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Grogans 60p

7K views 48 replies 21 participants last post by  jkan0228 
#1 ·
Hey planted crew,
Well I finally decided to stop messing around and picked up a 60p and the complete substrate system. I used power sand, both of the penacs, and bacter 100. I then toped it all of with a bag of Amazonia. The driftwood is an older piece I pulled of the Matanuska Glacier last summer and decided it would work perfectly in this aquarium. I tried adding some rocks into the scape but could not find any layout that worked with the driftwood. So for now its going to be simply the driftwood. Im have ordered some lily pipes to go along with it.

Right now Im working on my plant selection and will be ordering them next Monday.







 
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#2 ·
I love the tank, but I'm not a huge fan of that wood. It seems too straight, wood with curves and twists gives more character.

I think that that new Rotala sp., Rotala mexicana 'Goais' or something of the likes, would be pretty cool. Glosso and Blyxa would be neat in this tank as well.
 
#4 ·
I get what your saying on the driftwood. Ill go out this weekend and see if I can find something with more character and a bit smaller.

Sweet start, i agree, maybe some rocks would help it out.
How many bags did you use? Im wondering how much i need to order
The size of the driftwood is one of reasons I didn't add any rocks. If I find another piece on the river that I like I may incorporate some rocks into the scape.

I only used one bag of Amazonia 9L. It was plenty but if you want some more dramatic slopes you might want to get the 9L and one of the smaller bags. Make sure you get the Power Sand to go under it. That stuff is really neat.
 
#5 ·
This is a really hard tank for me! I love doing rock scapes, and have a huge pile of awesome rocks in my yard. The problem is my last three tanks have all been rocks and no driftwood. I need something new and out of my comfort zone. This driftwood hunting is going to be tuff. It usually ends with me and 2 buckets full of rocks...like last time:


and the rock I wish I could have taken home with me:


Also got my spare C02 setup our of the closet and prepped for setup:
 
#7 ·
Ha that would be awesome. Its kind of in a remote location next to the most amazing waterfall. Im surrounded by amazing rocks up here. Its almost like I should just start a thread for all the cool rocks I wish I could use.

 
#9 ·
The location is in Wells Bay. Its half way in between Whittier harbor and the Port of Valdez. My Pops and I made the journey for fathers day and took the dingy to shore to scout around. Getting that rock into the dingy and back on the boat..would be colossal.
 
#11 ·
It wasn't a hike, it was a 4 hour boat ride.


But enough about the rock Im not using in this tank. I just got conformation from ADG that my lily pipes are in the mail. Once they get here all I have left is to order my plants next Monday from Jermack.
 
#12 · (Edited)
That's pretty nice scenery you've got there - but I may be somewhat biased as it looks a lot like what you find around here. I love the scrubby conifer + cool rocks look :proud:

But since you insist on getting back on topic - I actually think the driftwood in the op would work well with a few alternations - try removing the right-most branch (cut it off at an angle so it's not obvious that something was cut off) and rotating the wood counter-clockwise a little so that the left-most branch isn't quite so vertical.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the ideas Jules. I have till friday to finalize the hardscape so I might be doing just that.

Well I tore the thing apart this afternoon and tinkered with rocks and the driftwood. I know its alot of vertical lines but I think its getting closer to completion. Im going to try and find a few more small rocks this coming week to add more complexity to the scape. I will also be picking up more Amazonia to level off the slopes and fill in some of the empty spaces under the rocks and wood. I picked up the lilly pipes today and installed them as well. The craftsmanship on the whole ADA package is truly impressive.


 
#15 ·
Plants are coming in Friday and Im not quite there...crap! My only saving grace is that Im the local plant specialist at the LFS. I ordered the plants for the whole store so they can sit at in my tanks at the shop until I am ready. My full square foot of Glosso is going to have to be watched like a HAWK!
 
#16 ·
Okay..So it only took me 3 hours and 4 beers. Man I was on a mission! Put on some tunes and start planting. If I can manage to not kill all of these plants that would be awesome. Hell Im even wanting to break down the 56 gallon and replace it with another rimless we have at the shop! Alright well here we go!

The loot that I picked up today. Tons of plants, ADA diffuser, and some more Aquasoil.


Re worked the gravel lines and added some more to level it off. Then I misted the entire thing to prepare for planting.


Crypts first


Stem plants..and lots of them


Glosso, my carpet plant


Before adding the carpet plant


I love these tweezers!


Almost there



Slowly filling after attaching the flame moss to the submerged driftwood areas.




And presto! Decided to put the bar stools in front of it because Im going to be sitting here alot.





I did however have two problems. My Hydor inline heater has not arrived at the shop yet so Im using a temporary heater. My clear CO2 pressure rated tubing would not fit the diffuser. I guess I could have forced it on but the thing cost way to much money to risk it. I used an older piece of CO2 tubbing from a previous setup instead. Its only temporary. I will be picking some up from the shop tomorrow. Oh and the rocks piled up on top of the driftwood are temporary. They are there to hold the driftwood down until it is water logged.

All in all, I am very happy with how it turned out.
 
#18 ·
UPDATE OF ALL TIME!

Day 3:
Hands down the best growth I have ever seen in a planted tank. This is my first time using the ADA platform and it works. Grinning from ear to ear right now. Im about to order their full fertilizer system...I am sooooo broke. However I cant argue results:



 
#19 ·
HOLY COW MAN!!!! BEAUTIFUL WORK!!!

I am soo glad you stayed with the wood piece, as it is AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see it water logged and the rocks removed! And the rocks Ya used around the wood are perfect! I really dig the plants Ya chose too! It will be a master piece when it gets grown in!

AWESOME BOAT YA have there!!! I bet Yall have had bunches of good times aboard it! A trip to Alaska is on my bucket list 4SURE!!! Both to Fish and Hunt, and I hope I will be lucky enough bring some awesome rocks and wood home too, so I can do a Alaska scape in a planted aquarium to help remember the trip!

Subscribed 4 SURE!!!

Keep up the AWESOME WORK!!!
Drew
 
#20 ·
If your coming to Alaska it will be impossible to not bring rocks back. I will go play frisby golf and end up emptying my bag of discs and filling it with rocks. Ill walk around with 8 frisbys in my hand and 50lbs of rock haha. Yeah its growing in rather nicely. Ill add another update shot tomorrow.
 
#23 ·
Nah, they all sold instantly. Sometime next week Ill be putting in another pallet order. I plan on doing mostly tanks and Power Sand. Its always fun with ADA pallets.
 
#26 ·
With my new job I am rarely in the shop. However, I am still the ADA purchaser. D, pick yourself up a book of ADA and p.m. me items you are interested in. We sell items WAY cheaper than any shop can ship them.

Beautiful job. Can't wait to see the plants filled in. Just a quick question tho. The distance between the top of the soil and the top of the water isn't that high, It won't take long for a trimmed stem to grow to the surface. Just wondering how you are going to trim those stems to make them look beautiful all the time. Not just for three days when they are at the perfect height. I only ask becuase I am running into this problem and I wondered what others do to make their trims look good.
Good question actually. I never considered this until yesterday when I did a water change. My stem plants behind the driftwood have already hit the surface. I plan on trimming this weekend and seeing what I can do. I almost think I should have gone with some swords and simply let them grow out of the aquarium.

As of right now there is good growth and no algae. I still have the lame heater and ugly CO2 tubbing. I have been swamped at work and to busy to get into the shop.

Here are some update shots:


You can see a new glosso bud in the front. The plant is slowly growing.
 
#25 ·
Beautiful job. Can't wait to see the plants filled in. Just a quick question tho. The distance between the top of the soil and the top of the water isn't that high, It won't take long for a trimmed stem to grow to the surface. Just wondering how you are going to trim those stems to make them look beautiful all the time. Not just for three days when they are at the perfect height. I only ask becuase I am running into this problem and I wondered what others do to make their trims look good.
 
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