75 gallon Planted Office Tank Journal

Once things grow in, the 2217 will probably come up a bit short with respect to water circulation. Just add a power head or two when that happens.

Looking good!

Someone else also said something similiar earlier in thread, and I trust you all, So I just ordered a powerhead. :worthy:

I dont know anything about power heads, but I do know with Co2 I want to limit surface agitation. So I think just moving water around low in the tank, using something like this will work?

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The model I got it called Hydor Koralia Evolution 750.
 
Tomorrow night after the eco-complete is in, and the seeded filter is hooked up, I think I am going to keep the cycle going with cherry barbs. They are very tough fish, not flashy in anyway, and I think will be a nice substitute until the school of rainbows shows up in two or three weeks.

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OKay, so I just talked to my plant guy, and he says that cherry barbs eat plants, so their out. I guess I will use zebra danios for the time being until I can get a large order of rainbows.

Also, I need to do a GH/KH test for him in the next few days, but the kit I ordered wont be in until too late, so now I need to find a way to test this fast. I dont think local stores carry those tests, but I will be calling tomorrow. I dont suppose there is some quick-and-dirty method?

Plants will be in on 4/8, and I was told to NOT drain the water down most of the way, which is what I was originally going to do, since I thought that is what I have seen from most tank journals here. But it makes sense to leave most water in, so plants are not drooping all over the place.

LOTS of pics tomorrow, so all your stragglers need to read all the posts and check out all the pics I have posted today so you are ready for tomorrow.

By the way, I know I could have saved money by buying plants from different people here, but I needed a quick and easy plant package that I could pay someone else to put togeather for me. I dont know much about plants, layouts, height issues (foreground, mid, back). I known I paid extra, but I think this will be a good decision for getting the tank up and running within two weeks. For additional plants, and future tanks, I will certainly look to our members for goods.
 
From what I've seen here and online, Cherry barbs won't eat plants as long as you provide alternate foods. They do like algae and may nibble anacharis.
 
Fertilizer

I'm going blind from reading about Fertilizers, so I finally pulled the trigger on ordering dry fert supplies, and I hope I dont have to readdress this issue any time soon. I think this is by far the most confusing aspect of planted tank. Too much info out there! :duh:

This is what I am doing:

Initially I am dosing liquid Flourish Trace, and probably Leaf Zone.

When the dry ferts arrive, I will be using a digital scale and the excel calc/spreadsheet called "PPS-Pro Solution Recipe" (download it free online) to measure out fertz for me. I just bought:

K2SO4 (Potassium sulfate)
KNO3 (Potassium nitrate)
KH2PO4 (Monopotassium phosphate)
MgSO4 (Magnesium sulfate)
CaSO4 (Calcium sulfate)
CSM+B Plantex (2% Mn, 7% Fe, 0.4% Zn, 0.1% Cu, 1.3% B, 0.06% Mo)

I need to play with how often I dose it, but probably 3 times a week?
 
From what I've seen here and online, Cherry barbs won't eat plants as long as you provide alternate foods. They do like algae and may nibble anacharis.

Hmmm, who to believe? I currently have cherry barbs with Amazon swords, and have never seen them eat the leaves either. Is there anyone else that can confirm that cherry barbs are save with a wide variety of plants?
 
cherry barbs absolutely do not eat plants. Your plant guy is just wrong. I've kept cherry barbs for the entire time I've been a fish keeper... they are one of the heartiest and most interesting fish I've kept. They pick at algae all day long, are friendly to smaller fish, and breed easily. Don't be persuaded away from cherry barbs. They are a great way to start a planted tank stock.
 
cherry barbs absolutely do not eat plants. Your plant guy is just wrong. I've kept cherry barbs for the entire time I've been a fish keeper... they are one of the heartiest and most interesting fish I've kept. They pick at algae all day long, are friendly to smaller fish, and breed easily. Don't be persuaded away from cherry barbs. They are a great way to start a planted tank stock.


I love it! And the pendulum swings back to cherry barbs. :frog:
 
eco complete

The eco-complete has arrived! :headbang2:

Here are some initial shots, I wont be able to load it into the tank for a few hours.

This is a really crappy photo, but here are the thermometers I got, which came in the boxes of eco-complete. I've got to say, ordering 150 pounds of eco-complete for only 9.00 shipping was very nice.

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Here is a shot sitting in my chair, looking at the tank. You can see how close I am to the tank, and I get a nice view of the short and long sides of the tank.

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This is me trying to get the last drops out of the tank from the test fill. How do you guys get the last 1/2 inch of water out when you break down a tank?

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