50G FW planted tank

[Midknight]

New freshwater up and running for a couple of months now.
Thought I would show progress right now as I just found a really cool surprise today.
Tank size is 48” long X 16” deep X 15” tall = 50G
This was to replace to 2 33G that I had. neither tank had much in it and they both really sucked at any kind of plant growth

So starting from the beginning...
08/23/07 – Just finishing up the stand and layout in my old place.



Working on the layout of the logs and that took a while (as normal)
I then cut a large number of glass into 1” X 1” squares. With a small number of pieces 1” X 1/3”



I then siliconed the glass into 1” stacks, stuck 2 of the smaller pieces and then a single piece on top.
When I was finished I had 6 glass stands.



I then drilled the 6 base points on the 2 logs I had and tied them to the stands with fishing line.
And this was as far as I got for a number of months as I was having a little trouble with the hood design.

[Midknight]

Now skip ahead to April of this year. I got a chance to move to a bigger place on the ground floor so I went for it.
Seeing that I had to rip apart the old tanks now was the time to get the new tank going.

I finally got the hood the way I wanted it... kind of


I am using 2 shop lights from the Home Depot with 1 daylight bulb & 1 plant grow bulb in each
And the logs siliconed to the bottom of the tank.
I like the way they turned out. The logs are still floating so the do shift a little side to side.
Full tank

Left

center

and right



Now I wanted this to be a planted tank so... in go some plants




And a shot from the end...


I did have one log I had tried to sink but gave up and it is now happily floating around.
And one of the plants that had lived in the other tank and attached itself to a rock so in the go.



And a final full tank shot from April/May

[rocketlily]

Planted tanks always look so nice. Like the 2 logs. What kind of fish are you putting in?

[Midknight]

And finally today.
Not sure what I did to this tank but it must had liked it.


Plants are everywhere, floating log finally sank (I think the plants dragged him down)
Tank is so full that the plants are now moving out. Over the back and down the hall.




I have a great supply of the mossy floating plant that gives off a kind of woodsy smell which is very nice.


And finally my main rogue plant that thinks it is now a tree.


This is where I found my surprise today. I was just picking out some excess plantage and found that the big guy was blooming.


It has 2 blooms right now and several more on the way.
I guess you learn something everyday.

[Midknight]

Thanks, the main residents are swords & guppies. Have lots of babies as there is lots of hiding places for them.
I dropped an Endler pair in the other day and they seem to be happy.
I have a small school of cardinal tetras, a pair of black Skirts, 1 red tail shark, 1 Siamese Algae Eater (had a pair but went for a walk on the dry side)
And a pair of bushynose plecos. Everybody seems happy together now.
I did have a small Angle that came down from other tanks and he was happy in the tank. That was until he found the guppies and then he was really happy.
I figure he might get a few of the babies but when he finished them off and started on the parents I found him a nice new home real quickly after that.

[Keri]

Beautiful!! I love planted tanks.

What kind of wood did you use?

[Delphinus]

Goodness, that's some growth!! Do you do CO2 for this tank, any fertilizers?

[Midknight]

Originally Posted by Keri

Beautiful!! I love planted tanks.

What kind of wood did you use?

Thanks Keri, are you talking about the logs I used?
I am not sure. I picked up several from a beach in Richmond.
Had them soaking in a bucket for long time before I used them.
I have 1 other really cool piece going to be using in my other tank when that gets finished.

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Goodness, that's some growth!! Do you do CO2 for this tank, any fertilizers?

No CO2 or fertilizers. I was going to setup some CO2 but found the plants were going nuts without it.
I did use special soil from Redsea though, but can not remember the name.