# Planted Starfire 120x50x50



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Finally got my old Starfire tank setup again in my new house. I had missed the look of a large planted tank.

So far, the tank is populated by 6 SAE, 3 amanos, and a single rummynose. I'm taking it slow and looking to get a nice cherry shrimp colony going before adding lots of fish.

The tank is filtered by 2 HOB, one Aqueon Quietflow 10, and one Quietflow 30.


----------



## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Looks great so far. Rimless FTW.

Btw - that driftwood, how long does it take to sink and is there any rot? I bought 2 from big als however never put it in my tank. Love it though, especially the trunk for hiding plecos.


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

cb1021 said:


> Looks great so far. Rimless FTW.
> 
> Btw - that driftwood, how long does it take to sink and is there any rot? I bought 2 from big als however never put it in my tank. Love it though, especially the trunk for hiding plecos.


No rot, but the wood took a long time to sink. In fact, I had to put a rock inside the trunk to get it to sink completely. The kid at BA told me it would sink in a couple of hours...


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Some updates...






























Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk


----------



## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Looks great. So simple. What kind of fish you going to put? Some color would be nice


----------



## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

couple of hours lol that's going to take days maybe weeks to sink.


----------



## elbereth (Feb 11, 2018)

Nice scape! What substrate are you using?


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

elbereth said:


> Nice scape! What substrate are you using?


Nepheline syenite pool filter sand

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk


----------



## elbereth (Feb 11, 2018)

solarz said:


> Nepheline syenite pool filter sand
> 
> Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk


Where do you get it?


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

elbereth said:


> Where do you get it?


Got it from a pool supply store:

https://www.pioneerfamilypools.ca/products/residential-filter-sand/


----------



## elbereth (Feb 11, 2018)

solarz said:


> Got it from a pool supply store:
> 
> https://www.pioneerfamilypools.ca/products/residential-filter-sand/


Thanks! I wish I came across this sand before I spent so much on CaribSea.


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

elbereth said:


> Thanks! I wish I came across this sand before I spent so much on CaribSea.


Well, if you prefer a black sand, you can't go wrong with TMS.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

So four months later...









Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk


----------



## Reckon (Mar 6, 2013)

solarz said:


> So four months later...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


WOW that looks soo good! Love the cryptocorynes. Just a suggestion, but perhaps get rid of the hygrophila on the far left and add some bigger species cryptocorynes behind the wendtii you have planted.


----------



## hendy8888 (Sep 10, 2010)

Looking great! I really like how the blueish light makes the greens pop.

Sent from my LG-H933 using Tapatalk


----------



## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Hey Solarz

Hows that wood holding up? Is it suitable for planted tanks? It's really soft no? It looks great, not sure if it can hold up long term though under water.


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

cb1021 said:


> Hey Solarz
> 
> Hows that wood holding up? Is it suitable for planted tanks? It's really soft no? It looks great, not sure if it can hold up long term though under water.


It's holding up well so far, I have seen no sign of it breaking apart, though it does still leech tannin.


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Update!

Just some minor plant changes. The pearl weed is getting out of control, will need to trim it soon.

I'm really loving the driftwood! It provides a great focus for the tank, and I only need to adjust the plants around it. Even better, it serves as a refuge for my cherry shrimps.

Current fauna are SAEs, cardinals, rummynoses, white clouds, a couple of cories (down from 6, unfortunately), and a single BN pleco (recent addition), and of course, the obligatory Amano and Cherry shrimps, and various snails, including some nerites.

Future plans are to get even more cardinals.









Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk


----------



## vraev (Mar 29, 2012)

Fantastic tank. Looks great. I love your SAE. They look like the real deal with clear / transparent fins (without any yellow hues). Is there a source you would recommend to get these true SAE?


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Some updates:

*March 10, 2019:*










*April 19, 2019:*










*May 14, 2019:* (New LED light!)










*June 7th, 2019*


----------



## vraev (Mar 29, 2012)

Most links appear broken. But tank looks great man. I think my next upgrade will be to a 120.


----------



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

vraev said:


> Most links appear broken. But tank looks great man. I think my next upgrade will be to a 120.


Thanks for letting me know about the links! I've fixed them, hopefully they'll work now.


----------



## vraev (Mar 29, 2012)

Looking great. Thanks for fixing the links


----------

