# rimless 55 gallon biotope tank



## Lil boy blue (Jan 26, 2006)

You have a beautiful tank, it looks awesome. What kind of substrate are you using? Any closer pics to come????


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

Lil boy blue said:


> You have a beautiful tank, it looks awesome. What kind of substrate are you using? Any closer pics to come????


Thanks, man. So far the macros have all turned out pretty weak. I'll get some up soon eventually, though.

The substrate is 3cm of equal parts kitty litter, potting soil, and vermiculite covered by 3cm of coarse sand. It's pretty messy, and I will probably do things different next time, but I'm happy with it. Plus I spent about $10 total.


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## Lil boy blue (Jan 26, 2006)

Thats awesome....are you dosing any ferts???


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

Lil boy blue said:


> Thats awesome....are you dosing any ferts???


Yup. My routine goes:

*Saturday *
65% WC, 1/2Tsp KN03, dash K2S04, 15 ml CSM+B
*Tuesday *
1/4Tsp KN03, 10 ml CSM+B
*Thursday*
1/4Tsp KN03, 10 ml CSM+B

Thanks again, dude.


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## matrixxr4wd (Mar 19, 2006)

I love rimless tanks, and I must say, yours is beautiful! I notice that there are no visible inflow or outflow pipes... I'm assuming there's a bulkhead system in the bottom of the tank? Have any pics of your equipment setup?


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

matrixxr4wd said:


> I love rimless tanks, and I must say, yours is beautiful! I notice that there are no visible inflow or outflow pipes... I'm assuming there's a bulkhead system in the bottom of the tank? Have any pics of your equipment setup?


Oh, I have pipes. I just pulled them for the photos. They're the loathsome green Eheim intakes with big dirty sponges on them and the lily-type returns. I have another tank in the works right now with bulkheads and hidden pipes.


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Your lighting and equipment is similar to my own....now if only my photography skills matched yours. I could use a rimless tank, as well . IMO, you have found the perfect piece of wood for this tank. It absolutely makes your scape. Reading through your flora, I can't decipher which of the 5 plants you mentioned is that wonderful lilypad type plant - the big one with the long curvy stems. 

And be careful what you wish for re: that microsword. I spent 2 years trying to get it to grow....then it did.....and completely overran my tank in about 60 days.


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Beautful tank in my opinion. The aquarium looks really nice and I love how the plants are growing. I also love how you have the background effect w/o using an actual background as well as exposure from the light.

Are you planning to attach any plants to the driftwood or do you plan to keep it bare? either way will still look good 

Ted - I believe you are referring to the banana plant?


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## zero9046 (Jul 6, 2005)

awesome looking tank. i really like the south american focus. i've got a 20 gallon with some rams and tetras, and i'd eventually like to turn it into more of a biotope. i know what you mean about the dwarf sag too. i've got some 8-9 inch chunks of it which looks huge in a 20Long with about ten inches of water height.


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

unirdna said:


> Your lighting and equipment is similar to my own....now if only my photography skills matched yours. I could use a rimless tank, as well . IMO, you have found the perfect piece of wood for this tank. It absolutely makes your scape. Reading through your flora, I can't decipher which of the 5 plants you mentioned is that wonderful lilypad type plant - the big one with the long curvy stems.
> 
> And be careful what you wish for re: that microsword. I spent 2 years trying to get it to grow....then it did.....and completely overran my tank in about 60 days.


Thanks for the very incisive and observant comments. My equipment is stock plantedtank forums reader. There are probably a lot of us on here with very similar systems.

I'm pretty happy with these photos, but these are the only two views I can get to turn out halfway decent. I need to learn myself some aquarium photography technique, especially after looking at those contest flicks.

I like this bit of wood too, but it's pretty two dimensional. It lays almost perfectly flat on a table. Plus I think it's decomposing on me and leading to some hair algae. I'll probably have to replace it sooner or later; another something branchy. But I agree, this tank wouldn't look like much without it. Dynamic looking layouts in skinny tanks like a 55 are tough, no room for foreground.

Overrun with microsword...that would be sweet. Right now I have to pick out errant Sagittaria to keep it from getting shaded out. Thanks again for the comments.


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

Jdinh04 said:


> Beautful tank in my opinion. The aquarium looks really nice and I love how the plants are growing. I also love how you have the background effect w/o using an actual background as well as exposure from the light.
> 
> Are you planning to attach any plants to the driftwood or do you plan to keep it bare? either way will still look good
> 
> Ted - I believe you are referring to the banana plant?


Thanks. The wall for a background is great sometimes, but other times it looks pretty unnatural. One of the drawbacks of rimless tanks, I think. 

For now I like the contrast from the dark wood, but by limiting myself to natives of the Pantanal I exclude a lot of the more available epiphytes like asian mosses.

You are correct, the surface leaves are Nymphoides aquatica.


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

zero9046 said:


> awesome looking tank. i really like the south american focus. i've got a 20 gallon with some rams and tetras, and i'd eventually like to turn it into more of a biotope. i know what you mean about the dwarf sag too. i've got some 8-9 inch chunks of it which looks huge in a 20Long with about ten inches of water height.


Thanks. A ram biotope would be a cool project. I think there are a lot of aquarium suitable symmpatric fish and plants species. I really like the extra effort a biotope calls for. I mean, you have to do some research, but it can also be hard to get the look you want without standard sp. like glosso or cardinal tetras.

Oh, man. Sagittaria enjoys way to much self-determination. For a year it stayed under 5". Now all of a sudden I have some that are pushing 18" tall. Crazy plant. I like E. tennelus a lot for smaller tanks, but the sag is a better grower in my experience.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

I really like this tank, with its cool green and minimal elegance! Its actually a bit like what I am planning for in a new lower maintenance 65G tank for a pair of Apisto viejitas I have in a too small of 26bow.. Great job. One of the best tanks displayed in a good while IMO. I sometimes prefer tanks without the black competition background look. The plants are enuf of a background for me. This is an easy tank on my eyes and I hope you can find as nice of piece of grapevine or the like that won't decompose. Also, I love Black Neons. I think they are a fun, schooling fish which are often not given enough appreciation.


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

I really like the wood, it is a nice size and shape but doesn't overpower the scape.


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

Betowess said:


> I really like this tank, with its cool green and minimal elegance! Its actually a bit like what I am planning for in a new lower maintenance 65G tank for a pair of Apisto viejitas I have in a too small of 26bow.. Great job. One of the best tanks displayed in a good while IMO. I sometimes prefer tanks without the black competition background look. The plants are enuf of a background for me. This is an easy tank on my eyes and I hope you can find as nice of piece of grapevine or the like that won't decompose. Also, I love Black Neons. I think they are a fun, schooling fish which are often not given enough appreciation.


Wow, that's a lot to live up to. I'm glad you like it. I figure swapping the wood out will be a nice change, when I get around to it. I had to boil this piece for hours in a turkey fryer before it would sink. 

And, yes, there isn't one thing I don't like about black neons. They're cheap, farm raised, hugely entertaining and forgiving captives. Several fry have made it to adulthood in the tank without any special attention, and they never jump out. 

Sorry about the small pictures, photobucket is giving me trouble.


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

I love the blue/purpilish tone the lighting is giving off, it certainly brings in a calm feeling to the tank. The clarity is superb as well. You should be proud!


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

New flicks. Not much has changed, but I'm growing out some _Apistogramma trifasciata_ for the tank and planning a new stand. I am sort of ignoring it and everything is overgrown. The sag is flowering like a madman and I pick about 6 surface leaves of the Nymphoides every week. Thanks for looking.

Young male trifasciata:









Male sag flower:


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## turtlehead (May 31, 2005)

Nice, very natural, I also like the wood and the photos. How can you have such clear water with that wood?


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## mette (Jun 3, 2005)

turtlehead said:


> Nice, very natural, I also like the wood and the photos. How can you have such clear water with that wood?


Thanks. I'm very happy with the water quality. I run two Eheim 2213 cans. The bottom 1/3 is noodles and the rest is polyfil. I do a 60% WC every Saturday and top off about 2 gallons on Wednesday. I have a UVS but I rarely use it. 

The wood has been under water for more than a year and I boiled the crap out of it first.


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## turtlehead (May 31, 2005)

Wow, haha, no wonder.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

really wonderful looking tank,love the photographs especially those of your full tank shot,the water ripple made by the 2 tetras and the phtograph of the male sag flower.


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## bigstick120 (May 23, 2005)

How about a full shot update!


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