Joined
·
63 Posts
Hey guys,
I've been a lurker for quite some time and really love watching the progress of your tanks. So I finally got the courage to signup and post my current setup. Hopefully I can get some advice on how I can better my current situation.
I have a 55g tank that has been up and running for about 5 years now. It has had plants before but they would always just die off and be replaced with new ones. This was due to insufficient lighting and not keeping an eye on the water parameters.
So I finally took the plunge and got the bare essentials to hopefully keep my plants alive, and potentially allow them to grow.
Stock Overview:
Here's a breakdown of what I'm working with...
Tank: 55g
Filters: 2x Whisper 40i's
Lighting: 2x Flora Sun 25 Watt Bulbs + Dual Lamp T5 HO @ 78 Watts
Suppliments: Flourish Excel + Big Als Multi Purpose Plant Food Supplement
Fish:
1x Polypterus Senegalus (This guy was paralyzed from his front fins back, but somehow is recovering and eating like crazy)
3x Electric Yellow Cichlid
1x Bolivian Ram Cichlid
1x Demasons Cichlid
1x Unknown Cichlid (white body with blue stripes)
Found This Photo Online, this is the guy that gets picked on, anybody know the species?
1x Vampire Shrimp
4x Mystery Snails
I've had alot of problems with the Demasons picking on the unknown cichlid so I think i'm going to take him back in the next few days so that there is peace in the tank.
I didn't think the Polyp was going to make it so I got the cichlids but now that he's getting better I'm going to have to make a choice on what to keep or else everything will become food when this guy gets bigger.
The Vampire Shrimp has been around for 2 years and he loves to hang out in his 2 caves fanning for food all day.
Plants: I have no clue, I hope to get some good pictures tommorow and hopefully you guys can help me identify them. Then we can figure out what will grow well and what I probably should take out.
Substrate: Unfortunately I was not aware that there are special substrates for helping plants grow more efficiently until it was too late. Hopefully this won't be a huge hurdle, but I'd love to get your opinions on that.
Weekly Routine:
Daily: 1 Cap full of Flourish Excel + Lights on From 10am to 9pm
Every Thursday: 50% Water Change + 3 Cap Fulls of Big Als Multi Purpose Plant Food Supplement.
There's not much else I do to the tank, I also gravel vac with the 50% change and top off the tank every few days because I'm working with no top.
I would love to know what can be added or changed to my routine & equipment to help improve the well being of my tank and stock.
I will get some pictures of all the plants tomorrow morning and hopefully we can figure out what were working with. I'm looking forward to sharing my newly formed passion and hopefully I can post some successful progress shots over the next few months.
Thanks for looking,
Mario
I've been a lurker for quite some time and really love watching the progress of your tanks. So I finally got the courage to signup and post my current setup. Hopefully I can get some advice on how I can better my current situation.
I have a 55g tank that has been up and running for about 5 years now. It has had plants before but they would always just die off and be replaced with new ones. This was due to insufficient lighting and not keeping an eye on the water parameters.
So I finally took the plunge and got the bare essentials to hopefully keep my plants alive, and potentially allow them to grow.
Stock Overview:
Here's a breakdown of what I'm working with...
Tank: 55g


Filters: 2x Whisper 40i's
Lighting: 2x Flora Sun 25 Watt Bulbs + Dual Lamp T5 HO @ 78 Watts

Suppliments: Flourish Excel + Big Als Multi Purpose Plant Food Supplement

Fish:
1x Polypterus Senegalus (This guy was paralyzed from his front fins back, but somehow is recovering and eating like crazy)
3x Electric Yellow Cichlid
1x Bolivian Ram Cichlid
1x Demasons Cichlid
1x Unknown Cichlid (white body with blue stripes)
Found This Photo Online, this is the guy that gets picked on, anybody know the species?

1x Vampire Shrimp
4x Mystery Snails
I've had alot of problems with the Demasons picking on the unknown cichlid so I think i'm going to take him back in the next few days so that there is peace in the tank.
I didn't think the Polyp was going to make it so I got the cichlids but now that he's getting better I'm going to have to make a choice on what to keep or else everything will become food when this guy gets bigger.
The Vampire Shrimp has been around for 2 years and he loves to hang out in his 2 caves fanning for food all day.
Plants: I have no clue, I hope to get some good pictures tommorow and hopefully you guys can help me identify them. Then we can figure out what will grow well and what I probably should take out.
Substrate: Unfortunately I was not aware that there are special substrates for helping plants grow more efficiently until it was too late. Hopefully this won't be a huge hurdle, but I'd love to get your opinions on that.
Weekly Routine:
Daily: 1 Cap full of Flourish Excel + Lights on From 10am to 9pm
Every Thursday: 50% Water Change + 3 Cap Fulls of Big Als Multi Purpose Plant Food Supplement.
There's not much else I do to the tank, I also gravel vac with the 50% change and top off the tank every few days because I'm working with no top.
I would love to know what can be added or changed to my routine & equipment to help improve the well being of my tank and stock.
I will get some pictures of all the plants tomorrow morning and hopefully we can figure out what were working with. I'm looking forward to sharing my newly formed passion and hopefully I can post some successful progress shots over the next few months.
Thanks for looking,
Mario