May '04 - Gustavo Pereira's 750 L Open-Top Planted Tank. (Brazil)
Gustavo's tank is so long (3 meters / 10 ft) that a composition of 3 separate photos was necessary to produce the image of the entire tank above! The tank is well known by the gang in our discussion forum, it was baptized as the 'Planted Giant' and served as inspiration for this month's theme.
| Owner: | Gustavo Pereira, 29, from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 15 years of fishkeeping. |
| Setup: | December 2002. |
| Dimensions: | 300x42x60 cm. |
| Volume: | 750 liters (nominal), ~560 liters (estimated effective). |
| Filtration: | 2x Fluval 304 with acrylic wool and Biomax. |
| Lighting: | 3x150 W Venture HQI's 6500 K. Photoperiod 9 hours/day. |
| Substrate: | 3 cm red brick soil, 1 cm black garden soil, 5 cm washed river sand, sifted to maintain granularity between 2 and 5 mm.
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| Decoration: | Just 1 large wood piece. |
| Others: | Hospital CO2 cylinder (2 kg, lasts 4 to 5 months). The diffusion is made by one of the Fluvals, with an airstone placed right at the filter intake. The injection period is the same as the photoperiod, i.e. 12:00 to 22:00. The photoperiod is controlled by a digital timer. Temperature is monitored by a digital thermometer.
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| Water: | Temp. 28ºC; pH 6.2; KH 2; GH ~0. |
| Fauna: | I can't tell for sure anymore the quantities of certain species in the tank, here's an estimate: 9 Discus (2 Red Turquoise, 3 Banded Turquoise, 1 Solid Turquoise, 1 Pearl, 1 Wild Blue, 1 Wild Heckel), 15 Rummy-Noses, 6 Cardinals, 7 Serpaes, 1 Apistogramma Cacatuoides, 4 Colombian Tetras, 5 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 Sterbai Cories, 10 White-Clouds, dozens of Platies (which I can't remove from the tank and just keep on breeding!).
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| Flora: | Presently: Rotala macrandra, Sagittaria subulata, Mayaca fluviatilis, Didiplis diandra, Glossostigma elationoides, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Blyxa japonica, Microsorum pteropus, Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov', Rotala wallichi, Vesicularia dubyana, Hygrophila difformis, Eleocharis minima, Alternanthera reinicki 'Lilacina', Alternanthera reinicki 'Lilacina cobre', Heteranthera zosterifolia, Sagittaria platyphila, Eusterallis stelata, Nuphar japonica.
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| Maintenance: | 40% water change and plant pruning every 15 days. I don't do liquid fertilization anymore (I tried in the beginning but had algae blooms). Cleanup of the Fluvals every 15 days. CO2 recharge every 4-5 months. Weekly cleaning of the glass. Fish feeding 2x a day (morning and evening). |
| Comments: | This tank is a source of pride for me. It was true 'project' that took a lot time, study and planning. The main goal was to set it up without spending loads of money, so I decided I would glue the glasses myself (I studied a lot and talked with many experienced people before making this decision). Also, I opted to go with a concrete bench/stand, since a wooden one would cost too much. Finally, I decided it would not have a hood and would be lit by HQI's fixed directly on the wall, 30 cm above the water line. These choices made the project ecomonically viable for me. The soil substrate was an experiment and also a low-cost solution. The garden soil used was free of fertilizers, and so was the brick soil. The washed sand, after sifting, resulted in an ideal upper layer, since it's not as compact as pool filter sand and it's very easy to plant in. The problem was to sift more than 90 kg of sand.
The HQI's were arranged at 30 cm in order to optimize the spread of the light beams, avoiding shaded regions. Contrary to what is said about the useful life of HQI's, after 1 year of use the bulbs' aging was already quite visible and some of the carpet plants no longer developed so well. I intend to replace the bulbs soon. The plants are generally growing very well, but I've been through blooms of almost all types algae, the latest one a cianobacteria infestation which left the tank with a horrible appearance, but a treatment with Erythromycin solved the problem. Nowadays the tank has only black brush algae, atacking the slow-growing plants (the Eleocharis grass was never beautiful because of this damn algae).
The greatest difficulty I face right now is an attempt to eliminate the Platy overpopulation! I put in 3 couples soon after I set up the tank, to help with the initial combat against algae. Today, a year and 2 months later, these critters must be in their 10th generation and removing them all from tank is a nearly impossible task :). I'm always removing many, but it never ends! Whoever ventures in the setup of a tank like this should think 200 times before introducing any species of fish that may cause problems, since removing them later can be very difficult!
Another problem is the water change and pruning. You need to plan the maintenance very well in a tank this size, or the task may become herculean. I didn't plan so well, and today, every water change plus plant pruning takes me as much as 6 hours. It's not wasy to maintain a beast like this always looking good, you need dedication and especially commitment. If you don't see yourself spending 2 entire days per month caring for a tank then you shouldn't risk it. But if you do take up the challenge, believe me that it's very rewarding! |
If you'd like to submit an aquarium for Tank of the Month, just contact me.
Visiting friends admiring Gustavo's Planted Giant
Photos taken by Gustavo Pereira and displayed here with his permission.
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