# 55 Gallon Planted Soil High Light Plant



## Canadianbettas

Welcome to my 55G tank thread...

Opps need to fix the title to 55 Gallon Soil High Light Planted Tank..

I had good success with soil in the past with my 33GLong.. So I am testing it on a 55.. however.. I am not sure how long the nutrients will last.. since I am doing Walstad method with high lights.. and CO2...

2 x 6500k 54 HO T5
Pressurized Co2 1.5-2bps
Miracle's Choice Organic Potting soil mix (the orange bag) Capped with playsand and black fluorite.
5ML Iron Dose every week
Osmocote tablets mixed in soil with red clay chunks.

Thinking of doing EI dosing when my tank matures a bit more..

However an issue within the first couple months is.... anaerobic gas in the substrate... No matter how much I stir.. I keep getting it... It's killed off couple of my fish already to, I've found .. gotta do a water change right after stiring or i risk fish death.. within few hours.. (certain parts of my tank I don't have plants with real heavy roots like crypts or tiger lotuses so I have to constantly stir those areas...)

Ok when I first setup my tank I noticed.. a slight unleveling of my tank.. so far nothing has happened and nothing has been done.. but I might get some wood shims...










When the water cleared up :









Bought a few plants got a bit too much...



























Ignore the sponge..



























Current tank : 








A bit messy not sure how to scape it lol

Plant list:
Hygrophila difformis
Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'
Green/Brown Crpyts.
Sunset Hygro
Hygrophila polysperma
Dwarf Hairgrass
Dwarf Sag
Blyxia
Glosso
Red Tiger Lotus
Rotala rotundifolia
Pellia
Riccia fluitans
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia broadleaf (palastrus)
Amazon Sword
Jungle Val
Water Lettuce
Bacopa Australis
Samolus Parviflorus
Ammania Gracilis
Pogostemon H
Narrow Leaf Java Fern
3 Unknown plants..

I guess that's all for now 

Thanks for looking


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## tranceaddict

Can't wait to see how it grows out.


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## Will

Looks great, I'm a bit surprised you changed from a 33G to a 55G since it doesn't really offer much mroe planting space. I would have thought a 65B or 75G would be the chosen upgrade for you.

I like that Samolus Parviflorus you have!
What are the red circles?


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## Canadianbettas

Thanks . main reasons I switched is more livestock.. perhaps a angel or two...
And growing plants tall is a total change and I won't have to trim as often lol

Red circles showing my tank being unleveled.. that's all :]


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## Canadianbettas

Small update..

Things are growing.. I want to crank my CO2 but I need to refill it soon so keeping the BPS low atm..









I have the airstone running.. this is at night.. when co2 is off









Nerite snail.. been living with assassin(s) for over 2years (from my old tank) they get along great lol









SAE









Albino Cory









Panda Cory









I have a few cardinal tetras.. but they ALWAYS hide


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## Canadianbettas

Did a small scape changing things up.

Added another canister filter for more flow, and help clean the water more.. seems alot more clear now..

Added rummy noses and a few angels.. (hoping to get a pair when they are older and re homing the others.)

I started EI Dosing again along side with high light, soil and co2.. seems to be going well.


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## iBetta

NICEEEEEEEEE. i like the changes! dude, i call dibs for those Ludwigia arcuata if you ever sell some extra! *.*


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## Fishyfishyfishy

Have you tried high light with no CO2? I had my 55g for about a month now and I don't have CO2, just potting soil and gravel and high lighting.

What is your advice?


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## Canadianbettas

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> Have you tried high light with no CO2? I had my 55g for about a month now and I don't have CO2, just potting soil and gravel and high lighting.
> 
> What is your advice?


I tried Highlight and no ferts + co2.. seems to work for 2-4 months..

HOWEVER...

I would not suggest you go high light with potting soil.. with high light I would suspect co2 needed.. or you'll run into algae issues... sooner or later..... But it also depends on how high your lighting is from your tank.. you can get away with high light if you suspend the light sup high.. take a look at par vs distance chart..

I think best-bet would be to go walstad method with low lights.. relatively low maintenance..


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## Fishyfishyfishy

Canadianbettas said:


> I tried Highlight and no ferts + co2.. seems to work for 2-4 months..
> 
> HOWEVER...
> 
> I would not suggest you go high light with potting soil.. with high light I would suspect co2 needed.. or you'll run into algae issues... sooner or later..... But it also depends on how high your lighting is from your tank.. you can get away with high light if you suspend the light sup high.. take a look at par vs distance chart..
> 
> I think best-bet would be to go walstad method with low lights.. relatively low maintenance..


I hope to take out 1 of the bulbs in the T5HO fixture. Do you know if it's safe to use only 1 bulb in a 2x54W T5 ballast permanently? Coralife and AquaticLife is ignoring my e-mails =(


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## Canadianbettas

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> I hope to take out 1 of the bulbs in the T5HO fixture. Do you know if it's safe to use only 1 bulb in a 2x54W T5 ballast permanently? Coralife and AquaticLife is ignoring my e-mails =(


I have a HO 2x 54w t5 light from coralife

I used 1 bulb in the fixture long time ago for several months without any problems, I don't see why it would be an issue lol


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## Fishyfishyfishy

Canadianbettas said:


> I have a HO 2x 54w t5 light from coralife
> 
> I used 1 bulb in the fixture long time ago for several months without any problems, I don't see why it would be an issue lol


I'm wasn't sure, some light's ballast needs the correct number of bulbs to turn on


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## Fish on the Mind

Beauties aquarium. Keep us updated!!


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## Canadianbettas

Small update....

Added first piece of driftwood.. it's not sinking though... so I am using a rock to weigh it down...
Looks like they love the algae on the rock lol.. and did a miny rescape...










One of my angels..



















Full shot view....Yea.. the breeder net and breeder trap will be gone soon...hopefully.. so distracting lol


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## shadow_cruiser

Tank looks great, keep us updated!. Also looking to do soil as a bottom layer and eco-complete as top layer. Just wondering how long the nutrients in the soil will last and if its even worth it in the long run (walstad type with high light and co2)


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## Fishyfishyfishy

shadow_cruiser said:


> Tank looks great, keep us updated!. Also looking to do soil as a bottom layer and eco-complete as top layer. Just wondering how long the nutrients in the soil will last and if its even worth it in the long run (walstad type with high light and co2)


According to the book, soil is high CEC. It absorbs and stores nutrients just like flourite. So later on, we just gotta use ferts. I think it is worth it in the long run (I haven't gotten that far with my soil tank yet).

Anybody?


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## Canadianbettas

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> According to the book, soil is high CEC. It absorbs and stores nutrients just like flourite. So later on, we just gotta use ferts. I think it is worth it in the long run (I haven't gotten that far with my soil tank yet).
> 
> Anybody?


Not an expert.. however... I believe... its true, but in my case I can't go by the book because of High Lighting factor... I noticed plant growth slowing down as well so I started dosing EI method.


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## shadow_cruiser

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> According to the book, soil is high CEC. It absorbs and stores nutrients just like flourite. So later on, we just gotta use ferts. I think it is worth it in the long run (I haven't gotten that far with my soil tank yet).
> 
> Anybody?


How long have you had soil in your tank?. What top layer are you using?



Canadianbettas said:


> Not an expert.. however... I believe... its true, but in my case I can't go by the book because of High Lighting factor... I noticed plant growth slowing down as well so I started dosing EI method.


My setup is also high light with pressurized co2. How long until you noticed the plant growth started to slow down?


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## Canadianbettas

shadow_cruiser said:


> My setup is also high light with pressurized co2. How long until you noticed the plant growth started to slow down?


Within 2-3 months I already seen plants started slowing down... It was real difference from when I first set it up plants were growing at a extreme rate lol

Miny update:

Added a extra bulb so 3x T5 HO 54W 2x6700k 1x 10000k... The camera doesn't like the extra bulb makes it look like I have algae on my walls near the bottom.. for some reason..

Full shot : 









Mr. Oto... 









Banana plant getting big..









Side view.









Left Side. Close shot









Middle . Close shot









Thats all for now..

*New update!*
Video update time!!!
Click on the link to watch 






Also check out my banana plant flowering:


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## Canadianbettas

Growing a micro-sword carpet! Seems slow though.. I bought one as a sample.. to see if it would grow.. it grew slow so I got few more..


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## iBetta

dude i got the microswords! but they grow PAINFULLY slow....they do shoot runners though...but i find that they dont grow close to each other enough.....if u want, ill just give all of mine to you, i could use some dwarf sag from your other post .


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## Fishyfishyfishy

I have some hairgrass and they are growing, not fast though. Growing fast is not a good thing lol.



Question for you, CanadianBettas. Any problems with using sand? I have always used gravel, so the soil can get oxygen. I want to know your experience using play sand as a cap.


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## Canadianbettas

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> I have some hairgrass and they are growing, not fast though. Growing fast is not a good thing lol.
> 
> Question for you, CanadianBettas. Any problems with using sand? I have always used gravel, so the soil can get oxygen. I want to know your experience using play sand as a cap.


play sand = lots of toxic...gas bubbles... every once and awhile I put push down and tons of toxic egg smelling bubbles comes up thats when i would do 50% wc.. I haven't had any deaths as long as I keep up with wc after pushing it down lol


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## Will

Do you have MTS in the tank? supposedly these help.
Also as the tank fills in, the more root mass there will be, and the more O2 the roots will generate lessening the anaerobic pockets.
Also I have head people sticking airline tubing into the sand regularly to release the bubbles into the air instead- dont know if that works though... seems interesting lol.


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## Canadianbettas

small update

I think they're quite hardy.. they spread faster then my glosso infact.. cause my glosso keeps growing vertical lol

I got them and threw them floating for about 2 weeks no issues... cause i was too lazy to plant them... haha

However they are slow... in growth but I think it might be worth it 

Here are my shots.. I got some runners.. lol

Ignore the diatoms on the wall... 

Not sure if you can tell the difference but.. : A week ago









And now... seems growth gets a tad bit faster when they settle in




















Will said:


> Do you have MTS in the tank? supposedly these help.
> Also as the tank fills in, the more root mass there will be, and the more O2 the roots will generate lessening the anaerobic pockets.
> Also I have head people sticking airline tubing into the sand regularly to release the bubbles into the air instead- dont know if that works though... seems interesting lol.


I don't..  cause of my assasins will eat them.. I do however have cories ocne and awhile they would move enough that some bubbles would come up.. I don't mind pushing it when i do wc though.. your right I noticed there are ALOT LESS bubbles now then when I first started.. I actually planted crpyts all over my tank cause i know they are heavy rooters.. even where I had my carpet.. I will remove them when my carpet fills in..


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## Canadianbettas

The carpet is rolling in yays!


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## iBetta

awesome *.* its so.....green!


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## Canadianbettas

iBetta said:


> awesome *.* its so.....green!


yeah... my red plants aren't red lol unless they reach the top...


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## Evans11

Looking good!


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## Canadianbettas

Evans11 said:


> Looking good!


Thanks ^_^ your tank looks much better heh


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## Canadianbettas

Miny update...

Ludwigia has been trimmed and replanted a bunch of times..


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## Fishyfishyfishy

I really like your tank.


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## XbrandonX

This tank is gorgeous. I hope I can get my tank to look as nice as this


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## Boogerboy

Wow, that is awesome, it looks like a jungle!


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## joe

Awesome tank it grew in really well, you should try breeding somethinng that likes plants in there..

also would you be willing to sell/trade a few stems of dwarf sag?
i can trade plants or cherries


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## Canadianbettas

Thanks everyone for the comments...

I wouldn't mind trading for cherries... Joe (always looking for new blood)
However.. I am in Rhill.. lol kinda far from you..


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## Canadianbettas

New update..
Since i got rid of the co2, I lowered my dosing and changed the lighting..
since this tank is organic potting soil on the bottom i suppose this counts almost as natural / low light now 

No more co2..
Lights lowered to 1x t5ho and 1x t5 regular..

Rock weighing down driftwood ignore that ^^


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## iBetta

i shouldve bought your C02.....me sad... T.T


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## Canadianbettas

iBetta said:


> i shouldve bought your C02.....me sad... T.T


lol im sad too  imiss it


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## Canadianbettas

Small rescape.. if you can tell lol
Made some space... waiting for some baby swords to come in then they will be planted!


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## Canadianbettas

Random pics of my Hillstream loach and Bn pleco..


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## Tovarish

Nice tank! 

So are you going without co2 now ? 
How often did you have to trim or replant with the c02 and ho lights ?


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## Canadianbettas

Tovarish said:


> Nice tank!
> 
> So are you going without co2 now ?
> How often did you have to trim or replant with the c02 and ho lights ?


No co2 now..
With co2 and ho lights every week or so...


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## geonut

*EI*

What is EI ?


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## Canadianbettas

geonut said:


> What is EI ?


Estimative Index (EI) coined by Tom Barr

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html


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## Canadianbettas

Minor update...

Plants growing in slowly.. but surely..
Amazon sword stem has grown out of the tank too!
I love low light setup.. so little maintenance!


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## iBetta

welcome to my world!!  light...and nothing else! lol


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## Sameer

hehe when I had low light, it was so chill. I had a jungle and no maintenance. But always wanted red plants. After going high tech, oh man, such a pain. 45 gallon and everything grows like weed. I cant even do proper aquascape cause there is no space.


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## enzof9

Nice tank! What spectrum are the two bulbs you're currently using?


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## Boogerboy

Sameer said:


> hehe when I had low light, it was so chill. I had a jungle and no maintenance. But always wanted red plants. After going high tech, oh man, such a pain. 45 gallon and everything grows like weed. I cant even do proper aquascape cause there is no space.


No kidding, I am in the same boat. Miss my low light, no co2 system. Didn't expect it to be more than double the work! Especially when I see tanks like this that are gorgeous in their own right.


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## Canadianbettas

enzof9 said:


> Nice tank! What spectrum are the two bulbs you're currently using?


6500k, and 10 000k i think.. either that or
2x 6500k


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## Canadianbettas

Update on the tank...

Looks very messy/natural/jungle type right now..

I feed like once a week... and don't dose anymore..

Plants get natural sunlight and only like 4-5hrs of t5 lighting per day..

I wc every other week.. but been lazy lately ( need to do one asap... )

Here's a video!! ENJOY low maintenance tanks rock 

WATCH IN HD 720P please!  and it gets more clear halfway through and I get closer!


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## kirby

what is that glass apparatus you have on a suction cup on the right side of your tank? It looks like a upside-down funnel leading into a glass ball. Does that catch escaping c02? I got one in a package deal I bought I i am not sure it's function.


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## Mlevi

kirby said:


> what is that glass apparatus you have on a suction cup on the right side of your tank? It looks like a upside-down funnel leading into a glass ball. Does that catch escaping c02? I got one in a package deal I bought I i am not sure it's function.


Its called a drop checker. Look up 'CO2 drop checker' on a search engine, or "how does a co2 drop checker work". I was stymied by it myself the first time i saw a video clip of one 

Al.


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## LTPGuy

*How are your glosso doing?*

Thanks for the journal, and impressive display. I liked the high light looks, but agree with the maintenance.

I am trying the potting soil setup on my DIY nano cube. Just picked up some Glosso today, and would like to hear if you have some suggestion, and observation in your tank.

How are they doing now with no CO2 and low light? How were they doing with CO2 and light. I remember you mention they grew vertical and wonder if they received full light or partial shade.

My cube has a 10"-11" water column.

Thanks


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## Canadianbettas

LTPGuy said:


> Thanks for the journal, and impressive display. I liked the high light looks, but agree with the maintenance.
> 
> I am trying the potting soil setup on my DIY nano cube. Just picked up some Glosso today, and would like to hear if you have some suggestion, and observation in your tank.
> 
> How are they doing now with no CO2 and low light? How were they doing with CO2 and light. I remember you mention they grew vertical and wonder if they received full light or partial shade.
> 
> My cube has a 10"-11" water column.
> 
> Thanks


Thanks for the comments!

Glosso would work with potting soil.. it worked really well in my 33 gallon long with the same setup. Make sure you disperse the light properly though.

My glosso is all gone without co2 and high light.. only plants I have are low lights plants with the exception of some dwarf hair grass.. They were growing vertical because of my light fixture... poor reflectors.. hope that helps..

take a look at my 33 gallon long journal on my siggy.. i wrote some stuff about glosso in there..


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## LTPGuy

Canadianbettas said:


> Thanks for the comments!
> 
> Glosso would work with potting soil.. it worked really well in my 33 gallon long with the same setup. Make sure you disperse the light properly though.
> 
> My glosso is all gone without co2 and high light.. only plants I have are low lights plants with the exception of some dwarf hair grass.. They were growing vertical because of my light fixture... poor reflectors.. hope that helps..
> 
> take a look at my 33 gallon long journal on my siggy.. i wrote some stuff about glosso in there..


Thanks for your response. How much did the 33g cost and where? I have 3x10G linked but the 33G Long is beautiful. How thick is the glass on your 33G?

I am not sure what you mean by "disperse the light". Would you mind explain?


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## DaFishMan

Your tanks looking great ! Nothing wrong with the wild look btw they are just as nice, sometimes nicer then structured tanks


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## Canadianbettas

Picture update time....!

Seems like the right side of the tank needs to be worked on a bit.... :S

You can see my baby swords too...  fron the big amazon sword





















DaFishMan said:


> Your tanks looking great ! Nothing wrong with the wild look btw they are just as nice, sometimes nicer then structured tanks


Thanks!


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## Canadianbettas

This tank is over a year old now...

All the nutrients in the dirt are probably used up as all my plants melted except for swords/vals/crypts...


Wednesday or Thursday I will be redirting the tank.... 

Stay tune for new updates..


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## Sameer

Any updates?.?.?.?


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## Canadianbettas

Small update..

No pics atm.. water is too cloudy after i cleaned my filter lol

Substrate:
Clay chunks + root tabs and MGOPSM

Capped with 1" Play sand...

Lighting 1x T5 HO 48"

Pics as soon as water clears up... nothing special its gonna be lowlight tank lowlight plants


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## Canadianbettas

*Day one*... picture.. just threw everything in ATM...

*Currently: *
Tank looks a bit different now.. as I am still moving stuff around and scaping

Just got a co2 tank.. waiting on regulator... gonna do medium-high lights + co2 and fertz... to get the look i want then dial back to low light + very little co2 for a low tech tank ...

Hopefully this goes well and things don't go melting on me


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## Jiinx

I can always "babysit" your plants  Can't wait to see things planted and going..good luck!! What kind of regulator are you getting? What kind of scape are you looking for? What kind of plants will you or do you have?


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## Canadianbettas

Jiinx said:


> I can always "babysit" your plants  Can't wait to see things planted and going..good luck!! What kind of regulator are you getting? What kind of scape are you looking for? What kind of plants will you or do you have?


Just the same ol ones I had last time silly Milwaukee ones... lol 
I am not sure what kinda scape to do... im limited to the plants I have and driftwood/rocks...  until I get some more money


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## Canadianbettas

Waiting... till I find that perfect piece of driftwood... maybe from Tom Barr...
Also waiting for inline co2 atomizer..

For now... EI Dosing and co2 injected through canister intake...
After I get the look / growth I want i will dial it down to low-medium light...


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## Canadianbettas

Still waiting on equipment.....
I am planning for a inline heater too when I have the budget.... 

I cranked co2 to 3BPS ... thru the intake of my cannister... last night plants were pearling like CRAZY... ahhhh hightech tanks... oh how I miss you ( for now... ) lol

Swapped out my light fixtures... with one with better reflector... oh boy that made a huge difference.. more light spread in my tank... even red plants starting to go red...


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## Canadianbettas

Some pics









4Leaf Clover carpet coming in...slowly









Hygro sunset.. some red









Side view

@Jynx help Id these you gave me ? 








1









2


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## Jiinx

Hi Kevin! It's looking great!

You've got:
Limnophila gingantea
Ludwigia sp. Cuba
Rotala macranda green
And I believe ludwigia lacrustis but doesn't follow the usual leaf patterning so maybe glandulosa, which is more spiraly and grows leggy.


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## Canadianbettas

Jiinx said:


> Hi Kevin! It's looking great!
> 
> You've got:
> Limnophila gingantea
> Ludwigia sp. Cuba
> Rotala macranda green
> And I believe ludwigia lacrustis but doesn't follow the usual leaf patterning so maybe glandulosa, which is more spiraly and grows leggy.


Thanks Jynx!

Small update: Added inline up co2 atomizer diffuser..

Ok.. new update.. got plants from Sameer... uhm he might of given me too much I had to just squish everything in there.. Hopefully lights gets everything.. looks like there are some dark parts...

There's no real scape to this tank until I get my driftwood lol I'm just seeing what i can grow..


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## Jiinx

Kevin, 
I love getting new plants! Such a rush (Yes, I'm a plant freak lol).

You're going to get so addicted again... I can't wait to see the new dw and the scape ...

Do you have a theme? Are you going to get additional fishes? What fishes do you have?


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## Kimchi24

holy crap, nice tank!even without any hardscape, it looks awesome


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## Canadianbettas

Update:
Maybe I shouldn't have just dumped everything in.. I realize that when I want to rescape .. unrooting soil is gonna be a real mess... lol



Kimchi24 said:


> holy crap, nice tank!even without any hardscape, it looks awesome


Thank you Thank you 



Jiinx said:


> Kevin,
> I love getting new plants! Such a rush (Yes, I'm a plant freak lol).
> 
> You're going to get so addicted again... I can't wait to see the new dw and the scape ...
> 
> Do you have a theme? Are you going to get additional fishes? What fishes do you have?


Addicted I am 

Hmmmmmm I don't have a theme... but I do want a foreground carpet.. and particularly like dutch scapes and just messy jungle scapes..

I love tanks with small leaf plants making it look more big.. so I might end up doing that..

Livestock:
3 Angels
4 Platies
1 Bolivian Ram..?
25 Cardinal Tetras
1 Bushynose pleco
1 Zebra Danio (free if anyone wants)
1 Siamese Algae Eater
1 Rummy nose tetra... (the rest died off 1yr ago) He schools with the cardinals.. lol
Lots of MTS/RH snails

Plants:
Dwarf Hairgrass
Amazon Sword
Peacock Moss
Crypt Wendtii Brown,Green
Stauro repens
4 leaf clover
Cabomba
Sunset Hygro
Jungle Vals
Dwarf Sag
Limnophila gingantea
Ludwigia sp. Cuba
Rotala macranda green
Hydrotriche Hottoniiflora
hygrophila sp. pantanal wavy
Nesaea Crassica
Ludwiga Red Hybrid
Didiplis Diandra
L. Aromatica


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## Canadianbettas

Video update of messy tank 



Click on Picture to watch video.


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## Canadianbettas

Haven't updated in a very long time....

Tank is still running..

But RL got real hectic.. so I let my tank go to low light again... the soil sustains the tank 

Water change about once a month...


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## tranceaddict

She looks well. Keep it up


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