# Choco's 55g Journal ~ Forest by the Spring (One week later! 4/1/15)



## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

great looking hardscape, I bet it will look great filled and planted


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## planttastic (Feb 28, 2015)

I second that! Did u glue or silicone the rocks in place?


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## rezende (Dec 19, 2014)

Subscribed because of the hardscape! Very promising!


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## Mitashade (Jan 8, 2015)

Hardscape looks great. Once this is mature, it'll be absolute gold.


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## Jessica (Mar 1, 2007)

Beautiful hardscape! Can't wait to see this planted!


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

Wow you have a good eye for hardscaping, that's for sure! One question, how are you going to keep the CPD with the shrimp? I know that shrimp have trouble with just tetras so I would think the CPD wouldn't be good? Just wondering, I have no experience with them so I'm just wondering. If not great because I love those fish 


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

andrewss said:


> great looking hardscape, I bet it will look great filled and planted


Thanks! That's the plan!



planttastic said:


> I second that! Did u glue or silicone the rocks in place?


I wish I took photos of the process. 
I put the rocks in first, and stacked them in the configuration that you see. There were gaps on the bottom but the rock "face" actually held together pretty well. I did run a bead of silicone where the rocks met the glass on the bottom of the tank to prevent the aquasoil and sand from mixing. 

If you look closely, you can see I did silicone a small rock to a spot that was leaking aquasoil on the left. I plan to cover that spot with anubias anyway so it didn't matter. 
But this was mostly just good old rock stacking. 



rezende said:


> Subscribed because of the hardscape! Very promising!





Jessica said:


> Beautiful hardscape! Can't wait to see this planted!





Mitashade said:


> Hardscape looks great. Once this is mature, it'll be absolute gold.


Thanks! I'll try not to let you guys down!




treyLcham said:


> Wow you have a good eye for hardscaping, that's for sure! One question, how are you going to keep the CPD with the shrimp? I know that shrimp have trouble with just tetras so I would think the CPD wouldn't be good? Just wondering, I have no experience with them so I'm just wondering. If not great because I love those fish


From what I've read, they may eat the baby shrimp, but for the most part the adults will be too large for them to eat. Anyway, this tank will have many hiding spots and I think they'll be all right.


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

Omg I love that drift wood!! I'm sub'd


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## brittany.lindenthaler.9 (Mar 8, 2015)

The hard scape looks great, following.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Trying my hand at improving my photography skills. It came out okay I guess. Trying to get as close as possible to what it really looks like.

This week I'm expecting my co2 tank to come back from the LFS. They sent it out to be filled. Hopefully I'll get a call by Wednesday to go pick it up!


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

Fantastic looking scape! Wish I had an eye like that.

What LFS are you using?


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Monster Aquarium in queens. I sourced the rock and wood online though from hobbyists. I'll be sourcing most plants online too.


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

chocological said:


> Monster Aquarium in queens. I sourced the rock and wood online though from hobbyists. I'll be sourcing most plants online too.


I just made my first visit there recently. Great store and what seems to be a highly knowledgeable staff. Too bad they dont have more space to work with (and that I live too far away to make it there often!).


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Guess what came today!









Picked up my CO2 tank, and attached the regulator. I'm beginning the leak test now. 










PSI looks good, holding here. I'll update in a few hours.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Bad news, the regulator is leaking from the relief valve. It's a 2 stage regulator, but it seems the first stage (high pressure) is blown. The second stage (low pressure) works just fine. I think I'll plug the relief valve for the time being until I can either get a new regulator or send this one out for repairs. 

Sadface.


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## Dead2fall (Jun 4, 2014)

chocological said:


> Bad news, the regulator is leaking from the relief valve. It's a 2 stage regulator, but it seems the first stage (high pressure) is blown. The second stage (low pressure) works just fine. I think I'll plug the relief valve for the time being until I can either get a new regulator or send this one out for repairs.
> 
> Sadface.


You sure it's not just the relief valve itself that's bad? Or even the threads for it leaking? What pressure does it start/stop bleeding off at? I'm assuming it was used, maybe someone changed the relief valve to a lower pressure one at one point?


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## skoram (Aug 9, 2012)

The hardscape looks really great! Too bad about the regulator leak. I really look forward to seeing what this will look like once it's filled in.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Dead2fall said:


> You sure it's not just the relief valve itself that's bad? Or even the threads for it leaking? What pressure does it start/stop bleeding off at? I'm assuming it was used, maybe someone changed the relief valve to a lower pressure one at one point?


The relief valve is set to 400psi. The leak brought it completely down to 0 from 800 last night. I'm not sure if it leaked out to 400psi and then leaked from somewhere else, or what. All I know is that the water/soap spray showed the relief valve leaking from the valve itself when I tested it.

I've got a plug on it now, and it seems to be holding okay. I sprayed all of the connections and I can't spot any leaks at the moment. 

If all goes well, I'll be making a plant buy tomorrow, and fill early/mid next week. :icon_frow


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## Dead2fall (Jun 4, 2014)

Well a 400psi relief valve won't do any good whether it's good or bad. Unless I'm mistaken and it's there to blow off in case high pressure makes it past the first stage protecting the second stage?


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Dead2fall said:


> Well a 400psi relief valve won't do any good whether it's good or bad. Unless I'm mistaken and it's there to blow off in case high pressure makes it past the first stage protecting the second stage?


Yeah, from my understanding, the relief valve on this regulator (Victor vts253a-1993) is in the second stage. Which is why I thought that the first stage was blown. I went to bed expecting the regulator to sit at 400psi in the morning.. but it was closer to 0psi. 
So honestly I'm not sure if it leaked to 0psi through the relief valve or what. I took apart the valve and cleaned it. Simple thing, really.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Plug is holding well and there doesn't seem to be any more pressure leaks. I'm gonna call it patched for now. On to planting!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Now, the big update.
I got all of my plants yesterday, sourced from fine members of this site and others. 
Some of the plants came in a liiiitle ratty. I'm chalking it up to the poor shipping weather. It got cold all of a sudden right after I placed my orders.. 

Anyway, here she is all planted.










Sorry it's bad pic quality. I just took it now. Also, CO2 is running so the water is bubbly. 
I've got the CO2 cranked, running at about 2.5-3 BPS. 
Side note. I've never understood how anyone could count 3-4 BPS. Like how does one do that? It wasn't until I realized that I can manually set 1 BPS on my needle valve and then turn it to 2,3,4,5 and so on. For those like me who still don't understand.. I visually counted (1 mississippi, 2 mississippi) the bubbles, then set my adjustable number scale.. Here's a pic.










So, the red is adjustable. It's got notches on it so you can measure your BPS or whatever. That's it only purpose. The blue is your CO2 delivery. Turn the blue until you count 1 BPS. There is a notch on the body of the valve. Align the red's notch marked "1" to the notch on the valve and tighten the hex nut in the red piece. Now, when you turn blue, red turns with it, and you use red's notches to measure BPS against the notch on the body of the valve. Kind of like doing a distributer.

Just a tip.. The bag of La Plata sand says it must be washed. Do not neglect to do this. I washed mine for an hour and when I first filled my tank the water was white! Two w/c's later and it's still cloudy. I'll deal with it, only cause it looks so good. :hihi:

Thanks for reading. I'll post a better pic tonight.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

Sweet looks good 


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

Choco, 

Your 55g looks AWESOME!!!!! Like others have said you have a hell-of-a-hardscape!!! The plants you picked and got look good!!! I can't wait to see this 55 fill in!!! The 55 can be a bear to scape due to the long and narrow footprint, but you NAILED IT!!! I WISH my 55g looked a 10th as good as yours!

I am subscribed !

Keep up the GREAT WORK!
Drew


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

BoxxerBoyDrew said:


> Choco,
> 
> Your 55g looks AWESOME!!!!! Like others have said you have a hell-of-a-hardscape!!! The plants you picked and got look good!!! I can't wait to see this 55 fill in!!! The 55 can be a bear to scape due to the long and narrow footprint, but you NAILED IT!!! I WISH my 55g looked a 10th as good as yours!
> 
> ...


Yeah I hear scaping 55 gallon tanks is hard. That's why I decided that I needed to work with the height of this tank in my scape. Thanks for the comments!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Hi all. So today I decided to start tracking my water parameters. Because I am using ADA Aquasoil, I know that there is going to be a leech of ammonia. It's pretty useful to start your bacteria in your filter. It's recommended at least 2 water changes a week for the first couple of weeks. I'm doing every other day.

First up, is my tap water. I live in NYC so I'm blessed with very soft water.

Tap:
pH: 6.6
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
GH: 3 dGH
kH: 2 dKH

Not bad, huh? Using the CO2 chart below, the dissolved C02 straight from the tap is *15.1 ppm*.


I did a water change earlier in the day, and took this measurement at about 6pm (C02 on for about 5hrs).
Tank:
pH: 6.4
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
Ammonia: 2ppm
GH: 1 dGH
KH: 2 dKH

Using the CO2 chart, the dissolved C02 in my tank is *23.9 ppm*.

Makes sense, because the plants are all pearling and growth seems to be going good. I am gonna increase the C02 tomorrow by about 1BPS, and take another KH and pH measurement. Interesting to see that my GH in the tank seems to be lower than from the tap. I wonder if that's from the Aquasoil. I'll test again.

Also, no signs yet of a cycle starting. It's only been a few days though. I removed the powerhead in the tank, and it's not like a whirlpool in there anymore. I can actually see the plants pearling and the "upside down rain" effect of the plants releasing oxygen in the water. :icon_smil

EDIT:
I also bought some mini pellia and some others to throw in here. These will come later in the week.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Great looking tank  I too am planning a 55 setup!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Blackheart said:


> Great looking tank  I too am planning a 55 setup!


Thanks! Good luck. I've subscribed to some 55 gallon journals. We ought to start a club.  
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I tested my GH today before lights on, and it was 4dGH. I think I tested wrong last time. 

At around 7pm (lights on about 6 hrs) I tested the CO2 again, after raising the bubble count to 3BPS this morning. Chart says it's between 37-30ppm dissolved CO2. The color chart jumps from 6.0 to 6.4, and it was pretty much in between the two. I can see myself getting a decent probe in the future. :hihi:

I'm also experiencing some issues with the bolbitis. The leaves seem to by turning brown and dying on me. I don't think it's a fert issue, I'm thinking it's just transplant shock. But I'm not sure. I'll post pics tomorrow of it.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Yeah that would be pretty cool. Either that or a 4foot tank club  I like all 4foot tanks


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

the tank looks GREAT!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

*Compare 7 days worth of growth!*

















As you can see, I've changed the stick in the mid tank to a different angle. This one works better for me.
My driftwood has many nooks all over it, and a small part of it comes out of the water. I decided to put a small bunch of HC (since removed, replaced with fissidens) and hydrocotyle tripartita 'japan'. I don't feel like dealing with HC in this tank. It's all doing really great, have a look:











*Here I've included a view from the couch:*









*Fissidens:*









*New willow moss growth:*









*Ramshorn (oh no!):*










Seems I brought in some nasties from other hobbyists. I've noticed bladder and ramshorn snails, a bit of cyanobacteria among the fissidens (which I've since cut away).
I've trimmed a ton of the bolbitis away, because of dying leaves. I was unaware that bolbitis hated to be moved, and now a lot of it is melting away. Good news is that I see new growth, so all is not lost.

I've also decided to remove any HC from this tank. I've got mini pellia and micranthemum 'monte carlo' in the mail, hopefully delivered by the end of the day. Oh, I've also finally added my cyperus helferi. 

The reactor was giving me trouble today, with low flow. I plugged up the venturi and it's back to normal. Apparently, the venturi was working too well, and the pump was just getting full of gas.
I don't think I need the venturi anyway. It's actually working better for me without it because I should have set the tubing for the venturi further into the reactor. Oh well.

*Until next time! *


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Finally got the mini pellia and monte carlo today. Came in great from davesays.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=837882

Post office failed to redeliver when I missed the original date. Then, they lost it. I had to submit a claim, all types of phone tag. Luckily Dave's plants were good quality and survived the the 5 days lost in the system. I also decided to add the few Amano shrimp and blue velvets I had in my 5 gallon Fluval Chi. I was so tired, I didn't even do the typical photoshoot today of the locations. Ah well.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Made a video today on my phone. Here it is if anyone's interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mpL4uVqjKI


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## peggysplanted (Jan 31, 2015)

Amazingly stunning aquarium and nice video!!! How did you make the tank look so good on the phone camera (I thought it was edited)? -or maybe its because the tank just looks that good...  good job


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