Ridin' Dirty: Dallascowboys16 tank journal

[Dallascowboys16]

Hi all, I am going to reset up my tank and dirt it. I had to tear down my tank after a fire and am setting it back up this coming week/ weekend. The background has been painted black using plastidip paint and the stand and canopy have been stained and fixed up. Hopefully by the time this badboy is done the cowboys will be in the playoffs

The Specs Normal 55 gallon tank with black painted background

Lighting:
48'' Build my Led Black Friday spectrum mounted from ceiling of suspension kit about 3- 4 inches above water w/ solunar controller

CO2:
#5 tank with aquatek premium regulator diffused through inline diffuser hooked up to canister

Filtration:
Fluval 306 laded with mostly filer floss and sponges with some bio media

Substrate:
1''-1 1/2'' Ocean Forest organic powerhouse mix with Red Mexican clay for iron source.

capped with 3'' of ecocomplete black

Dosing:
EI, dosed dry. micros until initial initial flood of nutrients from soil wears off. And does of excel in addition to CO2

Stocking: Current tank stocking
3 Angels
6 cardinals
6 black neons
6 glowlight tetras (NOT GLOWFISH, THE REAL GLOWLIGHT TETRA )
2 bristlenose plecos and a few juveniles running around
3 plattys
3 Apisto CAC that I have been growing out for a few months

Pictures will come tonight of the tank and stand

 

[Angela1108]

Sorry to hear about the fire that sucks

But anxiously awaiting to see pics of the tank


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[brennae]

Following- Best wishes with restarting your own aquarium adventure!

 

[Brookster123]

Sounds legit bro.. get to work

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[Thumper828]

 

[FWFishTanks]

Too bad about the fire, hope this journey all goes well. At least your not putting glofish in a planted tank!

 

[Dallascowboys16]

We brought the tank back upstairs tonight and it looks pretty good! Cant wait to get the substrate in!

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Here is the soil and clay I will be using, Red Mexican clay and ocean forest blend potting soil containing worm castings and a bunch of other stuff that is loaded with nutrients. This could keep a good nutrient load for a while I think. Here they are. Im going to be mixing them together in a couple days and will have this thing filled this weekend.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Also this is where the fish and filter and plants have been living for about 2 weeks now. The apisto CAC are in a ten gallon in the basement.

 

[brennae]

Here is the soil and clay I will be using, Red Mexican clay and ocean forest blend potting soil containing worm castings and a bunch of other stuff that is loaded with nutrients. This could keep a good nutrient load for a while I think. Here they are. Im going to be mixing them together in a couple days and will have this thing filled this weekend.

I use that soil too! Good stuff for a variety of applications! I have my white worms in it now.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

I use that soil too! Good stuff for a variety of applications! I have my white worms in it now.

Have you ever used it for aquariums? Theres very little info about it when using it in aquariums but the little info there is says it is good. Also Brookster, How many BPS do you think I should run with the inline diffuser on the 55?

 

[Brookster123]

Machine gun fury.. mine is borderline to fast to count.. if you're running that light full blast? You'll want a heavy plant load right from the start..

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[Dallascowboys16]

Machine gun fury.. mine is borderline to fast to count.. if you're running that light full blast? You'll want a heavy plant load right from the start..

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Ok, Yeah I think Im going to have the light ramp up to 70-80% by halfway through the cycle, leave it there of 2-3 hours than have it ramp back down over 3-4 hours. I assume ill be pushing 55-60 Par at substrate at the height of the photo period. Also whats your experience with a split photoperiod? Is it actually beneficial? Yeah, Im still browsing my plant choices and want to mostly stay away from stems, maybe 3-4 stems... Any recommendations?

 

[brennae]

Have you ever used it for aquariums? Theres very little info about it when using it in aquariums but the little info there is says it is good. Also Brookster, How many BPS do you think I should run with the inline diffuser on the 55?

Nope I have not. Use it for plants and the worms. I read the bag and it looks safe to me. When I had dirted tank I uses some other brand labeled organic, but I think this stuff is organic or pretty close to it.

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[Brookster123]

Ok, Yeah I think Im going to have the light ramp up to 70-80% by halfway through the cycle, leave it there of 2-3 hours than have it ramp back down over 3-4 hours. I assume ill be pushing 55-60 Par at substrate at the height of the photo period. Also whats your experience with a split photoperiod? Is it actually beneficial? Yeah, Im still browsing my plant choices and want to mostly stay away from stems, maybe 3-4 stems... Any recommendations?

Get a dc, I'd start at 4 bps.. i run from 6:10-9:30 am. Off... back on at 3:30-8:30... co2 is on 1.5hrs. Prior to on and off an hour prior to off. I still get some algae.. I do it mainly for viewing the tanks before I go to work when I do my dosing. I'm sure there are better ways to do it but that's what I want and I get what I want with my tanks.. actually no.. that's a lie.. they rule my life and do whatever they want stems... I'm soul searching stems currently.. here are my current likes.. ludwiga sp. Red, rotala rotundifolia and true indica or ammania bonsai, pogo erectus. I'm scrapping my rotala walichi as I cannot get it algae free.. i just ordered some limno. Arromatica which looks awesome, and a few whacky ar varieties.. see how that goes..

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[Fresh2o]

I started with mostly non-stem plants and as I made upgrades to lighting, ferts, and carbon, I transitioned to almost exclusively stem plants. Mostly because of the variety and contrast with colors, textures, leaf sizes.
Growth rates can be high which means more maintenance (trimming and replanting).


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[Dallascowboys16]

I started with mostly non-stem plants and as I made upgrades to lighting, ferts, and carbon, I transitioned to almost exclusively stem plants. Mostly because of the variety and contrast with colors, textures, leaf sizes.
Growth rates can be high which means more maintenance (trimming and replanting).


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Yeah, Im not a huge fan of most stem plants but have had pretty good success with the ones I've tried.I am aiming to emulate this tank so as you can see probably 4-5 stem varieties and mostly non-stem plants, by the way, what is the foreground plant in the front right? I don't think its Dwarf hairgrass:

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Get a dc, I'd start at 4 bps.. i run from 6:10-9:30 am. Off... back on at 3:30-8:30... co2 is on 1.5hrs. Prior to on and off an hour prior to off. I still get some algae.. I do it mainly for viewing the tanks before I go to work when I do my dosing. I'm sure there are better ways to do it but that's what I want and I get what I want with my tanks.. actually no.. that's a lie.. they rule my life and do whatever they want stems... I'm soul searching stems currently.. here are my current likes.. ludwiga sp. Red, rotala rotundifolia and true indica or ammania bonsai, pogo erectus. I'm scrapping my rotala walichi as I cannot get it algae free.. i just ordered some limno. Arromatica which looks awesome, and a few whacky ar varieties.. see how that goes..

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I like the limno. Arromatica, rotundifolia, and the pogo erectus. I might think about ordering those when the time comes. Ludwiga just isn't my favorite plant, I have grown it before but I can't get it to grow straight and it just grows into a giant tangled mess!

 

[Fresh2o]

Yeah, Im not a huge fan of most stem plants but have had pretty good success with the ones I've tried.I am aiming to emulate this tank so as you can see probably 4-5 stem varieties and mostly non-stem plants, by the way, what is the foreground plant in the front right? I don't think its Dwarf hairgrass:

I see. That is a nice tank. Lots of moss and DW and a variety of crypts. That layout has some depth to it with the DW as the framework. Nice.
Not sure what that (foreground) stuff is.


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[Dallascowboys16]

I see. That is a nice tank. Lots of moss and DW and a variety of crypts. That layout has some depth to it with the DW as the framework. Nice.
Not sure what that (foreground) stuff is.


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Yeah, Im also ordering 3 nice pieces of Manzanita from Manzanita.com so well see how those layout when I get them.