# 55g natural style scape journal (update 3-30-11 w/ 100 chili's added)



## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

*TANK DIMENSTIONS/STAND:*
standard sized 55g tank from Petco. Stand is DIY as well as the canopy

*LIGHTING:*
Hagen GLO double T5HO 54w w/ Giesemann bulbs, 1 midday, 1 flora.
LED moonlights

*CO2 EQUIPMENT:*
10# aluminum tank. Concoa 2 stage reg. Post body kit built by Yikesjason, 3 way manifold w/ 3 NV55's and 3 JBJ BC's, 6 total brass check valves. ISTA CO2 indicator. Rex style reactor. This set up will eventually be supplying my 2 10g's and my 55g.

*SCAPE EQUIPMENT:*
Slim Line background bought online. Manzanita from PC1

*SUBSTRATE:*
27L of Aquasoil

*FERTZ:*
EI Dry dosing and RM root tabs

*FILTRATION:*
2 Rena XP3'S

*FAUNA:*
will house RCS and about 100 chili's (not concrete yet)

*FLORA:* 
Still undecided...


Pics:

















I also have a build thread on TPT which i'm not sure if i'm able to link to here but if i can i will edit this post and provide it. It shows the stands being built and such. It's pretty pic intensive though, lol.


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## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Wow dude. I'm excited to see this one develop! Beautiful wood and arrangement. That manzy makes your 55 look like a 90. Are you planning on having any stone in your setup? Also any flora in mind? 

Subscribed!!!


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Dan the Man said:


> Wow dude. I'm excited to see this one develop! Beautiful wood and arrangement. That manzy makes your 55 look like a 90. Are you planning on having any stone in your setup? Also any flora in mind?
> 
> Subscribed!!!


thanks Dan. I was unsure of any stones but i kind of feel like it does need some, i'm just not sure where. Maybe on the left right in front of the Manzanita? As far as Flora i was going to try to get a full Hemianthus callitrichoides carpet going. Maybe some:
Echinodorus Angustifolia
Anubias barteri 'Petite' (maybe)
Hottonia palustris
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig' 
Limnophila aromatica (i just love the color of this plant!)

maybe a few more but i do not want to have this tank as a collectoritis tank, lol. I will have to narrow down what it is i want from this at the end of the day. thanks for the subscription.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

put some plants in there. Still need to buy the rest of the plants to get it going fully. Here's the plant list i need if you want to help me out:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/126307-wanted-plant-list-you-got-ill.html

Everything went without a hitch, the reactor was spilling a lot of bubbles at first but is doing great now. My ISTA is turning a nice light green almost yellow . 









thanks for viewing.


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## semperfimrn1 (Jan 19, 2011)

i want branches like that!! where can you get some?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

semperfimrn1 said:


> i want branches like that!! where can you get some?



From this man ------>MANZANITA MAN<------


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

Rick,

Looks great. I love your wood placement and the background is killer. The only suggestion I could offer is the right side. The plant on the left is taking away from your beautiful wood. Great start though. I'll be watching this one!


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> Rick,
> 
> Looks great. I love your wood placement and the background is killer. The only suggestion I could offer is the right side. The plant on the left is taking away from your beautiful wood. Great start though. I'll be watching this one!


You know i had the same feeling. I just really want to use that plant but not sure where to put it. It definitely takes from the look of the wood. You almost can't tell it's coming down from the top because of it. good eye and thanks, i just don't know where i will put it.


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

Looking good there Rick. I would say move that plant to the back center, otherwise maybe out of the tank all together if it takes that much away from the wood?

I need to update my journal!


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

bnbfishin said:


> Looking good there Rick. I would say move that plant to the back center, otherwise maybe out of the tank all together if it takes that much away from the wood?
> 
> I need to update my journal!


thanks, i was thinking of putting it in the left corner since it's so broad leafed and maybe it will cover the filter intake better than the sunset i currently have there.


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

That's true about covering up the filter intake. Guess it depends on which plant you like better in that spot. Where would the sunset go then?


rickztahone said:


> thanks, i was thinking of putting it in the left corner since it's so broad leafed and maybe it will cover the filter intake better than the sunset i currently have there.


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## semperfimrn1 (Jan 19, 2011)

i really love the way your tank is decorated


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

bnbfishin said:


> That's true about covering up the filter intake. Guess it depends on which plant you like better in that spot. Where would the sunset go then?


LOL, i have no idea. I can't believe i'm have such a difficult time with these plants and i eventually want like 8 more plant types. :icon_conf


semperfimrn1 said:


> i really love the way your tank is decorated


thank you very much. So far, most of it has been DIY which is an added bonus to keep the cost down roud:


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Awesome hardscape man. In to see what you're gonna make of this tank


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

speedie408 said:


> Awesome hardscape man. In to see what you're gonna make of this tank


thanks Speedie, i have most of your tanks subscribed, lol. You have an awesome aquascaping hand.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

It looks very good for a hard tank to scape with. If it's possible, can you PM me the price you paid for your driftwood? I am also looking to buy some wood for my 55 as well....


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## Jonno (Dec 2, 2008)

I see you have two xp3 on your tank, i have one on my 55gal have you noticed a big advantage?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Jonno said:


> I see you have two xp3 on your tank, i have one on my 55gal have you noticed a big advantage?


the tank is fairly new so it's difficult to say. I had both these xp3's on my 125 and it wasn't enough IMO. But, for the 55 it seems like it creates great circulation. I'm still seeing if there are dead spots that will need a power head or something.


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## Jonno (Dec 2, 2008)

rickztahone said:


> the tank is fairly new so it's difficult to say. I had both these xp3's on my 125 and it wasn't enough IMO. But, for the 55 it seems like it creates great circulation. I'm still seeing if there are dead spots that will need a power head or something.



I have one xp3 with a power head but i still find im getting some algae and debris build up in certain areas


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## SleepyOwl (Sep 23, 2007)

Looks great! Could you move the plant from the right, into the left corner? ... or about a 1/3 of the way from the left, behind the branch?


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

HC is packaged up and ready to ship. I'll send it out tomorrow. 

It's A LOT of HC. Your back is going to hate me. Bahahahaha!


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## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Hey Rick...I thought I commented on another journal thread for this tank but I guess you started another one? Anyway, great tank and hardscape. To be honest, I didn't really like manzy before this tank but it looks great in yours! I'm also glad you are going to use a foreground plant. I also think that the large plant on the right distracts but I think another alternative spot could be under the piece on the right so that the wood would be shading it a little and visible. Just a thought. That way you could also keep the hygro where it is.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> HC is packaged up and ready to ship. I'll send it out tomorrow.
> 
> It's A LOT of HC. Your back is going to hate me. Bahahahaha!


I can just imagine lol. Plus, that canopy is a PITA to take off which i will have to do in order to get closer to the foreground. I really appreciate the great deal on the HC though man. Even if you get the glosso i will hook you up with some down the line so that you can grow it emmersed and give someone else a good deal because Lord knows i can't grow anything emmersed, lol.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

This is what it looks like under the tank. The PVC pipe running diagonally isn't the reactor. the reactor is actually screwed into the back left side of the stand. i can take pics of the back side as well to see the plumbing.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

more pics please! i love the tank


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

msawdey said:


> more pics please! i love the tank


you asked and i shall oblige roud:
Thanks to Anthony my back has been hurting since yesterday. Planting HC is not fun...


















I got the HC planted and the Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' and i also would have had the Bacopa Caroliniana & Limnophila aromatica planted in there as well but USPS decided to send a package that was shipped no more than 50 miles away through TEXAS!!!.... Go figure.


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

Nice job Rick! That is going to look great once filled in. Remeber to trim that HC. Keep it short or you will have a new floater plant soon.


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

antbug said:


> Nice job Rick! That is going to look great once filled in. Remeber to trim that HC. Keep it short or you will have a new floater plant soon.


That is what I have always done wrong!! LOL

I am really liking the way this tank is turning out!


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Looking good, love the manzanita


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## mysticalnet (Dec 2, 2007)

Nice tank! Nice wood!


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## NeuRon (Feb 6, 2011)

It's really worth agreeing on the wood again. Looks great! Nice backround too. 

Seeing this makes me really want a tank with about 3'-4' depth (front-to-rear).

The HC was a pain for me even with the DSM, seperating it as much as possible. If I were ever to plant it underwater, I'm pretty sure it would remain in planter-sized clumps.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

I've been reading about the start up of a new tank and how it is usually prone to algae. I must say i am experiencing something along those lines. I believe it might be brown diatoms. It literally looks like dirt stuck on the plants. I would introduce Otto's to clean it up but the tank is still having the ammonia spike from the AS. Do i simply ignore it for now?

Also, the manzanita is leaching so bad that after a WC the water changes to the yellowish color within two days! :drool: 

I'm still guessing all of this is normal and i hope it will go away. The plants seem to be doing excellent quite honestly. I did have to add 2 powerheads that look super out of place but since they are temporary i really don't mind.

I plan on buying two Koralia's and was wondering if any of you could recommend one that isn't too powerful for a 55g. One of the power heads is so strong that when i came back from work it had created a huge crater in the AS, lol. My HC did not really appreciate it.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Bump?


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## NeuRon (Feb 6, 2011)

I'm sorry I can't help on the algae, but I'm hoping some experience will flow in because I'll be watching closely. I'm not going to be too far behind you... ...and I already have algae before flooding.


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

Rick,
The brown algea most likely is the diatom variety. Between my 1 bristlenose, 1 otto and one algea eating shrimp, they cleaned up all of it in about 2 days and it hasn't been back since. I just wish they hadn't eaten it off of the white pvc tubes for my bottom current! What are your Ammonia readings at? I wouldn't be against putting in 1 or 2 ottos and see how they do.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

all the plants that i wanted got planted on 2-3-11 except for the downoi. I wasn't able to acquire that as of yet.

















and a shot from today. sry but it wasn't the greatest pic due to the reflection. Also, those power heads will not remain there, i will get a couple of koralia's to blend in better:









here are a few shots i took a few days ago showing the L/M/R sides:


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

i just recently started dosing iron chelate 13% and today when i came home i noticed that my tank was super cloudy. i turned on the lights and it wasn't green cloudiness, it just looked like if it was dirt cloudiness. is this normal for start up tanks and/or when dosing iron? I follow EI dry dosed


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

If you mix iron with phosphorus (KH2PO4) you get iron phosphate, which turns your water cloudy and is not beneficial for your plants. Wait at least a day in between the two doses.

I hope that HC does well for you! It is a wonderful plant once it takes hold.


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

I love the style of this tank!

What is the cooler in your stand for?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Fishly said:


> I love the style of this tank!
> 
> What is the cooler in your stand for?


Merely a convenience. It so happens that it fit perfectly in that space and it offers a place to put my dry fertz and acts like a makeshift shelf when closed.

Think you for the compliment and I should have an updated picture today or tomorrow. A lot of plants have grown in nicely.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Fishly said:


> I love the style of this tank!
> 
> What is the cooler in your stand for?


Merely a convenience. It so happens that it fit perfectly in that space and it offers a place to put my dry fertz and acts like a makeshift shelf when closed.

Thank you for the compliment and I should have an updated picture today or tomorrow. A lot of plants have grown in nicely.


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

awesome tank. love the scape.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

nonconductive said:


> awesome tank. love the scape.


Why thank you.

I was hoping I'd have an updated pic but lights were off when I got home


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Very pic heavy update. The HC on the left side is doing horrible since i left for a mini-vacation and i had the lights off for 4 days and no fertz or co2. Needless to say some plants didn't take it too well. The middle ground seems to not have been affected as bad. Hopefully i can get it to fully grow out after this set back. I also need to add more iron since my red plants are not as red as i would like. 
On to the pictures...








Left Side








Right side








HC / Tropica 049 / Echinodorus vesuvius (name changed i believe)
























Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'








some shrimp








another cherry








unidentified Moss. It will take forever to get all my manzanita to get covered with this since i can't id the moss and don't want to do different species. 








Chili's. I only have about 6. I was going to get another 100 from NA but apparently it's the 'off season'. 








BJ


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

awesome. the back is really filling in.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

nonconductive said:


> awesome. the back is really filling in.


thanks. Yeah it really is filling in nicely. I just wish the middle section took off more.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Looks good. Much larger looking than a 55G for sure!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

You have convinced me to stop posting in my own journals and spend more time enjoying tanks like yours. WOW.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Man I love the slimline background, and I agree with the others that the tank looks bigger than a 55g. I almost want to tear my 55g down just so I can put one of those in :drool:

The rest of the tank looks great too!


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Wingsdlc said:


> Looks good. Much larger looking than a 55G for sure!


wow, thank you very much, a great compliment coming from you :thumbsup:



sewingalot said:


> You have convinced me to stop posting in my own journals and spend more time enjoying tanks like yours. WOW.


double wow, also a great compliment coming from the "Dr. wom-plays-with-deficiencies" :icon_cool



Chaos_Being said:


> Man I love the slimline background, and I agree with the others that the tank looks bigger than a 55g. I almost want to tear my 55g down just so I can put one of those in :drool:
> 
> The rest of the tank looks great too!


thank you very much. i really love the background and at first it was getting massive amounts of algae. As soon as i put my otos in there they went to town and now my whole tank is spotless! no joke. Also, you really can't beat the cheap price i paid for that slim background. 

thank you all, and since i took these pics most of my stems have been growing like crazy. I'm still not getting the red plants to the red i would like but i'm already dosing A LOT of Iron chelate and CSM+B, which i have my reservations on since it has copper and i have invertz in there. i can't say that the CSM+B is the atributing factor for my SS CRS deaths but once i stopped dosing it into my 10g they stopped dying, go figure...


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

update with the new 100 chili's i bought yesterday. i also bought 4 cpd's. i've been getting some stringy green algae on my HC and from asking on this forum they suggested less light photo period and i figured i'd do a full 8 hours but with 3 hrs of black out in the afternoon. if anyone thinks this will not help my algae problems please let me know so i can adjust my photo period accordingly, thanks.

on to the pics:








FTS








me trying to catch a pic of the chili's......not successful....








tried again, failed again lol.








You can actually see the chili's on the bottom right on this shot








Left side, please don't mind the dora reflection, lol. 








another FTS after convincing my 3 yr old daughter to turn off the tv so i can take a decent shot, lol.

Please don't mind the Pantanal in the foreground. i got 3 stems originally but 2 died and this one was a tiny little thing about to die when i put it where it is. i'm trying to resurrect it.

any advice/criticism is welcomed whether good or bad


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Very, very cool! I love the light and shadows, makes it look really dramatic and those chilis are going to look so cool when they settle in and colour up.


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## Ben. (Mar 29, 2011)

looks really goodroud:

Its so lush:O


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

It looks even better than before. That massive amount of Chilis are going to look great once they are comfortable and shoaling around in there.


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

looks really good! it filled in very fast.


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

That's filling in nice. Good job bro.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

tamsin said:


> Very, very cool! I love the light and shadows, makes it look really dramatic and those chilis are going to look so cool when they settle in and colour up.





Ben. said:


> looks really goodroud:
> 
> Its so lush:O





Chaos_Being said:


> It looks even better than before. That massive amount of Chilis are going to look great once they are comfortable and shoaling around in there.





nonconductive said:


> looks really good! it filled in very fast.





antbug said:


> That's filling in nice. Good job bro.


 
thank you all very much! Some parts have filled in extremely fast and others such as the HC is taking foreeeeever, lol. I hope i can get that algae under control and then i'll go back to enjoying my tank.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Nice moniker you gave me. :hihi: Cute. 

I am amazed out how fast your tank is growing! Are you tired of the constant trimming yet? Looking good.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> Nice moniker you gave me. :hihi: Cute.
> 
> I am amazed out how fast your tank is growing! Are you tired of the constant trimming yet? Looking good.


trimming's are a total PITA. I'm not able to ship atm so most trimmings get roak'd locally. This is usually only a weekly basis.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I could only imagine. I was having the same issue when I was actually more into growing plants than torturing them.  It's good you are trading locally. If there were any interest around here, I'd be happy to give them away all the time. I am still in awe that this is a 55 gallon. It looks so much deeper. You've accomplished the impossible. You've successfully fooled the eye into thinking this tank is larger than it is. :thumbsup:


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## TankZen (Jan 31, 2011)

Wow plants are looking awesome!


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> I could only imagine. I was having the same issue when I was actually more into growing plants than torturing them.  It's good you are trading locally. If there were any interest around here, I'd be happy to give them away all the time. I am still in awe that this is a 55 gallon. It looks so much deeper. You've accomplished the impossible. You've successfully fooled the eye into thinking this tank is larger than it is. :thumbsup:


Tyvm. The depth thing was always my goal. In the first stages of planning I started a thread on how best to achieve that and I got some great ideas from fellow members. 



TankZen said:


> Wow plants are looking awesome!


Thank you as well but I must admit that weekly trimmings are a bit annoying, lol.

If anyone is willing to do a plant trade for my sunset, I have at least 50 stems 20"+ and I'm pretty open to many replacement plants. My requirements would be for it to be a stem, grows vertical and has a red hue.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I think it is way past time for an update.  Please?


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## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

Amazing tank i like how open it is in the front.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> I think it is way past time for an update.  Please?


 Thanks but my tank is not looking that great atm. i trimmed the Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'

and it did not take it well at all. It is my favorite plant in the tank but i had to trim it heavily because it kept blocking out all the light. Now, it is pretty much all wilted away. I'll take a shot soon to show you how it looks but it looks dramatically different now, lol. On the bright side my Blyxa Japonica is doing awesome! HC...not so much :thumbsdow



TwoStrokeKing said:


> Amazing tank i like how open it is in the front.


Thanks a lot. I ultimately would like for the whole front to be covered with HC but it isn't co-operating atm, lol. c'est la vie


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

This looks really great, good choice on the fish too, I love large schools of small fish.


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## fishboy199413 (Jan 20, 2010)

How is the tank doing? I would really like to see how it looks now and if the chilis are schooling.


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## jamntoast (Apr 16, 2012)

this tank is awesome, you must be pretty proud. any updates?


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