My 75 gallon- To be.

[milkman407]

I like the miracle grow because it provides for a ton of nutrients for the growing plants. Without it, a lot of plants would need fertilization over time. Miracle grow organic potting mix is also recomended simply because of the fact that it is 100% organic and that the composition of it will not mess with the what chemistry of your tank. Read into dirted fish tanks if you are interested, there are certainly other ways of going about it, but from my own experiences I just find it to be the most economical and practical choice of substrate when trying to make a planted tank.

Any plant questions, bring them to me, I can probably answer.
Is it one t5-ho light btw? or is it multiple? And if you could tell me what company that might be useful too, there's a chart on another forum I frequent often that can define lighting levels based upon the amount of PAR hitting the bottom of your tank from your light........tbh I'm not exactly the best person to talk to about how that all works, I just have a general understanding of what is what

I'm really only a small fry in the planted tank world lol

i like the idea of miracle grow in the tank, i used to grow tomato's with it and herbs, and it did wonders. but how well would that settle on the bottom of the fish tank? assuming i put a fine gravel ontop of it. worried about the clarity of my water.

 

[Fat Homer]

no offense sir, but an 800 gallon tank is a little much for a puffer fish that can grow to 3-4'. I've been keeping fish for about 10 years now, and have had giant snakeheads, cobra snakeheads, gachua, Widebar datnoids, fly river turtles, full grown peacock bass, arowanas, etc. An mbuna puffer fish could live in a 75gallon for a good amount of time considering they grow on average at about 1" a month.

Yes i know it says i live in florida, but i've moved all around the world the past few years, so don't start about the illegal fish crap.

All good, i mean every keeper will do what they think is right regardless of what others say.... also, not sure why you mentioned the illegal fish part? since not once did i mention it personally, and i didn't even know MBU puffers were illegal any where in the US...

Anyway, time for me to leave this thread before it possibly turns ugly... so i'll leave by saying good luck with whatever choice you choose to go with...

 

[HybridHerp]

Well, first off, you need the organic potting MIX, not the potting soil. It has something to do with the different manure or whatnot that they use in the soil v. the mix. Although, tbh, you could get away with the soil its just the mix is more preferable.

And you are right, you would need to cap it with a fine gravel or sand. Personally, I just like sand better, simple pool filter sand seems to suffice for me. I'm setting up another tank in a few days though with this same method, but with some black aquarium sand that I bought instead of pool filter sand, but w/e works works

Honestly, it doesn't cloud the water at all, you just have to put the soil in dry, then put the sand in, then carefully fill it with water. If there is any cloudiness, the plants and filter will make it clear just as quickly as they would in any other tank. One thing to note though with the dirt method, is that when replanting and pulling up plants, dirt will come up with the plants and cloud the water a little. It's not a problem or anything, but if you were removing like, a well adjusted sword plant or re-scaping it would probably fling dirt around everywhere.

As far as the puffer though, I would suggest reading into how they are with plants, or puffers in general. I could imagine a large sharp beak of a puffer easily being able to destroy any plant you put in there if it really wanted to, but I've never owned a puffer so I can't say for sure.
Then again, I'm also the crazy guy that keeps fancy plants with cichlids and bichirs, so anything is possible I guess

 

[Charney]

I did a planted 120 with a fahaka puffer. It was kind of terrible. The puffer didn't destroy too much with her mouth. The caudal tail was the issue. The tail was so broad and powerful that whenever she got spoked or excited her tail would rip out all sorts of plants small or large.


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[fishbum]

What's a mbuna puffer? Are you sure you don't mean Mbu puffer?

I have used Miracle grow for planted tanks and the only problem I had with it was it made the water yellow for awhile. I may have used the potting soil rather than the mix. It's been awhile so I can't remember. But I never had a problem with keeping fish in it, or having muddy water or anything like that.

The only puffers I have kept were the Indian dwarfs. So as far as the bigger fresh water ones go, I would check into it before you take the the time and spend the money on a planted tank.

And if it is a Mbu puffer you are talking about, a 800 gallon tank is conservative for one.

 

[fishe]

Imo large fish and planted tanks dont mix. Even my 2 inch firemoith kicks up some gravel when he swims. They just uproot stuff wether they mean to or not, stay away from a mbu puffer. They usually grow faster than 1 inch per month. And they need a high ph


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[fishbum]

Large fish and plants can work. It depends on the fish more than anything. The whole what works for one person may not work for another is certainly true in this case. But I kept a Green Terror in a planted tank with no problems.

 

[milkman407]

All good, i mean every keeper will do what they think is right regardless of what others say.... also, not sure why you mentioned the illegal fish part? since not once did i mention it personally, and i didn't even know MBU puffers were illegal any where in the US...

Anyway, time for me to leave this thread before it possibly turns ugly... so i'll leave by saying good luck with whatever choice you choose to go with...

the illegal fish wasn't directed to you in anyway, i just no some people like to flame. Was just getting my point across that I know what i'm doing when it comes to fish and tank size.

 

[milkman407]

Large fish and plants can work. It depends on the fish more than anything. The whole what works for one person may not work for another is certainly true in this case. But I kept a Green Terror in a planted tank with no problems. View attachment 850863

love it sir, what type of gravel/sand is that? and did you do the miracle grow mix method as well?

 

[Kyle_91]

Large fish and plants can work. It depends on the fish more than anything. The whole what works for one person may not work for another is certainly true in this case. But I kept a Green Terror in a planted tank with no problems. View attachment 850863

Wow nice setup, do you still have this setup? If so how long ago was this photo taken? I'd like to see some recent shots of the plants and the GT.