[ctaylor3737]

Hello everyone!

I have been in the background pouring over the wealth of information on here for some time and have never really talked to much on here. I am right in the middle of my 90 gallon planted freshwater build.

90 Gallon tank
Fluval 406
Eheim 2075
Aqueon 55/75
48'' 4 Bulb T5 Lights
Pressurized Co2
Flourish Ferts
Eco-Complete Substrate
Custom Oak Stand
2- 300 Watt Heaters

I am currently doing a fishless cycle with some media from my 55 gallon tank so it is about mid cycle I would say. I have picked up a 24W UV sterilizer today, don't really need it but was a steal. I am currently looking into some custom LED's if I can ever decide on a decent set that won't break my bank. I plan on having a lot of plants and discus in the tank.

I will start From the beginning and post some pictures of the stand that I put together. I got the Oak from an old 1800 church that was tore down a few years ago. Still working on the cabinet doors yet. Took some work but I am happy with the results. I have also did some custom plumbing and in the works of putting a spray bar together to help with the flow.

I got this tank for a steal it was only $50 the LFS sold it to someone who filled it in their garage and it was wintertime and there was condensation on the outside of the tank. He took this as it was leaking and told the LFS that it was leaking so they marked it down without filling it up. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it so I got a deal!
This is just a few there will be more to come when I get the pictures off of my phone!

New Pics:

I added an old light under my stand and I must say its a great idea. I can now see under there fully, it helps when your setting stuff up to have a good light under there.

 

[ctaylor3737]

Does anyone have any comments about my build? I am also wondering how everyone plumbs their returns for two canisters. Could you run these through a large spraybar? I don't want to mess with the intakes but would like to just have one return. Nothing major just a thought to cut down on some pipes in the back.

 

[Pg6922]

Looks like your off to a good start. I find it helps to decide what kind of fish you want to stock with. This can help to decide on your hard scape. The boulders should be grouped together in odd numbers as a start. Then decide what plants you want or have access to and go from there. Most fish are described as needing space to swim in the middle, so try to leave the middle open. You probably don't need so many rocks unless you plan on doing Rams or Kribs.

As far as spray bars go, there are lots of things you can do with PVC pipe.

A dark background can help to add contrast to the fish and plants.

Most importantly, you need to like the way it looks. If you love looking at it every day, then it's perfect.

Good luck and keep up with your progress pics.


Patrick

 

[ctaylor3737]

Thanks for the reply, I am still moving stuff around and deciding on placement. I put the rocks in there just to start with some ideas. I will drain it when I get all the pieces and plants here together. Just wanted to make sure the tank was holding up good.

Never know at first how used tanks will hold up, put some stuff in there to test the seams and make sure everything is ok before I just into the scape.
I will keep the pictures coming.

 

[ctaylor3737]

Here is a current picture of my build. I am probably going to remove some of the rocks here today. I am not sure that I like them just yet. I found some interesting driftwood I am trying out in there. Well see how it goes, I am sure you all are like me my idea will change by the end of the day. I added a few bags of Eco-Complete and have most of my Co2 hooked up, have to go get my tank later today.

 

[ForensicFish]

Before you start removing or adding your hardscape take a second and think about what you envision for this tank. It is much much easier to scape and plant while the tank is empty and you do not have any fauna. As Pg9622 stated, figure out what fish and plants you want to keep. If you desire to keep certain plants, than your fish selection will change and vice versa.

As for plants, do you have the correct lighting for certain species? Are you going to be dosing ferts or do you want this a low maintenance tank? And you will definitely want to have your CO2 dialed in before you add fish or shrimp.

You are already in the process of cycling your tank since it is full so I would recommend patience at this point. The more time you take, the research you do and the more planning you do ahead of time will make it all that much more worth it in the end.

As far as your actual scape, its your tank. Asking for suggestions is great and almost everyone one on this forum is wonderful regarding tips and helpful suggestions. But at the end of the day, its your tank. Welcome to the planted tank world. You now have a hobby for the rest of life. Enjoy it.

 

[ctaylor3737]

So was a very busy day! Luckily I was off of work so it worked out great. I got my Co2 final piece in the mail. I also got the plants that I ordered in the mail today! I had a lot of work to do and little time though. I got most of them in the water and they look great! I will post the pictures of the plants. They handled the snow storm we are having up here in New York better than I thought.

I am going to do some rearranging tomorrow, I also got to grab another bag of substrate. I am a little low in some spots could use another layer in places. I also added a small LED light that I picked up from someone on CL. Nothing to crazy but will supplement my T5s. The red in these plants are already awesome, hopefully will deepen with some ferts and Co2! More to come!

I also added in a black background. I just used a piece of thin 1/4 luan sheeting leftover from the stand that I just spray painted black. It was cheap and looks awesome, the dark background hid a lot of my plumbing and focuses the attention on the tank. Highly recommend doing something like this. I was going to paint it but wanted something quick to take out if I needed to. I taped along the top with some packing tape to prevent water from dripping down behind the board.

 

[ctaylor3737]

Well here is more progress pictures, I added my Brazilian Sword today and finally got all my plants in place where I like them. Still might have a little bit of tweaking to do but should be alright. The pics are a little foggy due to all the movement I caused when I was moving the plants around. It is about cleared up finally. I am very happy with the outcome of this tank, the quality and colors of the plants are amazing. I will have to see how well they handle and grow. I will post more pictures of their progress here soon!!! Hope you guys enjoy the pictures as much as I had fun taking them.

 

[HybridHerp]

Hate to burst your bubble, but I can tell you that at least one of your plants isn't aquatic. Brazilian swords are the same as peace lilly, they can survive with their roots underwater but the whole plant cannot be submerged.

I'd remove that asap before it melts and you have a giant mess. While you are at it, you should list the other plants you have as some of them look a little questionable to me.

 

[ctaylor3737]

Yes unfortunately that is right, its such a nice plant. It was an impulse buy yesterday when I went to get a large amazon sword. I thought when I seen it wasn't right, I even asked the guy like 4 times what it was. I normally wont buy anything without looking it up a few times. Oh well gotta learn somehow, I will probably just put this one in a pot it really is a beautiful plant. The guy I go to has some of the largest swords I can find in my area. He doesn't usually have to many different kinds, I was surprised when I seen this yesterday.

Ill post the names of the other ones, they are all from an online store and I researched them all. I will definantly give him a call to before he sells them to other people. Thanks for the info saved me some grief of watching it die.

 

[ctaylor3737]

Well figured I would add some new photos, my 8 discus finally came in! It has been over a week now and they are thriving. I want to break out the good camera soon and take some better pictures. They are doing great and are eating awesome!

 

[ctaylor3737]

Got some updates to the tank! I made the background white finally got it done today, I had a blowout on one of my pipes I have to replace it tomorrow. It was my fault I moved it a little to far :-(. I got my EB Rams in there also they finally are being social. My discus are super friendly and have taken a liking to me. They will all rub against my hand when I but it in there even after I feed them! I am liking how this tank is coming together. One of these days Ill find my charger for my camera and take some better pictures.

Also does anyone know what kind of algae is on my moss? It seems to be doing really bad and is not growing much. I havent seen this happen before and want to make sure its safe to leave in there.

 

[ctaylor3737]

Got a few new pictures, discus are thriving! So is my plants, I completely ripped everything out today and adjusted some of the plants and removed ones that weren't doing so well. I received my micro minuta here yesterday so I planted it and should have a great start at a carpet! It is turning out very well I am happy for now lol.