55 gallon planted retrospective.....LOTS of photos!

[newfound77951]

I have had my 55g planted set up for 2.5 years now. The tank has gone through a lot of changes and I thought it would be interesting to post pics of it over time.

Tank specs: standard 55g. Eco-complete substrate (80lbs). 2x1 liter DIY CO2. Lighting initially 2x96 watts PC (~4 wpg), switched to 50:50 bulbs about a year ago (~2wpg). Filter initially AquaClear 70, now Rena Filstar XP3.
The beginning:

Starting to get the hang of things. Oddly this is one of my favorite looks for the tank, that I never replicated.

This is what happens when you leave a tank with 4 wpg for a week.....

 

[neilanh]

Always cool to look back over the history of a tank in this manner. Thanks for sharing!

 

[newfound77951]

More....site limits me to 8 pics at a time...

The overgrown jungle look again...

 

[newfound77951]

And more....

My favorite scape for the tank...

This is after the switch to 50:50s....replaced a lot of plants.

 

[newfound77951]

And the last set.....

A recent pic. Getting back to the stem plants a little.

 

[rich311k]

Awesome tank. The progression shots are great.

 

[Purrbox]

Thanks for sharing. I think my favorite scape is actually the 7th photo in post #3. It really is quite intersting how the scapes evolve over time.

 

[Alaris]

What fish are the blue school?

 

[newfound77951]

They are turquoise rainbowfish (Melanotaenia lacustris)

 

[rachael.chesnutt]

Awesome tank. I'm still getting the hang of mine. So far I really like my tank set up! But someday I'll have something likes yours. Give me time! I'm still reluctant to keep real plants. =/

 

[justsomedude89]

wow! your tank looks amazing... i hope to create something very similar with my 55

 

[Zagz]

Awesome pictures of the progression of the tank. Really cool to get that perspective.

 

[Pranicmegan]

Wow your plants are AWESOME! My plants don't grow that well, but I'm still a noob and getting the hang of it. I just got some plant nutrients to try .... hope they help my plants to grow as well as yours!!
I must say, the my African tank is much easier lol, no plants.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[brutus]

looks great lots of trimming i bet

 

[J Migidy]

Hey what light system are you using and what are your current WPG? I have a 55 gallon setup as well and I'm looking to upgrade to a 4 bulb system that puts out 4.78 WPG but I'm gonna cut that in half (2.39 WPG) by using 2 actinic bulbs so I can simulate dawn and dusk. I've always hated how the lights just come on and off. If I was a fish I think that would piss me off....kind of like turning on the bathroom light during one of those middle of the night bathroom trips.

 

[newfound77951]

I have 2x96 watts PC on the tank. At first I had 6500K and 10000K bulbs, now I have 50:50s, which cuts the useable light down by almost 1/2. So at first I had almost 4 wpg and now I'm around 2.

Here's a current pic @ 2 wpg:

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Looks great man.

 

[mike47517]

"great" wrong. Looks awsome!!!

 

[J Migidy]

I have 2x96 watts PC on the tank. At first I had 6500K and 10000K bulbs, now I have 50:50s, which cuts the useable light down by almost 1/2. So at first I had almost 4 wpg and now I'm around 2.

Here's a current pic @ 2 wpg:

WOW your rainbows got big. Tank looks great and you seem to be growing plants just fine with 2 WPG. Do you have a link to the DIY light system you made. I searched all 55 pages in the DIY forum and I didn't see anything.

 

[Jnam]

yeah I would like the DIY Link as well. Your tank is an inspiration for me!