CL's GLA 48 Gallon Rimless- La vida es sueño- Plant growth update 11-14

[CL]

La vida es sueño

Ok, here I go. I changed my mind. This 40 breeder is going to be a planted tank.
Before I get all excited about that stuff, I need to buy all of the equipment .

I'm only going to go with an eheim 2217, or an XP3, but I will have a koralia 2 in there to help out on flow.

I'm going to get a fancy CO2 regulator from GLA! Standard 5 lb tank, maybe a 10 lb-er if I can get a good price on one.

Aquasoil amazonia I. A catalina t5ho 39Wx4 fixture with only 2 or 3 bulbs in, suspended over the tank (even though it's not rimless ), and most likely a regular ceramic diffuser, maybe an in-line diffuser.

35-40 rummy nose tetras, a trio of SAEs (maybe, I haven't made up my mind on if I want moss or not. Has anyone ever had a sae that didn't eat moss?), snowball shrimp, and amanos in there as well as some otos (maybe I'll have better luck with them this time)

Possible plants include:
eleocharis 'belem;
rotala 'colorata'
anubias 'petite'
java fern'trident'
java fern 'needle leaf'
ludwigia guinea 'broadleaf'
bolbitis
downoi
maybe some hm or lawnmarsh pennywort.

Well, enough talk, here's the progress so far

Originally Posted by CL

(click the ">" to skip all of the prejournal)

No, it will not stay in the corner like that

So here's my potential budget

• GLA 91L
• Stand
• GLA CO2 Regulator
• Manzanita
• CO2 Cylinder
• GLA Black Substrate ~ IDK
• Eheim 2217 - $150
• CO2 diffuser ~ $30
• Catalina T5HO - $250

Getting there!

[hydrophyte]

Nice work. You've been busy. 40-50 little fish in there would look fantastic.

What exactly is the "$50 bag of sand"? I am in the middle of trying to select a sand and I think I've settled on this stuff:

http://www.adgshop.com/PhotoGallery....Code=104%2D075

I might also blend in some of their "Nile Sand" for a more natural mixture of particle sizes. Those ADA decorative substrates are really pretty affordable, even with shipping.

[@marko@]

YEAH CL!!!!
40 gallons!
that sounds awesome. i have some E. belem thats been growing emersed for a while. i have no idea how its doing for the bast 4 weeks (have been away). but it should still be there and have grown when i come back on the 15th (the plant is uber hardy). look me up when your ready for some. i can also send some cabomba fructa if you want (if mine is still growing like it is now when you are ready). its a really nice red plant, and IMO the hardiest.

[Kayen]

Get it up and going Chris.
Why not add some laquer, make the stand more prettier.

Schoool if little fish would be awesome!

Can't wait.

[CL]

Thanks for all of the comments guys! I'm getting so excited about this tank.

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

Nice work. You've been busy. 40-50 little fish in there would look fantastic.

What exactly is the "$50 bag of sand"? I am in the middle of trying to select a sand and I think I've settled on this stuff:

http://www.adgshop.com/PhotoGallery....Code=104%2D075

I might also blend in some of their "Nile Sand" for a more natural mixture of particle sizes. Those ADA decorative substrates are really pretty affordable, even with shipping.

Yeah, I hope I can actually get around to ordering 40-50 of them. I can be pretty cheap.
My sand is for salt water set-ups. Sorry

Originally Posted by @marko@

YEAH CL!!!!
40 gallons!
that sounds awesome. i have some E. belem thats been growing emersed for a while. i have no idea how its doing for the bast 4 weeks (have been away). but it should still be there and have grown when i come back on the 15th (the plant is uber hardy). look me up when your ready for some. i can also send some cabomba fructa if you want (if mine is still growing like it is now when you are ready). its a really nice red plant, and IMO the hardiest.

Yeah! awesomeness! I'm going to need a while to get the money together for the AS, and I might do a temporary light and grow it emersed. I need to buy stones too. I forgot to put that in the budget.

Originally Posted by Kayen

Get it up and going Chris.
Why not add some laquer, make the stand more prettier.

Schoool if little fish would be awesome!

Can't wait.

The stand is shiny enough already lol. And I'm too cheap (and out of money) to buy any more stuff for it.

[chonhzilla]

Gotta love them 40g breeders!

[CL]

Originally Posted by chonhzilla

Gotta love them 40g breeders!

Oh, I have always wanted one

[@marko@]

you can get off a lot cheaper if you buy rocks from a collectors store and not a fish store. you just have to know whats safe to put in a tank.

[CL]

Originally Posted by @marko@

you can get off a lot cheaper if you buy rocks from a collectors store and not a fish store. you just have to know whats safe to put in a tank.

There is a bonsai store in louisville (45 minute drive, each way). I was thinking about calling them tomorrow and seeing if they have anything.

[Francis Xavier]

Just remember you're going to need larger rocks than you think you're going to need - so buy bigger than you would otherwise. For iwagumi, I'd also suggest that the rocks determine what plants would be ideal instead of plant - then rock, this way you can get the best out of your stones. Contrary to popular belief you can use quite a wide range of plants in an iwagumi, the key here is just that they work well with each other and the stones vs. being jungle mass. Less is more, etc.

[CL]

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

Just remember you're going to need larger rocks than you think you're going to need - so buy bigger than you would otherwise. For iwagumi, I'd also suggest that the rocks determine what plants would be ideal instead of plant - then rock, this way you can get the best out of your stones. Contrary to popular belief you can use quite a wide range of plants in an iwagumi, the key here is just that they work well with each other and the stones vs. being jungle mass. Less is more, etc.

Thanks for the tip. I was hoping that you would chime in. I was hoping to buy large rocks, I love the soft look of hairgrass, and have wanted to keep it again ever since I tore down my first planted tank.
I will be having some stems in the back, most likely. I'm kinda wondering how I am going to accomplish this successfully. I guess I'll have to break out the aquajournal, wherever it is.

[Francis Xavier]

For hairgrass, the best stone by and far to use is shou stone. Shou stone and hair grass is a marriage made in heaven. In fact I'd say there is no other stone and plant combination better suited for each other than shou and hair grass.

[legomaniac89]

When you're ready for the Eleocharis Belem, you know where to look . I have lots, and it's spreading like wildfire.

And for the Briggitaes. They're some of my favorite fish.

[malaybiswas]

CL, may I make some suggestions?

- Consider yamaya stone or chinese zebra rock. Nice textures like seiryu or manten but cheaper so you can get more for the same price + they are inert.

- Have you considered Eheim Ecco? Ecco 2332 from drfostersmith is cheaper than 2217 and the biggest difference is the auto priming feature. Performance wise both are equally good in my experience.

Everything else looks good so far. Excited to see how this come along.

[cah925]

Very nice stand! 40 B's are one of my favorite tanks. I'm looking forward to seeing this one evolve.