220g planted-newly rescaped

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You have achieved a masterpiece that's for sure! I really want to.go with dirt now, but I don't want.to put my fish through tearing down the tank and resetting it.
 
You can still do that with your tank without changing the substrate. What is your substrate? Just get good root tabs. I get mine from AquariumPlants.com along with their root tab pole (had to get tabs down in the bottom when the darn tank is 30" tall and on the stand is taller than me). I use the Total pellets around the tank, then iron pellets especially around my red plants, and a couple phosphate tabs around my swords as they like extra phosphate. Then look at a ton of pic's and see what you like, research the plants, and just start planting. For the stem plants I let mine get about 3/4 of the height of the tank and then prune them back about 1/2. I do this until I get the plant to branch out for a fuller look. Once it gets enough branches then I let it grow to the height I want. You can do it, just get a plan in your head first.
 
Thanks guys! This tank is my pride and joy, not that I don't like my other tanks, it's just I planned this one out for almost a year before I plunged in. I had never done a tank over 90 gallons so I made sure I had a plan in my head before I started. And almost a year later I am still making plant adjustments to get it to look just how I picture it in my head. I'm going to post pic's in 4 or so weeks once all the new stem plants are grown close to the top of the water. Also if you have any ideas or suggestions I totally open to hear them.
 
Gorgeous. I get a very Asian vibe from it, where the pink plants look like Japanese cherry blossoms. Its like the perfect secret garden but under water. Love it.
 
Kellie said:
Gorgeous. I get a very Asian vibe from it, where the pink plants look like Japanese cherry blossoms. Its like the perfect secret garden but under water. Love it.
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Thanks! Originally it was your basic mostly green plant tank. But as I looked at more and more tank pic's I found some tanks that had alot of the red/pink/yellow plants and just fell in love. I'm just waiting for them to grow to the tank top because since I planted them I've been trimming them back down in order to get them more bushy, which is finally happening so I can actually let them get some height... Yeah!
 
Rivercats said:
Finally some pictures of my 220g planted tank. Sorry up front for the window glare and not the best pic's. This is my first tank every shots so have some learning to do.

About 3 weeks ago I ripped the tank apart and removed a few giant crypts and other plants that had just over taken the tank. So alot of these plants are new and not filled out and have not reached the surface due to my heavy pruning to encourage bushiness. These are just the first few shots I got and not sure the camera will get a full on front shot but will try another day. Let me know what you think.

Just a note to let everyone know this high light tank has no pressurized CO2. It is a dirted tank, PPS-Pro daily dosing of ferts, and glutaraldehyde liquid carbon and I get excellent plant growth. I'll repost pic's in a few weeks when plants have grown tall enough to hide most of the background.
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I love it! Great job.
 
Rivercats said:
Thanks! Originally it was your basic mostly green plant tank. But as I looked at more and more tank pic's I found some tanks that had alot of the red/pink/yellow plants and just fell in love. I'm just waiting for them to grow to the tank top because since I planted them I've been trimming them back down in order to get them more bushy, which is finally happening so I can actually let them get some height... Yeah!
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Your patience is impeccable! Your work is fantastic!!
 
Simply a beautiful aquarium!! -plants alone look like tons of work to keep... like art. and without Co2? ..that is amazing! thanks for sharing.
 
JimmyG said:
Simply a beautiful aquarium!! -plants alone look like tons of work to keep... like art. and without Co2? ..that is amazing! thanks for sharing.
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Thanks! Really the plants don't have that much up keep. I think with CO2 I'd have alot more trimming to do and much faster growth but since I only dose glutaraldehyde I get good growth but not super crazy fast.
 
Wow! I LOVE your tank! I wish you could come decorate mine! Haha, what type of dirt is that? And where did you get your driftwood? It looks great!
 
I bought my dirt at Lowes, its called Just Natural Organic Potting Soil. Alot of people use Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil. Just be sure if you ever do a dirted tank to get Organic Potting "Soil", not Organic Potting "Mix". Mixes have alot of things in it you don't want to add into your tank.

The DW actually came from a LFS, they actually carry alot of different kinds so I was lucky especially with the size pieces I needed.

I'd come help but I'm a bit far but what I did is looked at tons and tons of pictures to get an idea of how I wanted my tank to look. I got alot of idea's that way. Here's a good place to look for ideas... http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/yourtanks.php?do=homepage&cat=0&order=None&pages=9
 
What you do is put your dirt in first, depth depends on the size of the tank. I used 1-1/2 inches in this tank. Then you have to cap your dirt. I capped my dirt with an 1-1/2 of Eco-Complete. You can cap with sand, gravel, or any commercial substrate. I suggest using some type of commerical substate as they have a high CEC, which means they can absorb nutrients and hold them for plant use.

No I do not vacuum the substrate in any of my planted tanks.
 
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