woodcatl493's 55 Gallon Planted - Build Journal

[woodcatl493]

After over a year of waiting and research, this tank is finally being put together! You can see the original thread here:
JonoDatInvento's First DIY Stand: 55 Gallon Planted Aquarium Stand - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

But here are some photos:

The original tank is being repaired after I out it down a little too hard and the frame broke... Glass is okay though!

We got a new 55 gallon for $45 at Pet Supplies Plus (Dollar per Gallon sale) and a $10 coupon. If you have any spare room go now because it may still be going on!

Moving on, here's the new tank and stand, with the old lights. My parents think it looks fine. ?


Using my Marineland H.O.T Magnum filter.


Also got new ZooMedia lights for the fixture. This will be a low tech setup.

For the driftwood I used a dead bush in my front yard. Had to boil it for about two hours. Some tannins can stay because they're not bad at all. ? Right now it's drying from the final rinse after sanding some edges.


Still to come... Some Eco-Complete and live plants. Stay tuned!

All the planning has been done so you guys will be seeing the final assembly in this thread.

 

[woodcatl493]

So I'm writing this a day later because the plants came at 6:30 P.M.! It took me over two hours to full get the tank set up and other then some minor melting, things seem to be going smoothly.

Let's go back to when I got the packages.


60 pounds of eco-complete only gives you about 1.5" of depth. I'd recommend 80 pounds.

The box that the live plants came in was a little best up but the packaging was in excellent condition.


This is how the live plants were shipped.


And I forgot pictures of the filling and planting but here are the end results!


More images coming in the next post.

 

[woodcatl493]

Those pictures seemed to have duplicated... Anyways here's some more finished pictures.

 

[woodcatl493]

And the final images.



I know the tank looks a little weird right now but I want to let the plants sit a bit before arranging them a better way.

If anyone has any ideas... Why is the water wisteria turning black in some spots and the cabomba turning white? Is this normal for plants that are still adjusting? Thanks.

Other than that, it's a wrap! Thanks for following!

 

[Bert2oo1]

Looks great, I'd say the plants would just be adjusting to the new parameters and lighting [emoji106] keep an eye on them but they should be fine.

 

[kbuser92]

Looks like a nice start. You've got a bit of room to play with in there!

 

[woodcatl493]

Yeah. The plants don't look too good right now but I think they are adjusting to submersed living. Or there could be a nutrient deficiency. But since it receives more than enough daylight I'll try turning the lights off during the day until the weather gets bad.