Mike's 45 gallon long (48"x12"x19") planted tank

I have a 45 gallon long tank (48"x12"x19") that I'm in the midst of changing back into a planted tank, it was first set up as a planted tank but the saltwater bug got to me. Then the planted tank bug bit me again >_< . . . So here goes the start up of a new planted tank!!!

Tank - 45 gallon long
Lighting - 48" Odyssea T5HO Quad w/ built in timer (1x 6500k bulb, 1x 3000k bulb, 1x 12,000k White Actinic 460nm, 1x WavePoint Ultra Growth bulb)
Filtration - Odyssea CFS-500 canister filter (filled with 3 different kinds of filter pads, and some polyester fiberfill)
Heating - 300w Hydor Theo submersible heater
Co2 - 2x DIY Co2 systems using the yeast method

Substrate will be a mixture of 20lbs Flourite Plant substrate, 15lbs FloraMax, and 9L ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia. This style of mixed substrate has worked extremely well for when I first set the tank up as a planted tank, so I figured I'd go with the same mixture again. Basically I lay down 1" of Flourite plant substrate then I spread the 9 liters of Amazonia Aqua Soil on top of it, the I lay a 2" mixture of Flourite & FloraMax on top of the Aqua Soil. I do spread a bit of Azomite Powder on the first layer of Flourite then I add the Amazonia over it, then I add a few Osmocote+ root tabs on top of the Amazonia, and finally add the final 2" of substrate to the tank.


I plan on an EI dosing regime using dry fertilizers, along with once a month dosing of 1/4 teaspoon of Azomite Powder. More to come as I get the tank going!!!

Here's what the tank looked like when I first set it up



And here's what it currently looks like



But I don't really like the hardscape, and plan on rescaping the entire tank with some different driftwood pieces. I have quite a bit of driftwood just sitting in my empty 100 gallon tank, and more in my bedroom closet lol. Every month during the summer I go to the local streams, and rivers here in Denver to hunt for new, and unusual driftwood pieces. I prefer to use natural weathered driftwood pieces in my tanks because most the driftwood found in fish stores just looks ugly, and has no character to it, not to mention the money I save by finding my own.

Hopefully tomorrow I have some free time so I can get the tank drained, and swap out the driftwood pieces. I've been putting it off all week being lazy, but it's time to finally get around to it... I pretty much spent the week making around 800 Osmocote+ root tabs for the tank, do you think 800 will be enough to last me?!?!

LS2012 said:

Looks the the beginning of an Igwami layout.. It will be interesting to follow your setup. Are you planning on adding fish? How are you making the tabs?

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I'm making the tabs using size 00 empty capsules, and filling them with Osmocote+.

As for fish I do intend on getting some fish at some point lol, I prefer to get the tank somewhat filled with plants before adding any livestock. I like to saturate the tank for about a month with a good amount of fertilizers in order to get the substrates CEC started off with the ability to soak up the nutrients before I add any plants to the tank, then I'll add plants to the tank then let it run for another month with a regular EI dosing schedule, and then once I see everything is in balance I'll start adding fish to the tank.

I'm finally back after a week spent on daily driftwood hunting trips... I finally found a piece that will out nicely.


Take a look...










So now I get to finish stripping any remaining bark from it, and then soak it for a couple of hours in super hot water. Can't wait to get my tank torn down, and to see what the tank looks like with the new driftwood.

LS2012 said:

That's a very nice piece of driftwood. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Aside from stripping the bark and soaking, do you do anything else to prep prior to introducing it to your tank?

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Well what I look for in my driftwood pieces is I try to find pieces that have that "manzanita" look to them, the reason is because only hard wood tends to get that look as they weather, and age in the outdoors. Hard wood takes longer to rot which is why it's preferred for aquariums unlike soft wood pieces will rot quickly, and can stink up your tank.


As for prepping the driftwood so it's fish ready, all I do is try to remove as much of the bark from the wood as I can, then I soak the wood in extremely hot water for a couple of hours; This helps to kill off any bugs, spiders, etc.... that might be hiding in the crevices of the wood. Then I'll use an old toothbrush to clean up the wood, and this also gets rid of some of the tannins from the wood. Then I finally attached the driftwood to a piece of acrylic at the point that will sit under the substrate, and then I set up the tank with the new driftwood first then start adding my substrate, rocks, etc... Once it's ready I'll start filling the tank!!!



As stated above, I look for that "manzanita" appearance in my driftwood pieces, and I try to find weird looking pieces that are oddly shaped and what I feel will look great in an aquarium.