# 90G Heavily Planted Tank



## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

I thought since everyone is posting tank pictures lately I would do the same. Here is the very well planted home of most of my Angels, and a small army of SAEs who usually prefer to eat flake food. The tank has CO2 injection and about 265 watts of light which has about a 14 hour photoperiod. I keep the lights on this long because it encourages many of the plants to flower, which look quite nice above the water. 

In this latest scape of the tank I made a series of 'terraces' using rocks I collected at my cottage. I feel this has a really positive effect on any layout where you wish to use a variety of species which all prefer to occupy the same height level in the water. This way the midground plants are not so easily hidden or shaded out by the background/fast growers like Rotalas. 

Comments are welcome.


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

Nice looking tank! It looks like your lace plant is happy. I really like the angels as well - I prefer the silver "wild type" to many of the line bred varieties.


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

Thanks for the comment. I like the wild angels too, some of their offspring have been bright white/golden in color which you would not get with true breeding strains. These guys are always different with each new brood.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

I love your plant combination! Any planting tips with regards to Tiger Lilies?

Are those SAEs I see???

BTW, are you going to joing in the games and enter your tank in January's competition?


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

Tabatha said:


> I love your plant combination! Any planting tips with regards to Tiger Lilies?
> 
> Are those SAEs I see???
> 
> BTW, are you going to joing in the games and enter your tank in January's competition?


Thanks  For the lilies keep the photoperiod under 14 hours or so maybe 12 to be safe and they won't grow to the surface. This may not be true for every plant but it works for mine. It is hard to reduce this because other plants flower above the water, purple blossoms win out over lillypads.

Those are SAEs, they occasionally nip at algae, but the mostly just wait for flakes.

I was not aware of a tank competition, but I will certainly enter if I can.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I also like your tank a lot!!!  
I have one suggestion and 2 questions for you. Maybe you could put a bristol board background (black or blue), so that all those tubes and wires aren't visible anymore; and this could make a better contrast with the plants. You'd probably need 3-4 of them (they're really cheap at dollar stores); i used a full one on my 20G.
and the questions are: do you have problems with surface film, since its an open top tank??? what are the plants on the left & right that are coming out of the water???


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

ozi said:


> I also like your tank a lot!!!
> I have one suggestion and 2 questions for you. Maybe you could put a bristol board background (black or blue), so that all those tubes and wires aren't visible anymore; and this could make a better contrast with the plants. You'd probably need 3-4 of them (they're really cheap at dollar stores); i used a full one on my 20G.
> and the questions are: do you have problems with surface film, since its an open top tank??? what are the plants on the left & right that are coming out of the water???


Thanks Ozi, much appreciated. The idea of putting a background has cross my mind it would just be quite difficult to get behind the tank to mount it properly. Also the tank stand is far enough away from the wall that you could see the background from the sides so id rather just live with the few wires you can see. The only one you can really see is the CO2 diffuser which id normally hide for a photo but all the rest of the time i keep it where I can see it so I know if it is clogged or not. Hence this photo was impromptu.

Yes I do have some problems with surface film! Care to enlighten me as to its origin? I used to have a big problem with it in another large tank that had tons of sunken wood I collected at my cottage so I figured it was just organic oil seeping out of that. Now that tank is converted into Africans and there is no wood yet still lots of film. The tank in this photo never had any surface film until maybe a month ago so I want to say it has something to do with the change in my water conditions since they redid the main water line under bloor street.

The really thick stalked ones I think are "giant hygrophilla" or were so named at Big Als when I got them for really cheap. They most certainly are not a true submerged growth plant as once an individual stem reaches the surface it starts to drop its under-water leaves in favour of above surface ones. Its no hell under water, looks wise, but it flowers constantly. The flowers are about 1cm long with purple petals and yellow stamens. They always impress my friends/guests so I keep the plants in there  If you want some trimmings from it feel free, it grows like hell since it can get its CO2 from the air.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

*Surface Film*

Hi James,

We had the same problem until we bought a $17.00 Fluval surface skimmer. It eliminated the film, literally, within seconds!



JamesG said:


> Yes I do have some problems with surface film! Care to enlighten me as to its origin? I used to have a big problem with it in another large tank that had tons of sunken wood I collected at my cottage so I figured it was just organic oil seeping out of that. Now that tank is converted into Africans and there is no wood yet still lots of film. The tank in this photo never had any surface film until maybe a month ago so I want to say it has something to do with the change in my water conditions since they redid the main water line under bloor street.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

*Fluval Surface Skimmer*

Today we added a Fluval surface skimmer to our set-up. Well worth the $17.00 we paid at the lfs as it cleared the problem within seconds!


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

The surface film is as I understand it a protein film and bacteria that feed on it. I get it in some tanks as well, and when it bugs me I just float a clean paper towel on the water and it removes it. Those skimmers are worth a look too!


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

I am looking at this skimmer here, how is this meant to work? I assume it doesn't need power?


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

This is the skimmer we purchased: http://www.petsandponds.com/securestore/c7359p16746912.2.html

You hook it up to your filter's intake.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

JamesG said:


> Thanks Ozi, much appreciated. The idea of putting a background has cross my mind it would just be quite difficult to get behind the tank to mount it properly. Also the tank stand is far enough away from the wall that you could see the background from the sides so id rather just live with the few wires you can see. The only one you can really see is the CO2 diffuser which id normally hide for a photo but all the rest of the time i keep it where I can see it so I know if it is clogged or not. Hence this photo was impromptu.
> 
> Yes I do have some problems with surface film! Care to enlighten me as to its origin? I used to have a big problem with it in another large tank that had tons of sunken wood I collected at my cottage so I figured it was just organic oil seeping out of that. Now that tank is converted into Africans and there is no wood yet still lots of film. The tank in this photo never had any surface film until maybe a month ago so I want to say it has something to do with the change in my water conditions since they redid the main water line under bloor street.
> 
> The really thick stalked ones I think are "giant hygrophilla" or were so named at Big Als when I got them for really cheap. They most certainly are not a true submerged growth plant as once an individual stem reaches the surface it starts to drop its under-water leaves in favour of above surface ones. Its no hell under water, looks wise, but it flowers constantly. The flowers are about 1cm long with purple petals and yellow stamens. They always impress my friends/guests so I keep the plants in there  If you want some trimmings from it feel free, it grows like hell since it can get its CO2 from the air.


My tank is 6" from the wall, and i managed to put the background and hold it there with duct-tape. But maybe for a 90G things aren't that easy. Anyways, if those wires don't bother your eyes, then screw the background  
I think PPulcher pinpointed correctly the origins of surface film, but in open top tanks things are made even worst from the constant gathering of dust on that film.
I also have that Fluval surface skimmer on my 20G, connected to an eheim canister, and it's an awesome piece of equipment, the lack of which would have made my 20G a real PITA. Here's a useful link, that will show you how it works: http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/Surface_Skimmer.pdf
It's enough to turn the knob on max for a minute or two a day, to completely clear the surface, and then turn it back into a position that allows only water from the bottom to be sucked in, so that you don't expel the CO2 out of your water. That's what i used to do in the beginning, but now i just leave it in a moderate setting so that it constantly skims the surface, and i've found that it doesn't really expel the CO2.
About the "giant hygrophilla", do you have other lights for the emerged part of the plant? I would love a stem or two, to try this plant myself.


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

I am glad you said you use the fluval add on successfully with the Eheim canister as the brand compatibility would be my main concern. 

Great link on the skimmer, I am now fully informed. 

Trimmings are steadily available, ie I can cut some off at any time, it just helps to have a kick in the rear end to force you to get it done. Do you still have my cell #?


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Yup, still have it  
What about the light for the emergent part of this plant?
Cauz my room doesn't get much sunlight, and the light bulb doesnt make much light either


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

Sorry I left that out. It is hard to say where it is getting the light from as most of the leafy areas are clearly above my tank light. That said my unit does face east so it gets good morning sun but the tank is well back from the window so I can't imagine it gets that much over the course of a full day. Worth a try at least.



ozi said:


> Yup, still have it
> What about the light for the emergent part of this plant?
> Cauz my room doesn't get much sunlight, and the light bulb doesnt make much light either


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