55 Transformation

[CcJ23]

Here goes nothing. I've been waiting to do this for a long time. Hopefully by the end of the summer or sooner, this will be a fully operable planted aquarium. Got some big plans for this tank, but I need your help! Just got the 4-bulb T-5 HO fixture in today. Now I have to rehome some of its current inhabitants that don't fit into my plan, and get some Eco-complete! Stocking plans are: 5-6 juvenile Pinoy Angelfish, my 2 GB Rams, my 4 BN Plecos, Adding 3 more African Tiger Barbs to my existing 3, 8 Cory cats, increasing my neon school, a school of Rummynose, 1 albino rainbow shark, and maybe 5 Otos? I know this is an overloaded bottom group but I want a good clean up crew, and I'll feed them well if they need it. I want this to be high planted! I'm going to order some glut hopefully soon. I will include some picture of the light change afterwards, although my camera doesn't show the difference well. Anybody in Rochester, NY want some cheap fish? I think I'll call my LFS tomorrow to see if they will give me some store credit for them. This is the start of something great!


Before



And After

 

[Mebbid]

Very much looking forward to seeing this happen

What color temp bulbs are you using in your light fixture?

1 word of warning, bristlenose plecos generally hate each other. I have 2 in my planted 55 and they fight a lot.

 

[CcJ23]

Very much looking forward to seeing this happen

What color temp bulbs are you using in your light fixture?

1 word of warning, bristlenose plecos generally hate each other. I have 2 in my planted 55 and they fight a lot.

6700 K.

As for the plecos, I have 2 pair and one of the makes is always in the cave fanning eggs.

 

[Rivercats]

What size tank is it? I do not suggest keeping tiger barbs with angels. I know some people do so successfully but often times the angels just get nipped too much even with a larger group of tigers.

If your running 4 bulbs with no CO2 or liquid carbon your going to start having algae issues pretty quickly. If you plan on using liquid carbon you will need to use a higher dosage than what the bottle says. The higher the light, the higher the bio load, and the more plants all increase the need for higher amounts of liquid carbon. I ran a very high light 100% planted 220g for over a year using only Glut but had to dose 9 ounces daily to keep up with plant growth/light without algae.

Also high light and using liquid carbon or CO2 increases the need for a good dosing regime of micro and macro ferts. What are you using now? I suggest looking into dry ferts and dosing either PPS-Pro or El.

 

[CcJ23]

What size tank is it? I do not suggest keeping tiger barbs with angels. I know some people do so successfully but often times the angels just get nipped too much even with a larger group of tigers.

If your running 4 bulbs with no CO2 or liquid carbon your going to start having algae issues pretty quickly. If you plan on using liquid carbon you will need to use a higher dosage than what the bottle says. The higher the light, the higher the bio load, and the more plants all increase the need for higher amounts of liquid carbon. I ran a very high light 100% planted 220g for over a year using only Glut but had to dose 9 ounces daily to keep up with plant growth/light without algae.

Also high light and using liquid carbon or CO2 increases the need for a good dosing regime of micro and macro ferts. What are you using now? I suggest looking into dry ferts and dosing either PPS-Pro or El.

They aren't typical tiger barbs, they are a bottom feeder. I'll see if I can find a picture of them. Also, where do you get the PPS-Pro?

 

[CcJ23]

I guess they're better known as African Banded Barbs

 

[Rivercats]

Yep quite different!

Here's a link to the ferts... PPS-Pro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums.

Here's a link about dosing PPS-Pro. Just read the opening post, not all the after comments.... Newbie Guide to PPS-Pro - PPS Analysis and Feedback - Aquatic Plant Central.

 

[CcJ23]

Oh and it's a 55 gallon

 

[CcJ23]

Alright, traded in some fish today to clear out the tank a little in preparation for the substrate change. Eco-complete should be here within a few days! I'm excited.

 

[germanyt]

Also,
_Dosing Regimes_

I just ordered the EI pack from GLA but also got some iron and GH. I felt the PPS pack included things I didn't really need and lacked the iron and gh products everyone raves about. So I spent a little less than the PPS and got everything I need.

I recommend that site because I noticed aquatic plant central still makes references to watts per gallon. The member of planted tank have largely moved away from that and use PAR measurements to determine quality of light. 2 96 watt T5 fixtures can have vastly different PAR ratings based on reflectors and ballasts and they will have very different results when it comes to plant growth.

 

[CcJ23]

Eco Complete arrived while I was at work. I will either be changing everything later after I get out of work tonight, or maybe on my next day off. I'm anxious so it will likely be today. Progress pictures will be taken! I need to get down to the shore and get some rocks for my hardscape. I plan on doing a terrace style with possibly 3 separate carpets. It will level out in the back. We'll see where 120 lbs of the Eco gets me.

 

[Darkseid76]

Eco Complete arrived while I was at work. I will either be changing everything later after I get out of work tonight, or maybe on my next day off. I'm anxious so it will likely be today. Progress pictures will be taken! I need to get down to the shore and get some rocks for my hardscape. I plan on doing a terrace style with possibly 3 separate carpets. It will level out in the back. We'll see where 120 lbs of the Eco gets me.

I was gonna say 120lbs is a lot until I reread your post lol I have a 55 also and I only used 60lbs.

 

[CcJ23]

How thick is yours? I got a deal where I got the 6th bag free. If I have extra I'll add it to a shrimp tank I'm planning.

 

[Scottyhorse]

For plants, 3 inches or so is good. You can add more if you like.

 

[CcJ23]

For plants, 3 inches or so is good. You can add more if you like.

That's about what I am going for.

 

[Darkseid76]

How thick is yours? I got a deal where I got the 6th bag free. If I have extra I'll add it to a shrimp tank I'm planning.

Its an older photo but its a good view of the depth of the substrate.

I have more photos in my album if you wanna check it out for an idea of what yours might look like.

 

[CcJ23]

Finished the substrate change. Ended up putting only 100 lbs. in. Pictures will be up tonight. I have to get up for work in a few hours. Oh the things we do for our fish!

 

[CcJ23]

Alright! This will likely be a long post. It's your fair warning! Essentially I redid the tank and kept only the heater, filter, driftwood, and the existing plants. I'm going to try and go everything I did, step by step. The first thing I did was go to the "beach" and collect rocks. I just about filled a 5 gallon bucket. Then starting at around 7pm I boiled water and poured it on the rocks to kill off anything.



Then I hand washed them to get rid of all dirt. In hindsight, I should have done that first.




Next I started to drain the tank and started to catch the rest of the fish.



I removed all the plants.







And gravel.



Here you can see all the fish in temporarily in the 20 high. They may not be thrilled but they will love the renovation!



I cleaned the tank thoroughly, inside and out. I also resized the background because I never really trimmed it. I also shimmed the stand and made sure the tank was level, something I should have done in the first place.



After that I started to create my hardscape. I took out two smaller pieces of driftwood, and started to create my stone walls for my terraces.



Here's a top view so you can kind of see what it looks like.



I placed all my plants in. At least the ones the I have now. I really enjoy my elatine trindae carpet in the middle. I'm think maybe a dwarf baby tear carpet on the right right terrace, and a hair grass carpet on the left side. Opinions? I also want to point out the slope I created. The back of the tank is level with the terraces, while the front is significantly lower, maybe 2 or 3 inches.



Here it is after I filled it with water.







Mind you that's only with 2 bulbs in to kind of help limit algae, and it is cloudy because the It didn't have any time to settle yet. Here's a picture of it now, a little clearer than before.



I obviously added the heater and filter back in st some point. At this point it was like 3:30 this morning and I was done! 6 and a half hours of tank renovation!

I'm going to test the parameters, but do you think I have to do any cycling before I re-add the fish? After all I didn't change the filter media and it is Eco Complete. 100 lbs specifically! These next two picture are sketches I drew up a week or so ago to plan for what I ultimately want it to look at. Ask any questions about it. The big plant on the left is an amazon sword I'm planning on, but other than that I need recommendations! Thanks for reading and check back soon for updates!



And a top view.

 

[Mebbid]

Very nice! it's looking good already

 

[Darkseid76]

When I swapped my substrate I was cycled in 3-4 days. Your situation will obviously be different though.