CO2 EQUIPMENT:
10# aluminum tank. Concoa 2 stage reg. Post body kit built by Yikesjason, 3 way manifold w/ 3 NV55's and 3 JBJ BC's, 6 total brass check valves. ISTA CO2 indicator. Rex style reactor. This set up will eventually be supplying my 2 10g's and my 55g.
SCAPE EQUIPMENT:
Slim Line background bought online. Manzanita from PC1
SUBSTRATE:
27L of Aquasoil
FERTZ:
EI Dry dosing and RM root tabs
FILTRATION:
2 Rena XP3'S
FAUNA:
will house RCS and about 100 chili's (not concrete yet)
FLORA:
Still undecided...
Pics:
I also have a build thread on TPT which i'm not sure if i'm able to link to here but if i can i will edit this post and provide it. It shows the stands being built and such. It's pretty pic intensive though, lol.
Wow dude. I'm excited to see this one develop! Beautiful wood and arrangement. That manzy makes your 55 look like a 90. Are you planning on having any stone in your setup? Also any flora in mind?
thanks Dan. I was unsure of any stones but i kind of feel like it does need some, i'm just not sure where. Maybe on the left right in front of the Manzanita? As far as Flora i was going to try to get a full Hemianthus callitrichoides carpet going. Maybe some:
Echinodorus Angustifolia
Anubias barteri 'Petite' (maybe)
Hottonia palustris
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Limnophila aromatica (i just love the color of this plant!)
maybe a few more but i do not want to have this tank as a collectoritis tank, lol. I will have to narrow down what it is i want from this at the end of the day. thanks for the subscription.
Everything went without a hitch, the reactor was spilling a lot of bubbles at first but is doing great now. My ISTA is turning a nice light green almost yellow .
Looks great. I love your wood placement and the background is killer. The only suggestion I could offer is the right side. The plant on the left is taking away from your beautiful wood. Great start though. I'll be watching this one!
You know i had the same feeling. I just really want to use that plant but not sure where to put it. It definitely takes from the look of the wood. You almost can't tell it's coming down from the top because of it. good eye and thanks, i just don't know where i will put it.
Looking good there Rick. I would say move that plant to the back center, otherwise maybe out of the tank all together if it takes that much away from the wood?
thanks, i was thinking of putting it in the left corner since it's so broad leafed and maybe it will cover the filter intake better than the sunset i currently have there.
It looks very good for a hard tank to scape with. If it's possible, can you PM me the price you paid for your driftwood? I am also looking to buy some wood for my 55 as well....
the tank is fairly new so it's difficult to say. I had both these xp3's on my 125 and it wasn't enough IMO. But, for the 55 it seems like it creates great circulation. I'm still seeing if there are dead spots that will need a power head or something.
I can just imagine lol. Plus, that canopy is a PITA to take off which i will have to do in order to get closer to the foreground. I really appreciate the great deal on the HC though man. Even if you get the glosso i will hook you up with some down the line so that you can grow it emmersed and give someone else a good deal because Lord knows i can't grow anything emmersed, lol.
Hey Rick...I thought I commented on another journal thread for this tank but I guess you started another one? Anyway, great tank and hardscape. To be honest, I didn't really like manzy before this tank but it looks great in yours! I'm also glad you are going to use a foreground plant. I also think that the large plant on the right distracts but I think another alternative spot could be under the piece on the right so that the wood would be shading it a little and visible. Just a thought. That way you could also keep the hygro where it is.
This is what it looks like under the tank. The PVC pipe running diagonally isn't the reactor. the reactor is actually screwed into the back left side of the stand. i can take pics of the back side as well to see the plumbing.
you asked and i shall oblige roud:
Thanks to Anthony my back has been hurting since yesterday. Planting HC is not fun...
I got the HC planted and the Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' and i also would have had the Bacopa Caroliniana & Limnophila aromatica planted in there as well but USPS decided to send a package that was shipped no more than 50 miles away through TEXAS!!!.... Go figure.
It's really worth agreeing on the wood again. Looks great! Nice backround too.
Seeing this makes me really want a tank with about 3'-4' depth (front-to-rear).
The HC was a pain for me even with the DSM, seperating it as much as possible. If I were ever to plant it underwater, I'm pretty sure it would remain in planter-sized clumps.
I've been reading about the start up of a new tank and how it is usually prone to algae. I must say i am experiencing something along those lines. I believe it might be brown diatoms. It literally looks like dirt stuck on the plants. I would introduce Otto's to clean it up but the tank is still having the ammonia spike from the AS. Do i simply ignore it for now?
Also, the manzanita is leaching so bad that after a WC the water changes to the yellowish color within two days! :drool:
I'm still guessing all of this is normal and i hope it will go away. The plants seem to be doing excellent quite honestly. I did have to add 2 powerheads that look super out of place but since they are temporary i really don't mind.
I plan on buying two Koralia's and was wondering if any of you could recommend one that isn't too powerful for a 55g. One of the power heads is so strong that when i came back from work it had created a huge crater in the AS, lol. My HC did not really appreciate it.
I'm sorry I can't help on the algae, but I'm hoping some experience will flow in because I'll be watching closely. I'm not going to be too far behind you... ...and I already have algae before flooding.
Rick,
The brown algea most likely is the diatom variety. Between my 1 bristlenose, 1 otto and one algea eating shrimp, they cleaned up all of it in about 2 days and it hasn't been back since. I just wish they hadn't eaten it off of the white pvc tubes for my bottom current! What are your Ammonia readings at? I wouldn't be against putting in 1 or 2 ottos and see how they do.
all the plants that i wanted got planted on 2-3-11 except for the downoi. I wasn't able to acquire that as of yet.
and a shot from today. sry but it wasn't the greatest pic due to the reflection. Also, those power heads will not remain there, i will get a couple of koralia's to blend in better:
here are a few shots i took a few days ago showing the L/M/R sides:
i just recently started dosing iron chelate 13% and today when i came home i noticed that my tank was super cloudy. i turned on the lights and it wasn't green cloudiness, it just looked like if it was dirt cloudiness. is this normal for start up tanks and/or when dosing iron? I follow EI dry dosed
If you mix iron with phosphorus (KH2PO4) you get iron phosphate, which turns your water cloudy and is not beneficial for your plants. Wait at least a day in between the two doses.
I hope that HC does well for you! It is a wonderful plant once it takes hold.
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