53 Gallon Planted Tank - Journal

[EntoCraig]

**There will be lots of pics through this entire thread!**
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So I figured I would do a little Journal for this tank, as I just started setting it up.

Currently I have 2 planed 29 gallon tanks, and a 20 gallon that is holding some plants for me. I really wanted to set up an epic planted tank, with enough room to have a nice scape and some larger fish. I snagged this odd sized tank from local hobbyist It is 53 gallons (48"x15"x17"). Included was a nice inline heater as well as a Nice 3 tube T8 fixture.

A Friend helped me construct an awesome Stand/Rack to hold all of my tanks, including this one.

Next my wife painted that back and sides of the tank for me.

Next came the Eco complete. I was on the fence about what type of gravel to use for a while. You can go really cheap, or really expensive, but the margin of difference in the products wasn't enough to sway me either way. I settled on Eco complete. It contains fully inert particles, as well as porous particles that will hold nutrient to utilized by the plants. I also like its inconsistency in size which gives it a more natural look, as well as helps keep the plants secure until they establish better roots. I purchased 3 new bags online, and 5 gallons of used Eco complete from another local hobbyist. I baked the used stuff just to be on the safe side, though I doubt I would have gotten anything from his tank.

Next I needed some nice wood. Manazita has always been a favorite of mine, but locating it is difficult and having it shipped in can get expensive. Luckily, a local Dart Frog hobbyist had a good source and offered to snag me some pieces on his next visit. He brought back some pieces that far exceeded my expectations!

Finally, I needed some rock work that would be interesting, but also help me maintain water chemistry. I chose lace rock for a few reasons. one, its is simply incredible stuff. Its very interesting, and easy to stack however you want without looking unnatural. Second, it is generally inert and will have little no no effect on the water chemistry. I picked these up at a local shop (The Fish Hub) who has always been good to me.

Here is the general scape:




Plants, fish and updates will be coming in a few weeks!

[JasonG75]

Looks like a really nice start. I guess I missed or didn't see filter options, but you're going to have some dead space in the center of the tank (because of the width) so you might want to think about that as well.

[EntoCraig]

Filter will be an Ehiem 2217.

I currently have the tank filled and have a power head on the opposite side of where the filter is going. So far, it appears that there are no dead spots with the power head alone, so I believe once I add the Ehiem, the circulation will be pristine!

[2in10]

Beautiful start

[EntoCraig]

Thanks!

[EntoCraig]

Turns out my equipment should be in some time this week, so updates may come sooner then expected.

So does anyone know of a local store that would carry a 5500K pinkish colored bulb? I found my 6500K's at Lowes for cheap, but they didn't have a 5500K. I may just have to purchase one online and pay the extra $...

[EntoCraig]

Plants are in...

I planted a bunch of crypt species including parva, wendtii (bronze, green, brown, gecko) , walkeri, and a couple others I forgot that look like large parva.

I also planted Some lowgrow Hygro, staurogyne repens, needle leaf java fern, fissedens fontanis, and a few stems of Glosso for gee-wiz.

I threw in a few Penguin Tetras, SAE's, a ram and my Rio Jarro Pleco (Hypancistrus sp.) for now. I will ad a few more SAE's and some wild Brazilian Angels next weekend if the tank stays stable.

Tanks is a little cloudy from initial setup, but here it is (please excuse the water spots.)

[nonconductive]

looks awesome!

[EntoCraig]

Thanks, now I get to watch the crypts melt :lol:

[EntoCraig]

Hopefully Ill be snagging a 5500K bulb this weekend

[Craigthor]

Looking great!

Craig

[Hyzer]

I really like the hardscape and use of crypts in the background. They will be perfect for a tank with these dimensions. Looking forward to seeing this thing progress.

[EntoCraig]

Yeah I'm kinda a crypt junky... Speaking of dimensions, I realized I have not listed them above. I'll list them.

[Hyzer]

Originally Posted by EntoCraig

Yeah I'm kinda a crypt junky... Speaking of dimensions, I realized I have not listed them above. I'll list them.

Same here. I recently pulled out a bunch of stems and replaced them with several types of crypts.

I was looking for the dimensions as well. Don't see many 53 gallons.

[EntoCraig]

First one I have ever seen Came from LA.

I posted the dimensions in the original post.

Yeah this tank is basically stemless, except for some lowgrow hygro which is mostly for contrast, plus it wont grow tall.