75 gallon planted 2 months

[Simpte]

Just as the title says. Still growing in. I made the mistake of setting it up before all my plants arrived so I've been trimming due to algae. Just a little green spot and some minor bba left.

 

[Hara]

looks like a pretty darn good start to me! I cant wait to see it again in a few months.

 

[crazycat]

very pretty! whats the spirally plant on the right? and what kind of fish do you have?

 

[rich311k]

Looks great. I can't wait for the finished product either.

 

[Simpte]

Hygrophila corymbosa v. Angustifolia. Fauna is currently.......
Apistogramma "Viejita (2 pairs)
12 Otocinclus (2 species)
3 Rosey barbs (removing them soon)
12 Bloodfin tetras.

Will be adding Discus in the early spring.

 

[mattrox]

Just as an aside. Add fully grown discus to your tank. It will save a lot of hassle as it is quite hard to get juvenile discus to full size in a tank with substrate. I know the expence is greater but you will have less disappointment.

 

[czcz]

Very nice! Would love to see pics as you fill it out. Is that the Soilmaster? It looks good.

 

[Simpte]

Yes that is the soilmaster ($12.00 for 50lbs). The color is a lot lighter than we wanted (more of a light charcoal) but I added 3M colorquarts sand. Got 50lbs for ~$26.00 shipped (group order). I used ~25lbs of soilmaster select and 15 lbs of the colorquartz sand. Still have plenty to do a 55 gallon and a 20 gallon. Can't beat the price. I can provide links for the soilmaster if you want them.

 

[Simpte]

Some close-ups of a few plants in the tank.........

Limnophilia aromatica

Pogostemon stellata 'Broad Leaf'

Hygrophila polysperma 'Ceylon'

 

[crazycat]

what is soilmaster? it sounds interesting...

 

[Simpte]

Soilmaster is actually used for drying baseball fields (like turface). The key to a good aquatic substrate is a high cec (cation exchange capacity) and contains iron. Most substrates designed for planted tanks are calcified clay which contains iron. Cation exchange capacity is the ability of a substance to draw in excess nutrients to reach equillibrium and then leach them back out when equillibrium is not reached. (For example, draw in excess No3 when the water column is abundant and release it when the water column is depleated).