INTRODUCTION
My passion for keeping fish and plants started in the 60’s. My father always had a tank or two and would collect local plants and even small fish. I’ve been totally enthralled ever since. I kept a 20g through my teens and after buying my first house in 1980 I went and bought my first large aquarium. At first I only did fish as I slowly reintroduced myself with aquatic plants. Since then I have kept planted tanks with a short 8 year period of having reef tanks. After getting the 220g tank for raising some imported fingerling koi I knew once they could go to the ponds I was finally going to do the planted tank of my dreams. I planned this tank for a year before finally starting its actual setup and believe good pre-planning is the first step in starting a good planted tank.
SETUP
Tank: 220 gallon 72″Lx24″Wx30″H
Lighting: Coralife 72″ fixture 3×150 HID Metal Halide, 4x 39W T5, 6x1W LED Lunar light, all on timer
Running time is 10 hours for the T5HO’s with a 6 hour light burst for the Metal Halides
Filtration: Fluval FX5, Fluval 406 with Aqua Ultraviolet Advantage 2000+ 15 Watt UV Sterilizer
Heating: 3x 300W Fluval E Series
Powerheads: 2x 240gph Hydor Koralia Nano Pumps (for gentle added circulation due to tank size)
Substrate: 1-1/2″ Just Natural Organic Soil, capped with 1-1/2″ Eco-complete
Liquid Carbon Glutaraldehyde 1ml per 5 gallons daily
Water parameters:
KH: 4
GH: 4
PH: 7.2
Iron: .3
Nitrates 10 ppm
Phosphates: .5 to 1 ppm
Ferts: dosing PPS Pro daily
Plant list:
- Limnophila Aromatica ‘Hippuroides’
- Proserpinaca Palustris
- Myriophyllum Tuberculatum
- Nesaea Pedicellata ‘Golden’
- Rotala Macrandra
- Rotala Wallichii
- Cabomba Furcata
- Anubias Barteri v. Nana
- Anubia Nana Petite
- Bolbitus Heudelotii
- Pogostemon Helferi
- Java Fern, Lace (Microsorium pteropus v. Windelov)
- Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Florida Sunset’
- Tiger Lotus, Red (Nymphaea zenkeri)
- Cryptocoryne Parva
- Cryptocoryne Wendtii Bronze
- Amazon Sword
- Corkscrew Vallisneria
- Fissidens Fontanus
Stock:
10 Veil and Super Veil Angelfish- 25 Rummynose Tetras
- 25 Cardinal Tetras
- 12 Longfin White Cloud Mountian Minnows
- 1 Pair German Blue Rams
- 1 Pair Electric Blue Rams
- 1 Pair Gold Rams
- 1 Pair Bolivian Rams
- 3 YoYo Loaches
- 5 Corydoras Sterbai
- 5 Corydoras Panda
- 5 Corydoras Agassizi
- 6 Corydoras Melini
- 6 Corydoras Julli
- 8 Threadfin Rainbow Fish
- 18 Otocinclus Catfish
- 3 Whiptail Cats (Farlowella gracilis)
- 1 Longfin Albino Bristlenose Pleco
- 50+ Ghost Shrimp
- Nerites and Malaysian Trumpet Snails
FEEDING
I try to feed my fish a varied diet. I use New Life Spectrum Thera-A, New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula, Frozen Bloodworms and Brine Shrimp, Algae Tablets, along with cooked, de-shelled, peas and softened zucchini. I make sure to feed veggies every 2-3 days to keep my Angelfish from nibbling too much on my plants since they think my Rotala Wallichii is Angelfish candy.
MAINTENANCE
I do a 50% water change weekly using an Aqueon Water Changer. It may be hard to believe but I don’t spend alot of time on the tank now that it’s established. I trim a little as needed, clean filters once a month, in which I use Filter Floss, Purigen, and Bio-media, and clean the glass every couple of weeks. The most time I spend is on the tank is in the morning when I feed the fish, add my daily ferts, and liquid carbon.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
For the past year this tank has been my labor of love. I never have found it to be work and get great personal satisfaction at the progress I’ve made. The one thing tho that I feel is noteworthy is the fact I do not run CO2 on this tank. I only use a Liquid Carbon daily. Many individuals cannot believe I have a high light tank, tons of plants, especially so many non-green ones, get good color and growth, and not use CO2. This tank is proof that not only can it be done but that you can have a beautiful tank using just a liquid carbon.
