My 75G - Freshwater!

[djrusselljoseph]

Hello all!

Fairly new here, and I am loving the site.

Great knowledge and there is so much interesting feedback and insight, it's not even funny.

Attached is a first effort shot of my tank, it's been a very slow 7 months, I still have several things to add.

Feedback is ALWAYS welcome, good or bad!

 

[CTD]

looks very nice GREAT JOB! so far.

 

[new2betas]

Beautiful! Love the driftwood! What are your live plants?

 

[meegosh]

Very nice, very natural looking! I love the driftwood too! Oh and, Welcome to the site, I haven't seen you around yet.

 

[missileman]

Very nice indeed.
Are those Cichlids in there?

 

[djrusselljoseph]

Thanks AA peeps,
I totally appreciate the comments.

new2betas - I have no idea what the plants are. Lol. One of my Managers at work gave myself and another some plants each. I have never denounced the use of plants personally, just kinda scared about keeping them. Sounds foolish, I know. Right now, I don't have an active source of C02 at all, but I did build my own setup about 2 months ago, just afraid to try. I did buy some plants today actually, I am going in head and I will be listing the types that I picked up from my LFS. I have an idea of how I want the plants to grow in the tank, for a certain effect.

missileman - yes sir, those are cichlids. I have kept African and South Americans in the past, but not in these numbers. Only 2 casualties in the last 7 or so months. Some might frown on this, but that is their opinion. I have had great luck, and there is a method to the madness.

 

[djrusselljoseph]

Now to view some of YOUR setups!

 

[SDMac74]

Great looking tank! Crushed coral and live plants!? And with Aqua-Glo 18K bulb? NICE! How much light?

 

[Jagwa]

did you have to soak the driftwood? how did you gt rid of the tannins

 

[djrusselljoseph]

Thank you Jagwa!

That driftwood you see in the pic was soaked for about 3 months on and off. When I say on and off, I mean I would soak the wood in a laundry basin/sink in hot water for hours at a time. I actually soaked the pieces until I saw no more discoloured water, and then I would start over. I never used bleach. I have read everywhere that a small amount would be beneficial, but I had a lot of time so I never bothered. The wood basically has not been in use for 3 years until now. Didn't release any tannins AT ALL. I am glad I killed the soaking process. I am actually going to pick up another used piece of driftwood tomorrow, apparently this piece has moss already on it, which I am a little worried about.
We'll see.
Sorry for being so long winded.

 

[Jagwa]

thats fine. i have two big pieces of bpg wood. i didnt soak them well enough and my water looks like tea. i think im gonna take them out and soak them for a few more months

 

[djrusselljoseph]

Just remember my man...it shouldn't take long, my doing it this way was my choice.

 

[djrusselljoseph]

Update!! -

Picked up a couple more plants, and added a DIY CO2. Connected the setup on Sunday night, by Monday morning mixture was already supplying the tank. Wow, I didn't mess that one up. Did some reading (which I should have done beforehand) and learned about lighting and how the oxygen, light etc. process works.
Need to get some additives for the plants, a timer.

Picked up a Red Sea 500 Reactor. Hooked that up last night, have some questions about it though. Will have to lurk for a bit before I post.

Pics to follow.

 

[nanpat]

welcome to AA, it looks great.....is it 4 feet long? i like youre stand too what type of finish is on youre stand... how about youre lighting system... how is it setup? you have a dome over it .. its hard to see.... all in all its very nice....

 

[djrusselljoseph]

nanpat,
Thank you!
That is a very good question. I will have to measure, just so I know for myself.
That stand I don't like too much at all. It's green. I hate green. I had it re-inforced for the added weight, it previously held a 66 gallon long.
The light is actually resting just above glass panes, it has its own adjustable 'legs' so to speak. I will take better pics. Not sure if you can view my images, you should be able to. They show the stand and the extra work.

 

[djrusselljoseph]

My crushed coral bed is too thin, adding another 20+ pounds tonight.

 

[SDMac74]

Tank looks great. I inject CO2 via a DIY setup on my 60. 2 bottle system, but if you do not have sufficient light and you add CO2 + nutrients for your plants you will have a mad algae problem. And hard water will magnify the problem. How much light are you using (WPG)?

 

[djrusselljoseph]

So there is where I might have messed up.

I got the light after the plants and I added the DIY after as well.

I swear, I have never been more serious about keeping a well rounded tank until now. When I was younger, it was about keeping Oscars and watching them jump out of the tank to grab hot dogs.

With that said, I have never done so many things backwards. I didn't do the math for the light and watts per gallon. I ended up getting a T5 54w, which I am told is a low light, but good enough for plants that require low light. I am not feeding the plants enough C02, so I have to up the ante. No algae yet, when I get home from work, I put the light on for 6 or so hours. I need a timer bad and have to work out how long I have to leave the light on for these plants to flourish.

Any suggestions SDMac74?

 

[cars4fun2001]

you are way under powered on the lights. I am running 150 right now tell my new ballast comes in. Then I will be running 240. For nice plant growth you need to be in the 2-3 watts per gallon the more the better. I dont think I would putting in co2 in the tank tell you up the lighting a good bit. are you tracking your ph?
very nice looking tank by the way. I wish I could find a piece of drift wood like you have on the right.

Mike

 

[WhiteDevil]

whats the moss look like?

I mean is it what grows out on trees and rocks and ground in the woods? or is it these kinds of moss?

Aquatic Moss. How to grow Aquatic Moss. Info on Java Moss, Christmas Moss, Taiwan Moss, Peacock Moss, Stringy Moss