55 Gallon Setup.

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


JB20High9473
 
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 5:21 am

55 Gallon Setup.

by JB20High9473

Hi yall! It's been awhile since I have posted! The 20 gallon tank is going amazingly! I have integrated live plants and am slowly getting rid of all the fake ones! The fish are all happy and healthy and the two Angelfish are ready to be re-homed at about 3.5 inches long.

The 55 I am setting up is going to be all live plants, and natural materials.

The Fish List is:

My 2 adult Angelsfish (considering adding another 3 to try and get a breeding pair)
4(ish) Dwarf Gurami
4(ish) Bolivian Rams
#? Clown Loaches
-------------------------
Of course thats just a start and later I will find a good schooling fish, but for now I like the list. Any input is always welcome!

As for the plants I am thinking at least one water lily, some amazon sword, 2 or 3 patches of moss ( on drift wood), and then some random anubias to fill it out. If you all can think of a really colorful plant ( the wife is a little bumbed by the dull nature of the freshwater plants we are using) please let me know!

The gear is going to be a 400 gal/hr Filter (can't remember the name, but its a biowheel filter and the lfs recommended it) 130 watt light setup ( more then 2/gal !) two Bubble stones ( I just like them dangit!) and a more then adequate heater.

The substrate is going to be a bottom layer of Eco-Complete for all the plants, and then a thick layer of sand over that. I realise that eventually I might get alot of the black eco-complete coming up and mixing into the sand, but I am ok with that. I have one peice of drift wood that I am going to mount in the corner for a mangrove root type appeal ( from within which the lilly bulb will sprout!) and then a mix of rounded river rock, slate, and even a bit more drift wood to fill it out. I am thinking a slate pile of sort to make a nice cave system at the opposite end of the mangrove-esque wood. I want to have enough cover for comfort, but give the angels enough room to really flare out and be beautiful!

Anyways, any comments or concerns are welcome and as always Thanks for the help in advance!

JB


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

by natalie265

Have you thought about adding CO2 to this tank?

I think your stocking sounds good except i'm not sure about the clown loaches. I think they get pretty big, and if you include them, your tank might be full faster than you realize. Personally, i'd leave them out and go w/a nice size school of smaller fish instead, as well as upping the angels to five.


JB20High9473
 
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 5:21 am

by JB20High9473

As for CO2 I am considering it. It is going to be heavily planted so CO2 makes sense. I will probably try out a home made difuser for a few weeks and if that works install a commercial system.

Well there will be 5 Angels if I get 3 more like I plan on doing, unless you meant get 5 more to make 7?

As for the loaches you might be right. Perhaps some Kuhli Loaches? They are small enough that it should be ok?

As always I appreciate the comments!

JB


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

by Zambize4899

I agree about the clown loaches. They are schooling fish and they get to be 12" long! Nix the clown loaches. I wouldn't do kuhlii's either, you'll never see them. Very skittish and nocturnal. To keep the snails down, and you'll have 'em, go with 5-6 dwarf chain loaches. They need to be in a group but they'll stay really small and they love their snails!

Plants with color, like red, typically need intense lighting. I'm not sure what you've got for lighting, maybe I missed that part.

I have a heavily planted 55g and tried to go without CO2 and my plants steadily declined in health, even though I use Eco-Complete and I fed my plants liquid nutrients. Within a week of adding the CO2, my plants showed significant improvement. Now I'm pruning weekly though...lol.

Z


JB20High9473
 
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 5:21 am

by JB20High9473

Well I am going to run 130 watts of plant lighting in the tank. Thats over the recommended 2 watts per gallon. I am assuming that would be sufficient for a colorful plant.

As for the clown loaches I have done some more reading and pulled them from the list. I wil have to look into the Chain Loaches.

I am going to build a DIY CO2 once the tank is up and get a feel for the benefits. From what I have heard I will be getting a more stable system shortly after, but with initial setup costs the DIY will have to do for a few weeks.

Thanks for all the great info!

JB


peterkarig
 
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:06 am

by peterkarig

I stopped using co2 in my nicest planted tank because it was a pain and because I don't want to have to thin out plants every week or so.

Without the co2 I have dwarf baby tears, hair grass, and micro-sword growing fine.

My suggestion for a colorful plant is red lotus lilly (or something like that).
The base leaves are a beautiful red color.

My other thought is to be careful with the DIY co2. You don't want to over do it. I came home a couple times to find some dead fish and parylised shrimp. If you're going to DIY I'd keep track of the amount of pH drop and watch the tank for a day after seting up the co2, and realise the co2 ppm will go up at night and the o2 will go down.

Some people turn off the co2 at night, and some turn on an air stone or powerhead with venturi at night and leave the co2 on. I had my co2 on all the time and had it go through my canister filter, and also had a powerhead with venturi on all the time.

PK


JB20High9473
 
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 5:21 am

by JB20High9473

Well I plan on running two air stones as I really like the look and feel of them. I don't know if this is enough to negate the dead fish risk or not though. I am more and more thinking that I will just go ahead and buy a CO2 system that I can rely on versus my own ingenuity. Lord knows the things I build are not very reliable at times!

Any preferences on systems out there? I am looking at someing on the low end as I don't require anything amazing.

Thanks,

JB


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

by natalie265

I use DIY CO2 in my 30 gallon without problem, although my water is naturally hard and basic so i don't have to worry about ph drop as much. another option would be to forego CO2 and just plant easy to grow plants like crypts, anubias and java moss. Then, if you add CO2 later, you can add more demanding plants. Some people who must have an aquatic green thumb report success w demanding plants and no CO2, but i'm not one of those people, so try at your own risk (or maybe ask PK for his secret tips).

55 Gallon Setup.

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