55 gal planted tank....lots of new pictures 12/29/06

[newfound77951]

I am new to AA....but am glad I found it! Lots of good advice. I am in the process of setting up a 55 gal planted tank, it's not quite done but thought I would post for others to see and maybe to get some feedback. Still have a few more plants to go (as soon as my aquariumplants.com order arrives) and the gap in the aquascaping is for a piece of driftwood that is taking it's sweet time to waterlog. Might put in a smaller piece from my 30 gal in the meantime. Also need a background, will do black craft paper to match the substrate. Right now all the stem plants are all about the same height so it's hard to get a nice layout until they start growing. I should be getting ferts this week so will start dosing then.

Here's the specs:
55 gal
2x96 W PC
AquaClear 70(300) with foam and 2 bags Biomax, no carbon
80 lbs Eco-complete
2 Red Sea Turbo Co2 (1 running now, will set up second to be on alternating 2 week yeast change schedule)

Plants so far:
Wisteria
Ambulia
Water Sprite (rooted and floating)
Sunset Hygro
Didiplis diandra
2 lg swords (E. cordifolius?)
2 compacta swords
dwarf hairgrass
giant hairgrass
Bacopa caroliniana
Osiris sword
Rotala indica

Waiting on:
Crinum calamistratum
Aponogeton crispus
red tiger lotus
Ozelot sword

Fish: mostly rainbows, plus the usual algae cleaning squad.

 

[rich311k]

Looks like you are off to a great start. Nice looking tank.

 

[Glenc]

That should fill in real nice. Nice clean looking tank.

 

[newfound77951]

Finally got some fish in...still need to re-aquascape after I get the algae under control. I'm getting there but at 4 wpg things happen REALLY fast!

Got 3 Otocinclus, 3 SAE's and 3 turquoise rainbows (Melanotaenia lacustris). So far the rainbows have eaten more algae than anything else. They pull it off the plants like it's a string of spaghetti...super fun to watch!

FYI for folks in the Providence, RI area Rumford Pet Center in E. Providence has SAE's!

Here are some pics of the SAE's and rainbows.

 

[severum mama]

Your tank looks great. Good job!

 

[Glenc]

Yes sir, at 4 WPG things will move fast! I run at 4 WPG also. Once you get your ferts in line, you will be able to grow most anything. That much light is alot of work to stay on top of, especially in a tank that big. Mine is only a 20 gallon and I have to dose every other day, 25% water change twice a week. Higher light means more upkeep,a bit of a pain but I really do enjoy playing with and watching the progress of my tank. Good stress reliever!

 

[newfound77951]

Thanks for the feedback! I just re-aquascaped the tank, will post some more pics soon.

I am still figuring out the dosing, right now I am dosing trace (CSM+B) equivalent to 0.1 ppm Fe every day, and K2PO4 at 15 ppm once a week. Nitrates were 12.5 ppm steady with the trace dosing about 1 ppm per day, I will keep an eye on them. My tap water is unuseable so I have to transport water from work, I do a 5 gal water change once a week because of this. I am still wrestling with some algae but starting to get the upper hand. I work in a marine nutrient analysis lab so that helps a lot!

 

[GlitcH]

Looking forward to checkin out your progress Newfound.
Thx for the advice......Rumfords is a great store.
Along with RI Aquarium on North Main in providence.

 

[Derek015]

i envy all those planted tanks i am trying to get my tank planted but i dont know what to plant it with

 

[newfound77951]

Update...finally got the background on all the way, rearranged a few things and took some more pictures. I think I have too many sword-like plants, so maybe I'll have to put some on the barter/trade forum in exchange for some stem plants! Second pic is of two of the turquoise rainbows...they are gorgeous but don;t sit still long enough to get a good picture

Feedback please!

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[MattMan1212]

You have a beautiful tank sir, working at 4wpg is a tough thing to accomplish. Looks like you know how to get it done though. Nice job!

 

[newfound77951]

Hah...well, you didn't have to stare at a box full of pea soup for a month...I'm learning how to get it done!

I've got this posted in the aquascaping forum but thought I would update here. This is the tank a couple of days ago...the aquascaping suffered a bit with the GW, I just ordered some more plants and have a few ideas in my head about re-scaping. Will update again soon.

 

[Glenc]

Looking good, looks like you are on top of it. I got cocky at 4WPG and upped my lighting to 6 WPG. It took about two weeks for my tank to spiral out of control. Had to black it out to get it back. Again, your tank is looking good!

 

[newfound77951]

Another update....not sure if it looks better or worse! Moved some plants around (notably the Ozelot sword), added a few things (L. repens, another tiger lotus, another A, reineckii), still waiting for some plants in the mail. I need to get rid of a few things, I think, but can't decide what (opinions?). Might move the H. polysperma to the left corner and trim it to contain it a little more. Still fighting a little GW, I run the diatom filter every 3-4 days to clear it up.

 

[newfound77951]

Rescaped last night....starting to look good now! Pic isn't great, but oh well.

 

[TwoHobbies]

Looks like a great job! You opened up the middle a little.

And at 4wpg you'll be doing that again real soon!

 

[newfound77951]

Yeah, putting the H polysperma in the center was a baaad idea....it spreads out everywhere and grows at the speed of light. it is pretty stuff, though!

I hope that posting this series of pics gives people ideas on how moving stuff around can really change the look of a tank. I'm trying to balance leaf shapes and colors, and also trying to create some illusion of depth in a very narrow tank....for those of you thinking of setting up a nice planted tank, please do yourself a favor and don't get a standard 55! The tank looks deeper in person than in the pics...I think once the background plants in the center grow in it will help.

 

[newfound77951]

Latest pictures, one about a week ago, just after pruning, tank looking pretty good! Then I went away for a week, and the second picture shows what I saw when I got home.....for anyone who thinks you can't get massive plant growth on DIY CO2, in a 55 gal tank, think again!

Again, these were taken one week apart....

 

[TwoHobbies]

THAT IS AMAZING.......so you just convinced me to never try 4wpg.

Just think.....now if you fish grew that fast.....

 

[Stretch]

That's incredible!