JMHart's 45g FW Planted

[jmhart]

You can see the roots of this tank here (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140828).


Tank: 45g All-Glass (36"w x 12" d x 24" h)
Filter: Eheim 2026
Substrate: Soilmaster Select
Lights: DIY 126w(See Sig)
DIY CO2: drop checker reads 20-30ppm
EI Dosing


Fauna:
8 Serpae Tetras
3 Gold Gourami's
3 SAE (C. Siamensis)
1 Zebra Danio
1 Yo-Yo Loach
1 Dojo Loach
1 Otocinclus
1 Common Pleco


Flora:
Ludwigia Repens
Rotala Indica
Limnophila Aromatica
Hemianthus micranthemoides("Pearlweed")
Echinodorus amazonicus (Amazon Sword)
Java Moss
Java Fern
Vallisneria americana
Rotala macrandra
Hemianthus Callitrichoides(HC)
Myriophyllum*
Limnophila sessiliflora(Ambulia)*
Najas guadalupensis(guppy grass)*

*Not pictured yet



2-5-2008
http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/302625839.jpg


The whole tank, including DIY hood and stand:
http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/302625868.jpg


Inside of the stand:
http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/302625856.jpg


Future plans:

Let HC grow in. Acquired three more background plants(noted "*" above). Fill in background.

Going pressurized in 2-3 months. Adding 2 more 26 watt bulbs to the hood. Add spray bar(black) and black intake.

Looking to add either a school of cardinals(trying to decide if two schools would make it too busy) or 4-6 GBR's.

[grannylvsfish]

very nice!!! you did a great job :)

[rogers138]

nice job on the hood and stand!! tank looks great as well

[bethkira2000]

Awesome, very nice tanks

[FtwayneFish]

Jeffrey is the MAN, great tank. Im thinking GBR's! But it looks nice.

I do have a ? tho. With the 3 2L of DIY co2 whats with the front one? half full of water? is it a seperator? is that how much gets into your tank if you dont use one????? or are all 3 that low? I cant tell.

[jmhart]

All three are only half full. I have a maximum amount of surface area between the yeast/sugar solution and atmosphere, allowing for the maximum amount of gas exchange and therefore the maximum amount of co2 getting into my tank.

If you look in the very center of the stand, taped to the back support is a small gatorade bottle. It's filled halfway with water. It's a bubble counter/gas separator.

[Stargate_geek]

Sweet tank!

[jm1212]

keep up the good work!

[gupman]

nice tank...pressurized co2 is def. alot easier..and cheaper in the long run.I am so glad i switched.

[rich311k]

Nice looking tank!

[irishspy]

Great job! :clap:

I was thinking how much I liked the rock wall when you posted this to the tank-painting thread. And the gold gouramis look great: one of my favorite fish.

[Reddog80p]

Cool tank!

[Lupin]

Nice tank!

[Mgamer20o0]

very nice. good job

[Bk718]

Nice tank
The hood and the stand really look great.
That HC should go crazy in no time.

So wait im trying to understand the whole filling the bottle half way thing..
So you are saying half filled it will give you the maximum amount of co2 into the tank, how often do you recharge the bottles?? Do you still use the same concentration of sugar and yeast just less water or what?

Thanks

[jmhart]

Nice tank
The hood and the stand really look great.
That HC should go crazy in no time.

So wait im trying to understand the whole filling the bottle half way thing..
So you are saying half filled it will give you the maximum amount of co2 into the tank, how often do you recharge the bottles?? Do you still use the same concentration of sugar and yeast just less water or what?

Thanks

It's not so much a "half" thing, as a below the point where the bottle starts to narrow. You want to maximize the surface area between the liquid and air. I use 2 cups of sugar and a little over 2 cups of water to dissolve it. After adding yeast, that only fills a little over half the bottle.

And I've also discovered that larger bottle dwelling fish and a developing HC lawn don't mix well. The HC looks pretty rough because they fish keep uprooting most of it.

[Bk718]

It's not so much a "half" thing, as a below the point where the bottle starts to narrow. You want to maximize the surface area between the liquid and air. I use 2 cups of sugar and a little over 2 cups of water to dissolve it. After adding yeast, that only fills a little over half the bottle.

And I've also discovered that larger bottle dwelling fish and a developing HC lawn don't mix well. The HC looks pretty rough because they fish keep uprooting most of it.

So how often do you recharge the bottles?? you add baking soda or just sugar/water/yeast? also how much yeast??
I have to recharge my bottles soon and up for new trials..

Got an update on the hc?? i know its only been 2 weeks but just curious on how its going.

[jmhart]

So how often do you recharge the bottles?? you add baking soda or just sugar/water/yeast? also how much yeast??
I have to recharge my bottles soon and up for new trials..

Got an update on the hc?? i know its only been 2 weeks but just curious on how its going.

I use champagne yeast.


My general diy strategy. I take a 4 cup measuring cup, add 2 dry cups of sugar, then fill it up with hot water. This gives 2 cups of sugar and a little over 2 cups of water. This amount goes in each bottle(I have 3 bottles).

In the beginning, I add a 1/4 tsp of yeast to half cup warm water. After activation, this goes in one bottle with a pinch of baking soda. Repeat for each bottle.

About every 2 weeks, I gently pour out most of the liquid from each trying not to disturb the yeast on the bottom. No matter what, about a cup of liquid always remains. I then add the 2 cup sugar/ ~2 cup water solution to each bottle.

At this time, I drop 1/4 tsp of yeast into half cup warm water. I distribute this to all three bottles to account for any lost yeast.

That's what I do. Works pretty well.


And the HC's not doing so great. What is staying planted is doing great, but more is being uprooted and lost(I don't know how, it just disappears) than is growing. The stuff that is growing looks great, but the fish keep uprooting the other stuff.

[bghill]

Very nice looking and thanks for the idea of the shelf mounted on the door. I have been looking for a way to keep all my foods and small containers (Prime, Blackwater Extract, plant foods, etc) organized and you just nailed it!

[Bk718]

I use champagne yeast.


My general diy strategy. I take a 4 cup measuring cup, add 2 dry cups of sugar, then fill it up with hot water. This gives 2 cups of sugar and a little over 2 cups of water. This amount goes in each bottle(I have 3 bottles).

In the beginning, I add a 1/4 tsp of yeast to half cup warm water. After activation, this goes in one bottle with a pinch of baking soda. Repeat for each bottle.

About every 2 weeks, I gently pour out most of the liquid from each trying not to disturb the yeast on the bottom. No matter what, about a cup of liquid always remains. I then add the 2 cup sugar/ ~2 cup water solution to each bottle.

At this time, I drop 1/4 tsp of yeast into half cup warm water. I distribute this to all three bottles to account for any lost yeast.

That's what I do. Works pretty well.


And the HC's not doing so great. What is staying planted is doing great, but more is being uprooted and lost(I don't know how, it just disappears) than is growing. The stuff that is growing looks great, but the fish keep uprooting the other stuff.

ahh so there really isnt a need to pour out the whole mix and wash the bottle fully?? nice
How many bubbles are you getting?

Also just curious hows your dosing schedule?

thanks for all info

[jmhart]

Nope no need to wash the bottles. If you use a yeast that floats, you can use a tube and siphon the liquid out from underneath the yeast.

I could count my bubbles...but I don't. Drop checker says 20 ppm right now, but that's cause I just recharged yesterday...yeast is still warming up. By tomorrow should read about 30ppm and stay that way for 13 more days.


I use EI dosing: KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4, and Plantex CSM+B for traces...all from Rex Grigg. I may start dosing iron as well, haven't decided yet.

[Bk718]

how long have you had the planted tank running already??

[jmhart]

It's been a bit of journey...

Last March bought 3 stems of ludwigia repens(however, I didn't know what the name was until September). It didn't grow....didn't really die either, just kind of stagnated. I didn't get serious about a planted tank until September.

At that time I added diy co2 and upped the lighting. Been adding a few plants here and there(mostly freebies and trades). The only plants I've outright purchased are the amazon sword, limnophila aromatica, and the original ludwigia repens(which is doing great now). So, the 30g with blue gravel started getting serious in September, and now it's what you see here.



Edit: I also started added regular Flourish in September. Started EI dosing January 1st and it's made all the difference.

[Bk718]

not bad, how often you trim the plants???

[FtwayneFish]

So Jeffrey, I have a question pertaining to your awesome planted tanks. With your recipe for DIY co2 would it change at all if I used brewers yeast?

And I recently added new pics, no more click n view thank gosh.

[jmhart]

Due to the fish, I'm probably in the tank every other day(replanting stuff they've dug up:angryfire:).

However, I'd say I "trim" once every 7-10 days. Not every plant gets trimmed at that time, but at least one or two of them requires trimming.

[jmhart]

So Jeffrey, I have a question pertaining to your awesome planted tanks. With your recipe for DIY co2 would it change at all if I used brewers yeast?

And I recently added new pics, no more click n view thank gosh.

Yeah, I checked out your new pics. The Birchir tank is pretty cool.



The only thing that I can think would change with using brewer's yeast is that A) it would float, so to reuse the yeast in solution, you'd have to siphon off the liquid under the floating yeast and B) it might last 1 or 2 days shorter due to it's lower alcohol tolerance.

I've only used two types of yeast, bread and champagne. For me, bread yeast lasted about 8 days, whereas champagne yeast lasts about 14 days. My guess is brewer's yeast would be somewhere in between, closer to champagne, so my guess is 10-12 days.

[FtwayneFish]

Thankyou- and btw GREAT avatar.

Yea I have some BBA now. not really "mat-ish" more strand-ish. lol. It starts on the lower, older parts of the plants. never grows on the new parts. Im thinking a dose or two of excel?

[jmhart]

I had a bit of BBA. I got my potassium back in check and the BBA stagnated. I trimmed the plants that had it and cleaned the rocks, and three weeks into the new aquarium, no BBA. Cross my fingers.

As everyone knows, generally algae is a sign of low co2 or extra nutrients, but sometimes it can be a sign of too little nutrients. BBA often appears when there is a deficiency of potassium in the tank.

[FtwayneFish]

ok, I will have to give a dose more of my flora pride its mainly potassium. and it did kinda pop up in between co2 refills. You really have to be on top of that once you start. I was thinking a 3-4 month run of it and let the plants sit. But I dont think that is possible.

its pretty gross.

[Temo]

nice

[H3D]

Nice tank.

[Bk718]

hey jeff hows the hc coming along??

[jmhart]

What's left of it is growing GREAT, as long as it can stay rooted.

My Dojo loach LOVES to dig it up.


Actually, the whole tank looks bad right now. I added a few fish last weekend, dig a major prune, and hooked up co2 to my other tank. In the process of all that, I accidentally turned the co2 up in my main tank, killing almost all of the fish I had just bought and a few others.

I'm planning a MAJOR rescape, including pulling out all the soilmaster and adding a layer of laterite(my red plants just won't get red). Most of the fish I have moved over to my other tank. The wife won't like it, but the dojo loach is probably staying there. He just doesn't get along with the HC.

Once the rescape is done in a two or three weeks(I'm soaking some driftwood, that's what I'm waiting on), I'm going to go fishless long enough for the HC to at least start to fill in. Most likely I'll go bottom dweller free, except for some SAEs(if you can really call them bottom dwellers) and I'll probably have to put back my common pleco because my wife just won't let me give him away.


In other news, I'm in the process of cleaning/repairing a 55g acrylic tank, so hopefully that'll be set up in the near future.

[Bk718]

ahh i see thats alot of news at once lol
So the hc that didnt get uprooted did it grow fast.. just want to compare before and after (i know its hard because of the dojo)
Btw how much hc you looking for?? i got about a 1.5-2" piece on the side.. Trying to decide if i should use it in my 29

[jmhart]

I'm really looking for whatever amount. The HC that was able to grow grew great. Meaning, it stayed low and really filled out. Grow almost flat against the substrate, maybe only 2 cm above it. I could tell that if it was allowed to fill in, it would look great.

However, I did add more bulbs. I've read that with HC, to get a nice lawn effect, the more light the better. I did notice that it grow lower and fuller when I added the new bulbs. I've also read that while slower, growing it emmersed is easier because it's easier for the roots to take hold. I'm contemplating growing it emmersed.

[Bk718]

ahh yea i saw plenty of setups with hc and few other plants grown emersed.. Looks great and plenty had great success but a few had problems with it melting. Plus takes around 8 weeks for it to grow in nicely.. dont know if you are patient lol Heres what Tom Barr the plant guru himself told me when i asked him about submerging hc that was grown emersed..
"There should not be any melt to speak up.
Good sediment(ADA aqua soil is very good) and good CO2 is about all the plant needs.
It's an easy plant to grow with good CO2 and sediment."

What many do when they submerge the plants that were grown emersed is pound them with co2 or excel (good time not to have fish in the tank)

I at the moment am trying to grow hc myself in the 10g (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147583&page=4), planted it this week so 2 early to tell whats going to happen. I did learn that a little hc goes a long way..
Im also trying to decide if i should add another 14w bulb to my 10g to give it more watts for the hc.. at the moment it got 2.8wpg (prob 3.2-3.5wpg since i added tons of substrate giving me only 8 or so gallons in the tank)

[jmhart]

Little update: I pretty much killed every fish in this tank, stocking has changed as well as plant list. I also took the opportunity to do a rescape and change the substrate.

Went pressurized with co2.
Changed substrate from 100% SMS to 50/50 SMS/Flourite mixed.

Flora:
Bacopa Carolinia
Rotala Macrandra(could be varigated or 'green' var, or I could just be bad a growing it)
Limnophila Aromatica
Sunset Hygro
Ammannia Gracillis
Rotala Macrandra
Blyxa Japonica
Lobelia Cardinalis
And an invisible amount of HC

Fauna
6 Cardinal Tetras
4 Clown Loaches
3 Otos
2 Chocolate Gourami's
1 Discus
1 SAE

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/314524759.jpg


Needs to be trimmed. Battling GDA right now. Hoping to get a Hydor in-line and remove the heaters. I've got the magnum 350 in there for water polishing...but at the moment the magnet's burned out and needs to be replaced.

I upgraded the lighthing, now it's got 206 watts. I think it's way too much. I either going to reduce it down or rewire so that I can time half the lights separate from the other half. Who knows.

I'm struggling right now with my red plants. I can't seem to get them red. Rotala Macrandra and A. gracillis just aren't doing well. I've upped my iron and phosphate dosing, and reduced nitrate. We'll see what happens in a few weeks.

[Bk718]

nice, How did you manage to kill the fish??

lol love the "invisible hc", give it some time, it will eventually break through. And with that lighting/co2/ferts it should spread out nicely

[jmhart]

I *may* have had the co2 up too high:wall:.....twice....and once in my other tank followed by a thermometer malfunction resulting in 90+ deg water killing all the fish in that tank too........it's been a rough couple of weeks.

But, I had a buddy breaking down his 125, so I took all of his fish and restocked.


Yeah, I had a TON of HC, but the GDA kind of covered it and wiped it out.

[jmhart]

Short picture update:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/321905416.jpg



And some of my newer critters:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/321905420.jpg

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/321905419.jpg



and this plant came in as a stoyaway in my new(used) substrate, anybody want to ID it for me?:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/321905424.jpg

[Rbishop]

Very nice!

[DAVIDFBT]

A Chocolate Gourami? You must have some really good water and lots of time for that guy! Nice tank BTW.

[Bk718]

cool, im loving the discus. Hows the algae issue going??? Also hows your macrandra growing? I have red and green and the red seems to grow 10x slower than the green :(

[jmhart]

David:

I don't have really good water, I have GREAT water. Out of the tap my pH is about 7.4, add co2 and it becomes 6.4. My water is as soft as it gets. KH is nearly 0 deg out of the tap, GH is 2 deg. Great water. No RO needed here.

I do add GH/KH booster to my tank, to get KH up to 4, GH 6, for my plants, but the fish don't seem to mind.


BK:

The macrandra's doing pretty well. Starting to really show more red. Raising my GH has really started to improve my red plants. I think I need new bulbs, but other than that they are growing great. However, I haver discovered that macrandra doesn't like bing sprayed with Excel, which brings me to the next topic.

I still have a small bit of algae on some of the plants, but in the rest of the tank it's under control. I started spraying down the tank surfaces with a 3:1 dilution of Excel during water changes. Kills the algae, but my Macrandra, Bolbitis, and Reineckii melt if they get sprayed.

That's interesting about how fast your Red Macrandra grows, other than my Rotala Colorata, it's my fastest grower.

[mphunk]

Can't get better than east bay mud water....looking good jm!

[rich311k]

Lovely!

[irishspy]

What's "KH booster?" :confused:

[jmhart]

Added a few things the last few days. New complete stock list:

10 Cardinals
7 Chocolate Gourami's(4 are new)
5 Blue Discus(but they look black, I know)(trying to sell these)
4 German Blue Ram's(new)
4 Clown Loaches
2-3 Otos'(who can tell)
2 SAE's
1 Congo Tetra(going with the Discus)
1 Norman's Blue Eye(going with the Discus)
Handful of Red Cherry and Amano Shrimp


I'll add pics later today

and, to answer your question:


What's "KH booster?" :confused:


Baking Soda

[Emerica88]

Why are you getting rid of the Discus?

[jmhart]

As lovely as they are, I've decided they aren't what I want to focus on right now. They are currently in a 45g. They really need at least a 70 which I don't have room for. They kind of dwarf my tank, and my right now my focus is more on finding ways to make the tank look bigger, and having big fish in it isn't the way.

I'm looking to sell these to someone with a bigger tank that knows what they are doing.

[jmhart]

Not much has changed in the last week in tank as a whole, but here's a pic from tonight anyway:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/324711228.jpg




And here are some pictures of the new additions. 4 GBR's total, all new, and 4 Chocolate Gourami's new, 6 total.

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/324711422.jpg


http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/324711729.jpg



http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/324711544.jpg


http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/324711832.jpg


http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/324712014.jpg

[Coler]

Beatiful tank and lovely fish jm ! Love those chocolate gourami

[irishspy]

Baking Soda

Ah, okay. I use the same thing every so often.

[jpappy789]

awesome tank jmhart!!! and I love the new additions!!!

[FISHSHROD]

Nice going :grinyes:

[jmhart]

Thanks!

[Bk718]

wow the blyxa really got a boost in growth. I need to start dosing co2 again in my 10g to get that full growth. Very Nice!!

[jmhart]

Yep, before I knew it, I looked up and saw that it was almost half the height of my tank. Here in the next week or two I'm digging in and thinning it out.

[Bk718]

lol comparing it to the photo on 4-24
http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/314524759.jpg

it perfectly shows what good light and co2 can do

Im trying to get my hands one some blyxa aubertii. Looks just like regular blyxa but is taller, perfect for a background.

[ibr3ak]

Nice tank, sweet gouramis :)

[irishspy]

Those chocolates are quite pretty! :thm:

[Jag1980]

Have you noticed a difference in plant growth with the Soil Master compared to other substrates you have used with similar setup?

What's those black fish I see in the picture? Kinda look like Discus?

[jmhart]

I changed a number of things around about the time I added the flourite, so I can't attribute any positive results strictly to the flourite.

I'd say that with pressurized co2, good light with good reflectors(I've upgraded from the DIY CFL lights to 2x96w PC ahsupply retrokit), regular dosing, and the occasional root tab, you would never know the difference between SMS and Flourite. Aquasoil is another matter.

Those are/were discus. I had acquired them through a tank purchase, but have since passed them on. Too big for a 45g tank. Stressed out all the time.

[jmhart]

It's cool to look back at pictures of the rams. They were so small and scrawny then. Now that they've had 6 months to eat, drink, and be happy, they're big and fat, and spawning on a weekly basis.

[Bk718]

jeff you are slacking where are the updates

[jmhart]

Indeed, I am slacking.

Some changes:



Upgraded to 2x96w PC with AHSupply Relectors, using 1 10,000k and 1 6700k-Colormax bulb, 10,000k on 9 hours a day, both on for 4.
Added Milwaukee pH controller, now co2 is out of my hands and awesome
Added 5 Zebra Nerites and a bunch of Amanos to deal with algae.
Added Hydor Koralia 'Nano' to fill in some dead spots.
Now maintaining KH=4 GH=8


The tank, it's about 1" short on water, so I cropped.
http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340017899.jpg


And one of the new Amano's:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340017788.jpg

[DrNo]

Indeed, I am slacking.

Some changes:




Added Milwaukee pH controller, now co2 is out of my hands and awesome



They really are 'let me sleep at night" machines.... congrats, tank looks incredible!

[jmhart]

Didn't really like that last tank pic, too dark, let's try this one:


http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340024972.jpg

[Hurley]

The tank really looks fantastic. Great job!

[StarStruck8]

Everything looks perfect...great choice of plants, the colors look amazing! :thm:

[Bk718]

Great job Jeff. All that wait was well worth it.
(guessing the yellow thing in top center is the ph probe?)

how fast does your cardinal plant grow?

[jmhart]

Yeah, I'm still too lazy to remove equipment for photos...

Typically, under the high light, it keeps pretty low and grows only at a moderate pace. Last time I trimmed it was about 6 weeks ago, only grown 3-4" in that time. Was staying a lot smaller, but then I did a black out and I swear it grew 2" in those 4 days.

[Bk718]

lol dumb question.. why is your spray bar glowing neon green?

[jmhart]

Little bit of GDA growing on top of it.

[Bk718]

lol quit lying.. you are nuking your tank to get better plant growth!! no but seriously it looks hella bright

How are your stones doing as far as algae? You take them out to clean them?

also hows the flow on that powerhead?? im thinking of getting one for my 55 but not sure which model to get..

[jmhart]

Stones are doing great, but to be fair, they're all most covered up now. The spray bar gets hit not 3" below the light that's on the longest.

[Bk718]

here are more questions (sorry)
you got 2 filters running on the tank.. the gray spray bar goes with the black intake.. wheres the outflow for the eheim??

Im asking since im trying to see different setups people have on a tank with 2 filters.. Im trying to find that right angle of flow in my 55 to kill all dead spots.

[jmhart]

So, my intake and output are kind of ghetto.

Eheim 2128 has the green intake and the spray bar. CO2 goes in this filter

Magnum 350 with micron filter has the black intake and then comes out the very top about half way between the black intake and the glass via my UV filter. It's a Pentair Lifeguard, which can be run inline or hang on, depending on whichever you like, and for now I'm running it hang on.

I'm thinking about switching the two. The UV really sucks the flow out of the 350, so since the 2128 is a little bit too much for a 45g anyway, figured the UV run inline there might not be a bad idea. But that involves rearranging inside the stand....not gonna happen for a while, too afraid to go in there:22_yikes:

[Bk718]

hows the powerhead? strong flow for a nano?

[Redneck Woman]

Gorgeous tank!!:)

[jmhart]

hows the powerhead? strong flow for a nano?

It's exactly what I was looking for. Something small(ish) was my first priority, so I figured I'd have to sacrifice flow a little, but I'm really happy with the nano.

[jmhart]

I really wasn't happy with those pictures, they really don't do the tank justice, so I popped over the aquatic-photography and boned up a little on my skills, not perfect, but like 200% improvement:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340442047.jpg

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340441906.jpg

[Bk718]

like a whole different tank

[derekp]

Very nice. I wish my rotala macrandra looked half as good as yours.

[SchizotypalVamp]

droolarrific

[AfroCichlid]

Excellent photo of a beautiful tank.

[pacersfan09]

beautiful tank, love the fish selection, and love the plant selection as well.

[bettalover]

I really wasn't happy with those pictures, they really don't do the tank justice, so I popped over the aquatic-photography and boned up a little on my skills, not perfect, but like 200% improvement:

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340442047.jpg

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1697/10584704/18904759/340441906.jpg

thats a beautiful tank. :thm:

[Riiz]

You have an amazing aquascape there. It'll be a shame when its time to break it down for your move.

[jmhart]

You have an amazing aquascape there. It'll be a shame when its time to break it down for your move.


Yeah, that's heavy on my mind.

[prolude006]

Awesome looking tank.
The red plants really pop.

Just drain all the water and bag the tank then move it with a few friends...then add water when you get to your new place. Everything will be just as it was!! Well maybe, but it looks so nice. Good luck

[addicted2fish]

awesome job, just read the hood details and now the stand . very impressive, I now know what I want to do with MY hood for my 55 gallon , thank you jeff.

[grannylvsfish]

wow that tank is awesome!!!!!!!

[jmhart]

I'll have to get an update up....the tank looks awful. Back to back trips Thanksgiving and Christmas pretty much wiped out my L. aromatica.

I've got two problems, I think. One is that I didn't dose at all for 11 days straight while on both those trips and I think, maybe, that PPS-Pro has significantly increased my hardness in the 2 months that I've been doing it.

If I hav some time after work, I'll take some shots to show you how awful it is.

[jmhart]

Moving in 10 days across the country to Atlanta. Really changing things up. I'm buying a house, which will include the construction of a pond, so I'm rethinking everything. A lot is going to happen over the next few months.

Sold off the 46g(completed), putting this one in storage(with the move), making the 5.5g just a simple temporary quarantine tank(with the move), and replacing the 75g with a 120g (as soon as I move into the house). Adding an ADA 60-P and building a pond. End result will look like this:

Now
5.5g high tech planted
45g high tech planted
46g high tech planted
75g high tech planted

Future:
ADA 60-P high tech planted
120g high tech, medium light, slow growers(anubias, bolbitis, crypts) probably blackwater, and low maintenance
And a pond, as big as is reasonable for the yard

[saram521]

Moving to the ATL, eh? Now we'll have another AC'er here, awesome! Hope the moving process isn't too stressful for ya and can't wait to see pics of your current and future setups!

[jpappy789]

Sucks that the move interrupts this gorgeous tank, but I can't wait to see the future plans in action!

[jmhart]

Actually, the move is kind of a catalyst. Like I said, this one is going in storage, but I was getting bored...no, bored is too strong, maybe, yeah....I was complete with this tank. Finished. 12" front to back in such a tall tank is so hard to work with.

120g and a 60-P are gonna be really nice and fun.

[WaywardSon]

Stunning tank - very, very impressive!