Getting back into planted tanks!!!

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

I just spent 2 hours working on the tank, I picked up a huge ball of peacock moss from a guy... There was enough moss to completely cover almost all of the driftwood branches, two 4"x6"x3" rocks, and still had a golf ball size left lol. Also he gave me 4 or 5 anubias nana petite, and a sandwich bag completely full of riccia!!! All of it was free because he's moving soon, and decided to get rid of all of the live plants and fish...

The tank is super cloudy right now, so once it clears up I'll post some new pictures!!! Still have 25 stems of cabomba coming through the mail!!!!

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

New pictures coming tomorrow!!!

So after giving it some thought I decided that I'm gonna go with a 36" Finnex Planted+ LED fixture for this tank, but it probably won't be until this summer when I'll have the money to make the switch. Since my mom has been in and out of the hospital for the past couple of months, we both agreed on moving her into my place so there's always someone around to keep an eye on her and help out.

So my finances are a bit tied up with getting her moved into my place, but this summer I'll be better off to spend money on my tanks. The first thing once my finances have settled is to get the Planted+ for this tank, and then an automated co2 system!!!


So the blue green algae is gone!!! I decided I want to try my luck with dwarf hairgrass, and see if I can get it to stop dying off under the Planted+ this summer. I've never seemed to figure out how to successfully grow DHG, even under a T5HO quad fixture it still died off so it may have something to do with the water where I live , or I'm just that bad when it comes to DHG lol...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Some new pics!!!

Full tank shot

Left side

Right side

Still need to do a bit of work to the tank so it doesn't look so cluttered...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So yesterday I got rid of the extra moss that I didn't use, gave it to a guy I know also likes planted tanks! He'll be doing a tank trim in a couple of weeks, and said his Italian Val is getting out of control so he'll let the runners get good roots on them and then he'll cull the herd and give me a big amount of them.

I also told him I'm waiting on a 25 stem Cabomba order to come in, and that each stem is around 2 foot tall so I'll be trimming them down to fit in my tank and that I'll give him the trimmings.

I just finished clearing out my plants so I can add plant weights to keep them grouped together, and eliminate the clutter look of the tank. I also a good amount of Riccia onto a medium size rock, and tied it down... Hoping to get a nice Riccia rock going for the tank!!!

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So the caboba came today, and there's was so much of it lol!!! I had to trim quite a bit of it so it would fit in my 30 gallon, and now I have 3 massive clumps of it sitting in my tank... I'll be getting rid of 1 of the clumps to a guy I know because it's blocking the light of a 1/4 of the entire right right side of the tank!!!

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So I'm thinking of shutting down this tank, and turning my 45 gallon long tank (48"x12"x19") back into a planted tank. I just feel that this 30 gallon is just to cramped, and the 45 gallon would give me a bit more room to work with... But before I can shut it down I need to sell my pair of Festae Cichlids that are currently in the 45 gallon tank, so I guess I'll list them on craigslist tonight.

 

[Wailua Boy]

I've been getting back into planted tanks and wanting convert a tank back too, more space for plantings. I just picked some Rorippa aquatica, it will be my first time growing it. Have you ever grown it?

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Nah never tried growing it...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Got a guy coming to adopt my Festae pair, so I can get started on tearing down the 45 gallon tank this coming weekend and then get started shutting down this tank and move everything into the 45 gallon!!!!

I'll be using the 36" T5HO on my 45 gallon tank for a month or two then I can buy a 48" Odyssea T5HO quad w/ timer for the 45 gallon tank!!! Yes, I know there's negative reviews of Odyssea light fixtures, but I had a 48" Odyssea T5HO quad w/ timer in the past and had no complaints but being on a tight budget means settling for it...

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

So the guy picked up the Festae pair, and now I'm trying to work on the 45 gallon hard scape... So this saga continues here....

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/mikes-45-gallon-long-planted-tank.663607/