# 55 planted new scape



## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

hey,

So my buddy Tropicana has be bugging me for a while to post a pic of my tank to show all the friends at gtaaquaria.

Just a little run down of my 55:

Filters: Eheim Professional 3 2075 and a Fluval 305
Lighting: 4 t5 55W high output (6700k)
co2: 20lb co2 tank with a Milwaukee system and diy inline co2 diffuser 
Inhabitants: 20 Cardinal Treas, 4 Corrycats, 1 Electric Blue Ram (female), 1 German Blue Ram (male), 7 Siamese Algae Eaters, 4 Apistos, and lastly 10ish Ameno Shrimp.

This is my new scape opened it up a little its still got to grow in the middle of the tank. I will then trim the middle plants to make the desired "V" shape to make for a more pleasant looking tank. I am also slowly spreading out my HC to cover the bottom of the tank.

I am new to fish and planted tanks so all feed back will be greatly appreciated.

thanks for looking


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## SAMhap (Jun 20, 2010)

gorgeous tank you got there budd!


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Hey you finally posted! haha nice man lookin great.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

Thats quite the filtration on the tank. So you have a typical newb syndrome I like to call it plant collection syndrome =p We have all had it at some point. It seems like your have been collecting a lot of species of plants and have them randomly placed. I like the hc carpet idea, and the V shape, but you need to organize the plants a bit better. As your plants grow, you will see how they grow and how you can manipulate some of the stemmed plants to perform what you like it to do. As you mentioned, your going to scape the V as the plants grow. When you do that, dont forget to carve out a focal point for the view, but you are def on your way.

Then you want to look at the type of style of tank you want.

Do you want a dutch style? A amazonia style tank, or more Amano style Natural scape?

It seems like yours is a cross between Dutch and Amazon. I personally think u are leaning towards the dutch. Now with that style, you might want to gather the same species together and place them together strategically, and use their height to create a broader depth percetion, similar to this.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/images/willem1.JPG

Well anyways, hit me up if you want some more pointers.

I do like your setup and equipment choice, its a very impressive setup for a novice , it seems like you have done your research =)


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## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

Hey guys
thanks for the comments ya i am still a rookie lol. I am probally going to go for a basic dutch planted tank. yes i do agree i got to learn how the plants are reacting and growing in. I know some of the plants are not working well like the red plant on the right of the pic its a tall plant but how would i round it to help the focal point of the tank? Also thanks for that link is verry cool and close to what i would like to do with my tank in the future. I have alot of questions and have been looking in forms which have been verry helpful. But its much easer to ask direct question from all you guys. 
thanks.


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

Nice tank, the drift wood sticking through the plants is a nice touch  

BTW: what substrate/gravel mix did you use?

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...


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## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

thanks 

ya i just changed it up tonight tho post pick once the dust settles.
my substrate is a left over bag and a half of Eco-complete and maybe three or so bags of fluorite black.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

yeah that should be a interesting mix of substrate... all good for the plants.. u got the flourite to prevent major clumping of the eco which its known to do.

Red plant is AR .. you have it at a transition point of your V... so use it wisely to create you V. I would have the far right AR the tallest, then trim the bottom of it as you to left. Have the back taller than the front plants.. Bc its a sharped leaf plant, provides the edgier feel of the V.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

also same with the rotala repens... I would almost use that on your far left and work your way down... then use the Rotala rotundafolia I see in the far left and use it in the middle left.. bc its very easy to shape Rotala therefore make your v effect. I would also take out your middle long crypt and do something else with it.. dunno what.. Im excited to see some new pics man.. gl


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## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

So here is my changed scape "dutch" style ( I hope ). I have taken out all of my sword plants and have moved and trimmed many plants. Along with this i have picked up a few new plants ambulia, mayaca and cardamine. This weekend I am also hoping to go back to the local fish store and pick up three more plants from their display tank. For my new scape i still need some back ground plants to help fill in. I did not get a good depth of field with this picture so most of the plants are placed as mid ground.

Anyways i would still like some more help on plant placement. Thanks for all your comments and help so far 

Now for the new look (got to grow in still/trim)


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Very nice


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

it looks much better bud. Im guessing your going to fill up the left corner with the display plant? I think your good to let it grow in for a bit before you trim again. The roots need to settle. Do the last little planting and sit back/ enjoy. Now its time to make sure co2 is at 30 ppm, perhaps a drop checker with the right solution (ask darkblade for it). Then in a few weeks, you can do some ferts when all the roots are up and going.


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## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

ya guys thanks i hope it will fill in well. The plant I am planning to place in the left corner is Limnophila aromatica i think it should fit in there well. If you guys have any other suggestions for some good background plants and there placement in my tank please let me know. I have a cheep drop checker I have is from Redsea i know its no ADA one but i think it is ok. I have not checked my ppm in a while i should do that tonight. Like Jimmyjam says its time watch and see it grow in. I will post some new pick if i get new plants and look forward for all your suggestions.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

good call on the L aromatica. Its a nice plant and I sold a lot of it in the GTA. Where did you get yours from? If its from a local guy, then its probably my strain =p Make sure not to snip off any stems until it really grows in, it has a tendency to just die off and not replant it self when it is not settled in or lack nutrients.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

one of my other big peeves is equipment showing.. so when the the L.Aromatica grows in, you can stick the heater behind it. You can also pit the output of your fiter more towards the left bc you have lots of currently coming from the right (powerhead).


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## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

I think your talking about my center output. This is my fluval output for the 305 which is strictly for my inline co2. I placed it in the middle hoping that it would distribute the co2 more in the front of the tank I do not know if this is true. The spraybar of the ehiem is placed on the right of the tank flowing current along the back. Then I also have my power head pushing flow from the right side. The reason i have so much flow in my tank is because I have a mad string algae problem. I have read that the more flow you have the harder it is for algae to grow? not sure? PS please help i have so much of the stuff i pull out large amount ever day after work. 

The cutting of the Limnophila aromatica i still do not have yet since the guy at big als has not done a trimming yet. Iam also still looking for a decent background plant for the middle of my tank. I went to the Menagerie on the weekend but nothing there jumped out at me. 

Anyways thanks again for the comments and keep them coming i have taken a lot of your suggestions and they have help my tank a lot.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

yeah hair algae is a bitch.. try introducing some american flag fish ..they will chew them up, but try not to overfeed the tank, and reduced your photoperiod a bit. I usually find a phosphate jump increases my hair algae. 

To get rid of a big bunch just hand pick it first, do a water change, syphone the superficial debris, then do a quick excel 50% and water 50% solution and spray it directly onto the trouble spots , do that two days in a row, and it will clear up a lot of the crap.. the hair algae will die and the shrimps and other alage eaters will eat it up. 

Equipment... hide it =p The flow is ok, I have seen more in a planted tank, but just keep the stuff hidden better ..The intake for the fluval.. move it more to the left, the output doesnt have to be in the middle.. position it on the left, and shoot it right.. you have enough flow to get the diffusion of the co2 all around.


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## faithful cowpie (Feb 20, 2010)

Thanks for the help jimmyjam (since no one else likes to help out lol j/k )

I have these lame ass siamese algae eaters that i thought would chomp the hair algae, however i have noticed that they pass on the algae and eat with all the other fish. they are also getting very aggressive, so its time to trade them back in to bigals and get something else. I will look in to the flag fish i have been told they are the best for the eating hair algae, i just think they are ugly. 

I will have to look in the the excel and water trick, sounds like an interesting way to do it.

ya i have moved the fluval output to the same side as my ehiem spray bar on the right. Why did you say on the left? i thought for flow you wanted the tank to move in the same direction? 

other than that cool man and again thanks for the quick reply


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

yeah i meant left side.. blowing the same direction as the other dude.. But yes.. great idea either or =P


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