[nchumley]

Hey guys, been a lurker for quite awhile and thought I'd document my 55gal (2nd attempt at a tank). It's 4 weeks in and things seem to be flourishing and my few small fish seem VERY happy and active.

Flora:
Bronze wendtii
Red cabomba (previously unknown, thanks Alistair-T!)
Blyxa japonica
Christmas moss

Fauna:
4x Siamese algae eaters
4x Otos
2x Assassin Snails


Here's the view from the front:

I realize it's a little bare, but I've got high hopes that the cabomba will grow into a lush background. Any other suggestions for other plants to fill in with? Here's some closer pics of the plants:

The otos were happily sunning themselves during the shoot and the Assassin snail even made an appearance!

As for equipment, pretty much all of it is from Craigslist here around Indy, with the exception of the CO2 tank and Eheim 1250 hobby pump (both from eBay). I even traded an old Ipod nano for the entire tank and stand setup! And a big shout out to nonconductive for hooking me up with some great substrate that I'm still using over a year later!

Equipment:
2x54w T5HO Hagen Glo Lamps and enclosure
10lb CO2 tank w/ Rex Griggs reactor
Eheim 2236 Ecco Pro for biofiltration
Eheim 1250 Hobby pump to drive the in-line heater and Griggs reactor (it slows down flow ALOT and was straining the 2236 on my original 55gal)

Substrate is 2 inches of Miracle Gro organic mixed with organic topsoil, then capped with 2 inches of black aquariumplants.com substrate.

Thanks to all of you who have posted and shared knowledge over the years! I love this hobby and the community here is great. I'll be posting more updates in the future as the tank evolves. I'd also love to hear critques/suggestions from you guys!

 

[wkndracer]

haha nice!

join the dirt club :hihi:

 

[Alastair-T]

It looks nice so far. How about getting some blyxa japonica to soften up around the front of the wood on the right?
The red tipped plant, to me looks like red cabomba not rotala. Or am I looking at the wrong plant ha ha. Some rotala sp and limnophila aromatica along the back would look nice also.

 

[accordztech]

A background would make that tank pop out. Since you got black gravel, maybe a low blue background.

 

[nchumley]

The red tipped plant, to me looks like red cabomba not rotala. .

Ah, I'm pretty sure you are correct... I misheard the LFS guy when he sold it to me I guess. I'll change it, and thanks so much!

 

[Amazonfish]

It's looking great! What about a carpet plant for the front? Staurogyne species are pretty low maintenance in my experience. They don't grow lightning fast and they're not annoying to trim, like some carpet plants (HC, UG, where all the pieces end up all over the place).

I'm looking forward to seeing how things grow in!