<![CDATA[The Planted Tank Forum - Tank Journals & Photo Album]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums Post pictures/journals of your tanks, plants and fish(members only)! en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:45:25 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[The Planted Tank Forum - Tank Journals & Photo Album]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums Journey of my dreams http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96866-journey-my-dreams.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:52:07 GMT Hey folks,

I just fell into a fantastic opportunity for a tank like I've been dreaming about for years. It's a custom made 72x30x24 inch, 225 gallon aquarium with a custom built stand, canopy, and 60 gallon sump. The original owner is a reef enthusiast who really took his time to make sure the tank was built and set up right. It's going to be a month or so before I get everything settled down and planted but I wanted to get the journal started now. :)

Lighting will be 6x 55 watt AH supply retrofits fitted lengthwise front-to-back. I'm considering attaching them to an aluminum frame that can be raised and lowered for maintenance or adjust concentration as needed to fight algae or slow growth. The goal is to illuminate the rear of the tank more and leave the front as algae free as possible. I've never kept a tank with a sand front but it seems to be a good idea with this one. I really don't want to have to maintain a huge mass of HC or Glosso.

One of the things about this tank that excites me so much is it's pre-drilled for a closed-loop. No need to rig some ghetto over-the-back spraybar like I've had to in the past. This is going to be 100% pure CO2 reactor love. *glee!*








Closed Loop



Acrylic sump



Since the tank was originally a reef the owner had the sump built with a separate refugium area. With two downdrafts from the overflow this is going to become a place to breed fish, store cuttings, and/or grow things out for flowers. It's the full section in the left-rear.



The other nice touch is the electrical work. Everything's wired into the panel of outlets and then hooked into the DJ stations. No more having to unplug pumps, heaters, or other misc. stuff during maintenance!





I hope you enjoy following this journey as much as I'm going to. ]]> Phil Edwards http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96866-journey-my-dreams.html 120G Green Leaf Aquariums Orinoco Altum Tank. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96834-120g-green-leaf-aquariums-orinoco-altum.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:07:09 GMT Details: *Tank:**120G GLA Custom * *Lighting:* *Tek 6 T5HO* *Filtration:* *Eheim 2262* *Co2 System: **Green Leaf Aquariums Ultimate Regulator with Needle Wheel closed loop*. *Substrate:* *Plant Grower Bed Dark* *Plants:**30 pots of HC** 15 Pots of Didiplis Diandra 15 Potsof Valesnaria... Details:

Tank:120G GLA Custom
Lighting: Tek 6 T5HO
Filtration: Eheim 2262
Co2 System: Green Leaf Aquariums Ultimate Regulator with Needle Wheel closed loop.
Substrate: Plant Grower Bed Dark
Plants:30 pots of HC
15 Pots of Didiplis Diandra
15 Potsof Valesnaria Nana
15 Pots of Myriophyllum tuberculatum
15 Pots of Proserpinaca palustris
Tropica Staurogyne sp
Downoi













More pics soon......


Regards,
Orlando ]]> Orlando http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96834-120g-green-leaf-aquariums-orinoco-altum.html my 90 gallon discus tank http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96826-my-90-gallon-discus-tank.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:05:32 GMT Just wanted to share my old tank with you guys here. It broke while I was at school last year and everything was gone. I recently got a new tank and will be posting pictures of it soon. :):fish: Just wanted to share my old tank with you guys here. It broke while I was at school last year and everything was gone. I recently got a new tank and will be posting pictures of it soon. :):fish:
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]]> AndrewStuart http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96826-my-90-gallon-discus-tank.html <![CDATA[Jeffrey's "Big Boy"---120g Planted]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96820-jeffreys-big-boy-120g-planted.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:27:07 GMT Well, it's finally time. I've been talking about it and planning it out for a year(Evidenced: here, here, here, and here ) and now it's finally coming together, my 120g planted. To read a fair amount of background on me and my planted tanks, and especially the details leading up to this 120g, you can check out the link to my blog in my sig.

I've been waiting to put up a journal until things were starting to move a little quicker, and now the speed is picking up. I'm taking my time on this one, doing everything right from the get go, but there should start to be some action in the coming weeks.

For now, a little teaser shot:

]]> jmhart http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96820-jeffreys-big-boy-120g-planted.html <![CDATA[Otto's 3 Gallon Planted Bowfront - Gonna need some help]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96819-ottos-3-gallon-planted-bowfront-gonna.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:35:40 GMT Hey everyone. I'm looking to start a nano freshwater planted tank but I have absolutely no experience in freshwater so I am hoping you guys can walk me along in my build thread. I have been in saltwater for about 7 years and currently have a 120 gallon reef tank set up, but want to try something different so figured I would try a planted freshwater tank. I have been reading online a little bit but am still far away from understanding this side of the hobby.

So far all I have accomplished was order a tank. I just bought a Mr. Aqua 3 gallon bow front tank from Marine Depot and should arrive early next week. Here's a pic of the tank.


And that's about all I got accomplished so far. Now for a few questions I have.

Water - I have my own personal well so its not treated at all by the city. It does have a lot of iron in it and I also run a water softener with Rust Remover salt pellets. For my saltwater tank I have a RO/DI unit and it takes everything out of the water down to 0 TDS. The water after the softener has a TDS of about 450. I hear different things about which water to use so hopefully someone can help me out there.

Substrate - I still am unknown on substrate. I am leaning toward some black Flourite sand but I also kind of like the brownish look of the Flora Sand. I just need to find a small bag of it b/c all I see online cost more than my tank.

Lighting - For Lighting I plan on using a desk lamp with a spiral compact fluorescent bulb in the 6700k range. I am guessing something around 13 watts, should that be enough?

CO2 - Starting out I dont want to hook up an elaborate CO2 system but was hoping I can dose stuff like Excel and Flourish to keep the plants alive and then see if I want to spend the money on a CO2 setup. I figure with a 3 gallon, I shouldn't have to dose to much.

Livestock - I would like to keep some fish in there but have not researched that far yet. I am going to go over the nano fish list on this site and pick out stuff when my tank is ready.

Cycling - How do you jump start it after water, rocks, and substrate are in? In salt, I just threw a hunk of shrimp in and let it rot. Guessing that's not going to work here. I think I read you can pour some ammonia in the tank but still have to read up on that.

Filtration - I figured you need something to harbor the good bacteria so I was looking at the Azoo Palm hang on filter or maybe a small biowheel. Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Inspiration - I came across these tanks on the internet and would want my tank to look like these eventually.





Sorry for the long winded post. I know I got a lot more reading to do, but just wanted to throw my ideas out there and see what everyone thought. Thanks for looking. ]]> otto2 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96819-ottos-3-gallon-planted-bowfront-gonna.html Experiment 20G.L http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96801-experiment-20g-l.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:26 GMT
  • 20 Gallon (long) tank (dimensions: 30" x 12.5" x 12.5")
  • Dual T5 High Output Lighting Fixture (24W T5 HO 6000K, 24W T5 HO Roseate)
  • "Primo" CO2 System from Green Leaf Aquariums (5lb Cylinder)
  • Glass Drop Checker
  • Marineland C160 Canister Filter
  • Hydor Koralia1 Powerhead
  • Marineland Stealth 100W Heater
  • Red Sea Root Therm Substrate Heating System
  • Coralife Digital Thermometer
  • Automatic Timer (with 2 x 3-Prong Outlets & Master On/Off Control Swith)
  • 6-Outlet Surge Protector










]]> Jiggs http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96801-experiment-20g-l.html 15 gallon - the beginnings! http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96792-15-gallon-beginnings.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:04:52 GMT Hello! I am new to the board and am very excited about my newest plant tank. It is not my first, but will most certainly be my best! This one is replacing a 7 gallon bowfront... Image: http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy155/Micio17/IMG_2739.jpg Image:... Hello! I am new to the board and am very excited about my newest plant tank. It is not my first, but will most certainly be my best! This one is replacing a 7 gallon bowfront...




From the top...


And my riccia fluitans and microsword that is chillin in a quarantine tank until I get water in the main tank.


More to come on Saturday! ]]> pamiboo http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96792-15-gallon-beginnings.html What a long strange trip its been. Finally planted! http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96787-what-long-strange-trip-its-been.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:56:53 GMT Well this is the second post I make here but for months I have been reading and drooling over so many forum posts of beautiful planted tanks. Some of the tanks on this site are true living art master pieces and many of them inspired me to have a go at a water green thumb! This is the evolution... Well this is the second post I make here but for months I have been reading and drooling over so many forum posts of beautiful planted tanks. Some of the tanks on this site are true living art master pieces and many of them inspired me to have a go at a water green thumb!

This is the evolution of my little 15 gal tank the gf got me for my birthday last feb! I'm sure now she wishes she didn't get it as she has been there to help with almost all the changes :P

In the beginning there was: Fake plants, plastic wood , and white gravel with a powerglow bulb. Basically the tank was bleached out from top to bottom!



Then the fake wood seemed to be leaking an oily substance and I was scared it would kill my fish so I replaced it with real wood! as well the white gravel was way too bright so I added more black to it. SO natural looking now right? :(


I finally got totally fed up of the look and at about this time my sister wanted to get rid of her 50 gal aquarium. So I took it re-homed the fish in the 15 gal there and started over. I should have learned form my past mistake of what substrate but the gf thought it looked so pretty in the store and I thought it would look stunning as well! Thus White play sand with Wendii crypts, Amazon sword, and sunset hygro.




Well the extra lighting and the ferts without a full comprehension of how to take care of a planted tank resulted in the inevitable GREEN WATER OF HELL! Had I known now what I knew then would have kept some for a fry tank!!!



So after the green water from hell that stayed for about 2 weeks time I started to read more and more here learning everything I needed. I finally realized some of my mistakes and tried to fix them. One thing I knew was I didn’t have enough CO2 for my plants and I did the good old DIY method. Well one night I was making a new batch of yeast and plopped the tubing back in the tank and went to make a new batch. I got distracted by sports on the TV and when I came back in the first step I took into my room was a wet one! Basically the tube fell out of the tank and gravity did the work for me! My tank slowly filtered out due to me being dumb and not having a stop valve! For anyone cheaping out on a check valve let this picture be a warning that you may walk in to see only this much water in your tank with the rest on your floor! 3$ check valve > 45$ rug DR rental and cleaning products to get the crap out of the carpeting!


Well as time went on I added more plants now and then. As I went to LFS and read online I kept looking at the same plants over and over thus I added Valisera giganta, Water sprite, Micro swords, valisera spiralis, and java moss. However I had not really gotten into scaping and just basically plopped em where they would fit in.


Unfortunately one day there was a power outage. My tanks got pretty cold and a case of Ich broke out in both tanks. I was really sad as the 15 gal had become a home for some ember tetras and a female GBR (the male died after spawning :( ) However I took this time to re-evaluate what I wanted to do with the planted tank.

Questions in my head were:
What do I do about lighting?
What do I do about the substrate?
What do I want to house in it?
What plants do I want?
Is my filtration up to par with what I want?

Over the past couple weeks I have pieced together the answers of all my questions. Finally tonight after weeks of making decisions and then finding and buying the best deals on answers I have a completed tank. All it needs to do now is grow in!

Lighting was changed from one 24" T8 Fluo to. 2 24" T5 HO vial a Hagen Glo system.
Substrate was replaced with Flourish Black

Filtration now has 1 powerhead diffusing CO2 and giving a small current on the right side of the tank. While an Eheim Classic 2213 takes care of filtration for the rest of the tank and gives a nice flow. Though I had to tapper down the outflow as it would make a 15gal a whirlpool if it was left full out.

Inhabitants: 1 Otto, 3 Amano Shrimp, and a Pair of apistogramma cacatuoides.

Plants: Some old plants didn’t make it in the re-scape and some did but I will just list what is there now!
-Allot of sunset Hygro
-4 shoot's of scarlet Hygro (though from what I read it's not truly aquatic and is a bog plant thus I may remove it)
-Java moss
-Anubias nana (one of them is flowering :) )
-Water sprite
-Valisera giganta
-Valisera spiralis
-Cryptocoryne Walkeri (that is what it was labeled but not sure if it is )
-Egeria densa
-Micro swords
- and a nice big Amazon sword though I cut back allot of the leaves as it use to be in the middle but the new scape puts it on the side so had to give it a trim!

And this is how it looks now!




One of my amano shrimp wants to know what you are all looking at!!!


Thank you for looking and hope to see many comments, suggestions and criticism!!


**Edited for spelling ** ]]> Twin54 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96787-what-long-strange-trip-its-been.html My Tanks http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96780-my-tanks.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:51:49 GMT Hello, New to the site, but thought I would post pics of my 2 tanks. 55g Mbuna Tank Image: http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd226/bcdudley/Fish%20Tanks/100_1371.jpg 15g planted community tank Image: http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd226/bcdudley/Fish%20Tanks/DSCF2793.jpg Hello,
New to the site, but thought I would post pics of my 2 tanks.


55g Mbuna Tank


15g planted community tank





The Mbuna tank is home to approx 20 African Cichlids, 2 clown loaches and a few pleco's. The loaches and pleco's were put in there for a specific purpose that has long since passed and will be going as soon as I can talk my wife into letting me get them out of there. Other residents include 2 bumblebee cichlids, a very grumpy auratus, 2 yellow labs, a powder blue, 2 kenyi and several other varieties of juvenile's.
Filtration is currently an Marineland Emperor 400 bio-wheel filter, a Marineland Penguin 330 modified filter (air bubbler under the cages), a 300gph sump under the tank and an eheim 2217 that is temporarily collecting bacteria for an upcoming tank. The Substrate is crushed coral and the rocks are mostly Texas Holey Rocks with some lava rocks and some other misc rocks. The tank is approximately 8 years old.


The community tank consist of a Betta Splenden, 2 Panda Corys, until last week, 7 Neon tetras, now I am down to 2. 4 shrimp of an unknown variety that may be the cause of the missing Neon tetra's, and a variety of plants that I have no idea what they are or any idea of how to identify them. The filtration is a Marineland Penguin bio-wheel mini (which I have recently learned is bad for planted tanks due to co2 dispersion).The substrate is CaribSea Eco-Complete. There is a small lava rock as well as a piece of driftwood. ]]> bcdudley http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96780-my-tanks.html 2.5g work tank http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96771-2-5g-work-tank.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:51:14 GMT I've had this tank for about 3 months now. Everything started in a jar with 10 cherry shrimps. I have about 50 now.









]]> jkplanter http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96771-2-5g-work-tank.html <![CDATA[Tyler's 29 Gallon Bowfront]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96758-tylers-29-gallon-bowfront.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:36:45 GMT Ok everyone. I decided to keep a regularly updated tank journal on my 29 Gallon Bowfront tank. *Plants* Microswords Dwarf Hairgrass Amazon Sword Anarcharis *Aquatic Species* 4 Adult mollies Ok everyone. I decided to keep a regularly updated tank journal on my 29 Gallon Bowfront tank.

Plants
Microswords
Dwarf Hairgrass
Amazon Sword
Anarcharis

Aquatic Species
4 Adult mollies
25+ Fry
At least 2 Trumpet Snails

The tank is starting to look a little dirty, any suggestions beyond changing water weekly, which I am already doing. I need to control the Molly population, lmao.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgesZSvTprU ]]> explicitburngraphics http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96758-tylers-29-gallon-bowfront.html hc? http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96715-hc.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:27:53 GMT Hello, I am new here. My first planted tank. I keep reading in others posts about hc. I am looking for a ground cover and I think this is what I want, but what is the full name. thanks Hello, I am new here. My first planted tank. I keep reading in others posts about hc. I am looking for a ground cover and I think this is what I want, but what is the full name. thanks ]]> mjtatro http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96715-hc.html Setting up new tank - 25G flatback hex http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96655-setting-up-new-tank-25g-flatback.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:09:21 GMT This journal will be text-only; last night I realized my digital camera has disappeared.

Under the Substrate thread "I'm confused" I talked about not knowing what substrate to use. In this tank I have decided to use a moderately coarse sand I got at a local landscape supply place; I filtered it through a large kitchen strainer, letting the sand that came through collect in a bucket which was tilted so that the silt-sized stuff ran out of the bucket and the water became clear. Today I bought pieces of flagstone, which is a thin-bedded sandstone. There is a bit of iron mineralization, not much - it might provide a few ppm of iron to the water. Being a geologist, I do not worry abot the stone. Tomorrow I will put in the sand and the flagstone in such a way to duplicate a ripple area. I will try to photograph the result with a film camera. ]]> mosasaur http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96655-setting-up-new-tank-25g-flatback.html <![CDATA[The Doctor's 29g]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96625-doctors-29g.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:10:53 GMT Alright guys, I know you've all been dying of curiosity. "What's this guy been up to?" you've been thinking. Well, now you can finally see for yourselves.

It's a 29 gallon that's in pretty good condition, but not new. I got it for free from a friend, and that's how this started. Though I have still spent my fair share on this guy. So here you go:

Lighting: Catalina Aquariums 2x24W t5 HO 6500K and 10000K bulbs
Substrate: Topsoil capped with a little over a bag of Eco Complete
CO2: Later
Flora: Eleocharis parvula, Marsilea minuta, Blyxa japonica
Fauna: Undecided
Filter: Need to work on that too

So! Some pictures















Thanks for the hairgrass goes to malaybiswas, and the blyxa and marsilea are from sieu004. The initial planting took FOREVER. I mean hours. That was a ton of hairgrass. and the marsilea didn't go too quickly either. But, that's it for now. Look, enjoy, love, hate, comment, don't, but there you go. ]]> Dr. Acula http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96625-doctors-29g.html <![CDATA[saint27's - 75 Gallon Phoenix]]> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96616-saint27s-75-gallon-phoenix.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:38:31 GMT There was tragedy this summer with my 75 Gallon Clown Loach aquarium. I was gone on vacation and A heat wave hit. We had turned the A/C off so I came home to a 75 gallons of fish soup. The smell was awful. Here it is after the tear down and rebuild. On Sept. 28, 2009 Image:... There was tragedy this summer with my 75 Gallon Clown Loach aquarium. I was gone on vacation and A heat wave hit. We had turned the A/C off so I came home to a 75 gallons of fish soup. The smell was awful.

Here it is after the tear down and rebuild. On Sept. 28, 2009




Here it is Today: Oct. 15, 2009




Thanks to everyone in the S&S. That is where all these plants came from. More information about the tank can be found at the link in my signature or my tank profile. ]]> saint27 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/96616-saint27s-75-gallon-phoenix.html