My Long Awaited 100g Build

[Super_Blueberry]

Well I found an effective, though messy, way to get rid of the excess water. I started off by tipping the whole stand up a few inches on one end to encourage the water to flow to the other side. There, I made a hole in the substrate so when the water pooled, I could take a cup and scoop it out. It took some time but I got over a gallon of excess out. The dirt was still pretty soupy, so I took a bunch of towels, folded them up, put them on the dirt, and pressed. The water was squeezed out of the dirt and absorbed by the towel. Some dirt stuck, but not much all things considered. So now I have a compacted pile of mud. Note to self: next time pour in cups, not pitchers.

So tomorrow when I destroy my 55g, I'm thinking of going about it like this:
1- pull out one plant at a time
2- trim roots as needed
3- place on TOP of dirt in 100g (tall plants will be supported with tape supports attached to the glass)
4- repeat
5- once all plants are placed, add the sand cap 6- pull base of plants up to the sand surface so to avoid rotting
7- once all dirt is capped and plants 'raised' slowly add water.
Anything obviously wrong with that method?

 

[Rivercats]

Your going to find that method kind of hard. My biggest dirted is a 220g and large tanks with dirt are challenging. Were it me I would remove all the plants from your 55g and leave them in a bucket to soak with about a cup of hydrogen peroxide. This will kill off any type of algae that could be transferred to the new tank.

Then in the 100g I would compact the dirt and pull it a good 1-1/2 to 2 inches away from the front and sides of the tank as it will look much more pleasing to the eye to only see your cap layer. Then add your 1-1/2 to 2 inches of cap keeping some out for touch ups.

Fill the tank about 25-50% depending on what you find easier to plant in. I like 50% as the plants are easier to see how they will look since they can stand up better with that much water. Get the tank planted. Then touch up any spots with the cap where there is any soil. Remember most all plants except large swords are going to be planted in the cap layer anyway and roots will grow down into the soil. Then fill the tank, add the filter and heater and turn on.

Do not be surprised at all if you get up the next day to find a tea colored tank. This is very normal as the organics initially will leach tannins. I usually do a WC the next day to help and then add either carbon or Purgen to the filter to help remove the tannins.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

Well here's the start. I have a ton of dwarf sag left over. Probably use it as filler as I progress. I also have my anubias and java ferns to attach tomorrow, but it's a start...

 

[Blos85]

Well here's the start. I have a ton of dwarf sag left over. Probably use it as filler as I progress. I also have my anubias and java ferns to attach tomorrow, but it's a start...

Looks great super keep it up!

 

[Super_Blueberry]

A little cloudiness this morning, but that was expected. The MTS I through in last night are moving around and seem to be enjoying the extra space. I also saw some small worms about the same size as bloodworms wiggling around... must have come out of the dirt. Nice snack for the fish when they move in later this week. Get to tie the anubias and Javas tonight. That's always fun. I'm liking the look though, but can't wait for if to fill in more!!

 

[Super_Blueberry]

I got the plants on the driftwood tonight, plenty extra of each. The one anubias was twice the size of my hand. I think tomorrow will be filling in the dwarf sag with my extras, possibly trying to find a spot for my sprite, maybe a trip to the beach for some more polished slate in the morning. If all goes well the fish will be able to move in on Wednesday.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

I gave up on the sprite...there just isn't a good place to put the huge bush. Got half of my extra dwarf sag in and ran out of room for those as well. It's early enough so I figured why not move the fish over. I tested the water...0's across the board, shocker I know. Did about a 40% pwc to help get rid of the cloudiness, and now I'm just wondering about the swap itself. Is there anything I need to worry about as far as any shocking is concerned? The filter will move at the same time so no cycling issues right off the bat, though I will gave to be careful monitoring the levels for the next month? or so. The co2 will cause the new tanks pH to drop, but nothing I can really go about that.

Am I missing anything?

 

[Sillyfishies]

I gave up on the sprite...there just isn't a good place to put the huge bush. Got half of my extra dwarf sag in and ran out of room for those as well. It's early enough so I figured why not move the fish over. I tested the water...0's across the board, shocker I know. Did about a 40% pwc to help get rid of the cloudiness, and now I'm just wondering about the swap itself. Is there anything I need to worry about as far as any shocking is concerned? The filter will move at the same time so no cycling issues right off the bat, though I will gave to be careful monitoring the levels for the next month? or so. The co2 will cause the new tanks pH to drop, but nothing I can really go about that.

Am I missing anything?

I'd still acclimate them. And pH swings from co2 don't affect animals I'm pretty sure.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

Well they are in their new home. I can finally clean up the basement after a week. Wifey will be happy about that. Now it's time to stock up again. I'll probably keep my 55g up for a few more weeks and use it as a QT before I infect the 100g with something. It just never ends

 

[Blos85]

Final pic please? ?

 

[Blos85]

......,

 

[Super_Blueberry]

I'm not calling it final, I know better, but it's probably close. I waited until this morning for the pic so the filter and new polishing pads would have a chance to clear the haze from the water....

 

[Sillyfishies]

I'm not calling it final, I know better, but it's probably close. I waited until this morning for the pic so the filter and new polishing pads would have a chance to clear the haze from the water....

I really like it. Eventually, I would move all the dwarf sag to one side and do a carpet of something else, like hydrocotyle sp, Japan. Something that's not very light needy and fast growing.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

If I could find a low growing red carpet or just a red moss ball size clump if something that I could scatter around that would work in my set up, I'd be all for it

 

[Blos85]

I'm not calling it final, I know better, but it's probably close. I waited until this morning for the pic so the filter and new polishing pads would have a chance to clear the haze from the water....

Looks great! I especially like how you chose the marigold platys! Thats my favorite platy they just make a tank really pop. Great job!

 

[Super_Blueberry]

Thanks everyone.

I'm starting to rebuild my schools. Figured this would be a good time to QT the new fish since the 55g is still kinda up and running. I took my old hob filter and seeded it with old polishing pads from my 406 and stuck in my old plastic plants along with the left overs. I got a few rose lined sharks which will be interesting. They are by far the most expensive fish I've purchased, but I've learned so much about proper care over the past few years I think I'll be able to keep them alive. (I've always stuck with 'cheap' fish because they are inexpensive to replace). Any other suggestions for a community tank?

 

[flitabout]

Looks Great!

 

[Blos85]

WHERES THE ANGELS?? Haha

 

[Jkeating8]

I enjoy this scape. I enjoy the background, too. However, I think a grouping of different stems of varying color and leaf texture would flow better than the swords.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

I know what you mean. I have some stricta stems that are in the back right, and I'm always on the lookout for something different, but my local selection is pretty much limited to petco tubes, and the other shops are the basic of basic options. That, and I'm also not a huge fan of stems after having numerous varieties in my 55g.... rotala indica, Limnophila aromatica, ludwigia repens, wisteria, some others.... They all always lost their lower leaves so they looked like junk, and just made a huge mess all the time. I might try again to see if it is any better in this tank, but I am hesitant to buy anything not named anacharis and that will actually have some color from an online outlet and pay for shipping on top of it just to go through the hassles again and end up tossing them. If the ma&pop shops here ever get anything in that's interesting and not horribly priced ill definitely give it a try again.