50g Low-Tech Planted Build *Journal*

[Viper]

So I've made the DIY stand. Re-homed the common pleco. Brought the tank from my parents to my house. Got a new, brighter light. And Manzanita driftwood is on the way. Pictured below is my tank just after setup with the old light. Then a picture with the new light. And a rough mock up done in a photoshop-like program.

With old light:

With new light:

Rough Mock up:

I'm open to different suggestions of low-medium light, low-maintenance plants. However, I am dead set on trying to have a DHG carpet. I also want to put Java Moss on the Manzanita wood to make a tree/forest effect. Might try to attach an Anubias variation (probably Nana) to the Mopani wood that I have in the tank now. Not sure if I want to bury it in the gravel to make it appear like a sunken log or lay it on the hill to make a place of refuge underneath for my bristlenose pleco. I'm also open to not having the "hill" if most think that it wouldn't look right.

This is my first major planted tank so any suggestions are welcome.

The tank is 50g with 96w PC light fixture with 6700K/10000K dual daylight bulb. 36" x 18" x 18" are the tank dimensions. Plan on dosing Excel once a week at water changes.

Edit: Also should add that I have Eco-Complete as the first layer of substrate with gravel as the cap.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi firstly I am new to this side of the hobby as well
I have found using a decent plant substrate is very beneficial.
Crypts,amazon swords,vallis are all pretty hardy {usually!}
If you want a green grass like covering then Co2 may be beneficial. I do not use it personally. I shall attach a photo of my new planted tank. Which is now a month old and showing some very good signs of growth

 

[stingrays4]

I'll try again

 

[Viper]

Your tank looks great!

I've seen people go either way on whether or not DHG needs Co2. I had it before and it shot out a couple runners under 60w of T8 lighting. I'm hoping with the higher light and Excel added weekly that it could grow. I wouldn't expect it to grow vigorously so I would have some patience with it.

I was thinking crypts/anubias/swords.

Thanks for the input! You give me hope that a noob like me can keep plants alive!

 

[Rivercats]

Excel needs to be added daily because it only lasts for 12-24 hours in the tank before breaking down. Using Glutaraldehyde Cold Sterilization Solution 14 day 1 Gallon: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific mixed with 1-1/2 gallons of RO water will give you the same strenght Glut as Excel for only $27. You do have to throw away the activator bottle that comes taped onto the gallon of the Glut. And Glut has to be stored in a light blocking bottle or is breaks down same as in the tank. I just saved and used an old Excel bottle and mix it to refill the bottle as needed. I don't use CO2 on my 220g and if you check out the link at the bottom of this post you can see with high light and Glut I get great growth.

 

[Viper]

Excel needs to be added daily because it only lasts for 12-24 hours in the tank before breaking down. Using Glutaraldehyde Cold Sterilization Solution 14 day 1 Gallon: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific mixed with 1-1/2 gallons of RO water will give you the same strenght Glut as Excel for only $27. You do have to throw away the activator bottle that comes taped onto the gallon of the Glut. And Glut has to be stored in a light blocking bottle or is breaks down same as in the tank. I just saved and used an old Excel bottle and mix it to refill the bottle as needed. I don't use CO2 on my 220g and if you check out the link at the bottom of this post you can see with high light and Glut I get great growth.

Thanks but that seems way too complicated for my little brain haha.

I wasn't planning on using any ferts (maybe root tabs if I decided to go with swords). But I have some Excel left over from a previous planted tank attempt so I figured I'd just use it once a week as a sort of pick me up for the plants.

 

[Viper]

So it appears that I was thinking of Seachem Flourish (the comprehensive one that can be dosed once weekly) when I ordered Seachem Flourish Excel which is supposed to be dosed daily or every other day.

I will be ordering Flourish Comprehensive along with some Flourish root tabs since I plan on having a sword or two.

Since I have a bottle and a half of Excel, would it be OK to dose it every other day until I run out and then just use Flourish Comprehensive and the root tabs as my only plant additives? Or would the plants experience a sort of shock to the system if I frequently dosed Excel and then all of a sudden stopped?

 

[Rivercats]

It won't be a problem to stop dosing Excel but you will see much less growth when not using it.

 

[Viper]

Update: Received the Manzanita wood and secured it to a piece of slate. Placed it in the tank last night. Pretty pleased with how it turned out and how close to my mock-up that it is:

Going to start adding plants soon.

As an aside, I want to keep this look, but should I move the "trees" slightly more towards the center so they aren't up against the side wall? A little input would be appreciated!

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

I love this! I like the trees where they are, because the more "offset" looks is more appealing IMO. I think flame moss would look awesome on those trees...can't wait for plants!

 

[Viper]

Update: 2/19

Waiting on Flourish in the mail. Should be here either today or tomorrow 2/20. Anyway, I've got some plants in the tank now. Unfortunately, I had to go away on business and came back to my bristlenose plec breathing extremely heavily with a really swollen belly. I immediately did a water change as soon as I got home at 10pm (after 6 hours of being on the road ) but it looked like he passed away during the water change. I left him in the tank for the night just in case I was wrong but no such luck. In the morning there was white stuff on his gills. Any fish Dr's want to venture a guess? Swollen belly and white on gills? I had him 6 years and he was a good fish.

Anyway, I've since added plants and removed the rock that I was using to create a cave for the pleco. The driftwood on the left now lays half buried in the gravel to give it a sunken log type of look.

So far I have:
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Anubias Nana
Vallisneria americana gigantea (Jungle val)
Amazon Sword
Barclaya Longifloia (in bulb form)

Still waiting on the Fissidens Fontanus (Phoenix Moss)

I'm thinking that I should move the Anubias Nana to the back of the driftwood OR get some Java Fern and attach it to the back. I know the Anubias and the Crypts enjoy some shade so I'm hoping the Jungle Val can fill in and provide that natural shade for them with the blades that float along the surface.

I may even try and move the Crypts between the "trees" on the right side of the tank as I think that might look pretty cool once they fill out and occupy the space between the trees.

I had a pretty large diatom bloom and white fuzz outbreak on my driftwood so I went out and bought 5 Otocinclus on Saturday. They've done a bang-up job in just two days and have cleared most of the diatoms from the glass. They are starting to work on the driftwood now. Love these little guys haha.

I wish I could have gone super heavy planted right from the jump, but that's just too much money for me at this point so I'm going the route of buying a couple of each plant and hoping they fill in

I have root tabs underneath the Crypts, Barclaya bulbs and the Sword btw.

Side view:

Full tank shot:

Oto under Crypt:

Oto close up:

Any suggestions? Low-medium plants I should pick up? Any current plants that would look better in a different location in my tank?

 

[Reygan2]

Update: 2/19

Waiting on Flourish in the mail. Should be here either today or tomorrow 2/20. Anyway, I've got some plants in the tank now. Unfortunately, I had to go away on business and came back to my bristlenose plec breathing extremely heavily with a really swollen belly. I immediately did a water change as soon as I got home at 10pm (after 6 hours of being on the road ) but it looked like he passed away during the water change. I left him in the tank for the night just in case I was wrong but no such luck. In the morning there was white stuff on his gills. Any fish Dr's want to venture a guess? Swollen belly and white on gills? I had him 6 years and he was a good fish.

Anyway, I've since added plants and removed the rock that I was using to create a cave for the pleco. The driftwood on the left now lays half buried in the gravel to give it a sunken log type of look.

So far I have:
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Anubias Nana
Vallisneria americana gigantea (Jungle val)
Amazon Sword
Barclaya Longifloia (in bulb form)

Still waiting on the Fissidens Fontanus (Phoenix Moss)

I'm thinking that I should move the Anubias Nana to the back of the driftwood OR get some Java Fern and attach it to the back. I know the Anubias and the Crypts enjoy some shade so I'm hoping the Jungle Val can fill in and provide that natural shade for them with the blades that float along the surface.

I may even try and move the Crypts between the "trees" on the right side of the tank as I think that might look pretty cool once they fill out and occupy the space between the trees.

I had a pretty large diatom bloom and white fuzz outbreak on my driftwood so I went out and bought 5 Otocinclus on Saturday. They've done a bang-up job in just two days and have cleared most of the diatoms from the glass. They are starting to work on the driftwood now. Love these little guys haha.

I wish I could have gone super heavy planted right from the jump, but that's just too much money for me at this point so I'm going the route of buying a couple of each plant and hoping they fill in

I have root tabs underneath the Crypts, Barclaya bulbs and the Sword btw.

Side view:

Full tank shot:

Oto under Crypt:

Oto close up:

Any suggestions? Low-medium plants I should pick up? Any current plants that would look better in a different location in my tank?

I love the color of your sub. I just picked up a bag of that for my new 10g classroom tank build. You are looking good. I like where you put the vals. And the dw is awesome!

 

[Reygan2]

Ok, this is just one example of one way to arrange 2 of my manzanita pieces. I think I might need to move it over toward the middle some? I'm so bad at this.
Be honest please?

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Ok, this is just one example of one way to arrange 2 of my manzanita pieces. I think I might need to move it over toward the middle some? I'm so bad at this.
Be honest please?

I would leave it like that! It looks great! I think it looks better to have things off center and not perfect so to speak. Things in nature aren't places perfectly; if going for a natural look this is the one thing I've read thats recommended the most about aquascaping is to put different plants next to each other (like plants with different shaped leaves beside each other instead of putting plants that look the same by each other).

 

[Reygan2]

I would leave it like that! It looks great! I think it looks better to have things off center and not perfect so to speak. Things in nature aren't places perfectly; if going for a natural look this is the one thing I've read thats recommended the most about aquascaping is to put different plants next to each other (like plants with different shaped leaves beside each other instead of putting plants that look the same by each other).

Thanks, I probably should break up those crypts. Sorry for posting on Viper's link.

 

[Viper]

I love the color of your sub. I just picked up a bag of that for my new 10g classroom tank build. You are looking good. I like where you put the vals. And the dw is awesome!

Thanks! I wanted to go for the natural-ish river look (at least what I think it would look like in my head ).

And about your DW location, I think it's perfect. It looks great.

 

[Viper]

Thanks, I probably should break up those crypts. Sorry for posting on Viper's link.

I have no issues with it

It can provide me with some inspiration and/or ideas for my tank as an added bonus.

 

[Viper]

Question about my sword that is behind my "trees" of driftwood. I know that's supposed to be a centerpiece plant and being behind the trees kind of hides it. It also doesn't look like it's doing so well and I think the shipping might have hurt it beyond repair?

Will it rebound? Should I take it out or move it somewhere else?

I'm trying to have a nice red plant be my centerpiece so I'd like to avoid having the sword in the center. Unless I keep the red plant low and maintain it as a mid-ground focal point and have the sword as the backdrop?

Would Anacharis be a good option for behind the trees?

 

[Rivercats]

You don't want to move the sword if it's struggling. Add a root tab and if any leaves are really bad cut them off so the plant doesn't waste energy trying to repair them. You'd be surprized how well swords can rebound. Plus if you move it behind the branch trees it will over power them and you will lose the effect of the branches and whatever you put on them.

For the branches since they are small and delicate you need to use like plants to compliment them. Fissidens Fontanus as a moss would be beautiful. And Petite Nana Anubia which stays very small would really look good on them.

What type lighting and bulbs do you have? There are a few good red plants I can suggest depending on your lighting.

 

[Viper]

You don't want to move the sword if it's struggling. Add a root tab and if any leaves are really bad cut them off so the plant doesn't waste energy trying to repair them. You'd be surprized how well swords can rebound. Plus if you move it behind the branch trees it will over power them and you will lose the effect of the branches and whatever you put on them.

For the branches since they are small and delicate you need to use like plants to compliment them. Fissidens Fontanus as a moss would be beautiful. And Petite Nana Anubia which stays very small would really look good on them.

What type lighting and bulbs do you have? There are a few good red plants I can suggest depending on your lighting.

Well currently the sword is situated behind the branch trees so I kind of have the feeling that it'll eventually overtake them. It's one of the reasons I just had the idea to use it in the center as the background plant and put a nice red plant in front of it. I'll cut the dead leaves off tonight. I saw a small bright green one at the base of the plant so hopefully that's a good sign. And I do have a root tab under it currently.

I received confirmation about a half hour ago that my fissidens has been shipped so I should be receiving that either Friday or Saturday. Hopefully the former.

I currently have two Barclaya Longilia bulbs sitting in the middle of the tank, but they don't seem to have done anything to this point and it's been about a week.

I have 96w of dual daylight 6700K and 10000K PC bulbs over my 50 gallon tank.

If the Barclaya doesn't take, the Ludwigia Sp. "Rubin" caught my eye just a couple days ago:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=218

I should be receiving my Flourish today so I'll go home and dose the tank with that tonight when I get home from work.