# 55 gallon Rainbow tank (No 56k)



## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Still waiting on the lights to come because Fedex apparently is walking them to New Hampshire from California.

Did a stiff trim as things are filling in.


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Some lovely low-tech setups. Nice plant selections.

Thanks for finally chiming in . Good luck with your upgrade to presurized CO2 + high[er] light.


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## danakin (Jun 8, 2007)

I love the anachris forest on the left. Everything looks pretty good, sure to get better!


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

New light finally came in and I'm ordering my pressurized Co2 equipment tomorrow:


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## Neoman (Apr 4, 2005)

Looks real nice with that new light. I really like the right side, are you planning on a carpet?


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

I have marsilea minuta growing out in my 10g tank, which will seed this tank.

This scape is just temporary right now, once things get going I'll be removing all the edgeria densa and picking up an assortment of new flora.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

cRSX crew #3!!!


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

lol ya found me


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

2009 update. Things are filling in rapidly. Waiting for my XP3 and inline heater to come and then ditching the AQ70 and Emporer280. Got a new AQ powerhead to diffuse my Co2 and I'm seeing good results from that.

Still waiting for the new Co2 setup thanks to the holidays. Good news is NO ALGAE though I'm only running at half light capacity, which pegs me at 2wpg.


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Water is low because I'm about to do a water change.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Got bored and rescaped:


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## cprroy73 (Nov 10, 2004)

I really like the 55. I have one too and they can be hard to scape because of the width.
Your rainbows look very healthly too.


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## cwilson (Dec 29, 2008)

rescape looks nice! i like the off-center driftwood

and i lurk CRSX a lot... if that count haha


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Hey Dave, nice looking tank. I love how the Rotala provides shade in the back of the tank with the Crypts growing up under them.

Where in NH do you live? I was in Dover for ten years and went to uni at Keene State.

Regards,
Phil


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## Neoman (Apr 4, 2005)

IM liking the rescape! There was a little too much crowding with the plants in the front of the tank before.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Phil Edwards said:


> Hey Dave, nice looking tank. I love how the Rotala provides shade in the back of the tank with the Crypts growing up under them.
> 
> Where in NH do you live? I was in Dover for ten years and went to uni at Keene State.
> 
> ...


I'm farther north in New London, land of wind and power outages.

thanks for the comments everybody, it's always a work in progress.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Fish pics:

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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Wow! Great scaping! Love it. The new light makes a big diff


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Filstar XP3 came today! Yay no more double HOB's.


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## small-fish (Jan 3, 2009)

tank looks good crsx crew


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Really like the tank and the plants look very healthy! Moving in the right direction with all your new equipment. Don't it feel good to get all that new stuff? Feels like Christmas all over!


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

I like having Christmas year round lol


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## pandjpudge (Dec 7, 2008)

you should add those rainbows that are half yellow and blue! That way I can steal those too lol CRSX crew checking in


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Canister installed. Keeping the AQ70 in the tank until the XP3 gets its bio system up and running. 

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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Update: 01/15/09

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Then I decided I wanted to rearrange the wood once again. I also trimmed some plants while I was in there. Damn Giant babies tears doesn't want to stay down.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Updated the first post so it's a timeline of updates. I think it puts growth in better perspective. Tank is almost 1 month old now.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Updated 1/25/09 with a new pic. Updates all on page 1


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Tank looks great, I like the progress. It's very scary though looking at the uneven stand you have. You are creating some stress points and it could cause the glass to crack. Even the pic with the water level low the water is lopsided. 

On the up side the Coralife 4x54 watt T5 fixture makes a huge difference.


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## colinthebassist (Nov 30, 2007)

daverockssocks said:


> Fish pics:
> 
> .
> 
> .



Can you tell me what the specific name of these rainbows is? I love the look of em.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

The top is a Boesemani and the bottom is a Sepik.



rekles75 said:


> Tank looks great, I like the progress. It's very scary though looking at the uneven stand you have. You are creating some stress points and it could cause the glass to crack. Even the pic with the water level low the water is lopsided.
> 
> On the up side the Coralife 4x54 watt T5 fixture makes a huge difference.



I hear ya on the tank being off level, my whole house is like this though. The difference is 3/4" over 4' though so I think I'm in the clear, there's about 2 inches of the tank that isn't sitting flush on the stand. Might be moving soon so the situation will be rectified.


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## colinthebassist (Nov 30, 2007)

daverockssocks said:


> The top is a Boesemani and the bottom is a Sepik.


I think that's the first boesemani I've seen with an orange tale. Very cool fish though. I'm gonna look around town for some of those Sepik's for my new 90G.


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## FastTimes (Oct 16, 2008)

nice tank. have you added the pressurized co2 yet?


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

still running DIY, had some medical bills come up that have put pressurized Co2 on the backburner.

No algae issues so far with double bottles and excel every other day (not so much that my vals are melting though).


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## small-fish (Jan 3, 2009)

with your diy c02 are you getting constant bubbles? i cant seem to get mine to be constant, only by shaking it do i get bubbles. my mix is 1/2tsp of yeast 2 cups sugar in two 2 liter soda bottles


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

It's fairly consistent for about 10 days, which I credit to using two bottles. One bottle is very inconsistent.


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## Pinto (Jan 23, 2009)

Your tanks is so vibrant for diy.
I don't know how you can pull that off but NICE tank.
Is the picture of the 4 sponges your bio filter on page 2?
Very interesting, need ways to save $$ too.


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## itstony (Jan 11, 2009)

that is a lovely tank you have.. did i see you post this on another forum too?


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Pinto said:


> Your tanks is so vibrant for diy.
> I don't know how you can pull that off but NICE tank.
> Is the picture of the 4 sponges your bio filter on page 2?
> Very interesting, need ways to save $$ too.


I have two sets of pot scrubbers in my XP3 for bio, they work great and last forever. huge surface area for bacteria as well.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting the tank to look this good with the DIY setup but I've been careful with light and ferts and it seems to be paying off.



itstony said:


> that is a lovely tank you have.. did i see you post this on another forum too?


I've posted on Fishgeeks and Club RSX has a little band of aquarium peeps.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Updated first post this morning. Tank is still going gangbusters.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)




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## jeepn4x4 (Jan 27, 2008)

Tank is looking good. I am located in NH as well and just wondering where you got your rainbows from.


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## Hungry Wendigo (Oct 3, 2008)

Looks _really_ good, especially your setup on the left side of the tank. Pearl leeri's are gorgeous. Do you mind if I ask what your fert/WC method is?


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

looking nice. i like the open space in the middle.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

jeepn4x4 said:


> Tank is looking good. I am located in NH as well and just wondering where you got your rainbows from.


The fish store in Claremont NH has some good ones once in a while. There are two guys who work there who know their stuff and help me out picking out the best of the bunch.

They have a sister store in Lebanon NH (which is much closer to me) but their people don't know their ear hole from their eye hole so I avoid them.

I run 2x54w T5NO 6700k from 9am-9pm

Fert schedule is: 
25% water change every week. 
With each WC I add: 
10ml Seachem Potassium 
10ml Seachem Excel
5ml Seachem Flourish
I also run 2xBottles for DIY Co2 diffused with a powerhead across the back of the tank.

I also use Seachem root tabs since many of my plants take a lot of nutrients from the roots.

I had a couple spots of hair algae in the java moss (of course) but other than that just some GSA on the leaves of my Anubias, which I clean off with a soft bristle tooth brush.

I was going to switch to pressurized Co2 by now but I've had to put some money into the front suspension of my car to get it ready for AutoX season, which put the tank on hold.

I did just get a new piece of wood that will look great on the right side of the tank, but I have to fight my wife for it since she wants it for her new 36g bowfront angel fish tank.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Beautiful!


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Cleaned house a bit since I'm expecting some more plants soon.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

I like it. I really like the way you used the Wendelov. You don't see that in a lot of tanks. It's such a pretty plant.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

It's slowly spreading and the bigger it gets the more I like it. The left side of the tank will most likely remain untouched but the right side is going to get a makeover with a lot of red/pink plants and maybe a new piece of wood.


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## Hungry Wendigo (Oct 3, 2008)

Aww, it was such a pretty sunset hygro bush, too... I agree about the ferns, they look great. The greens in this tank are excellent. What's the word on pressurized CO2?

Your fert regime seems really manageable, I'm definitely considering something like it for the 55 gallon I'm working on. Is there anything about it you'd change? My current tank seems to have no nitrates, so I'd probably throw Flourist Nitrogen into the mix.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Still running two bottles of DIY and a cap of Excel with each water change. I'm enjoying the laid back nature of this tank so at this rate I may just keep going like this. 

The gadget loving part of me is looking at pressurized setups all the time though.... And then I could use both banks of bulbs in my fixture.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Very, very, very pretty! I love your tank, what are those spiral plants in the back. Are they vals? I want them!


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

corkscrew vals, can't kill em lol


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

daverockssocks said:


> corkscrew vals, can't kill em lol


Spot treat them with excel:icon_smil


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

No...give them to me...they'd be dead in about a week!! LOL..I'm J/K. Verrrrryyyyyy cool tank. This is inspiration for my mom's 55gal(which I control...sorta...Ok, I control the plants!! Not the fish!).


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

It looks very nice. I will be watching this one...

Too bad there is no anachris... Though, it was looking pretty scraggly.

That is very good for DIY. I find it inspiring! The back left needs something tall, but I am sure your new shipment will fix this minor setback.


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## kyle3 (May 26, 2005)

lovely tank
cheers-K


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

daverockssocks said:


> corkscrew vals, can't kill em lol


Is that a challenge? Send me some and I'll try. :hihi:


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

It has been a month and a half since the last photo:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i like this one a lot. you have good use of big, colorful fish, which don't seem to be applied so much in planted tanks. i wish that that big sword were less obscured by that (is it a hygro?) stem plant. often times big swordplants are overbearing, but that one looked right in your picture from 03-05.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Well I tore things down and rescaped when I got my pressurized Co2 setup and now I'm EI dosing using dry ferts. Needless to say the growth is, erm, surprising.

This is three weeks ago: Saturday August 8.

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And this is last Sunday August 16. Photo isn't so hot because I didn't clean the glass at all.


I take photos each week after I do my big water change. 

My Albino Bushy Nose plecos have had babies since my last update, as did the Boesmani Rainbows. 6 of the surviving Boesmani fry are now 1" long each and showing some great color. I don't see the ABN's unless I pull the wood out.

Mineralized soil substrate is next up.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Update with water change today. The Hygro was pretty out of control so I trimmed a lot of it to get light in to the Java Fern Wendelov. Daddy ABN didn't like me moving things around while he's protecting his brood so I appeased him with a slice of cucumber.

Pre-trim August 22:
 

Post-trim:
 

I'm really waiting for my E. Vesuvius to take root and also the marsilea minuta, which has grown a lot but will take some time to blanket.

The landscape won't last long anyway, in another week I should be ready to tear it all down and start over with minerlized soil substrate.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

August 29 and I have been EI dosing for 20 days now.

Three weeks of dosing. I hacked a TON of hygro out before this photo was taken.



And we adopted another Pearl Leeri from my brother, now we have four in this tank all getting along just fine. These are the most laid back Gouramis EVER.


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## daverockssocks (Dec 1, 2008)

Here's the tank as of Sept. 7.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

What is the status of your tank now that you have switched to Mineralized Soil?


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## aquagardener379 (Aug 11, 2009)

Very nice tank all though some of your pictures hav the reflection of you in it, i dont know if this bothers you but for me it takes away from the fantastic aquarium. still you do have some outstanding pictures and i wish my tank was as nice as yours.
keep up the good work!


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

Very pretty, I love the rainbows! 

Yeah, I noticed your reflection in some of the photos lol. There was one back in the first page or two that looks like your face is peeking out from the jungle of plants, I thought it was kind of neat.


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