# Going Planted With My 55!



## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Well it was fun having an mbuna tank, but I am wanting to switch to a more peaceful planted tank! I will be setting this up once I find a buyer for the rest of my fish.
For now I will just be planning and using this thread/journal to keep track of ideas and stuff I need.

*Tank:* 55 Gallon
*Lighting:* Home Depot Diamond Plate Fixture (Maybe)
*Substrate:* Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix/Capped with?
*Filter:* Top Fin 60 Power Filter (Cannister Upgrade Soon)
*Heater:* 200watt
*CO2:* Excel (Pressurized Upgrade Hopefully)

*Livestock:* 
Pair of Rams
Schooling Fish
Pleco

*Plants:* 
Carpet - Glosso or Hairgrass
Moss - Flame Moss
Foreground - Byxa Japonica, Anubias, Java Fern, Tiger Lotus 
Background - Rotala, Amazon Sword, Stargrass

Opinions and suggestions are always welcomed!

I know everyone likes pictures, sooooo here is a bag of dirt!


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Nice! Whats the height on your tank Kenny?

I have a 90 gallon and hate it because the darn thing is so deep. lol


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Ciddian said:


> Nice! Whats the height on your tank Kenny?
> 
> I have a 90 gallon and hate it because the darn thing is so deep. lol


Thankfully it is only 21"! My last 25 gallon planted tank was a pain in the butt to do maintenance on since it was already tall and was on top of my dresser in my bedroom. Having to use two chairs for a water-change wasn't very fun. 

Hoping this planted tank experience will be better with a tank I can touch the bottom of... without a chair.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

You will totally see a difference in the lighting demand too.  I had an awesome 30 gallon before I had to move and I threw two HO's on there. 

If you can get a good unit it does go a long way, just pricey.

My three foot home depot fixture has two bulbs, it does okay with crypts and the like but nothing else with thrive in my tank. The height is a major factor of that. You might see much better results than I do with your light. 

I know some of our other members have the shop fixtures too and like them a lot


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Ciddian said:


> You will totally see a difference in the lighting demand too.  I had an awesome 30 gallon before I had to move and I threw two HO's on there.
> 
> If you can get a good unit it does go a long way, just pricey.
> 
> ...


I have been hearing good things about the Diamond Plate fixture because of its reflectors, it should give me a PAR rating of around 60 at 18". If/When I get a pressurized CO2 unit I may buy another one or upgrade to a proper fixture. We will have to see what happens as I progress through the build!


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

If you plan on going pressurized let me know. I can get you a brand new custom made CO2 set for a great price


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

manhtu said:


> If you plan on going pressurized let me know. I can get you a brand new custom made CO2 set for a great price


Well that would be great! 
I have to see if it will fit in my current budget!


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

You know, I kept looking at that diamond plate too. X)

Looking forward to the thread! I'd love to see how your soil will work out, I went with pond potting soil, wasn't too happy with it but it works.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Well I went out to find some branchy driftwood for my aquascape. I have it sitting in boiled water until it sinks. 

Hopefully I will sell the current fish soon so I can start everything!


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Wanting to know everyone's opinion on capping substrate. Does everyone prefer light (PFS) or dark (Fluorite)? and why?

Also background colours, blue or black?


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Well I am still waiting on these cichlids to sell before I can set this up.

I purchased the light from home depot today and I really like it. Its a lot brighter that the standard lights the tank came with.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I prefer dark substrates. I think they show off the plants better and also make the most of the colours of many fish, but that is just my opinion.
Suggestion for getting your wood to sink faster.. take a Dremel to it, if you have one.. Use one of the boring bits, [ not a drill bit] to cut a narrow slot in the branches along their length. Can do it on the underside if you don't want it to show at all. This allows the water to penetrate the heartwood more quickly, so it will sink quicker. The slot itself can be handy later on for helping to attach mosses and such to the branches.

I sank a really dry hunk of grapevine I'd had around for ages that floated like cork using this trick. Used the Dremel to bore out a fairly deep groove into the heartwood, and remove some looser bits that would likely have come off later on anyway. This not only helped it get waterlogged, it also made it look a lot more interesting. Then I used a rock to hold it under water in a bucket. I added a little bleach to the water now and then. This helps get the tannins out, and it will lighten some dark woods a bit, though it has little if any effect on Mopani wood. Bleach also removes surface fuzz from the wood and helps keep the water from getting swampy.

I change the water in the bucket whenever it gets really coffee coloured. The grapevine piece was hanging below the surface on its own in about six weeks, but it took another six before it would stay down on the bottom by itself.

I can't be bothered to boil wood pieces, and I kind of like some of the colour effects I can get using a bit of bleach and time. I just leave the bucket sitting out of the way.. once I'm ready to use a piece of wood, I change the bucket of water a day or two before I'm going to need it, so the chlorine has time to gas off, and I add a wee drop of Prime too, just to be safe.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed reply! I have had the branches soaking in a cooler for the past 4 or 5 weeks and I refill it with boiling water every week. I have not checked if they sink or not but I think they would be too thin to drill into, but that is good information for future projects. The tannins are almost completely gone and hopefully I will be able to find a buyer for these cichlids so I can start aquascaping  

I think I will be going with a dark substrate also if I can find some for a reasonable price.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

That is the trick, isn't it ? Most of the truly black or very dark brown substrates are not cheap, unless you get the coated gravel, but that's not really the best thing for planted tanks. 

I got some 'black' gravel for one tank, it's a natural one, not coated. Forget the brand name, but it looked ok in the bag. Had a fairly fine texture, so I figured it would be good for my loaches and corys, easier on their barbels than coarser stuff would be, and easy for roots to penetrate.

It's not bad, but it's also not black. It's not an even colour at all, instead it's a mixture of shades of grey, from almost black to some bits that are nearly white. While the overall look once it is wet is certainly dark, it looks more like a tweed coat fabric than a single colour. I like the texture but am not so keen on the way the colour turned out.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Took a picture with the new light, the camera doesn't seem to like the brightness of the sand.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Fishfur said:


> That is the trick, isn't it ? Most of the truly black or very dark brown substrates are not cheap, unless you get the coated gravel, but that's not really the best thing for planted tanks.
> 
> I got some 'black' gravel for one tank, it's a natural one, not coated. Forget the brand name, but it looked ok in the bag. Had a fairly fine texture, so I figured it would be good for my loaches and corys, easier on their barbels than coarser stuff would be, and easy for roots to penetrate.
> 
> It's not bad, but it's also not black. It's not an even colour at all, instead it's a mixture of shades of grey, from almost black to some bits that are nearly white. While the overall look once it is wet is certainly dark, it looks more like a tweed coat fabric than a single colour. I like the texture but am not so keen on the way the colour turned out.


I think if I was going to go with a dark substrate it would have to be fully dark. The black dots in my current pfs bothers me enough as it is.  I like the look of a consistent colour in substrate, rather than a mix of lighter and darker unless it was a natural looking gravel.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

For a planted tank its always better to go with a darker substrate. You might want to get a canister filter first before you go with the other equipments. Splashing filter is great at creating algae. Excel is going to be very expensive for a 55G.
Also, it this is your first crack at a planted tank. You might want to go with a 10G or 20G. 55G will just means a much bigger algae problem and a lot more algae to clean up.

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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Cichlids have been sold and the demolition has begun!


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Having trouble sifting out all the little pieces of bark and wood from the soil. Does anyone have experience with leaving them in, how bad was the tannins?


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Sifted out all of the pieces of wood and bark... there was a lot. Just need to get some black sand to top it off.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Not sure if I like the aquascape or not... Also does anyone know the best way to remove the pieces of soil that are sitting on top of the sand? 

Ignore the rocks


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Update! Planted sorta! This was after a 50% water change so my tannins are way weaker than they used to be. I have some sort of white fungus that was taking over my substrate.. I really should have taken a picture of it but of well. 
Ignore the messy glass , I lost the sponge I was using for aquariums so I will need to buy another one. 

Oh and there are 8 silvertip tetras currently living in there!


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I use playsand substrate in most of my tanks, to clean junk off the top of it, soil, whatever, use a gravel cleaner and you just have to go barely above the sand and it sucks up the junk and leaves the sand, it takes a little practice but it isnt hard.

I would love to find a source for black sand that is cheap


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

pyrrolin said:


> I use playsand substrate in most of my tanks, to clean junk off the top of it, soil, whatever, use a gravel cleaner and you just have to go barely above the sand and it sucks up the junk and leaves the sand, it takes a little practice but it isnt hard.
> 
> I would love to find a source for black sand that is cheap


I have been practicing siphoning with all of these water changes 

I ended up buying the black sand from bigals, it wasn't too bad paying around $40 for it all. I should have got a bit more though to be safe.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Here is a picture of the algae or fungus which grew back pretty fast. 

Anyone know what it is or how to get rid of it?


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

that looks like white algae. it must have came from the drift wood. dont worry its harmless, you can get some sae or cory catfish should eat them up.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I use playsand and black background but low budget. I would love to have a dark/black substrate and black background but can't find anything affordable.

Good lighting is a great investment if going planted. Two t5ho work wonderful in my 90 planted


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

lybrian1 said:


> that looks like white algae. it must have came from the drift wood. dont worry its harmless, you can get some sae or cory catfish should eat them up.


Thanks, I will go pick up an SAE soon because it seems to be getting worse.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

pyrrolin said:


> I use playsand and black background but low budget. I would love to have a dark/black substrate and black background but can't find anything affordable.
> 
> Good lighting is a great investment if going planted. Two t5ho work wonderful in my 90 planted


So far I am seeing growth from this T8 fixture from Home Depot. The best part is that it is only $50 and bulbs are like $10 for 2.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Now that Christmas is out of the way and exams are done, I can get back to working on the tank!  I have been thinking about stocking and I was wanting a pair of Bolivian Rams, but I am not sure where to buy them?


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Found some Bolivian Rams at BigAls, hopefully I got a male and female! It was difficult to try and tell them apart. Also picked up 6 Whitefin Tetras.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Trying to tell if I have a male and female, one stays at the back so I can't get a clear picture of him/her.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Also I have been having some issues with air bubbles that keep coming up from the substrate, especially when planting which make a mess by releasing the dirt...


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

Maybe you don't have enough gravel on top of it? I have dirted tank running for a week and i only saw bubbles for first few days but no mess.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

GAT said:


> Maybe you don't have enough gravel on top of it? I have dirted tank running for a week and i only saw bubbles for first few days but no mess.


I was thinking that also. I guess I will go buy another bag and see if that helps.


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

I have approximately 1inch of gravel. Do you have MTS to reduce anaerobic bacteria? they produce hydrogen sulfide gas. Its very smelly and toxic.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

GAT said:


> I have approximately 1inch of gravel. Do you have MTS to reduce anaerobic bacteria? they produce hydrogen sulfide gas. Its very smelly and toxic.


I have never really liked snails, but if they will help the tank then I will see if I can find some! 

Now I need to find a way to put more sand on top without making a bigger mess!  Thanks for the help.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Added some plants


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## GDidycz (Mar 6, 2012)

CallMeKenny said:


> *Livestock:*
> Pair of Rams
> Schooling Fish
> Pleco
> ...


You may want to consider a bunch of nerite snails, they are very slow to reproduce and they do a great job of keeping the inside glass clean from alge and rotting veg matter in check.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Added some DIY CO2 for now.


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## CallMeKenny (Aug 26, 2010)

Just an update after a couple days of CO2.


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