takes over! It's great! I'll have to thin it out probably here in a day or two lol! And I already noticed my red plant is growing and it seems bushier since I put it in the tank. Also the Java moss is starting to grow bigger too

I'm so excited... I'll add more plans around the 30th of this month