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Data:
Photo Date: August 1998
Tank Dimensions:L 24.25" x W 12.5" x H 16.75" (61.6cm x 31.75cm x 42.55cm)
Volume: 20 gallons (75.6 liters)
Illumination: 70 watts total: 55 watts Osram compact fluorescent, 15 watts Aquarium Products Triton normal fluorescent
Illumination Time: 12 hours per day
Filter System: Hagen Aquaclear 200 powerfilter, 201 Quickfilter Powerhead
Substrate: 2-3 mm "Estes" brand epoxy coated gravel ("bits of walnut"), 15.4 pounds (7 kilograms) of Seachem Flourite
Weekly Fertilizer: 3 ml of Tropica Mastergrow liquid, 7 ml of Azoo "Red Plant Nutrients", 1 teaspoon of potassium chloride, 500 mg of calcium carbonate
CO2 supply: Pressurized 5lb CO2 tank (from Superior Products) & regulator (from Monolith Marine Monsters)
CO2 injection: via Eheim diffusor/ reactor (from Dr. Fosters & Smith/ Petwarehouse)
Water Change: 45% every 7 days
Water Treatment: Seachem Prime
Temperature: 84 degrees Fahrenheit (28.89 degrees Celsius)
pH Value: 7.0-7.2
Total Hardness (GH):160 ppm
Carbonate Hardness (KH): 3dKHFish:
Red Turquoise Discus - Symphysodon aequifasciata sp.
Dwarf Suckermouth Catfish - Ottocinclus affinis
Khuli loach - Pangio (Acanthophthalmus) kuhli
Siamese Algae Eater - Crossocheilus siamensis
Imperial Zebra Plecostomus - Hypancistrus zebraPlants:
Narrow Leafed Pygmy Chain Sword - Echinodorus tenellus var tenellus
Giant Red Rotala - Rotala Macrandra
Pearl Grass - Hemianthus micranthemoides sp.
Red leafed Ludwigia (needle leafed) - Ludwigia arcuata
Red Temple - Alternanthera reineckii "roseafolia"
rotala rotundifolia var colorata
Notes:
Originally, this was my "extra plant" tank - here, I would grow out the cuttings from my other tanks for the purpose of trading. At one time, I had eleven different species of plants in here! That looked really odd and unbalanced (and I see a lot of people's tanks look that way - like the vegetable section at the local grocery store), so I've reduced the number of plants down to the current variety. After I saw that Neil Frank had a "red plant" tank, I decided to create one for myself. I do have one non-red plant in here, the Pearl Grass. Neil picked that up from a visit to Takashi Amano. This is also the only tank which I'm not using a piece of driftwood. I also have a poster of supermodel Kathy Ireland in the background - since I've had both angelfish and discus lay eggs in this tank - I think the poster of Kathy Ireland promotes healthy living! :-) Unfortunately, I'm fairly certain both of the red turquoise discus in this tank are females. :-( This tank is heated by a single 150 watt Ebo Jager heater. Although watts per gallon, this tank has the most light, still the rotala macrandra barely stays red, yet it does better in my 50 gallon tank with less watts per gallon, but a higher wattage/ intensity light - definitely proof that intensity should not be confused with the general rule of thumb of '2-3 watts per gallon'.
