110 gallon, My First Planted Tank ~ Ideas For Improvement?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
LS2012

LS2012

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2013
782
3
33
Northern NJ
Here's my progress so far:

This is an upgrade in size for my existing South Americans, plus new additions. 48*28*18, with two eheim 2217 canisters from my cycled tanks. I'm going to add an AC 110 when necessary.

Its been up and running for about 2 weeks with plants. Fish were added a few at a time less than a week ago. Ph 7.4, Gh 5, Kh 5, Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5, using aged RO water from my NJ private well. For now, it has 2 40w fluorescent bulbs, that will be upgraded as soon as I decide on a lighting system (suggestions ?)

The ph is higher than desired. I'm guessing the increase from 6.4 aged RO water is due to the substrate, even though its supposed to be inert. I tested the rocks using a few drops on each one from the #1 nitrate bottle in my API test kit. Rocks and wood were scrubbed and boiled.

Hardscaping is natural river rock, natural quartz, a vine branch and a few pieces of driftwood. All wood is from my lfs, rocks are from my yard. Substrate is Caribsea eco complete and Black Tahitian moon sand. Barriers for terracing were made with nylon mesh screen attached to egg crate with plastic zip ties.

My 3d background, that I absolutely LOVE, is from Designs by Nature.

Plants: Water Sprite, Water Wisteria, Hygros, Crypts, Anubias, Java Moss and Bananas. I'm sure I left something out.....

Stock (ATM)
Bujurquina Sp. Para Brazil, 1m/1f, 3.5-4in
Geophagus Red Head Tapajos, 2m/4f, 2.5in
Australoheros Oblongum, 1m/1f, 3-3.5in
Hypselecara Temporalis, 1m/1f, 1.5in
Caquetaia Myersi, 2in
L240 pleco, 1m, 4.5in

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Thanks in advance for your ideas :)

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More progress pics and lessons learned

-I would have been much better off with a long tank, especially since most of my occupants stay in the bottom half of the tank
- Listen when you're told to get a 3d background that will hide your equipment, the filter intakes and heater look awful in the tank
- Design ideas are not relevant when my fish decide to redecorate
- While sifting, Geos spit substrate EVERYWHERE on everything
- Planting and cleaning the inside of a tank from a step ladder is not enjoyable
- Missing the last step on a step ladder = torn ligaments

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Full tank shot

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What happens when Geos redecorate

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Background seam cover up hasn't faded yet

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How are you lighting this? And that is 28" tall?

Damn bro.....I mean, I like it a lot but I think you should maybe consider doing a different fish (or maybe adding a few of these....pending on space).

This tank would be damn near perfect for Altum Angels...I mean you COULD do regular angels, but with something that tall, It'd be a shame not to try your hand at altums. And I assume your tank is sorta low tech as far as plants go, which is nice as well (low tech basically means medium light or lower and no co2 injection....more or less).

I will warn though, you might want to get a power head or two....I run two ehiem 2217's on my 75....and they suck for flow. Are you using the spray bars or nozzles with it? You might be fine, but if you find dead spots get a powerhead of some sorts.

Also, get a red tiger lotus, for a splash of color as far as plants are concerned :P And btw, banana plants get big.....look at my thread, that big green lotus in the middle is a banana plant O.o

Pics of the fish in here please?
 
Thanks for the really helpful feedback Hybridherp :)

One of the 2217's has the spray bar just at the waterline, other one is a nozzle. Power heads are a great idea, I have them from their last tank. I'm worried about dead spots as well.

Yes its 28 inches tall, so lots of empty space on top. I've always loved angels and will research them further right away to learn more about Altums. Yes, definitely low tech, for now. Can't decide on lighting and need to learn more about CO2.

Btw, love your Madagascar lace and I hope my banana plants get that big. I'll be studying your layout more and copying ideas ;) I've subscribed to your thread and will keep an eye out for Red Tiger Lotus.

Fish Pics to follow.

For now this tank is relatively peaceful. One of my other tanks has juvenile Paretroplus Maculatus and Kieneri with clown loaches. That tank has only a few plants; water sprite and Wendti, which gets chewed on constantly. I'm mostly into Malagasy cichilds. The 110 is my only SA.

Looking forward to ongoing feedback,
Laurie


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Sorry, lighting is only two 48 inch, 40 watt fluorescent bulbs in the canopy that was part of the previous owners setup.

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So I presume then that those bulbs are t8 bulbs then yes?

You are at very low light with that fixture....are you planing on being low, medium, or high light? Keep in mind, with high light you need co2 injections. But, you can then keep more or less any plant you want, ever.

And thanks with the lace lol Although, I need them to grow back as they didn't like the heat of the summer....I'm tucking them into a quieter 10 gallon again, should get some size there then I'll throw them back into the 75 once they are jump started.

Any ideas on what kinda plants you want in this thing?
 
Yes, they're t8, but only there for now. I'm planning on upgrading to medium lighting without co2 for this tank in the next two weeks. I'm looking for suggestions for lighting and additional plants. Its still a work in progress. My apologies that my answers aren't more concise.

Please correct me if I'm wrong in my line of thought..... I'm interested to see how the current plants grow with my fish in this tank and will continue to add more. I'd like to see more color and taller background plants. Since I'm considering Altums, I'm hoping the existing plants esp. the sprite and wisteria will take off with better lighting. I'm also looking to add hardy plants that the fish won't destroy. My thought was lighting upgrade next, then more plants. Also looking to learn when to add & what kind of ferts to consider.

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Sounds good on the waiting to upgrade lights before getting more plants. I have two possible ideas but I am unsure how good either idea is. Also, depends slightly on how much money you want to throw into this. Your tank, as far as planted tanks go, is very, very tall, making it more challenging to light, however, because we are avoiding high light that actually makes this not so bad.

Idk if I can post links to sellers on here, so I won't....but idea #1 is to get a 48" Finnex RayII fixture AND a 48" MonsterRay (also finnex) to get to medium lighting.

The Pro's: LED lighting will last for years and years without needing to be changed, also might consume less energy.
The Con's: LED lighting is what it is, you can't change the color combinations and the lights also shoot straight down more, meaning that in order to properly light the tank, you will need 2 fixtures for good coverage and all. Also, more expensive initially.

My next idea is to get a Solar Catalina T5-HO Fixture, the 3 bulb one (or heck, maybe even the 4 bulb one given how tall your tank is)

The Pro's: T5-HO lighting is very versatile, you can change color combinations and you can make burst lighting effects (such as, run lights for 8 hours, but run the third and/or fourth bulb for only 2 hours). It is also initially cheaper.

The Con's: More expensive over time. You NEED to change the bulbs out at least once a year. Within the first year, this option already becomes the more expensive of the two options.
 
I'd recommend maybe adding some Jungle Vals along back areas of the tank, they grow long and look great. I always make sure to get some Jungle vals in any planted tank I'm setting up, I had some that were in my old 75 gallon that were almost 3 feet long lol. Also recommend a big Amazon Sword (echinodorus bleheri) to the tank because they can get big, and look great. Maybe a few Sagittaria Braodleaf to the tank they always look great when bunched together, or maybe some Dwarf Sagittaria which also look great when bunched together.


Here's my old 75 gallon planted tank I had years ago.

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