# my 72 gallon planted tank



## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

so after much thought i decided to sell off all my lava and lace rock and go the planted tank route

i'm still new at this so i just tossed the plants into the tank to let them grow a bit while i try and gather ideas on how to actually scape this

i want something that looks natural on a tight budget (I blame having kids)

lights are 4xt5ho 2x6500k and 2x10000k (soon to be replacing the 10000k with something around 5000k)

i dose flourish comp twice a week
i have flourish potassium, iron, phosphorous, and nitrogen ( no idea when to really dose those
and i have a DIY co2 paintball system dropping 3bps (again not really sure what i'm doing here lol)

so far plants have been growing remarkably quick
with the exception of my jungle vals ( i blame too much flow from my filters spraybar)

plant stock consists of
Vallisneria Gigantea
vallisneria Torta
Java Fern
Hygrophila Polysperma
Amazon Swords 
Crinum thaianum
i have just recenly bought some Elodea and Crinum Calamistratum
anyway within 3 weeks the growth in the tank has been remarkable









this is the tank 3 weeks ago


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

this is my tank now
lol please excuse the mess in teh tank
i have amazon swords floating at the top lol and a pot of crinium and a bunch of elodea lol


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

if anyone could give me some suggestions on how to scape this tank i'd love u forever


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## Antoine Doinel (Dec 20, 2010)

I'd get a little more brown in there. With the sand, piranhas, and swords, you're already going with an Amazon theme. if you've seen any photos/videos though, you'll know it's pretty hard to recreate that environment all that accurate unless you want to be looking at dark brown water.

Instead, I'd try and create an overall Amazon/South American theme. Work with what you have and maybe try some crypts for the foreground. Cryptocoryne wendtii are fairly easy to grow and have a nice dark green colour. I think what you should be going for is a nice mix of bright green, dark green, and brown.

I normally hate those fake fake ornaments, but I actually think that it kind of works in this case.

This link has some really beautiful Amazon tanks for you to get inspired by
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/travel/Gallade_Max_Ntl_Aquarium_Baltimore.html


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

now all i gotta do is find wendii crypt somewhat local lol

anyone in scarb-durham have any ?? lol


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

I have a question... how do you plant a tank with piranhas? Don't they try to bite your hand?


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

they dont even come close to my hands to be honest
i usually give them a big feeding before working on the plants
it puts them into that christmas dinner coma we all have come to experience

they arent as ferocious as people make them out to be
quite the opposite 

they are very skittish and are more scared of you then you are of them


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## Antoine Doinel (Dec 20, 2010)

The best place for wendtii around here is Vandermeers in Ajax. They're a nursery, but carry some water plants, and immersed plants that will grow submersed. Not a huge selection, but they do carry wentii red, and for $6, you get about ten times the amount you'd get for that price at any fish/pet store.

Stock may be a little low this time of year, but they should have some. I know I've bought some in the winter before.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

I can set you up with some crypt wendtii see pm.


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## Antoine Doinel (Dec 20, 2010)

I was in the area so I stopped by Vandermeers today. No aquatic plants, but there were some beautiful large driftwood pieces that would look amazing in a 72 gallon. Prices were $7 - $15 for pieces that ranged from a foot to several feet. It would take a little work boiling and probably wouldn't sink for a while, but it would make one hell of a centerpiece.

This gives you a pretty good idea of what it looks like


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

so i just did a small rescape with the plants i had 
they'll need to grow since i just chopped them lol
planning on getting some wendtii this weekend
and possibly some pygmy chain swords??
not sure all i know is there is a lot of open space that i need to fill

again suggestions are much appreciated


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## Antoine Doinel (Dec 20, 2010)

Looks good so far. Once your current plants fill out more and hide the back of the tank, it will look even better.

I'd work on your foreground. The crypts will help, but you can also try dwarf sag. Both spread quite easily.

In any case, let the plants fill the tank in for you. It will take patience, but eventually you'll get that nice lush jungle look.


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## tranceaddict (Apr 3, 2011)

Sik tank, awesome red bellys


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

just bout me a Wendtii sp Tropica, some pygmy chain swords and some ludwigia repens

once i plant them i'll snap a few more pics


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

finally got around to planting the rest of my plants
figured i'd let this all grow out and see where it goes from there

however i'm thinking of getting another background plant to cover the inlet pipes to my filter and to add some colour to that end of the tank since vals seem to be pretty thin and don't really offer enough to cover the rear of that end of the tank

any suggestions???
or should i just leave it the way it is???
Whoops just realize i have some amazon sword plantlets floating on the left side of the tank


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Antoine Doinel said:


> I was in the area so I stopped by Vandermeers today. No aquatic plants, but there were some beautiful large driftwood pieces that would look amazing in a 72 gallon. Prices were $7 - $15 for pieces that ranged from a foot to several feet. It would take a little work boiling and probably wouldn't sink for a while, but it would make one hell of a centerpiece.
> 
> This gives you a pretty good idea of what it looks like


Dude looks so sad.....


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## mauve (Apr 12, 2010)

rubadub said:


> any suggestions???


getting rid of that scull "center piece" would be a HUGE improvement 
If not, then adding a miniature rusty lawn chair, a couple of beer cans and
a plastic pirate ship would complete the picture! Just go all the way!


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

lol its only in there till my pygmy chains start spreading out 
which to my amazement is happening faster then i anticipated


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

4 days planted and soo much growth 








my tenellus is spreading like crazy lol


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

a few updates
i've pruned this twice since my last post

need to get in there and prune it again however i injured myself at work and cant reach into the tank to trim

















was thinking of scrapping all the vallis on the left side and going a different route
probably another branchy dw and a few more steams to hide the filter intake

again any planting suggestions are always welcome

thanks


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

new update 
got rid of all the vals
and decided to make the egeria densa a floater till i can figure out what to do with it

added Cabomba, Rotalla, and Giant Hygro


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

3 days after planting the new plants they have really taken off


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## jamezgt (Feb 17, 2009)

Looking good!


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## MarkSchnell (Nov 7, 2011)

Wow, a lot of those plants look really familiar! What's really cool is that I bought the substrate I planted the stuff you gave me from James. My plants look like they were planted by a newbie but I'm just happy to have them. 

Your tank is looking great!! What is the wispy stuff that is planted right behind the driftwood on the left? It looks awesome.


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

its cabomba Carolinana
its growing crazy fast
if u want some clippings whenever i trim it down i can save them for u

let me know if ur interested in them


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## MarkSchnell (Nov 7, 2011)

Sure thing! It looks really nice. My plants are looking great. Well, except for the Vals. Everything else has perked right up. I just upgraded my lighting to T5's and will be adding a diy C02 setup in the next week.


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

give the Vals some time to get settled in

they didnt do to good in my tank
but then again i have a sand substrate

i have no idea tho

thats the only plant that i have ever had trouble with for some weird reason... and its an easy plant? buuuhp


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

do you have fertilzer tabs in your substrate? vals i'm pretty sure are root feeders, so if you havnt fertilized your substrate, maybe worth a shot.


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

i do i used flourish tabs

still always had a problem with them melting away

no idea

they did shoot out runners
but the main plant always looked like it was dying


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## MarkSchnell (Nov 7, 2011)

I just bought some root tabs about an hour ago believe it or not. Will give that a try right away. I stopped into Aqua Inspirations for the first time. WOW. Yes, good name for a shop because I am inspired!


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## endi (Mar 30, 2008)

nice tank and nice pictures


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

heres some updated pics on the growth 
unfortunately i broke my diffuser :S
cigarette filter to the rescue
gotta get my ass in gear and get making a reactor
anyway on with the pics


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

wow i need to clean that glass lol


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

FINALLY able to take a pic of my livestock lol
well sort of

these guys are all camera shy


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Nice nice nice! Those are probably the happiest piranhas out of the wilds that I've seen!


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

thanks 
they get the VIP diet lol
Tilapia, Shrimp, Silversides & Bananas
i load the fish and shrimp up with Kent Zoe for extra nutrition so they still get their vitamins and amino acids

they love it and it doesnt break the bank
a bag of shrimp lasts me about 3 months

i defrost the whole bag cut it up into chunks throw in in some ziplock bags add the Zoe, toss it in the refridgerator over night then i flatten out the bags and refreeze them


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## rubadub (Sep 12, 2010)

so i havent really had anytime to trim any of my plants so here is a pic of the chaos my piranhas have to deal with LOL

i have since decided to start shutting down the tank and start prepping it for a reef tank
pretty much everything in the tank is available including filter, co2 setup etc


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

rubadub said:


> so i havent really had anytime to trim any of my plants so here is a pic of the chaos my piranhas have to deal with LOL
> 
> i have since decided to start shutting down the tank and start prepping it for a reef tank
> pretty much everything in the tank is available including filter, co2 setup etc


Wha...? Sorry to hear that, the tank looks really nice too. However, it sounds like you've got the SW itch.


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## MarkSchnell (Nov 7, 2011)

rubadub said:


> i have since decided to start shutting down the tank and start prepping it for a reef tank
> pretty much everything in the tank is available including filter, co2 setup etc


What do you have with your c02 setup? I'd be interested in some of that. Also what kind of filter do you have available?


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