5/29/2016 Latest pic -
Up to date details:
Lighting - 4 bulb T5HO Hydroponic unit. Bulbs are Zoomed Ultra sun, TrueLumen Flora, ATI purple, 3000K Plantmax, about 120 PAR at sub according to Hoppy's meter. 8 hour photo period.
Filtration - Hydor Pro 600 canister, Koralia 425 circulation pump.
CO2 - GLA Gro Series reg, 10lb aluminum tank, DIY reactor. Kicks on 90 minutes before lights, off 1 hour before lights.
Substrate - Black Diamond blasting sand, sparsely supplemented w/Osmocote+
Params -
GH 8-9
KH 5-6
PH 7.6 from tap, ~6.2 at peak CO2
Currently Dosing -
Macros, 3x week
KNO3 - 5 ppm
KH2PO4 - 1 ppm
K2SO4 - 3 ppm
Micros, 3x week
Micros vary as Im currently experimenting, roughly
.0125 ppm(Fe) from csmb + .0125 dtpa 11% + .0125 -.03 Fe gluconate
10 ppm K2SO4, 5 ppm Mg via Epsom salt on water change days. Tap is high in Ca with very little Mg.
~60% water change every 5-7 days
Original Post Below
Hi all, figured I'd do a journal for my 75 gallon. Im experienced with aquariums but never done a bonafied planted tank before, very excited to be starting one now. First have to thank everyone here for the wealth of information and boatload of awesome tanks to look at. been lurking for a while and Ive learned so much from the great folks here.
I began converting this tank from cichlids around mid January. Here it is about a week ago, when I finally stopped moving things around.
Most of the foreground plants are only a few days old here. Other things have been in there a few weeks, but rearranged a lot. There's some Bacopa stems behind the rocks and small Wysteria in the right corner that you really cant see yet, so hopefully the background will fill in nicely before long.
Im not exactly in love with the hardscape or plant arrangement. Basically just threw a bunch of stuff in there to learn how different things grow and look. Gonna try to resist the urge to keep rearranging until it's all had a chance to settle in and grow out a bit.
Details -
Tank: 75 Gallon - 48" x 21" x 18"
Substrate: Black Diamond blasting sand (125 lbs)
Lights: 2 bulb 48" T5HO Hydroponic fixture (1 Coralife 10K, 1 TrueLumen Flora) Fixture came with 2 6500K grow bulbs, they were too "yellow" I didnt like the way it looked.
Filtration: 2 HOBs, a Penguin 350 and a Whisper something or other
Ferts, etc: Daily Excel, Weekly Flourish Comp, heavy application of Osmocote Root tabs, well fed fish. Currently doing 25% water changes once a week. Havent tested any nutrient levels. Tap water is fairly hard, PH mid 7s.
Livestock:
9 Tiger barbs
6 Cherry barbs
5 Ottos
3 Emerald Corys
1 Firemouth Cichlid
1 Candy Cane Tetra (thinks he's a Tiger Barb)
Plants:
(Approximately Back to Front, Left to Right)
Ludwigia Repens
Compact Corymbosa
Dwarf Lily
Two kinds of Anubius and a Java Fern/Java Moss on the driftwood
Argentine Sword
Crypt wendtii brown and green (I think)
Mermaid Weed
Bacopa monnieri
Java Moss on the rock pile
Wisteria
Left
Middle
Right
Thanks for taking a look! I'll will try to update regularly as the tank progresses. Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome... :red_mouth
Up to date details:
Lighting - 4 bulb T5HO Hydroponic unit. Bulbs are Zoomed Ultra sun, TrueLumen Flora, ATI purple, 3000K Plantmax, about 120 PAR at sub according to Hoppy's meter. 8 hour photo period.
Filtration - Hydor Pro 600 canister, Koralia 425 circulation pump.
CO2 - GLA Gro Series reg, 10lb aluminum tank, DIY reactor. Kicks on 90 minutes before lights, off 1 hour before lights.
Substrate - Black Diamond blasting sand, sparsely supplemented w/Osmocote+
Params -
GH 8-9
KH 5-6
PH 7.6 from tap, ~6.2 at peak CO2
Currently Dosing -
Macros, 3x week
KNO3 - 5 ppm
KH2PO4 - 1 ppm
K2SO4 - 3 ppm
Micros, 3x week
Micros vary as Im currently experimenting, roughly
.0125 ppm(Fe) from csmb + .0125 dtpa 11% + .0125 -.03 Fe gluconate
10 ppm K2SO4, 5 ppm Mg via Epsom salt on water change days. Tap is high in Ca with very little Mg.
~60% water change every 5-7 days
Original Post Below
Hi all, figured I'd do a journal for my 75 gallon. Im experienced with aquariums but never done a bonafied planted tank before, very excited to be starting one now. First have to thank everyone here for the wealth of information and boatload of awesome tanks to look at. been lurking for a while and Ive learned so much from the great folks here.
I began converting this tank from cichlids around mid January. Here it is about a week ago, when I finally stopped moving things around.
Most of the foreground plants are only a few days old here. Other things have been in there a few weeks, but rearranged a lot. There's some Bacopa stems behind the rocks and small Wysteria in the right corner that you really cant see yet, so hopefully the background will fill in nicely before long.
Im not exactly in love with the hardscape or plant arrangement. Basically just threw a bunch of stuff in there to learn how different things grow and look. Gonna try to resist the urge to keep rearranging until it's all had a chance to settle in and grow out a bit.
Details -
Tank: 75 Gallon - 48" x 21" x 18"
Substrate: Black Diamond blasting sand (125 lbs)
Lights: 2 bulb 48" T5HO Hydroponic fixture (1 Coralife 10K, 1 TrueLumen Flora) Fixture came with 2 6500K grow bulbs, they were too "yellow" I didnt like the way it looked.
Filtration: 2 HOBs, a Penguin 350 and a Whisper something or other
Ferts, etc: Daily Excel, Weekly Flourish Comp, heavy application of Osmocote Root tabs, well fed fish. Currently doing 25% water changes once a week. Havent tested any nutrient levels. Tap water is fairly hard, PH mid 7s.
Livestock:
9 Tiger barbs
6 Cherry barbs
5 Ottos
3 Emerald Corys
1 Firemouth Cichlid
1 Candy Cane Tetra (thinks he's a Tiger Barb)
Plants:
(Approximately Back to Front, Left to Right)
Ludwigia Repens
Compact Corymbosa
Dwarf Lily
Two kinds of Anubius and a Java Fern/Java Moss on the driftwood
Argentine Sword
Crypt wendtii brown and green (I think)
Mermaid Weed
Bacopa monnieri
Java Moss on the rock pile
Wisteria
Left
Middle
Right
Thanks for taking a look! I'll will try to update regularly as the tank progresses. Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome... :red_mouth