# 55Gal Serenity Passion Update 3-29-10



## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Tank specs Update
55gal 48x12.5x20.75
[STRIKE]2x65watt cf 10k and 6500k bulb running for 7hours[/STRIKE]
Catalina Aquarium t5ho solar 4x54 1x10k 2x6500k 1xplant grow bulb 7hours
filter Rena Xp3 just bio stars and sponges 
Cheap $10 Black surface skimmer
2 Drop Checker in the Yellow
10pound aluminum co2 tank Milwaukee regulator 5-6Bps [STRIKE]2-3bps[/STRIKE]
$10 mini Powerhead co2 Reactor 
6in Fluorite 
2 Big driftwoods
11 SAE 
1 Neon tetra
5 Black tetra
11 Cardinal Tetra
[STRIKE]4 Otto's[/STRIKE]
4 cherry shrimp [STRIKE]3 with eggs[/STRIKE]
6.8ph
kh 5
gh 18
temp 76
ammonia 0

Plants
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata Cuba 
Echinodorus Indian red
Cabomba furcata 
Rotala sp singapore
Rotala sp Colorata
Ludwigia sp Guinea
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Ammania Sp Bonsai
[STRIKE]Blyxa Japonica[/STRIKE]
Limnophila Aromatica
rotala Wallichii
Bacopa Colorata
Sword


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

This looks great. It looks much bigger than the 55 I have. How long has the tank been up and running? I am impressed with the design you chose with the driftwood. Do you know what kind of wood it is? It is very pretty.


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## angelicodin (Dec 2, 2009)

Looks great, and you have a lot nice hardware for it to boot.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Thanks guys the tanks been running for over 3 years switching from planted tank to no plants just fish. Its been running as a planted tank now for 15days, As for the driftwood I got it a few years ago from some dude on ebay think it was Malaysian driftwood. Here are some new pictures of a week of growth also added a few cherry shrimp. As you can see there is some small amount of pearling just at the tops of the plants almost near the top of the water is this because I would need more watts to get pearling on hole plant?


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Well guys new update just got my new lights from Catalina Aquarium t5ho solar 4x54 called up and got them for $180 anyway. Got them 2 days ago and when i opened the box the right side where the switches were the plastic was cracked, Also the black mesh on the top of the light was all scrapped up and some1 tryed to cover it up with a black sharpie marker. And last but not least the plastic legs that they sent me looked like they were hit with a heat gun :/. Anyway called them up and on Monday they will send me out a new one. 







.

Ok getting back to the journal Installed new surface skimmer, added 216watt t5ho solar lights, 4 ottos, 11 cardinal tetra. With this much light how many hours should I be leaving them on for at full 216watts and also the light is setting right on the tank with no legs so is that even higher watts going into the tank? I am still dosing kno3 1.5tsp, k2s04 1.5 tsp, kh2p04 pinch ever other day and also adding trace 3x a week and Iron. I am having problems with the blyxa japonica its kind of brown and don't see any new growth








also have some white things growing on my java moss sorry really couldn't get a good picture of it








Can't wait for the plants to grow so I can move things around here is a full tank shot Please give me feedback .


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Dude! I need to slope my substrate. Your tank has so much more beauty/depth than my 55! :grrrr: I love the camboba. Is that the furcata you mentioned? (or how ever it is spelled) I want some! 

My tip for pearling? Change a lot of water and snap a picture. Fake pearling at it's finest! :hihi: Seriously, only way to get a lot of pearling is to up the co2, better distribution and lots of lights. But then you have to worry about the algae woes with lots of lighting. A cheap way to get pearling in your tank is to buy some weeds. Seriously, my parrots feather, limnophilia sessiflora pearls more than my ludwigia and blyxa. I am not sure why that is. Probably something that makes it invasive in certain places.

I love your tank. Is it possible to get a full tank shot?


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

You got it Sweingalot I can send you some of the Cabomba Furcata, the tops of the plants are so pinkish red it would look great in your tank and it also grows like weeds for me I cut them half way and in 3-4 days they are at the top again. As for the pearling I got it down with the co2 and light now ill take a full tank shot in a few hours when everything is pearling. Lights just kicked on 2 hours ago and only a few have pearling.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

We'll swap plants when it warms up! :biggrin: I look forward to seeing the FTS. You've inspired me to look into scaping my hodge podge.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Here a little video of the tank and a full tank shot just waiting on everything to grown in so I can fix it the way I want enjoy. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-t3RLKVqeo


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Stunning! The pearling going on in your tank is wonderful. The cambomba is sparkling. I am in love with this plant now. Looking at your blyxa being so red is tempting me to turn on the second set of lights. I must resist the urge and live vicariously through you! I am just amazed at the depth you have created. This is something I have been struggling with since day one. Great job!


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Some new updates All ottos died :/. Also forgot to add ferts and trace for 2 days and started to get algae on the plants errr. Also what cause the plants to bend? here are some new pictures.








Plants that are bending?








Plants bending 2?








Still don't know what plant this is and is this a ground plant? All I know it grows fast and staying to the ground








Pearling 3 leaf plant sorry for the dust algae on glass Sunday is water change and glass clean


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Ugh, sorry to hear about the otos. They are finicky fish. That cambomba is simply amazing. It is really filling in nicely. The plants are bending due to the high light. It is natural in some species. I have found rotala rotundfolia (probably spelling this wrong) really loves to bend like that. I am stunned that you are able to grow your plants so well without more algae to tell you the truth. I couldn't do it and I am jealous. Are you going to put in more otos? I am subscribing to this, so I don't lose track of your pretty tank.


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## toddg (Feb 3, 2010)

Tank looks great!


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Awesome!~ The tank is beautiful. I love the reds. The proportions are great. It almost looks more like a 40B than a 55, and I mean that as a huge compliment. You did a lot with 12.5" of plantable space. (Is plantable even a word?..haha) 

Keep up the good work.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Thanks I been fighting with spot algae on most of the plants, had to take a bunch out all the red plants didn't make it bah. I was dosing high ferts but lowered the dosing think what started it all . Anyway got another Rena filter the xp1 just to power the co2 reactor made some Diy lily pipes.

















Got some new tank mates 2 corys not sure what kind but the albino cory loves the jungle of Cabomba you will see why :hihi:. 2 flame tetra.









Cory playing on the Cabomba 









Now the bad part all my Cabomba is green :icon_frow:icon_frow not sure if its from the drop in high ferts still trying to tweak this.









Moved a bunch of things around liked it the other way :hihi: here are some pictures the 3 leaf covers are growing out of CONTROL I have to cut it ever water change. I know a lot of the plants are just thrown in there I am just trying to get them to grow again.
























On that note the Rotala sp is growing again but its not red just green :icon_frow









Also trying to get the 24g aquapod up and running here is a picture mind the gold fish didn't have time to take them back to the pet store 
24g
48w t5ho
paintball co2 20oz
xp2
fish 10 flame tetra, 2 ammo shrimp , 2 corys, 4 gold fish will take them back to the store tomorrow .


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Nice tank i'm really loving the carpet on the far right of the 55g, and the cabomba on the left, it's like you made specific sections for each type of plant and in my opinion goes really well with the look.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Your 3 leafed plant is Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides aka pennymarshweed. It's one of my favorite foreground plant. It's undemanding, grows quickly and is a wonderful shade of green. It does require maintenance.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

wow i would love to get a start of that for my tank!!!!!


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## Kilroy_1911 (Jan 27, 2010)

HEINEKEN357 said:


> Anyway got another Rena filter the xp1 just to power the co2 reactor made some Diy lily pipes.


I think this looks much better than the original layout. What's this about DIY Lilly Pipes?


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

I got bored one day and made some diy lily pipes here are some that I did.


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## boink (Nov 27, 2006)

Wow nice work.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Very nice diy on those lilly pipes! Did you switch down the lighting? I am curious as to what you are doing different with your fertilizers. It is amazing how quickly the reds loose their coloring, isn't it? The new layout is fantastic by the way. I like the new foreground plant as well. Did you take out all of the blyxa?


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

sewingalot said:


> Very nice diy on those lilly pipes! Did you switch down the lighting? I am curious as to what you are doing different with your fertilizers. It is amazing how quickly the reds loose their coloring, isn't it? The new layout is fantastic by the way. I like the new foreground plant as well. Did you take out all of the blyxa?


Yes all the blyxa dead can't get that stuff to grow in my tanks, all the red is gone makes me mad lol :icon_conf as for the ferts I was dosing kno3 10.6grams, k2s04 9grams , and kh2p04 .30grams every other day with full on 216w trace and iron still dosing the same. Now I am running 2 lights for 5hours then adding the other 2 bulbs for 3 hours, dosing now is 4g kn03, 3.5g k2s04, and .90g kh2p04. Still don't see any red also the Rotala is growing again but its green. Knock on wood don't see any new spot algae on the plants only thing I have is the dust on the glass.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

how offten do u trim the foreground?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

It may be a combination of reducing lights and fertilizing that is causing the plants to loose there coloring. I would give them a little time to adjust and see if they rebound. I've noticed it takes a couple weeks to really see the full affects of a change. But this is just me. Sucks about the blyxa, but I love the new foreground. If I ever get my algae under control, I'll be glad to send you some.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

I have a question on your setup. How does the setup with outlets from each filter on both sides work for you? Is the xp1 enough flow for you for the co2? Would you like to have a xp2 or xp3 instead of the 1 for flow of co2? Is the distribution good?

Reason I ask is that I am going to add another rena but unsure on where should i put each outflow.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Tex Gal said:


> Your 3 leafed plant is Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides aka pennymarshweed. It's one of my favorite foreground plant. It's undemanding, grows quickly and is a wonderful shade of green. It does require maintenance.


Thanks I been looking for the name of this plant now I final know lol. What is the best way to maintenance this guy?



problemman said:


> how offten do u trim the foreground?


After I cut a big section out it will take about 2weeks for for another big cut.



sewingalot said:


> It may be a combination of reducing lights and fertilizing that is causing the plants to loose there coloring. I would give them a little time to adjust and see if they rebound. I've noticed it takes a couple weeks to really see the full affects of a change. But this is just me. Sucks about the blyxa, but I love the new foreground. If I ever get my algae under control, I'll be glad to send you some.


Its been about 3weeks still haven't seen any change I keep upping the ferts every 2 weeks hopefully Ill get it right one day :wink:.



accordztech said:


> I have a question on your setup. How does the setup with outlets from each filter on both sides work for you? Is the xp1 enough flow for you for the co2? Would you like to have a xp2 or xp3 instead of the 1 for flow of co2? Is the distribution good?
> 
> Reason I ask is that I am going to add another rena but unsure on where should i put each outflow.


I really like the flow on the xp1 with the co2 reactor its just enough to give me good diffusion. But if I was going to get another Rena I would get the xp3 its always good to have more flow then less. If you think its too much you can always lower the flow with a ball valve and make it like the xp1 or xp2. Also still haven't found the best place to put the lily pipes :help:.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

...you should sell me your extra lilly pipes =)


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Well it's times to trim the pennymarshweed whats the best way to do this? Is there any tips to get the Rotala red and pink? In my low tech 7g shrimp tank the Rotala is red pink after I cut it and put in my 55 all the new stems are all green. I am dosing as of now 4g kn03, 3.5g k2s04, and .6g kh2p04 also dosing 5ml of iron ever other day and also trace 15ml.


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## knm<>< (Mar 18, 2010)

I'm interested in what you did to create your DIY lilly pipes. Would you be willing to share the details?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Just cut them willy nilly. They'll grow back. Honestly, I am not sure on this plant. If it is anything like regular pennywort, I just hack them back pretty heavily and they don't seem to mind.

Do you think it is a combination of putting back on the cover with reducing lights? I am wondering if the cover is blocking more than you actually want. Just speculation, though.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

knm<>< said:


> I'm interested in what you did to create your DIY lilly pipes. Would you be willing to share the details?


I got the idea from Curare here is the link http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/27817-diy-acrylic-lilly-pipes.html



sewingalot said:


> Just cut them willy nilly. They'll grow back. Honestly, I am not sure on this plant. If it is anything like regular pennywort, I just hack them back pretty heavily and they don't seem to mind.
> 
> Do you think it is a combination of putting back on the cover with reducing lights? I am wondering if the cover is blocking more than you actually want. Just speculation, though.


Well I just cut the pennywort back heavily and its back again its almost engulfed my driftwood . Not sure how much the cover is blocking but ill try it for a few months and see what happens.

Here is some updates today was water change opened up the door and found one of my cherry shrimps dead on my co2 tank :/. Good news its wasn't the one with eggs :thumbsup:.
I cut back all the cabomba to 3in and in a week its back to the top, My next time I cut them Sewingalot ill send you them okies?
Not sure why my cherrys are so red in my big tank with a lot of light

























Pennywort engulfed my driftwood


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## halcyon (Mar 26, 2010)

Looking good!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

That is amazing how fast the pennywort grows for you. You must be doing something right. Your cherry shrimp is beautiful. Are all the females that pretty and brilliant red? The cabomba is looking good but I see you still haven't brought back the reds. Personally, I think that they are pretty this way as well. How is your fertilization going?


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

are you dosing anything? Im jealous, we started the tank at about the same time and yours looks better.

How is your spraybar placment on the side working for you? I have mine in the middle and its ok....i guess.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

halcyon said:


> Looking good!


Thank you



sewingalot said:


> That is amazing how fast the pennywort grows for you. You must be doing something right. Your cherry shrimp is beautiful. Are all the females that pretty and brilliant red? The cabomba is looking good but I see you still haven't brought back the reds. Personally, I think that they are pretty this way as well. How is your fertilization going?


Yup all the females are super red in my big tank and in my 7g shrimp tank they are not anywhere near the red like in the 55g :eek5:. The cabomba is getting its color back a little think its the light you need all the 216w to make the color come out but I am only doing 216w for 1-2hours a day so don't think I will have that full red and pink :/. As for ferts still dosing 2.5g kn03, 3.5g k2s04, and .9g kh2p04 trace 15ml and iron 7ml.



accordztech said:


> are you dosing anything? Im jealous, we started the tank at about the same time and yours looks better.
> 
> How is your spraybar placment on the side working for you? I have mine in the middle and its ok....i guess.


Yup I am dosing dry ferts 2.5g kn03, 3.5g k2s04, and .9g kh2p04 trace 15ml and iron 7ml. As for the spraybar its working pretty good I do have the xp1 with the lily pipe next to it angled at the other side of the tank so I have good flow throughout the tank.

Sold 11 of my sae yesterday what a job to get them out hehe. Also battling with ramhorn snails I hate them they all need to die lol. Also got 20 crs shrimp a few days ago they are sweet cant wait till they breed they are so much better then the cherrys. Tomorrow mite be getting a 72bow front so bye bye 12in 55g hello 18in 72g 
















Look at the growth in a few days hehe


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

That is some major growth for such a short period of time. Let me know how the lights being turned on full blast helps after a while. That is if you still have the 55


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)




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## johnnygstacks (Apr 4, 2010)

hey i live here in vegas, id be interested in buying or trading for some of your pennywort.


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## nriesen (Jan 7, 2007)

How did you start that pennywort? I didn't notice it in the first picture unless it came from one small plant. 
Is it something that you tied to the drift-wood or rooted ino the soil?


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

nriesen said:


> How did you start that pennywort? I didn't notice it in the first picture unless it came from one small plant.
> Is it something that you tied to the drift-wood or rooted ino the soil?


I started off with maybe 20 leaves of pennywort. I just took each one and planted it in the ground look at this picture to get the idea. If you have high light give it 2 weeks and you will have a lot.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

How's the algae coming along? Looks like it's improving.


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## nriesen (Jan 7, 2007)

Not to be dense...but really? Individual leaves with a short length of stem?


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

sewingalot said:


> How's the algae coming along? Looks like it's improving.


Well I run a burst of 4 bubls for 4 hours now and haven't found any algae every 2 weeks I clean the glass of dust but its very little .



nriesen said:


> Not to be dense...but really? Individual leaves with a short length of stem?


I don't get it?

Well small update I got 4 Azoo fans man do they work good keeps my temps 72-74f when room is at 80+f. Today I seen 2 of my crs for the first times in 2 weeks man they hide really good in the forest lol. Haven't done a trim in 1week Sunday will be a big one .


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## mightyoak (Mar 10, 2010)

That pennywort is crazy. I cant wait until my tank grows out to see how things look.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Amazing growth. Okay, I am so tempted to try out a burst of lighting after seeing how red your plants are.


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## HEINEKEN357 (Feb 10, 2006)

Well its been a few weeks and I just let everything grow out will never do that again hehe. I took the chainsaw to the plants today and ripped out almost everything now the fish can swim around lol.


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## globali (May 29, 2010)

Amazing and rare wood.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Your fish are probably wondering where they were moved too, lol. Looks good.


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