[j03yYunG]

Hey guys,

I’m new to planted tanks and this forum. I’ve been in the fish hobby for 17 years (on and off) and have had two 55 gallon tanks with just fish. In the past, I’ve tried integrating a few plants, but I’ve never gotten serious about aquascaping until recently.

I’ve upgraded to a 125 gallon and want to provide a well-planted home for my fish. After looking online for aquascaping inspiration, I’ve sketched out some ideas and am now starting to build my tank.

Here are some videos:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNCax2MgXFHYMsOTJdR54bMQBTXL7Mm3K

And the pictures:

 

[GMYukonon24s]

That's a nice hardscape! What do you plan on doing with the far right side of the tank?

 

[shawnleon]

I'm a huge fan of the modern look. The white stand and black tank are striking. The setup seems custom designed for a stone hard scape. I'm following along on your journey.

 

[Politikz_Amore]

Another superb hardscape

I know how fast the plant list can change as you start to shape things
up, but any ideas so far?

 

[Clemsons2k]

Thats going to look fantastic! Subbed

 

[j03yYunG]

That's a nice hardscape! What do you plan on doing with the far right side of the tank?

Thanks! The far right side will be all plants.

 

[j03yYunG]

I'm a huge fan of the modern look. The white stand and black tank are striking. The setup seems custom designed for a stone hard scape. I'm following along on your journey.

Thats going to look fantastic! Subbed

Another superb hardscape

I know how fast the plant list can change as you start to shape things
up, but any ideas so far?

Thank you guys!

shawnleon - yeah actually the stand was black originally. I decided to go white because of the modern/clean look to it. :angel:

Politikz_Amore - As for the plants, I had brought few (some swords, java fern, baby tear, java moss, these purple looking ones, theres more, but I forget). I'll be posting up new updates later tonight. Stay tune.

 

[shawnleon]

shawnleon - yeah actually the stand was black originally. I decided to go white because of the modern/clean look to it. :angel:

All of mine are black, but I really think you made an excellent choice.

 

[j03yYunG]

All of mine are black, but I really think you made an excellent choice.

You can do the same. Just buy some sand paper, primer and white paint. Thats how I did it.

 

[hisxlency]

Where did you get the stand? That thing is sweet!!

 

[j03yYunG]

Where did you get the stand? That thing is sweet!!

I got the stand with the tank. But I think it was just a normal perfecto stand.
This is what it looked like before I painted it and added in handles.

 

[j03yYunG]

The tank is fully planted with water, but I'm trying to get the youtube video uploaded as I post these updates here.

Here's a teaser.. :icon_roll

Here's a quick video on the plants I got for the tank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbIhsC6TXig&feature=youtu.be

 

[jczz1232]

Looking great

 

[j03yYunG]

Looking great

Thanks!

Here's a quick teaser clip of the tank until I finish uploading the real clip. I'll be in a few hours. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjyxnyXcqkI&feature=youtu.be

 

[j03yYunG]

Update!

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej23YaKd-I0&feature=youtu.be

Pictures:

 

[scapegoat]

excellent. this should look amazing once filled w/ water

 

[hecto33]

Good job starting up with a lot of plant matter, it'll really help with algae problems.

 

[j03yYunG]

Update Video:

Pictures:

 

[j03yYunG]

5/2 update:

It's been 3 weeks since I started the tank. I used ~10 gallons (every water change) of good tank water from my 20 gallon to help start the cycle the first week. All the plants melted except for the the ferns and swords. The HC and moss have been yellow since than... But I see new growth coming back. The Rotalas, Ludwigia and Limnophila hippuroides completely die off.. :icon_cry:

I added ~15 shrimp and 10 Neons (1st week), 15 white clouds and 10 zerbas (3rd week) to cycle the tank.

Had a nitrite spike and have been doing daily water change to control that.

Pictures:

 

[j03yYunG]

6/7 update -

HC carpet all died. The pleco kept uprooting them. Also its due to the T8 (50W) I had for the longest time. I finally was able to upgrade to LEDs a few weeks ago. So the plants are now slowly taking off. The Java Moss is taking forever to grow.

I added a few Discus in the tank and have been fighting some clamped fins and internal parasites with the fish.

They're going a lot better now.

Here's an updated video.