75 gallon's Aquascape...UPDATE 4-3-07

[JDogg]

Ok first off Suggestions are always Welcome...

i have lost a few plants tanks to a blackout to kill BGA... and am now not so happy with my aquascape...

Current Plants...
Stargrass: Heteranthera zosterifolia
Carolina Fanwort: Cabomba carolina
Oriental Sword Echinodorus macrophyllus
Amazon Sword: Echinodorus amazonicus
Rubin Sword: Echinodorus 'rubin'
Narrow Leaf Chain Sword: Echinodorus tenellus
Primrose: Ludwigia repens
Bacopa caroliniana
Duckweed: Lemna minor

and should be getting some jungle and crystal vals soon...
if you have S. American-ish clippings i am looking HERE

here is what the tanks looked like BEFORE the blackout

i will post tonight with an updated tank shot as well as my schematic of what i am thinking so you can all comment

 

[WaterPond]

hhhmmm, my first suggestion, GET A BLACK BACKGROUND!

next i would get some more colourfull plants. Persoanlly i dont like the carolina fanwort, but thats just me.

Hows about some more driftwood too!

More GREEEN plants. Slot of the plants in there look kinda yellowish or brown which is pretty unattractive, but aggain JMHO

dont mean to be rude or anything. I think the tank looks good (except for the background)

 

[DocOc]

I agree with WaterPond about the background and if you are replacing the substrate, go darker. Even if you don't replace the plants with more green, those two changes will definitely improve the appearance of the greenery.

 

[JDogg]

hhhmmm, my first suggestion, GET A BLACK BACKGROUND!

next i would get some more colourfull plants. Persoanlly i dont like the carolina fanwort, but thats just me.

Hows about some more driftwood too!

More GREEEN plants. Slot of the plants in there look kinda yellowish or brown which is pretty unattractive, but aggain JMHO

maybe that is the picture... my fanwort is kinda brownish i guess... primrose is reddish...:?
i did see a really nice piece of driftwood at my LFS today
i like my gravel though LOL
i have been thinking about a black background 8)

here is an updated picture of the tank

and if you can make out my chicken scratch the tentative aquascape plan...

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I like the layout, with the exceptions of the swords. Especially the Amazon Sword, it will get big, and block everything behind it. I have one in my 75G and the leaves are sticking out the surface of the water. Might want to do something that will be more of a mid-ground plant in those spots.

 

[JDogg]

I like the layout, with the exceptions of the swords. Especially the Amazon Sword, it will get big, and block everything behind it. I have one in my 75G and the leaves are sticking out the surface of the water. Might want to do something that will be more of a mid-ground plant in those spots.

i understand that amazon swords get big... but i think there are a couple of different species..not sure what species i have but after over a year it has yet to get more the 6 inches tall :?

for reason i do not understand all my swords are pigmy...
oriental sword is only 3 inches tall and rubin sword is 5 inches tall

 

[Lonewolfblue]

All depends on lighting as well. Higher light, they will grow a lot faster, but lower lighting, they grow very slow. In my 75G with 520W lighting, my amazons grew to overcome my 75G in 5 months. lol.

 

[JDogg]

All depends on lighting as well. Higher light, they will grow a lot faster, but lower lighting, they grow very slow. In my 75G with 520W lighting, my amazons grew to overcome my 75G in 5 months. lol.

i'm only at about 2.5 wpg

 

[Lonewolfblue]

With that lighting, it will grow a lot slower, and not overtake your tank so soon. If they haven't grown too much in that amount of time, you'll have a lot of time before you need to make any changes, and it should look good.

 

[JDogg]

With that lighting, it will grow a lot slower, and not overtake your tank so soon. If they haven't grown too much in that amount of time, you'll have a lot of time before you need to make any changes, and it should look good.

that is what i was thinking

 

[JDogg]

right now my substrate is 40 lb Ecom Compleat (bottom Layer) and 60 lb Red Flint gravel....

i now know that unless i am at least 50% eco-compleat it is not doing me any good... so how hard would it be to add another 20 lb or eco-compleat and just mix everything together? this would make the substrate a little darker as some have suggested...

would this be a good idea?

should i remove all the fish first?

 

[WaterPond]

i think the substrate is fine the way it is, why do you want to change?

 

[JDogg]

i think the substrate is fine the way it is, why do you want to change?

do i have enough eco-compleat...i was led to believe that if i am using less then 50% eco i just wasted my $$ even having what i have... :?

 

[Purrbox]

You should be able to add another bag and mix it in to bring your ratio upto 50/50. I wouldn't think that you would need to remove the fish as long as you're careful not to pour the new substrate on top of them. I wouldn't worry to much about mixing it in thoroughly as time (planting and replanting) will take care of that for you.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I probably would add another bag myself as well. Is the red flint gravel larger and smooth, or is it more like a plant gravel? Or is it a sand?

 

[flyjawn]

i can't tell from your list but i think some cabomba would look nice in your tank - it's nice and tall for the back of the tank and a really nice shade of green that i think will complement what you've got already.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Another thing, Jungle vals get huge. You'll be clipping them off on a regular basis, lol. When I had mine, they were growing 8-10 inches a week. And if you leave them 2 weeks, you may be clipping off 2ft off each plant, lol. Also, they spread like rabbits. You'll find them popping up all over the tank, and in places where you don't want them. they spread via runners under the substrate, so you'll never know where they will pop up til it pop's up, lol. I had a runner make it's way under the back side of one of my caves, it went under the marble base I have on the cave, and came up in the cave, and found it's way out the front of the cave, lol. Cool plant if you like the extra work. When I finally got rid of them, some of the plants were over an inch wide at the base (the width of the leaf blades).

 

[JDogg]

I probably would add another bag myself as well. Is the red flint gravel larger and smooth, or is it more like a plant gravel? Or is it a sand?

it is a natural gravel..rounded... but grain size is 1/2-1/3 that of "regular" aquarium gravel. it is all well rounded stuff...works great for plant roots.. IMO

this pic shows it...

i use the small in both my 75 and 10 gallon planted tank
and the medium in my mbuna tank

a couple of LFS in my area sell it bulk by the 50 pound bag... it comes in 3 sizes actually... small (the size i have) medium ("regular" aquarium gravel size) and Large (2x bigger then "regular" gravel)

Another thing, Jungle vals get huge. You'll be clipping them off on a regular basis, lol. When I had mine, they were growing 8-10 inches a week. And if you leave them 2 weeks, you may be clipping off 2ft off each plant, lol. Also, they spread like rabbits. You'll find them popping up all over the tank, and in places where you don't want them. they spread via runners under the substrate, so you'll never know where they will pop up til it pop's up, lol. I had a runner make it's way under the back side of one of my caves, it went under the marble base I have on the cave, and came up in the cave, and found it's way out the front of the cave, lol. Cool plant if you like the extra work. When I finally got rid of them, some of the plants were over an inch wide at the base (the width of the leaf blades).

sounds fun to me... i thought i had a Jungle val for a long time (got it in one of those random bulb packets from walmart) i finally figured out it is a "onion" plant :?

 

[JDogg]

Well the mommet you all have been waiting for... now keep in mind it need to fill in...

i added a new piece of wood, and another 20 lbs of Eco-compleant and mixed it in a little...

did alot of trimmingand added
Dwarf Sag: Sagittaria subulata infront of the new wood
and
Jungle Val: Vallisneria americana behind the new wood

 

[WaterPond]

looks alright. Still neeed that black background

That one peaice of wood in the centre just doesnt look right, dunno whats wrong with it