# FSM's high tech 75 gallon (rescaped again - July 27th)



## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Standard 75G tank, 48"x18"x21"

lighting:
3x54W Catalina Aquarium T5HO fixture

2 x fluval 404s, DIY spraybars

200 watt stealth heater

substrate:
20 lbs eco complete, some flourite, black sand (~75 pounds)
I stole the eco complete from a 29 I took down, the flourite I got for free with the tank (about 1.5 gallons of it) and the black sand is S grade colorquartz plus some other stuff I got off ebay.

CO2: 5 lb tank, unknown brand regular (found them in the garage), clippard solenoid, fabco needle valve, rex grigg style reactor (still need to build it). The solenoid and needle valve have been ordered, they should arrive soon.

Fish:
2 Crenicichla minuano
2 Gymnogeophagus sp paso pache II
3 Gymnogeophagus balzanii

plants:
Needle leaf java fern
Blyxa japonica
HM
A few different stems, haven't quite decided yet. I've got some ludwigia, Rotala rotundifolia, and Bacopa caroliniana, not sure what will stay though.
Also I'm going to add some anubias.


I've added some plants already, just using 2x54W right now so I don't spawn an algae swamp.

(July 12, 2009)









(July 27, 2009)


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## jinsei888 (Apr 20, 2009)

looks like you've got some happy fish! Great start!


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

The fish are happy, I can't decide how to place the driftwood though. Right now I have both chunks in the middle which I think looks better than on separate ends. Once I have them covered in java fern it should look like one large piece.


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## JSmith (Jun 12, 2009)

You could post some pics, im sure ppl can help critique the placement.. 75s Are huge!


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

And I've been thinking about how nice a 180 would be


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

July 29th


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Oh yeah, the wood looks much better in the center. I think once you get some taller plants to go behind the driftwood, it'll look pretty nice!


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

lucky picture of a yawn


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## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

Nice start!
Are your Geo's rearranging the substrate yet?


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Not too much. The only thing that keeps getting uprooted is the blyxa, and I think it just needs time to establish it's roots.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

:smile:


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

CO2 was running, until I realized water was going back up through my bubble counter and into the needle valve. I will have to either rig up another bubble counter type thing to prevent that or I will get another check valve.

I also got a fluval surface skimmer that cleared up all the surface film in about half an hour.

(pic is taken before it was added)


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

You have some very beautiful fish, very nice

As for your back flow of water issue, you may want to consider purging your co2 system in case water passed through your solenoid and into your regulator.

Regards,
Orlando


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

thanks

Should I remove the solenoid and open the regulator for a few seconds?

I took the needle valve off and have had it hooked up to an air pump for a few days.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Maybe just remove the tubing from the solenoid, up the working pressure(40psi) then plug/unplug the solenoid several times. Keep your hand in front of the hole where the co2 come out. If you feel moisture it may not be a bad idea to open the regulator up and clean the seats


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## badmatt (Nov 19, 2003)

FSM said:


> CO2 was running, until I realized water was going back up through my bubble counter and into the needle valve. I will have to either rig up another bubble counter type thing to prevent that or I will get another check valve.
> 
> I also got a fluval surface skimmer that cleared up all the surface film in about half an hour.
> 
> (pic is taken before it was added)


Looks Awesome! are you using all the lights? or just the pair?


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

Stunning tank, and beautiful cichlids! It's coming along nicely.


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## tolson83 (Sep 24, 2009)

is that hygro augustifolia on the left?


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Yes


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

The smaller male balzanii (in the middle of the picture) is starting to develop a hump on his head. The bigger male is more timid and doesn't seem to try as hard with the ladies.

Adjusted the white balance on the camera so it looks more like in real life.









All the cichlids will be moved into a 150 gallon (72x20x25) in a few weeks, and the fish from my 29 will be moved into this tank.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

I really like it! What fish will be moved into it?


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

7 yo yo loaches and some other assorted community fish. I'm not sure yet what else I will add.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Growth in the stem plants is starting to take off. I accidentally pulled up one runner from the tenellus and found five more that were still under the substrate.

even with the fish 5" under the fixture with all three bulbs on, it isn't bright enough for these to be in focus. I need to get an overhead flash or something.


















these are good though, the fish weren't moving nearly as fast.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Are you going to be putting any fish that Ken's collecting in this tank?


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Lookin' good! roud:


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Phil Edwards said:


> Are you going to be putting any fish that Ken's collecting in this tank?


It will depend on the prices. They started out at $25-30 each last time, but I got these (paso pache II) for $10 each when he was trying to get rid of extras a few months later.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's looking great. I really want to do a setup with SA cichlids someday.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks.


I'm having problems with the solenoid valve. When it is off, it doesn't stop the flow of gas. It reduces it a lot, but it doesn't stop completely. I opened up the regulator and blasted lots of gas through it, and it seems to have improved significantly, but gas is still leaking through slightly. Anything else I can do? I think it must have gotten water in it.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

The solenoid seems to be working.


I got a drop checker and some 4 dKH solution; I filled the bulb with the water and added a few drops of pH reagent from an API test kit. Is that what I am supposed to do? It's blue right now, I just turned on the CO2 though.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)




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## EWUeagle (Oct 27, 2009)

*Beautiful Tank*

I have a 75 gallon tank that is similar to yours in some respects and would like to know how you are dosing ferts? 

I am currently running a Catalina 4x54 setup 2 eheim 2217 and a 2213 with pressurized CO2. Your arrangement of driftwood is amazing. Thanks and happy New Year!


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

thanks. I spent way too long trying to decide how to place that driftwood.

I dose estimative index; 3/4 tsp KNO3, 1/4 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KH2PO4, 1/4 tsp CSM+B, 3x per week.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)




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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

A lot has changed; I transferred the cichlids into a 120 gallon and moved the fish from my 29 into this tank. The Hygrophila had to go, because I already knew something from the 29 would eat it (yo yo loaches, probably)

Also I added a 3rd piece of driftwood

February:










April:










and one of the new additions, a whiptail cat Rineloricaria parva)










The other fish consist of yo yo loaches, cherry barbs, an angelfish, a few zebra danios, 2 whiptail catfish, a large male albino bushynose, a few other assorted tetras (I've got 6 serpae and 5 colombian tetras in a QT tank), and some other catfish with a crazy name I can't remember


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

if i could say one thing other then i love you tank so far is that the striped rock needs to go


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## The Plantman (May 5, 2010)

problemman said:


> if i could say one thing other then i love you tank so far is that the striped rock needs to go


I agree!

Also, I'd say by the picture your drop checker is showing very dark green. I would aim for a lighter color of green, more of a lime or yellow-green.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

The rock is holding the long piece of driftwood down. I'm working on getting some moss to grow on it. I have also increased the CO2 rate; the DC stays light green.


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## HiImSean (May 9, 2007)

looks good, how are all those plants i gave you doing in there? they're over growing my 75g again


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

They weren't doing well in the 120 so I moved them into this tank.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

1000th post


replaced the substrate with pool filter sand; I might sift some of the flourite out of the old stuff and toss that in too. Also I rearranged the driftwood, pulled all the ferns off and reattached them with superglue. I had to rescue two yo yo loaches that didn't jump out of the driftwood before I pulled it out, but other than that the fish didn't seem to bothered by the ordeal. 









I decided the long piece of driftwood wasn't really adding anything to the scape, so I moved it into my other 75. 

these are colombian tetras. I bought the 5 they had at petsmart during the $1 sale; I would buy more but the regular price is $3.75. They're the nicest tetras I've kept, active, not timid, and the color is really nice.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Nice tetras and I like the lighter colored substrate. 'Tis a shame you pulled the willow leaf hygro tho.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

It was nice, but I'm pretty sure the yo yo loaches will eat it. It got eaten in my 29 gallon, and all the same fish were in it.

I've got some more plants coming tomorrow to fill in the gaps


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)




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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Those loaches are beauties


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)




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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Beautiful tank!!!

On the first page, what is that tall grassy plant in the left hand corner?


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Hygrophila 'angustifolia'

1 stem left, I need to move it out of the shade












































































not much has changed, except I added some lotus plant things, 3 different types (not sure what they are, though) plus some unidentified bulbs.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

There's something so sharp looking about this tank. The black background, large green plant base, and white sand really look good.

And those Colombian tetras just pop.


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## NStarr (Jun 3, 2011)

This tank looks amazing, Flying Spaghetti Monster!


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## Alastair-T (Jun 5, 2011)

I agree, a gorgeous looking tank.


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