My 240l Planted Tank, Again.

Looking good Helen! Why not just does something like the aquascape completed liquid plant food so you know that you have all bases covered?

I believe it's an anubias @daveyng   I agreed those crypts look fab... great to have some colour like this in your planting!...

Thank you everyone.

Do you mean the floating plant above the java fern? Then yes it is a pair of anubias. I couldn't bring myself to bin them, then let them float as I'd over pruned the tall plants and there was no surface cover for my new fish. They are destined for the bin unless anyone wants them. (They will need thorough washing and quarantining if you don't like snails as I'm not fussed by my snails. I consider them kuhli food)

I've actually made a concerted effort to increase the number of green plants as I realised that my tank looked rather brown after years of trying not to have a tank that was all green! There are some cypts wendtii green slowly growing through the olive and bronze crypts.

I probably will go the way of a single complete fertiliser, but wanted to have a go at working out what I'm actually missing. Last time I added micro nutrients (without adiing any macro) I had a major algae outbreak. So think I need to get my NPK sorted first.

Just wondering @Helen and reflecting on Pierre's recent experiences... if you sort the NPK problem out the demand for micros will go up as the plants grow faster... one to watch out for deficiencies with or go complete ferts I would suggest.

The lotus leaf growth is cool - I love watching the flow spike from my aponogetum grow like an inch a day!

That's a good point about not forgetting the micro nutrients as the demand for them will increase. Really I'm looking for the minimum supplementation that I can get away with (and still have a nice looking tank), so a complete fert is probably the way to do that.

I had hoped that by stocking it comprehensively with fish, I could avoid adding nitrogen. But I had fewer plants last time I managed to get a balance. Now the tank has been fully stocked for a couple months, it's clear that I am going to have to dose NPK.

I started with the TNC carbon today. The recommended dose for my tank would be 4ml per day. But I've only added 0.5ml. So I will see what effect that has over the next couple of weeks.

I also added 5ml (powdered) potassium nitrate (dissolved in a jar of tank water) yesterday. Interestingly my Seneye measured an increase in ammonia. From 0.014 to 0.022, so not a worrying increase.

Great picture of lovely fish. 

Lush, lush, lush...!!!  Fish looking fab too...!!!

Wow - lovely.  Lucky fish, having such a lovely home.

And here's the photo of my tank from the end, a different perspective.

Bertie is a big old campaigner, eh... 

Love that pic...  Just looks like Pingu is saying: "ta da...  look what I have done..."   

  yes he does.

Great tank, and lovely to see Bertie.