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beardedcrow's 120 wide

2K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  BeardedCrow81 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello guys,
Simple 120 gallon that was meant for reef, is being used for freshwater and slowly (and hopefully) into a beautiful planted.

Update: 3/31/15

1st mistake of many, filling her up before anything was added.


Sellers pic:


The lighting: 500 watt MH, switched from 14k to 10k.


Growing some succulents inside canopy...


Floating some plants until gravel depth is deep enough



 
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#3 ·
So yesterday I added another 40 lbs of black gravel, and will probably be adding another 40 later this week when I can find some time.

Will be plc in an order for some anubias nanos, really love how they look, I think they will be the dominating plant in my tank.

Have some wood soaking in a unconnected sump, with a submersible carbon filter, it'll be a while before the wood is ready, water is rich of tea colors.
 
#5 ·
Check out the light spectrum on the bulbs. Mostly >= 10,000k. Not really the best choice for plants and more intended for reef tanks, that's why it's so blue.
I would recommend switching to a 5000-7000k spectrum bulb.
 
#7 ·
10000K is fine for growing plants so long as there is some red in its spectrum but your platy isn't showing her true color, that's for sure. If you prefer a blue tank then keep the 10000K bulbs. I really liked ADA's 8000K HQI but that is a DE, not a SE bulb.

How are you planning to keep algae from developing? Most I ever ran was 450 watts 16" over an 8' tank, you are doing double that. I like Anubias a lot too but they don't need a lot of light, perhaps you could cultivate light loving stems and/or floating plants that would dim the light enough that Anubias wouldn't get covered in GSA?
 
#9 ·
Update, found a dealer for ecoxotic e series near my home. Going on saturday to pick up. Selling the halides.

Hopefully by sunday I'll have a normal looking tank haha.


3 more anubias nanos on the way, and a bunch of lilies soaking in the sump waiting for spouts.

Bump:

Personally I love the look of anubias and crypts, i never hd any luck with thin plants, maybe now that I have more budget and help (this awesome forum), i can slowly learn to grow the harder aquarium plants. I have never successfully grown any carpeting plants, would the ecoxotic be able to grow carpet plants without co2? I barely know what ferts to use, still haven't gotten any ferts...
 
#8 ·
Well, the 500 watt metal halides are built into the canopy, two 250 watt bulbs are needed, otherwise only one side will be lit.

My canister has a UV built in at 9 watts, but will add another 24 watt external or internal,.

Also, I have a lot of lilies waiting to bloom, hopefully that could deflect a lot of light going into the tank.

I was thinking of buying a 6700 strip and using timer to grow lights while I'm at work, and only use the 10k metal halides for viewing...
 
#14 ·
Oh of course!

Now that my co2 is on the way, I'm looking at some carpeting plants, and red plants.
However I'm not too knowledgeable on high light plants.
Do some research and watch vids for plant types. Tropica.com is an amazing resource, has most plants and everything you need to know about them in one place.

It only took me about 2 months to be confident in my plant knowledge. Fun, too. :)
 
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