75g Log :) (update)

[HiFi]

After starting a few samll aquariums in January my 29, & kids 5 were doing ok. I then saw photos of Planted tanks.
The 38 planted I had setup just didnt work for me, and I could fit a much bigger one on the bar that it sat on.
Well it finally came. And this was the second tear down in a month.
My platys and mollys are sitting in a rubbermaid tub waiting for the cloudiness to clear. The old plants from the 38 are near ready to go back.
Some will need a bleach treatment I think to get rid of some Black hair type algae (red algae?).
I got some bunches of Egeria Densa to start off with as well.
Between 2-4 inches of flourite.
The filter is a Pengiun 350 with the dual biowheels removed.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

75G, awsome size. I really like mine. Will be looking forward to watching your log as things progress....

 

[GlitcH]

Yep.........nice canvas there........lookin forward to your progress HiFi.

 

[HiFi]

I know the water is not completely clear, but I had to post these.
I setup the rock and the driftwood. After a boil the DW sank for the test in the other tank. Was out for 4 days and now it floats again.

I also started filling what I had waiting from the other one.
The Corkscrew Vals and the other Hydrocotyle still need cleaning. I dont want to use the Algae infested Wisteria as there is just too much of it.
A Giant Hygro and Amazon Sword are still to go in also. Thanks to mr funktastic


I got this Rock that kinda looked like a face when I put it in. Will get a better shot of it. 8O

This one I hope get Caved' by some future Apistos of some kind.

As it sits for now.

 

[resiak]

Awesome start Mark, I'm jelous =) lol... I can't wait to see it fill in..

Don't forget to take more pics

 

[rich311k]

Looks great. That is going to be a nice looking tank.

 

[zachxlutz]

what a great size tank. i thought i was going to be happy with a 29 gallon... i don't think so! can't wait to see how this progresses!

 

[Glenc]

Nice looking tank. Man, I want a bigger tank! That's going to be a sweet tank.

 

[HiFi]

Thanks. I felt the same seeing all these Plant Filled Landscapes and I had to go bigger.

The Canopy was built from pine and Plywood. I had to modify it for the lighting to fit.

It houses 3 double strip - 40w Normal Output Fluorescent T12's- Philips Daylight Deluxe 6500K
Small wing reflectors are around each pair
DIY co2 Reactor is not finished so I'm running 4 of 6 of these putting me at about 2 WPG. All 6 bulbs will get me an estimated 3.2 WPG
Glass tops were inserted today. And these these Bulbs sit 3 inches from the glass and 5.5 inches from waterline.
I hope this system will be efficient.

The DIY co2 Reactor is based on the Inline Cannister PVC design.
Purrbox and Resiak helped me work up a design using a pump/powerhead instead of a cannister. To eliminate stuff in the tank... I want to put the powerhead outside the tank. Not sure If I have to syphon to get it to work everytime I turn it on, at "lights on"
And transparent PVC pipe is Hard to find So I'm trying a Braided 2" PVC tube. Wish me Luck.

Any Suggestions are greatly appreciated.
.

 

[resiak]

Your canopy came out awesome.. I also like the clear chamber for your inline reactor.
Can't wait to see more pics =)

 

[HiFi]

Some better shots of the rock.
And is that Red Algae on the Hydrocotyle Verticillata?

I added the giant Hygro, vals, sword & rest of HC. Also dosed a shot of Excel and Micros before work this morning.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Looks like the start of hair algae on the Hydrocotyle Verticillata.

You can use standard vinyl tubing to pump the water through the reactor and bring it back in.. if you can get some 90's then you can bring it from the pump with tubing and hard plumb the outside to bring it back up.. it will just hang on the back.

Removing the tube from the powerhead then reconnecting it will prime the whole system.. works well and only needs to be re-primed if air or Co2 get's into the pump.

 

[HiFi]

Well the CO2 setup is complete and I hope it helps with the Algae situation, as its eaten my Hydrocotyle V.
3 Rams and a medium (camera shy) Bristlenose Pleco are new.
As well as some new plants from Rich311k and an out of town shop I stopped in. More re-arranging.
Running out of space

External Reactor Setup

Tiger Lotus

Hydrocotyle leucocephala (Brazillian Pennywort)

Christmas Moss will be tied once Driftwood stays sunken.

New Hygros and Swords

I believe this is Rotala Macrandra.

The Glosso took a while to seperate and tweezer into the flourite. So far, only one floater

The algae battle continues.

 

[rich311k]

Nice looking tank and great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

[resiak]

Tank is looking nice! You got some nice plants in there.. Can't wait to see it fill in!

 

[HiFi]

75 Gallon. (Update)

Been a while since an update. A lot of things have happened.
My Glosso was eaten by my White Mollie or one of the Platies.
I kept losing the BBA battle with a few plants. The Cabomba, Egera densa & Hydrocotyle verticillata.
The swords slowly melted away.
Lack of proper CO2 I'm sure was part the cause. My DIY just wasnt enough.

My substrate was a little low, so I added some TurfaceMVP to add. It was placed on top. It is much easier to plant then the Flourite, less messy, and I've had few if any, plants float up to the top.

During the teardown my fish and plants got there temp home in the rubbermaid bin again.
I removed some of the rock to make way for my new Petrified wood.
This was the new look at that point (with some nice Nana Petite I found)..

So I ordered this Regulator system
from Aquariumplant.com
for my awaiting 20lb tank.
Right now its being diffused through a 3" limewood airstone under my penguin 350. The braided pvc bioball reactor kept leaking and I gave up.
So I will have to make a new one.

Over the Past month or two, I've been in Stage 3 - Collectoritus
While being new to the planted world, I can watch how these grow to fit them in a scape, while still learing how to make things grow.

Added..
Echinodorus bleheri, Hygrophila difformis and Bacopa monnieri to go with the
Hygros, Crypts, Vals, Repens and Anubius.
I also found an Emersed Alternanthera Reiniekii thats slowly converting to submersed form.

Then came the Fish changes. The penguins moved to a 10. In came...
1 large Bristlenose pleco.
3 GBR's
3 Discus (2 blue and 1 red Turquoise)
3 Amano Shrimp

Last week I moved some things around,
Added more Wisteria and Bacopa, and found some Marsilea Mutica which is also in an Emersed changeover.
Its stems were only 4-6 inches with nice large 4 leaf clovers on top. I hoped that I could get this to grow in as a foreground, but within a
day or so I had about 8 stems that shot up to the surface and produced small clovers. One of the stems is over 30" long.
The Xmas Moss from Rich is also filling up the Driftwood nicely.

This is what the tank looked like today before a cleaning and PWC.
I know it looks messy and most plants are placed anywhere they can fit.

After my 50% PWC
I added my first batch of dry ferts from GregWatson.com

KS2O4 - 10ppm
KNO3 - 20ppm (was@10ppm after PWC)
kH2PO4- 0ppm (was@ 3ppm after PWC)

I hope I can keep my co2 steady at 20 with the airstone for now

 

[Glenc]

Your tank looks great. The sooner you can get a good C02 diffuser going the better. Got to get and keep your C02 level up or algea will soon be calling. Nice work, love your tank.

 

[Wood_Dog]

Very nice looking tank and beautiful discus...well done

 

[rich311k]

Looks great!!!

 

[mr funktastic]

thats awesome! i cant wait to see the jungle grow in. so did u toast all the original plants that i sent u? lol i see u still have a huge bunch of the hygro polysperma. u just cant kill that stuff. i have a stem on giant hygro that is currently growing 2 new stems out the bottom and will reach the top of my 20 gal in no time. i will have to ship them to ya. love the christmas moss to. i also got some from rich and it grows like mad!! its sooo bushy. i am going to experiment with it as a ground cover soon if it doesnt slow down. i love the huge wall of difformis u have the in back right corner. i hope it all goes good for u this time.