First planted tank journal. 55 gallon

[Colwell]

Hello,

I'm starting a journal of my first planted tank I have ordered some plants but they won't be here until the end of the month. Right now I am just working on a hardscape. I'm using a mixture of flourite dark and black sand. I'm planning on using pool filter sand to make a path sorta thing. I plan on dosing PPS-Pro and liquid carbon along with a DIY co2 paintball setup. I also plan on doing a DIY spray bar for my fluval 306.
Here is my plant list that I ordered:

Ludwigia Ovalis
Bacopa Cardiniana
Cryptocoryne Lucens
Anubias barteri var nana
Willow moss
Corkscrew Val
Dwarf sag
Red tiger lotus
Cambomba red
Lindernia rotundfoilia
Lugwigia repens
Rotala magenta
Pennywort

I will attach a photo of my hardscape so far. The cleared out "path" is where the filter sand will be going. All comments, opinions, questions or concerns are more than welcome!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Nice selection of plants and nice plan on the scape. Are you going to put a background?

 

[Colwell]

Nice selection of plants and nice plan on the scape. Are you going to put a background?

Thank you! I was going to spray paint it black but I don't want to deal with that right now so I may just get a blue background or do they sell black?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

They sell black... I'd personally go with black, it makes plants "pop" more.

 

[tarheel92]

You can also just pick up some black acrylic paint for about $4 or less and then apply it with a brush or small roller without having to move it from its stand, I did it to my tank this afternoon and it turned out really well.

 

[Colwell]

You can also just pick up some black acrylic paint for about $4 or less and then apply it with a brush or small roller without having to move it from its stand, I did it to my tank this afternoon and it turned out really well.

Thanks for the tip @tarheel92! I will try that out today! I should be also getting materials for my DIY spray bar and DIY paintball co2!

 

[tarheel92]

Thanks for the tip @tarheel92! I will try that out today! I should be also getting materials for my DIY spray bar and DIY paintball co2!

Anytime! It took maybe an hour for each coat to dry, and I think I did three coats to get it to the point where I was happy with the coverage (you can just shine a light through the tank and it becomes very apparent where the paint is still too thin).

What setup are you doing for your DIY CO2?

 

[Colwell]

Anytime! It took maybe an hour for each coat to dry, and I think I did three coats to get it to the point where I was happy with the coverage (you can just shine a light through the tank and it becomes very apparent where the paint is still too thin).

What setup are you doing for your DIY CO2?

I'm doing the paintball co2 tank. Here's the link:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=115850

 

[Colwell]

So today I changed my hardscape already lol. Here are a few photos of what it looks like so far. I'm thinking possibly the red tiger lotus in the middle or a piece of drift wood I have with something growing out I'm not too sure yet though. I want a few plants behind the drift wood now and I think iim going to put some willow moss and the anubia var nanas on the driftwood. The far left side will be heavily planted and i do not plan on planting anything in the sand its going yo remain clean. Tell me what you think so far any ideas, comments, concerns? Plant placement ideas anything lol. Oh and I also painted the background black with acrylic paint and a sponge roller from the dollar store!

 

[tarheel92]

That new piece of DW is looking nice - I would definitely consider using some moss to give it a bit of a tree look, I've always loved that. Do you know what fish you're going to stock it with?

 

[Colwell]

That new piece of DW is looking nice - I would definitely consider using some moss to give it a bit of a tree look, I've always loved that. Do you know what fish you're going to stock it with?

This is my old list when I was planning for a 45 gal.

Pearl gourami - 1
Cardinal tetra - 12 or 15
Corydoras panda and or
Corydoras agassizii - 6 total
Threadfin rainbow - 6 (if any at all, may pick a different school. Suggestions? )

I may not go with the threadfins any other fish ideas? How many more fish can I have with the extra 10gals?

 

[tarheel92]

This is my old list when I was planning for a 45 gal.

Pearl gourami - 1
Cardinal tetra - 12 or 15
Corydoras panda and or
Corydoras agassizii - 6 total
Threadfin rainbow - 6 (if any at all, may pick a different school. Suggestions? )

I may not go with the threadfins any other fish ideas? How many more fish can I have with the extra 10gals?

You definitely have room for more fish there. As for schooling fish, I have no experience with the rainbows, but from what I've seen, if you want some nice tight and active schooling, I might go with a school of rummynose or bloodfin tetras. Going off of AqAdvisor (which is obviously only a jumping off point), with a 55G if you went with 15 cardinal tetra and added 15 rummynose, you are still only 84% stocked. Maybe think about doing a pair of gourami? Or maybe add something like a small school of otos or upping the cory school. It really all depends what you want for the tank, but there is room to expand.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Wow what a difference! I like the black background much better. Great work!

 

[Colwell]

Wow what a difference! I like the black background much better. Great work!

Thanks! It does make a big difference I like it much better. I'm going to work on a stocking list today

 

[tarheel92]

Keep us posted! It really is coming together nicely.

 

[Colwell]

I need some ideas for a stocking list! So far really all I'm set on is 15 Cardinal tetras, 6-8 Congo tetras(maybe) 6-8 Corys(not sure what kind). Honestly I'm pretty lost what I want to do..I may have to take another trip to my lfs and see what I want yet again lol. Anyone have any ideas? I'm running a fluval 306 on my 55gal with a double bulb t-5 fixture.

 

[Colwell]

Stocking ideas

So i have a few ideas feel free to chime in and let me know what you think or if something isn't compatible.

Option A

Cardinal tetra - 15
Congo tetra - 8
Cory's - 6
Pearl gourami - 3

Option B

Cardinal tetra - 15
Congo tetra - 8
Cory's - 6
GBR - 2
Pearl gourami - 1

Option C

Cardinal tetra - 15 " "
Congo tetra - 8 " "
Cory's - 6 OR " "
Pearl gourami - 1 " "
Zebra danio - 6 Golden white cloud - 6

Option D

Cardinal tetra - 18
Congo tetra - 8
Cory's - 8
GBR - 3

Option E

Cardinal tetra - 15
Congo tetra - 8
Cory's - 6
Dwarf gourami - 4-6

i know thats a lot of options but im not sure if i can do a few of those groupings together or not. All your guys help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[tarheel92]

I would go with option b and try to get a GBR pair, but I'm also partial to the look of the rams. The only option I'd be careful with are the golden white clouds in option c because they prefer cooler water than tropical fish and I don't know how well they would work (I have no experience with them though, so they may acclimate fine to the higher temperatures).

 

[Colwell]

That was actually one of my favourites so that's most likely what ill go with. Just wasn't sure if the rams could go with the gourami or not. What order should I put them in my tank? I planned on adding the fish after I have the plants in for a couple weeks. What order should I do it I know the rams will need to be added last probably.

 

[tarheel92]

I'm actually not sure on the temperament of the pearl gourami so you might want to do a little more research on that, I've been told Honey Gouramis won't bother them though, so that's another option.

I'm looking at 7-9x Bloodfin Tetra, 7-9x Rummynose Tetra, 5x Panda Cory, 3-5x Oto, 1x Honey Gourami and 2x GBR for my 29 gallon.

For the order, I would probably start with the tetras once your water parameters are stable, then add in the corys and then the gourami, and from everything I've read you'll want to wait a couple months for the rams to let the tank become really well established.