65 gallon planted tank

[vinnymac]

Well, here are my first attempts at posting pics of my planted thank.

Here are the specs:

65 gallon All-Glass pre-drilled tank with built in overflow
29 gallon homemade sump w/ wet/dry trickle filter and Magnum HOT canister filter and 5 gallons of bio-balls

Dual visi-therm 300w heaters (in sump)
Magdrive 5 pump
96w x 2 AHSupply CF lighting (6000k & 10,000k)
Pressurized C02 System w/ JBJ regulator, Milwaukee monitor/controller (SMS122), Reactor 200 (with Rio pump), and 10lb tank (from Aquariumplants.com)
120lbs of Eco-complete substrate

Plants:

Hygro
Rotala Indica
Bacopa
Lugwiga Repens (new addition)
Rotala Magenta (new addition)
Java fern
Glosso
Various crypts (lutea, wendtii, balansae)
Various apons (hybrids, boivninanus, madagascar lace, capuroni)

Inhabitants:

8 small angels
14 cardinal tetra
6 glowlight tetra
8 rasaboras
2 SAE
3 Ottos
20 amano shrimp
10 cherry shrimp
10 glass shrimp
(I'm planning to reduce the bio-load with a reduction in fish even though my ammonia and nitrite levels are at zero.)

I keep the tank at 80.5F, PH = 7.4, KH = 9

I also have a 10g grow out tank next to the sump that houses various plant fragments and sprouting bulbs. It also has a few mature cherry shrimp and a couple dozen baby cherry shrimp (they breed like crazy).

I was really into fish tanks when I was younger but took nearly 10 years off from the hobby when I was in college and graduate school. I just recently got back into it with a slight larger tank than I originally planned but I'm really into the hobby again.

I've bought all my fish locally and my shrimp from various online merchants. I have bought my plants from a bunch of different online vendors and I have been the most pleased with Aquariumgarden.com.

Anyways, I thought I'd share my tank and I welcome comments and suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[draX]

Wow, beautiful tank! I have just bought a 65g that I want to set up as a planted tank. Don't think it will be anywhere near as amazing as this. Love the substrate!

 

[dr_girlfriend]

Nice!!!

 

[Jchillin]

Vinnymac - That is a beautiful tank. Just one problem though...you seem to have my fish and plants in there Please give them back!

Just kidding. Beautiful job.

 

[malkore]

Hey, those java ferns look familiar...

 

[Quake2player]

I dream of a tank like that! Nice!
Are those clumps of glosso on the front bottom?

 

[vinnymac]

Hey, those java ferns look familiar...

Actually, the ones you sent me are in my 10g grow out tank. I haven't time to put time in the main tank.

 

[vinnymac]

I dream of a tank like that! Nice!
Are those clumps of glosso on the front bottom?

Yes, I recently received 3 huge clumps of glosso and didn't have time to plant in smaller portions so I make small plugs out of them and put them in the substrate. Hopefully they take.

 

[TankGirl]

Your tank is gorgeous - great job!

 

[BASSNMAN]

VERY nice.Planted tanks can be a pain but are so nice when worked out.

 

[black udder]

great setup. Where is all the equipment in the bottom photo?

Could you list what all that stuff is back there? Since I'm fairly new

How often do you have to trim those plants? And how much?

 

[vinnymac]

Thanks for all the nice comments.

I'm still trying to work out a few water chemistry issues but everything is coming along nicely. The plants are growing like crazy and all the fish are doing pretty well.

 

[vinnymac]

great setup. Where is all the equipment in the bottom photo?

Could you list what all that stuff is back there? Since I'm fairly new

How often do you have to trim those plants? And how much?

All the equipment in the bottom photo is directly under the display tank. It's an in-wall setup with cabinet doors on the wall. It looks pretty cool and should look better once we have all the painting and trim completed.

The equipment list is in the first post in this thread. Let me know if you have questions on the sump hardware. I'd be happy to assist.

I should trim my plants every week. They grow really fast. The hygro in the corner is taking over the tank and will require a major trim this week. The apons also grow really fast so I pinch off older leaves when I can.

 

[shannen]

Very nice set up. I love the idea of sticking the magnum in the sump. Way to go!

 

[czcz]

Really nice. Does CO2 regulator ever switch off during the photoperiod? Just curious as I have to inject quite a bit of CO2 (not pressurized) to offset wet/dry and surface movement in sump. My system volume is much lower than yours and your wet/dry looks much more efficient - system balance with your numbers is impressive Kudos.

 

[vinnymac]

Really nice. Does CO2 regulator ever switch off during the photoperiod? Just curious as I have to inject quite a bit of CO2 (not pressurized) to offset wet/dry and surface movement in sump. My system volume is much lower than yours and your wet/dry looks much more efficient - system balance with your numbers is impressive Kudos.

Yes, it does switch off...but rarely. I have to inject quite a bit of CO2 to deal with the surface loss due to the wet dry. It's not a very efficient setup for CO2 injection but it works and keeps the PH steady. I figure it's not a big deal since I can get 10lbs of CO2 locally for $17. I estimate a 10lb tank will last me 3.5 months at this rate. Not great...but not bad either.

Thanks for the comments.