Mike's 45 gallon planted tank, continuation of my 30 gallon

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Finally!!!!! My 45 gallon long (48"x12"x19") planted tank is up and running >_<

So this thread will be the continuation of my 30 gallon plant which is located here...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/getting-back-into-planted-tanks.652351/

Tank specifics...
45 gallon long aquarium
Lighting - Currently 36" T5HO Dual Bulb, and 48" T8 Dual Bulb (upgraded to Odyssea T5HO Quad this summer)
Filtration - Odyssea CFS-500 Canister Filter
Heating - 300w Hydor Threo Submersible Heater
Substrate - 60lbs Flourite/Flora-Max mix @ 3" depth
Co2 - DIY co2 system using yeast method (upgrade this summer to automated system)
Fertilizers - EI classic dosing regime using dry ferts, and osmocote+ root tabs


So I finally got this tank switched over from a cichlid tank, to a planted tank! Here's a couple pictures of the tank now...

I'm not too keen on the layout... I'll be moving some of the plants around to make it more appealing lol, just letting the tank "simmer" down some since I moved the 2 True Siamese Algae Eaters today. The Cabomba in picture 3 will be move to the rear left side of the tank by the middle Cabomba plant in picture 2, the Hygrophila corymbosa angustifolia will be move to the middle left side of the tank by the driftwood, the 2 Amazon Swords will go into the right rear corner of the tank, the Red Tiger Lotus will be moved to the left rear corner of the tank, and the Hygrophila corymbosa to the right side of the tank but haven't decided where lol.

So that's it for right now!!!

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So I might change the lighting to 2x20w Biltek 6500k soft white flood lights & a 10w 20,000k flood light instead of the Odyssea T5HO quad fixture. I would make a wooden canopy for the tank with 1x20w 6500k flood lights on each side of the tank, and put the 10w 20,000k in the middle this way each side of the tank would have a 6500k day time light targeting the 600nm-660nm high end peaks, and the 20,000k in the middle to supply the 420nm-460nm wavelength to target the low end peaks of the chlorophyll stages.

The flood lights would be installed into the canopy, and sitting 4" above the tank....


I did get the plants rearranged in the tank, and it looks less cluttered now!!! I also made up a new batch of co2 mix for the tank, but I might do a little more with moving some of the plants to better spots in the tank...

The 30 gallon tank still needs to be drained, cleaned out, and set back up as a grow out tank for some juvenile Green Sunfish, Black Crappie, and some Bluegill that will go into my 100 gallon tank when big enough...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So I was going to drain the 30 gallon tank, but something told me to turn on the LED light for the tank and to my surprise there's a baby fish about 1/4" in long swimming in the tank lol! I have no clue as to what species it is so I'm going to let it grow, and see what it turns out to be!!!!

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

I made up my mind for what lighting I'm going to use for this tank... and it's the...

48" Odyssea T5HO Freshwater Quad w/ timer!!!

I'll be building a wooden canopy for the tank based on this design here...

But I won't go as deep as in the pictures, I'll only go about 3" for the open lift because I'll be going with the Odyssea quad I want to suspend the lighting fixture about 6" above the tank so I'll have room to open the glass tops for the aquarium for stuff like... Dosing ferts, trimming plants, tank maintenance, etc....

The wood canopy will be 49.5" long X 13.5" wide X 14" tall... and will be painted black, and then in a couple of months I'll paint the stand black.

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So I've decided that I really don't like the layout in my tank... The driftwood just takes up too much space in my opinion... I mean it's not like I hate it, it fit in well in the 30 gallon tank; But I mean look at my old 75 gallon planted tank....

I want a simple yet "elegant" layout like the 75 gallon tank had, so I'll be tearing down this tank again and going with a more simplified hardscape...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Well after doing some serious thinking... I've decided that I'll be going with a 48" Finnex Planted+ LED for this tank!!!

I ordered a 1lb bag of active dry yeast lol which will last me quite a long time, this way I don't have to keep using those stupid little packets of yeast... Not to mention it was only $5 w/ free shipping from Jet.com...

https://jet.com/product/Red-Star-Active-Dry-Yeast-2-Lb/2c973f6a99a74dc4976af10c21f9d0ac

Getting a 1lb bag of yeast will give me time to upgrade the lighting on the tank, and pick up an automated co2 system!!!


However I've got a hair algae outbreak, and the 2 Siamese algae eaters are being lazy and not clearing it up... so I'll use a toothbrush to clean up as much of the hair algae I can until I next month when I'll pick up 3-6 Amano shrimp which will do a better job at clearing out hair algae... It's weird, I've never had any lazy SAE before, but these 2 for some reason just sit around lol.

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

I just spent the last 2 hours trying to clear out all of the brown algae from the tank!!! Sat there with a small paintbrush combing over all of the moss that was covered with brown algae, so now I'm just hoping that it doesn't come back...

I'll be getting 5 Amano Shrimp on the 3rd, so the brown algae needs to stay away until then lol >_<

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So after a couple of months of taking a break from this tank (though it's been up and running the whole time), I'll be getting back to updating the thread as well as the tank...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So I went to pick up some new plants the other day, and well their plant selection sucked but I didn't leave empty handed... I picked up a juvenile Electric Blue Acara cichlid!!!!

He's settled in nicely, doesn't bother the plants and does't pay attention to the true siamese algae eaters, and best of all he leaves my sons killifish alone which I was kind of worried about.

Also got my 30 gallon tank filled with a few 3"-4" juvenile green sunfish that were caught at the local lake... Also houses the adult green sunfish who is around 8"!!! Currently getting them to accept cichlid pellets then I can offer them to local friends who are pond owners (I'm talking swimming pool size ponds) I know a few people with good size ponds, and monster 500+ gallon aquariums that enjoy native species tanks!!!!!

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So the tank has a big hair algae outbreak... And since the 2 siamese algae eaters are lazy as hell I figure I'll get rid of them, and get 2 juvenile SAE's which should solve the algae issue... I would get some Amano Shrimp, but because I picked up an Electric Blue Acara I don't feel like wasting my money on something that may end being a snack for him...

Next month I plan to order a 48" Odyssea T5HO Quad Light Fixture w/ timer for the tank, I'm pretty much tired of having to move the 36" T5HO lighting around every time I feed the fish lol. Plus I really hate using 2 light fixtures on the tank, and it'll also free up plug space on my power strip!!!

I'm seriously thinking about redoing this entire tank... This way I can battle the algae via hand to hand combat!!! LOL!!! No seriously though, I'm just not liking the layout of the tank, and will be using a different piece of driftwood for the tank.