My 55 Gallon Journal

[averagejose]

Well I decided to go another direction with my planted 55 and am doing a total rescape. I took out all the plants I had previously and am starting anew. With an addition of 30 more lbs of Seachems Fluorite and 2 new rocks as focal points, this is going to be a completely different look but will hopefully end up just as good or better than my previous attempt. This is a journal from planting to a hopefully good looking finished project but I will consistently update for the duration of the growout/future rescapes. Feel free to ask questions make suggestions and comment.

Here's what my old layout looked like in its peak.


Tank
55 gallon
48x13x20
DIY Stand

CO2 System
10 lb Bottle
Xivo CO2 tubing
Archaea Regulator
Milwaukee SMS110 pH Monitor
Plastic Check Valve
Class CO2 Diffuser

Filtration
1 Fluval 305 260 gph
1 Fluval 205 185 gph
Activated carbon Pouches
Ceramic biological media

Lighting
4x54 T5HO Total 216 watts
Timer for daylight cycle

Substrate
7 bags Seachems Fluorite

[U)Plants[/U]
Blyxa Japonica
Dwarf hairgrass
Pogostemon erectus
Giant Hairgrass
Hygrophilia angustifolia
and some form of rotala

Fish/Inverts
Neon Tetras
Shrimp

I will be upgrading my filter tubing and outputs to the lily design in the future in order to have less intrusive hardware in the tank. Here is the current hardscape of the tank.


Cheers,
averagejose

 

[Ambidestrian]

Nice. Do you have a glass top on the tank or is it open?

 

[TheFishBoss97]

I loved the original tank, but there is always a time when u get bored of the look, and want change, so this was it for u.

I love the 1st rock on the left, but I don't really like the 2nd one(well only the part that you can see next to the glass, the flat part) JUST my opinion.

I would add more fish to your stock list, and make it something like this

RCS
Tiger Shrimp or CRS
Amano Shrimp
ABN Pleco/s(these need DW)
Clown Pleco/s(these need DW)
ottos(live on biofilm of plants)
24 neon tetras or more
maybe 3 angelfish or just 1(your choice, i like them)
1-2 pairs rams/apistos/dwarf cichlids

remember, those are just my opinions,

great setup, and equipment

 

[averagejose]

I completely forgot to put RCS on my stocklist, I really dont have any previous experience with shrimp so how many should I start out with as I have heard that they reproduce really quickly. I've also been looking for a new rock to put there that would look more like the one on the left, I think I have found one, I would want to put some sort of mossy plant there like riccia but not java moss, any suggestions? Here's the rock I found, it looks much more like the other rock in terms of color than the picture shows but i think it would be good if tilted back to expose the concave face. The front end would be buried more so that it is sloping toward the front of the tank, not the back.

 

[happypoet]

I'd get a dozen RCS from each of two different sources. You'll have a good, genetically strong colony in no time. You might want to start until you get some plant growth, though. Even those little cardinal tetras will eat baby shrimp if they can find them.

 

[averagejose]

Well here is the first plants that i have put in, the middle area will be primarily dwarf hairgrass with the left and right sides of the tank being more bushy and taller plants. Here are the current pictures. I didnt get a chance to put the new rock in so I stlll dont know how that will look. Oh and there is no glass top to the tank.
and here are some of my stand and equipment

 

[cbb2296]

Ph

.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

I read that you are going to do something to make the inlet and outlet tubes less noticeable or intrusive in your tank....how are you going to accomplish that?

 

[averagejose]

I am going to use the lily inflow and outflow pipes to minimize tank intrusion. They're glass so they almost disappear

 

[Ambidestrian]

If you could use acrylic pipes, it would be even less visible because acrylic and water have very similar refractive indices.