# oldpunk's 50g brackish low tech journal(56K)



## oldpunk78

so i finally couldn't stand having this tank just sitting out in the garage any more and decided to do something with it. 

* tank - 46g(i think - if any one knows what it's actually called, let me know), 36 x 15 x 20. still in the clean up stages. the stand and the tank both need some work. it has a built in wet/dry filter which i'm not sure if i'll be using or not, but at least it's good for hiding everything. i'm still a little wary of trying to scape it(because of the whole over flow box thing) but i think i've come up with something. 

here are a couple of pics of where i'm at so far:


















it's not going to black or primer gray. i've decided on a textured charcoal. will probably have it finished up this week. 

here's a shot of the overflow:










this is probably why it's been out in the garage for so long now, lol.

lighting - i had a pretty tough time trying to come up with a lighting solution for this project(still a newbie i guess). i wanted to hang what ever i decided on, but couldn't really find a whole lot. it looked like i could use one t5ho bulb or three t-8 bulbs or two t5no bulbs (didn't want to go power compact). i liked the single t5ho solution the best, unfortunately i could only find the hagen glo fixture and didn't want to pay the 100+ dollars for it. so my next choice was the coralife 36" t5no dual bulb strip light. i thought that it might look sorta okie hanging over my tank so that was out. i'm just going to make my own t5no 2 bulb fixture.

found this at the home depot:


















i haven't quite figured out how i'm gonna do it yet, but i think it will better than than just a square strip light. 

at first, i was just going to use pool filter sand(or something similar), but then i realized i had all the stuff sitting around to make mineralized topsoil. i guess the crypts will thank me later.

where i'm at with it:










man there's a lot of wood in there. 

i guess that's it for now, thanks for looking!

* edit - after doing some research i have come to the conclusion that my tank is referred to as a 50g - so i will just go with that.(even though i did the math and know that's not really what it is. )


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## Axelrodi202

I thought 46 Gallon Tanks were bowfronts.


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## oldpunk78

15x20x36=10800 cubic inches, right? that = 46.75 gallons right?

did i do that wrong? lol

i thought 46g's where bowfronts too. i suppose it could be a 40 tall.


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## speedie408

Can't wait to see your progress oldpunk. Will this be your first mineralized topsoil project?


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## oldpunk78

> Can't wait to see your progress oldpunk. Will this be your first mineralized topsoil project?


me too! and yes, it will.


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## Coltonorr

Sweet!
MS is great:thumbsup:


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## Trallen44

Looks like a great new project! I am interested in seeing this one come together. Maybe the 29 can get a little extra grow time. LOL


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## Dollface

Looks like a custom acrylic tank, I don't think there are any 'proper' sizes for those :S

Also, I guess it's a little late for this but there's a hydroponics store near lowes (by safeway) that has t5ho strip lights. They only had them in 48" iirc but you might be able to order 36" lights. I actualy need to pick up another strip light from them.


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## oldpunk78

> Looks like a custom acrylic tank, I don't think there are any 'proper' sizes for those :S
> 
> Also, I guess it's a little late for this but there's a hydroponics store near lowes (by safeway) that has t5ho strip lights. They only had them in 48" iirc but you might be able to order 36" lights. I actualy need to pick up another strip light from them.


the other day, i scoured the online hydroponic stores and didn't see a single three foot fixture. maybe they can order them though. never the less, i think i will be able to create a nice t5no fixture out of what i found at the home depot. plus i bet i will only have to spend about about 40 bucks total on it(sigh, i wasn't counting the cost of new bulbs though. hopefully i can find those locally.)


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## oldpunk78

Trallen44 said:


> Looks like a great new project! I am interested in seeing this one come together. Maybe the 29 can get a little extra grow time. LOL


lol, i have already put off changing the water 'till tomorrow.


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## Dollface

oldpunk78 said:


> the other day, i scoured the online hydroponic stores and didn't see a single three foot fixture. maybe they can order them though. never the less, i think i will be able to create a nice t5no fixture out of what i found at the home depot. plus i bet i will only have to spend about about 40 bucks total on it(sigh, i wasn't counting the cost of new bulbs though. hopefully i can find those locally.)


Oh weird, I just looked up the brand of my strip lights and they only have 24" and 48", HMMMM. I would still ask though.

My 48" fixtures were 36$ each, with bulbs. so that's not bad.


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## oldpunk78

Coltonorr said:


> Sweet!
> MS is great:thumbsup:


i hope so!



Dollface said:


> Oh weird, I just looked up the brand of my strip lights and they only have 24" and 48", HMMMM. I would still ask though.
> 
> My 48" fixtures were 36$ each, with bulbs. so that's not bad.


ya, the price was definitely right with the hydroponic fixtures but i didn't want a 4' fixture. i'll have to stop by there and ask before i tear into the other one i got.

EDIT - dollface, the only 3' t5 fixture you can get from bare roots is TEK.


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## oldpunk78

i made some progress today. finished up the stand (tank still needs more work though) and finished making the MTS.










i hope i did this right.


















it will probably take me most of the week to finish up the light and hanging bars. i also have to find something locally to cap the MTS with. all most there, woo-hoo!


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## oldpunk78

oh, here's what i'm working on for my lighting. it's going to be a 2x21w T5NO 3' shop light with a single reflector from a 96w pc bulb. i will paint the exterior to match the stand. should be the same or better as the output on the comparable coralife fixture (lol, and will cost a couple of dollars more - w/o shipping). that should give me about 1wpg of t5no light that i will be able to raise up and down.


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## Coltonorr

Looking forward to watching this progress!!
are you mixing your MS with sand?


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## oldpunk78

> are you mixing your MS with sand?


no, that's just a really bad pic + there's still a little moister in it. it's dark brown powder.


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## oldpunk78

i finished up my light bars and 95% if the fixture this afternoon. i'm pretty happy with how the cut down shop light looks. seems pretty bright too. 

don't mind the tank, i haven't buffed it yet.


















not bad for around 40 bucks plus the cost of a can of spray paint. (the cost only includes the t-5 part of the shop light that i already had plus the money i spent to get the conduit and hardware to put it all together.)


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## Trallen44

Still looking great! Now it just needs to work on getting wet. LOL


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## oldpunk78

thanks tim! the lighting was my biggest hurdle, now that i've got that done i can focus on the tank and getting it filled. i've got the soil and the cap but i still need to acquire some scaping stuff. running low on tank money - probably will just go out find some cool manzanita out behind the house.


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## smoq

Nice. I'd love to see the progress. Subscribed!


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## funkyfish

Tank looks nice! Can't wait to see it filled with water  
You gonna love MS that's what I have in my tank and I am pretty sure my plants are very happy with it


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## speedie408

oldpunk78 said:


> thanks tim! the lighting was my biggest hurdle, now that i've got that done i can focus on the tank and getting it filled. i've got the soil and the cap but i still need to acquire some scaping stuff. running low on tank money - probably will just go out find some cool manzanita out behind the house.


behind the house lol I like that. I wish I had that luxury. It looks great so far OP. Keep it up!!:thumbsup:


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## oldpunk78

smoq said:


> Nice. I'd love to see the progress. Subscribed!





funkyfish said:


> Tank looks nice! Can't wait to see it filled with water
> You gonna love MS that's what I have in my tank and I am pretty sure my plants are very happy with it





speedie408 said:


> behind the house lol I like that. I wish I had that luxury. It looks great so far OP. Keep it up!!:thumbsup:


thanks guys. 

today i made the mud and filled the tank. that took up just about all of my free time so i didn't have a chance to go look for some scaping stuff. here's where i'm at now.










probably will get more plants after payday rolls around again. 

plants so far include bolbitis, narrow/needle leaf java ferns, crypts and a couple different kinds of anubias.


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## Trallen44

Lookin' good!


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## oldpunk78

ok guys, i need some input on this obsidian. a while back, my wife went out and gathered about 350lbs. of this stuff. i figured that since it's inert i might as well try to put it to use in my tank. here's a few shots of what i'm trying to do with it. 


























sorry about the bad pics. so... what do you guys think - use it or not?


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## Dollface

It might be cool, but I don't like it piled up around the driftwood like that. I also think you need a few more pieces of manzanita. 

Then again I might just be sick of seeing so much red rock and manzanita up here in whitmore that I'm biased.


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## oldpunk78

Dollface said:


> It might be cool, but I don't like it piled up around the driftwood like that. I also think you need a few more pieces of manzanita.
> 
> Then again I might just be sick of seeing so much red rock and manzanita up here in whitmore that I'm biased.


thanks dollface. i wasn't too cool about piling it up either. it was only about this time yesterday that broke those branches of a dead tree so the are still really buoyant. i'll most likely change it up after the wood has become water logged. 

well... this is as far as i'm gonna get today. i ran out of plants and patience. (sorry about the muddy picture.) 










i'm still not too sure about the obsidian. i can't wait to add some crypts and anubias, but that will have to wait until funding comes through.


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## Dollface

I take it back, that looks sooooo much better with plants. Now you just need a ton of moss on the driftwood, and big blobs of java fern to cover up those rocks.


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## oldpunk78

^ what do you think about different types of anubias wedged into all those cervices that the rocks create? ...cause that's what i had planned, lol. 

also, i had wood on both sides. the pieces i brought in and washed didn't really all fit so i took them back out. so i guess my question is: does it need wood on both sides?


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## Trallen44

I like it with the wood on just one side. I think you have a great start there. I am really liking how this tank is coming together.


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## Dollface

oldpunk78 said:


> ^ what do you think about different types of anubias wedged into all those cervices that the rocks create? ...cause that's what i had planned, lol.
> 
> also, i had wood on both sides. the pieces i brought in and washed didn't really all fit so i took them back out. so i guess my question is: does it need wood on both sides?


That works, get a bunch of different sizes of anubias though, not just a bunch of petite and nana. 

Yes and no. Yes, in that I don't think a slightly smaller branch on the right wouldn't hurt, No in that it's not that crucial, I think it looks fine with just the large branch on the left side.


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## oldpunk78

Trallen44 said:


> I like it with the wood on just one side. I think you have a great start there. I am really liking how this tank is coming together.


thanks a lot tim. oh and just so you know, i have already started to neglect my 29, lol. i hope you have the energy to update your journal with some pics soon. i've really been wondering how it's doing. hey, how much longer does it look like you are going to be going through your treatments for? i know it's rough and i send up a prayer for you ever now and again.



Dollface said:


> That works, get a bunch of different sizes of anubias though, not just a bunch of petite and nana.
> 
> Yes and no. Yes, in that I don't think a slightly smaller branch on the right wouldn't hurt, No in that it's not that crucial, I think it looks fine with just the large branch on the left side.


i already have a little bit of petite, so ohp's, hehe. but really, i was going to try and stay away from the nana. i would like to get my hands on some Coffeefolia and Heterophylla though. i gonna look tomorrow for some smaller wood too. i want to see how it looks. i was also considering just doing one big pile, but i don't know.


and on a side note - i just figured out that acrylic tank manufactures call tanks that are 36x15x20 50g so i just changed the title.


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## lotekfish

I didn't think it was going to work when it was just the rocks and wood, but now with the plants I can see it looking really good. I like the wood on one side, maybe it's because it looks very similar to my layout  One thing I did that really helped pull it together was to create a valley with the substrate between the left and right formations so the ground isn't so flat. I planted HM in the valley and taller plants to the side. Just an idea. Looking forward to seeing it progress.


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## Trallen44

oldpunk78 said:


> thanks a lot tim. oh and just so you know, i have already started to neglect my 29, lol. i hope you have the energy to update your journal with some pics soon. i've really been wondering how it's doing. hey, how much longer does it look like you are going to be going through your treatments for? i know it's rough and i send up a prayer for you ever now and again.


That is good, now it can actually fill in and look its best before you redo the tank! LOL No promises, but I am going to try and work on some of my tanks today. Start another round of chemo tomorrow. I am not sure how much longer I have, I am going to do what the Dr. says since it is working. Thank you, it really helps when I am going through the roughest times to know that I have lots of support.


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## oldpunk78

lotekfish said:


> I didn't think it was going to work when it was just the rocks and wood, but now with the plants I can see it looking really good. I like the wood on one side, maybe it's because it looks very similar to my layout  One thing I did that really helped pull it together was to create a valley with the substrate between the left and right formations so the ground isn't so flat. I planted HM in the valley and taller plants to the side. Just an idea. Looking forward to seeing it progress.


i like HM, but my goal with this tank is LOW maintenance. i think that would look nice though. i still need to get more gravel so i can work on the slope some. i only had enough to really just cover the mts.



Trallen44 said:


> That is good, now it can actually fill in and look its best before you redo the tank! LOL No promises, but I am going to try and work on some of my tanks today. Start another round of chemo tomorrow. I am not sure how much longer I have, I am going to do what the Dr. says since it is working. Thank you, it really helps when I am going through the roughest times to know that I have lots of support.


well man, instead of letting things just grow out in the other tank, i ended up doing more neglecting than anything else. i'll update that thread later so you can see the damage. we're pullin' for you man!

got a picture of the tank that's not so brown. i think you can see some of the stuff in the back in this one.










my goal is to try and cover as much of the obsidian as i can with anubias and crypts. so far the ones i want are c. undulata, anubias barteri 'round leaf' and lanceolata. and maybe c. walkerii.


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## oldpunk78

update time.

current plant list:

needle leaf java fern
narrow leaf java fern 
bolbitis
anubias nana
anubias congensis
anubias that i haven't been able to id yet.
crypt. wendtii red
crypt. lutea
crypt. undulatus
crypt. pontederifolia
crypt. spiralis

trying a different scape out:










what do you think?


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## CL

I like the new scape a lot!


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## oldpunk78

clwatkins10 said:


> I like the new scape a lot!


thanks cl!

what's your opinion on the use the of obsidian in the tank? i'm still on the fence with it. the redness of it anyway... i also noticed after taking a picture of it that i think i need to either take out or use smaller pieces of the stuff in the back corners. 

hey folks, i need some help with fish. my wife likes weird fish that eat plants/smaller fish. i wanted angles. we need some kind of compromise. any suggestions would be great!


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## Ariel301

I like the new arrangement better than the first one, definitely. It's looking nice! 

You could have a couple of angels in there no problem. What sort of fish exactly is your wife into?


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## CL

I think that the obsidian works well in this tank. Red normally doesn't work, but it works pretty well in this tank, but if you have easy access to more neutral colors, go with them IMO


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## oldpunk78

Ariel301 said:


> I like the new arrangement better than the first one, definitely. It's looking nice!
> 
> You could have a couple of angels in there no problem. What sort of fish exactly is your wife into?


thank you! well... the last time i let her pick out fish, we ended up with a dog-faced puffer and a snowflake eel for our aggressive sw tank. 



clwatkins10 said:


> I think that the obsidian works well in this tank. Red normally doesn't work, but it works pretty well in this tank, but if you have easy access to more neutral colors, go with them IMO


i think i'm going to take a walk through a landscaping yard this week and see what they've got. i haven't found anything around here just laying on the ground that was usable. i do have access to pretty cheap petrified wood. i put some of that in there today and really liked the color, i just don't have enough yet.


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## hbosman

Very nice! What was it you put on top of the MTS? It looks like larger grains than sand.


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## oldpunk78

hbosman said:


> Very nice! What was it you put on top of the MTS? It looks like larger grains than sand.



thanks, it's just a cheapish small sized quartz gravel from what i can tell. i got it at the lfs. the guy there said that they got a 50lb. bag for 25 bucks. i should probably ask what it is exactly, huh? lol


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## Trallen44

I really like the new arangement! The red works for me, but I can also see where a more natural brown of petrified wood would look great in there also. Might help balance out a little bit more with the light colored substrate.


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## oldpunk78

Trallen44 said:


> I really like the new arangement! The red works for me, but I can also see where a more natural brown of petrified wood would look great in there also. Might help balance out a little bit more with the light colored substrate.


i like this layout better too. i think i may try and keep some of the red. i'm trying to get my hands on some moss that i want to cover some of the obsidian with. i've been told that would "soften" things up a bit.

i finally put some fish in this tank today. i moved the angel from my 29 and also got a new marbled angel from the lfs this afternoon. 

got moved:









new gal:









and the sun on my wendtii for good measure:









does anyone know how to sex angels? i think i've got a male and a female, lol.


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## TheCryptKeeper

nice job! I really like the layout too... kinda like someone else's I know. :wink:


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## oldpunk78

Torpedobarb said:


> nice job! I really like the layout too... kinda like someone else's I know. :wink:


hey! don't worry... i can't compete with yours. mine won't really change for a few months at time.


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## Kolkri

Male angelfish tend to have a larger hump on their heads but not always. But you may be right. Are they getting along ok? Every time I try to get my angelfish some company he beat them up. That is why his name is Bully and he lives alone.


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## smoq

Nice start man. I would be following this thread for sure. I like those big bushes of java fern, they look awesome.


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## fastfreddie

oldpunk78 said:


> what do you think?


BAM! That is sweet. You nailed it on this one. That looks awesome dude. You can't even see the overflow back there. Be careful with the sun shining in on your tank though. I always get a bunch of algae certain times of year when the angle of the sun nails my tank for a few hours each day. 

Still can't figure out how the little Home Depot light turned into that good looking fixture. Did I miss some details or a DIY thread? 

Looks great man!


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## oldpunk78

Kolkri said:


> Male angelfish tend to have a larger hump on their heads but not always. But you may be right. Are they getting along ok? Every time I try to get my angelfish some company he beat them up. That is why his name is Bully and he lives alone.


thanks for the reply. they are getting along well so far. the female(which i'm fairly certain about) is about an inch bigger than my old koi(i think - not certain at all, is a male - he was very aggressive in the 29). i'm hoping the difference in size and putting them both in a new tank together at the same time will calm any aggression, but i'm no expert for sure, lol. 



smoq said:


> Nice start man. I would be following this thread for sure. I like those big bushes of java fern, they look awesome.


thanks man. the ferns seem to be doing the most growing so far. i can't wait 'till they're huge.



fastfreddie said:


> BAM! That is sweet. You nailed it on this one. That looks awesome dude. You can't even see the overflow back there. Be careful with the sun shining in on your tank though. I always get a bunch of algae certain times of year when the angle of the sun nails my tank for a few hours each day.
> 
> Still can't figure out how the little Home Depot light turned into that good looking fixture. Did I miss some details or a DIY thread?
> 
> Looks great man!


thanks!
i'm able to lower the shades on those windows - they we're just left all the way open yesterday. i'm alittle worried about the sun hitting the tank too. 

the fixture? i didn't do a thread on it. i guess i should have, huh? i really didn't think that there would be much interest in it. i think it puts out about as much light as a comparable coralife t5no fixture and it probably cost me $20 more to make it. i just wanted something more substantial to hang over the tank. i was originally going to just cut down a 1x54w(that's the 4' t5ho right?) hydroponic fixture, but i liked the idea of being able to run 2 bulbs. gotta have the combo, lol. honestly, all i did to make it was cut down the body of a standard 4' t-8 shop light with the chop saw and used a couple of screws to hold the t5 strip in place. all that was left after that was some drilling, painting and attaching the reflector.

if anyone wants, i could take some more detailed pics.


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## oldpunk78

i made a couple of changes yesterday. the red obsidian was just too red. i ended up removing most of it and replacing it with petrified wood. i also added some rocks covered in christmas moss. 

for what ever reason, this tank is really hard to photograph.









-thanks for looking! please comment.


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## speedie408

oldpunk,

I like the petrified wood better. Once that Xmas moss fills in and the rest of your plants grow out, I think it will look pretty sick.

Pic looks good to me.


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## oldpunk78

thanks nick. i didn't know that where varying degrees of sickness, lol. 

- diatoms! are otos and snails the only answer?

- non-stem suggestions for a low light non-co2 tank. i'd like to add to my plant mass.


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## hydrophyte

That looks real good. I agree the petrified wood is an improvement. I like these good-sized tanks with angelfish. I wonder about moving that large stone on the left closer to the center(?). The rocks on either side seem to "bookend" the whole planting for me.


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## oldpunk78

thanks hydro, ya... i'm not to hip on the placement of the rocks either. i just sort of gave up. i'm trying to get my hands on some different sizes to play around with. it felt limiting having one big piece and two same sized smaller pieces.


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## Dollface

I think the moss covered rocks would look better around the rim of the rest of the plants rather than randomly spread around.


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## Ugly Genius

oldpunk78 said:


> - non-stem suggestions for a low light non-co2 tank. i'd like to add to my plant mass.


Fissidens on the DW would look cool.


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## oldpunk78

Dollface said:


> I think the moss covered rocks would look better around the rim of the rest of the plants rather than randomly spread around.


i tried and i dunno... i understood it before i tried doing it, lol.



Ugly Genius said:


> Fissidens on the DW would look cool.


i think until things start to grow in, i'm just going to keep the wood necked. if it still needs some 'umff' then, the fissidens will be first on my list.

not much of an update this week... the moss has started to grow. the anubias and crypts have sprouted a few new leaves along with the ferns and bolbitis have unfurled some new growth. that's about it. i tried moving the petrified wood around some. not five mins. after i took this photo, i moved them around again. now their all concentrated on the left. 










view from the kitchen table










other than the above, my sump pump broke this week. did you ever notice that sort of thing always happens at the end of the day after most stores have closed? what's up with that? anyway, i knew my favorite lfs had closed a few mins. before i could get there. i like buying stuff from local merchants when ever possible... so i get there and it's closed, no surprise there, but i parked my car and decided to see if by chance anyone was still in there. as luck would have it, the owner was still there. not only was he there but drinking beer and playing with the fish. gotta love the locally owned fish store, lol. he ended up giving me a new pump at cost. that won't happen at petsmart. all that's left i guess is to mention one more marble angel has been added.

that's it, thanks for looking!


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## hydrophyte

Hey that's shaping up quick. It looks good now that the plants are settling in and maybe starting to grow a little. The rocks look better now too.

That's a funny story about your LFS--that's how a shop can build a loyal clientele.


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## oldpunk78

> Hey that's shaping up quick. It looks good now that the plants are settling in and maybe starting to grow a little. The rocks look better now too.
> 
> That's a funny story about your LFS--that's how a shop can build a loyal clientele.


ya, the plants are growing and the algae isn't. Woo Hoo!!! the only thing i'm having a problem with so far is diatoms, but i think i've got a handle on that. i'm really impressed with how well the crypts are growing in the MTS. i was expecting much slower growth.

there's a reason why that's my favorite lfs, lol.


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## oldpunk78

i need to vent. this is shaping up to be a rough week. the diatoms seem to getting worse and i found a big patch of Staghorn algae this afternoon. if the algae wasn't enough, i managed to bring home a fish with velvet and have already lost one oto. the angels aren't looking too good either.

*if you've got room for a quarantine tank - you should have one!(and that doesn't mean have one and use it for growing plants emmersed like oldpunk.)

i was expecting the diatoms, but not this bad. i wasn't expecting the staghorn at all. it's mainly at the bottom of the tank. i suppose i may be overfeeding my angels. i guess it goes to show that you can do a whole bunch of research. put all the right pieces together, and still get algae. at least i've already bumped up the flow from 270gph to 370. that should help. i was really hoping to not need excel but i'm going to go get some more tomorrow.

alright, i feel better now. if anyone wants give me some advice, i'll be glad to read it.


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## Randy Lau

Very Natural. Perfect breeding tank for those 2 angels.


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## fastfreddie

oldpunk78 said:


> i was expecting the diatoms, but not this bad. i wasn't expecting the staghorn at all. it's mainly at the bottom of the tank. i suppose i may be overfeeding my angels. i guess it goes to show that you can do a whole bunch of research. put all the right pieces together, and still get algae. at least i've already bumped up the flow from 270gph to 370. that should help. i was really hoping to not need excel but i'm going to go get some more tomorrow.
> 
> alright, i feel better now. if anyone wants give me some advice, i'll be glad to read it.


I'm not qualified to give advice, but..... have you kept the blinds closed all the time on that window beside the tank? That's what gave me a HUGE problem with diatoms once. After I fixed the beam of light coming in every afternoon, the diatoms disappeared ASAP. 

FWIW, this is an awesome tank and a little algae cannot bring down the awesomeness factor. You will prevail.


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## Trallen44

It happens to the best of us. Mine has a few algea problems itself at the moment. One of these days I will be able to work on it, and get it cleared up.


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## oldpunk78

thanks for the comments guys. 

freddie - DUDE!!! i totally forgot about that window. the blind has been open for who knows how long. i know light hit's the tank, but i'm never home when it does. well... i hope that helps. it may actually be getting hit from two windows now that i think about it. i'll lower the other window's blind too. 

after doing some re-reading, i will also be laying off the frozen food for a while too. that might be playing a role in the staghorn. that and overfeeding i guess - that would somewhat explain just getting it bad near the substrate. 

on a positive note, the angels are looking a little better today. they're not just hiding anymore that is. i hope the meds don't fry my plants. that would suck!


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## FloridaFishGuy

Great tank. This is a good inspiration for my 46G Low Tech Tank. I may end up doing MTS to save money, but I think buying substrate is going to save me the hassle. How long did it take you to do? How many rinses did you do? Also, the MTS could be playing a role in the algae.


----------



## trackhazard

This is a great looking tank. I think you're really on to something here.

Excel dosing is not so bad. You can always try hydrogen peroxide as well for spot dosing.

-Charlie


----------



## oldpunk78

FloridaFishGuy said:


> Great tank. This is a good inspiration for my 46G Low Tech Tank. I may end up doing MTS to save money, but I think buying substrate is going to save me the hassle. How long did it take you to do? How many rinses did you do? Also, the MTS could be playing a role in the algae.


thanks man. how long - i did a rush job over a three day period. after doing some reading, i realized after i filled my tank that you should really do a minimum of 4 'dryings'. i only did 2. the plants in the mts are doing well though. some folks will do the drying part of it 7-8 times. 



trackhazard said:


> This is a great looking tank. I think you're really on to something here.
> 
> Excel dosing is not so bad. You can always try hydrogen peroxide as well for spot dosing.
> 
> -Charlie


thank you, charlie. i know dosing the 'ol excel isn't so bad. i just didn't want to have to use it.


----------



## oldpunk78

i cleaned up a bunch of the diatoms today and thought it would be a good time to take some pics. all plants seem to be doing well. the angels are looking better now daily. 










tank parameters:

ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
ph 8
dgh 6
dkh 8

dosing:

kno3 - 1/4tsp. once a week
kh2po4 - 1/16tsp. once a week
excel - 3.5ml daily, 15ml sat. after water change of 40%(this just until the staghorn subsides and fish are well again)


----------



## oldpunk78

eleven days later: 










not much change. i gave the moss a trim and added a couple more christmas moss rocks. there's also some java fern 'trident' in there now as well. (you probably couldn't pick it out though) the diatoms seem to getting better too.
why doesn't anyone ever mention the mass of rouge moss you get after you trim it? (oldpunk's first time trimming moss.. lol)

thanks for looking!


----------



## funkyfish

The tank looks great!
<----- Loves it


----------



## Trallen44

Still looking great! Is the trident on the far right side? You can't really see it in there just yet. LOL 

why doesn't anyone ever mention the mass of rouge moss you get after you trim it? (oldpunk's first time trimming moss.. lol)

Cause we want others to have to go through it too! LOL Keep up the good work on this one!


----------



## Lindo

Rouge Moss strikes again  dam stuff appears whenever you turn you back and generally in the root system of something very sensitive to movement...


----------



## oldpunk78

thanks guys! the support is appreciated.

good eye tim. it's kinda filling a void there.

silly moss... i wish i had tried it earlier. it really grows on ya.

edit - i just wanted to ad that i really like the whole low tech thing. this tank has a great work vs. reward ratio. i mess with it once a week and that's it. i like it so much that i'm considering changing over my 29.


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi oldpunk78,

It is shaping up very nicely, good looking hardscape. I like angels as well. BTW, nice 'Trident' I think I see it on the right hand side?


----------



## oldpunk78

why thank you roy! and yes, that new bright green spot on the right is the trident. there's also some on the other side but the fish are blocking it.


----------



## Trallen44

oldpunk78 said:


> edit - i just wanted to ad that i really like the whole low tech thing. this tank has a great work vs. reward ratio. i mess with it once a week and that's it. i like it so much that i'm considering changing over my 29.


Low tech tanks can be really great. I still haven't done anything yet on mine since I rescaped it in May except top it off with water. It looks a little rough to me, but not too bad. But everyone that has come over just loves it.


----------



## hydrophyte

oldpunk78 said:


> !


That's looking great oldpunk78.


----------



## oldpunk78

^ thanks hydrophyte! does the petrified wood still look bookendish?


----------



## oldpunk78

hey guys, i need an opinion or two. i got some Marselia Minuta in the mail the other day and was wondering if i should throw it in here?


----------



## roznalos

do it! I think it will grow fine even w/ a low tech tank.

Nice tank BTW


----------



## Left C

That sure is a beautiful tank. I like the sandy front and all green plants (no reds) plus the wood. The petrified wood and moss look good too.


----------



## oldpunk78

xximanoobxx said:


> do it! I think it will grow fine even w/ a low tech tank.
> 
> Nice tank BTW


thanks imanoob! i just got finished putting about a 2x2 portion in. we'll see how it does. 



Left C said:


> That sure is a beautiful tank. I like the sandy front and all green plants (no reds) plus the wood. The petrified wood and moss look good too.


thank you left c. there is a little red in there. just not much. there's two different crypts that i think once they bigger will be easier to pick out.


----------



## Left C

oldpunk78 said:


> ... thank you left c. there is a little red in there. just not much. there's two different crypts that i think once they bigger will be easier to pick out.


I see them now since you mentioned them. I'm sure that it's time for some new bifocals. These are 10 years old. 

I missed it somewhere along the line when I was reading your journal, but what sand is out front. Is it pool filter stand? PFS was mentioned early on. The dark grains look good. The grain size seems a bit large to be PFS. I really like the color and texture!!

I almost thought that it is Red Flint aquarium sand. http://www.redflint.com/aquarium_sand.htm


----------



## oldpunk78

honestly, i have no idea. i just lucked out at the lfs. apparently they get it in 50lb. bags for about $25. the next time i go(maybe tomorrow) i'll take a pic of the bag. if you don't mind waiting for all the pics to load, this thread of down shift's has the same stuff up close. it looks exactly like what is in most of their tanks.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...4840-i-looked-like-kid-christmas-morning.html


----------



## Left C

It sure does look similar. Thanks for the link. That sure is a nice shop!!

That sure is nice of you to offer to take a pic of the bags.


----------



## oldpunk78

well... that trip to the lfs was a bust. haha - the bag that the gravel was in is a blank woven nylon bag with "FS #3" written on it. apparently he gets it from somewhere in the bay area at a fish wholesale place. the size of it is about 2mm on average. and i think it's quartz not silica. continuing on with the busted trip; i spotted some ick on the cories i was about to get. oh well.


----------



## Left C

Thanks for trying! The Red Flint sand that I posted is ± 0.5mm.


----------



## Phil Edwards

I like it! That's a fantastic Koi you've got as well, gorgeous coloring!


----------



## oldpunk78

thanks phil!! that koi is the tank bully. he's great though. seems like he's always hanging out with my while i'm at mt desk. i've had him since he was the size of a quarter. i'm hoping i get some koi/marble fry


----------



## oldpunk78

i think the medication i used for the diseased fish fried my plants. either that or i just can't figure out this low tech thing.

the evidence:

























about a 1/3 of the plant mass looked like that. all the bolbitis is dead. most of the crypts melted down to nothing, and a lot of the ferns turned black. i've never heard of deficiencies causing things to go bad that fast so i'm pretty sure that wasn't it. one thing i was told might be the culprit was excel. does excel kill java ferns? idk... 

on a more positive note i got a chance to rescape. for some reason i feel like i have a hard time coming up with anything but a mound so i forced myself to try something different. oh, i almost forgot to note that the diatoms mysteriously disappeared at the same time plants started dying off. hmmm...

the result:









that's all i've got for now.


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi oldpunk78,

Sorry to hear about the "melt down" disaster. I dose Excel (Glutaraldehyde) at 2X daily dose regularly in my tanks and have never had a problem with any plants except the Vals. My Java Ferns, Bolbitus, crypts, and stem plants seem to be unaffected.


----------



## oldpunk78

i'm pretty sure that the excel wasn't a problem. at first i thought i didn't have enough light, then i thought maybe i was under dosing. after a lot of thought i really think it was the lack of a water change after some pretty heavy medicating. i don't know what i was thinking. oh well. at least the fish made it. i just hope everything is done dieing for now.

it was weird. at first i noticed a couple of leaves on the crypts melting, no biggie, they just do that sometimes. then it was more leaves. i got a little worried and started poking around and found a whole bunch leaves decaying inside the mound hidden by other plants. then i started tearing into the scape i was really proud of to find i was left with 1/3 of what was in there.

ph 7.8 (was 8)
dgh 7 (was 6)
dkh 8
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0 - just started dosing more - 1/4 tsp 2x weekly
phosphorous 1/16 tsp 2x weekly
flourish 3 ml 2x weekly
excel 3 ml daily
2x21w t5no 9 hrs.

with exception of the disappearing diatoms there is almost zero algae. just a little gsa on the tank.


----------



## lauraleellbp

Welcome to Crypt melt. You probably sneezed 2 weeks ago when the moon was over the left corner of your house at precisely 11:24pm. :icon_roll

Though IDK about the Bolbitus... how's your water flow in the tank?

Maybe the Bolbitus took a dive for whatever reason, and the slight water parameter change started a Crypt chain reaction?


----------



## oldpunk78

lauraleellbp said:


> Welcome to Crypt melt. You probably sneezed 2 weeks ago when the moon was over the left corner of your house at precisely 11:24pm. :icon_roll
> 
> Though IDK about the Bolbitus... how's your water flow in the tank?
> 
> Maybe the Bolbitus took a dive for whatever reason, and the slight water parameter change started a Crypt chain reaction?


flow rate: 10x per hour

bolbitis lol - i thought it grew best when you neglected it.


----------



## oldpunk78

i decided to try more wood. i ran out of plants though. here's a bad pic:










...off to browse the sns, hahaha.

i need to paint that out flow nozzle.


----------



## Trallen44

Looking good. I have had plants melt and die off some too. I just give them time and they end up coming back and growing even better than they were the first time. That is part of the ease of a low tech tank. If something isn't right for the plant, they die back or melt but then come back stronger and better suited for their placement in the tank.


----------



## oldpunk78

Trallen44 said:


> Looking good. I have had plants melt and die off some too. I just give them time and they end up coming back and growing even better than they were the first time. That is part of the ease of a low tech tank. If something isn't right for the plant, they die back or melt but then come back stronger and better suited for their placement in the tank.


that is something i hadn't really considered. 90% of my plants came from high light co2 enriched tanks.

when are we going to get an update of your 55?


----------



## Trallen44

Updated. How is your 29 doing?


----------



## oldpunk78

Trallen44 said:


> Updated. How is your 29 doing?


well... i kinda tore it down. it's in the reconstruction phase now. i got tired of looking at the same stuff. this time i'm going to use a lighter colored substrate and some different dw. after the Spirogyra finally went away it just got boring lol.


----------



## oldpunk78

the angels spawned. woot!


















i've never had angels spawn before. this was kinda exciting for me.


----------



## 3elements

New to the forum here (actually, this is my first post!) GREAT set up! I really like the way it looks. I'm excited to see your Angels spawned - how fun it will be to track progress on that! I look forward to continuing to watch your tank develop! roud:


----------



## oldpunk78

thank you for the kind words 3elements! ...and welcome to the forum. this is a great place.

sigh* those silly angels ate all the eggs. at least i know i have a male and a female now lol


----------



## Dollface

dude, oldpunk, you're tanks are quickly turning into some of my favorite scapes on here, they just keep getting better and better as time goes on.


----------



## oldpunk78

woot! thanks dollface! that means a lot. now if only the plants will stop dying.


----------



## 3elements

oldpunk78 said:


> thank you for the kind words 3elements! ...and welcome to the forum. this is a great place.
> 
> sigh* those silly angels ate all the eggs. at least i know i have a male and a female now lol


Well, I guess tracking the progress on that wasn't as fun and was awfully short lived! Oh well, better luck next time? :hihi:


----------



## Trallen44

Congrats on finding out you have a pair. I have heard it can take a few times before you get a succesful spawn. Hopefully it won't take them too long.


----------



## oldpunk78

i think it's time for an update.










it looks like everything that didn't like the conditions in my tank is done dying off and is now in the re-grow stage. there is hardy any algae now and the angel pair has spawned 2 times as of last week. they keep eating all the eggs though. i guess that's about it. 

thanks for looking!

edit - ops! i forgot... don't tie moss to obsidian - lol - it doesn't work for too long. some of you may have noticed the moss missing, i still haven't found the motivation to put it on some new rocks yet.


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi oldpunk78,

Wow, it is really starting to fill in! I love "green" tanks (ones that don't use stem plants) because there is so much less maintenance. Keep up the good work!


----------



## oldpunk78

thanks Roy! neither of my tanks have any stems right now. i can't wait 'till they're over run buy the ferns.


----------



## msc

Hi, oldpunk, You did a really nice job on the tank. Very nice looking tank.


----------



## oldpunk78

^ thank you! i still need to get some stuff in there but this is one of the easiest tanks ever to maintain. i haven't done anything for it in the last two weeks except to top-offs and feed.


----------



## kwheeler91

what substrate do you use? do you dose ferts or anything like that?


----------



## oldpunk78

> what substrate do you use? do you dose ferts or anything like that?


the substrate is mineralized top soil with a really coarse sand cap. i dose nitrogen, phosphorous, flourish comprehensive and excel when i remember(small amounts usually once a week).


----------



## Trallen44

oldpunk78 said:


> ^ thank you! i still need to get some stuff in there but this is one of the easiest tanks ever to maintain. i haven't done anything for it in the last two weeks except to top-offs and feed.


 
Welcome to the fun side of fish keeping and planted tanks!! LOL Not a lot to do other than enjoy watching your fish.


----------



## Karackle

lauraleellbp said:


> Welcome to Crypt melt. You probably sneezed 2 weeks ago when the moon was over the left corner of your house at precisely 11:24pm. :icon_roll


AAAHAHAHAHAHA ROFL! Awesome. and funny cuz it's TRUE! My crypts will melt if i put them from one side of the tank to the other sometimes! Silly crypts. But they do grow back.

Also I too have had the experience of different plants coming from different kinds of tanks (as in going from high light to low light for example) will die back until the plant adjusts to the new conditions. 



Trallen44 said:


> Welcome to the fun side of fish keeping and planted tanks!! LOL Not a lot to do other than enjoy watching your fish.


I definitely agree with this! I LOVE my low light / low tech and therefore low maintenance tanks! definitely allows for more observation and fish watching! :hihi:


----------



## oldpunk78

Trallen44 said:


> Welcome to the fun side of fish keeping and planted tanks!! LOL Not a lot to do other than enjoy watching your fish.


it was weird, like one day the algae just started to die off and the plants started to do better. i guess the next thing i'm waiting for is the tannins to subside. that swill be sweet!



Karackle said:


> AAAHAHAHAHAHA ROFL! Awesome. and funny cuz it's TRUE! My crypts will melt if i put them from one side of the tank to the other sometimes! Silly crypts. But they do grow back.
> 
> Also I too have had the experience of different plants coming from different kinds of tanks (as in going from high light to low light for example) will die back until the plant adjusts to the new conditions.
> 
> I definitely agree with this! I LOVE my low light / low tech and therefore low maintenance tanks! definitely allows for more observation and fish watching! :hihi:


the whole low maintenance thing is great. it's nice not having to try and remember what i'm supposed to dose today or if i already dosed it. 

it just made sense because most of the types of plants i enjoy the most are low light requiring like crypts and ferns and my newest fascination, moss.


----------



## bertolli

update please any angel babies?


----------



## oldpunk78

no picture update today. not much has changed though. everything is just a little bit bigger. the angels spawn about once every two weeks or so, but they just eat all the eggs a couple days later. the only thing not going so well has been snails. there is a butt load of ramshorn snails. i think it's time for some assassin snails. maybe i'll clean it up and get a picture in a week or so.

oh ya - welcome to the forum!


----------



## oldpunk78

as of 5 mins. ago


----------



## msc

Your tank is filling in very nicely


----------



## oldpunk78

^ thanks! i still need to figure out the foreground and get rid of the snails.


----------



## Sigmar

oldpunk78 said:


> ^ thanks! i still need to figure out the foreground and get rid of the snails.


Throw a couple of clown loachs in there, the snails will become history


----------



## Reginald2

For a second, I thought snails were your foreground. I think I have that same tank, a narrow 50 with a wet/dry in the back. Are you using the trickle filter, or do you have it filled up?

I wish I had mine looking as nice as yours.


----------



## fastfreddie

Man, sad to hear your 29 is down. We started our 29's right at the same time in November 2008. I remember that! 

Well, I read back through this journal. This is an awesome tank!


----------



## oldpunk78

Sigmar said:


> Throw a couple of clown loachs in there, the snails will become history


i've thought about that. isn't my tank too small for the loaches?



Reginald2 said:


> For a second, I thought snails were your foreground. I think I have that same tank, a narrow 50 with a wet/dry in the back. Are you using the trickle filter, or do you have it filled up?
> 
> I wish I had mine looking as nice as yours.


thanks man! i am using the filter. works great!



fastfreddie said:


> Man, sad to hear your 29 is down. We started our 29's right at the same time in November 2008. I remember that!
> 
> Well, I read back through this journal. This is an awesome tank!


thanks freddie. my 29 isn't down. check out the last page in the link below.:icon_smil


----------



## fibertech

Big enough for a couple yoyo loaches


----------



## fastfreddie

oldpunk78 said:


> thanks freddie. my 29 isn't down. check out the last page in the link below.:icon_smil


:icon_idea Man I knew that! Not sure what I was thinking. I thought I read it from this 50 journal and I was like, "oh bummer."


----------



## kwheeler91

yoyos will take care of em, but whats the problem with the snails? ive come to believe that snails are a very beneficial part of any tank. my 55 has pond, MTS, and live bearing trapdoor snails. the pond snails are small enough to get into every little nook and cranny to eat detritus and algae, the MTS keep the substrate oxygenated and convert the food into waste for the plants, and the trapdoors are big slimy vacuums that look cool


----------



## Trallen44

Assassins work great for the snails.


----------



## oldpunk78

kwheeler91 said:


> yoyos will take care of em, but whats the problem with the snails? ive come to believe that snails are a very beneficial part of any tank. my 55 has pond, MTS, and live bearing trapdoor snails. the pond snails are small enough to get into every little nook and cranny to eat detritus and algae, the MTS keep the substrate oxygenated and convert the food into waste for the plants, and the trapdoors are big slimy vacuums that look cool


i don't really mind the snails in general, but there's like a bazillion of 'um. i also believe that there's definitely a place for them. it's just that their population never really leveled out.



Trallen44 said:


> Assassins work great for the snails.


do they breed in freshwater?


----------



## Trallen44

oldpunk78 said:


> do they breed in freshwater?


They can, I bought 4 and put 2 in my 55 and they did pair up. I have seen some babies, but not to the extreme like the pond or ramshorn snails. It takes a little bit for them to get rid of the other snails, but I have had great luck with them and my snail infested tanks are no more infested.


----------



## lauraleellbp

+1 for Assassin snails. They're doing a great job on the pond snails in my 46gal. And they're pretty to boot.


----------



## Trallen44

Mine have gotten rid of pond snails, ramshorn and MTS. I shoud set a trap in the 55 and see how many babies I have in there now. I don't see them all the time like other snails.


----------



## oldpunk78

how many you would guys recommend to start off with?


----------



## lauraleellbp

I put 5 in my 46gal. They've been in there only a week and I can tell a noticible difference in the pond snail population.


----------



## Tamelesstgr

Really like the last tank shot, I like your use of wood and the crypts too! :thumbsup:


----------



## Trallen44

I put 2 in mine. I got lucky that they paired up. I would say anywere between 2 and 5 depending on how fast you want the other snails gone.


----------



## oldpunk78

i've decided to change things up a bit in this tank. the plants are pretty much all temporary for now. i think i'm gonna try an do amazon theme this time around. can anyone suggest some swords that stay smallish(no more 20").

anyway here's where it's at.










main inhabitants


----------



## JimmyYahoo

Nicely done.


----------



## itzchow

Quick question, how did u get your lights to go together? So im looking ofr a 24" hopefully t5 lights, possibly 2x bulbs. Go to home depot and buy the fixture? Whats the price on putting a 24" t5 lights together?


----------



## lauraleellbp

Tropica swords stay tiny- about 8" max. Melon swords may stay less than 20", IME they usually stay on the small side of that.


----------



## oldpunk78

JimmyYahoo said:


> Nicely done.


thanks man!



itzchow said:


> Quick question, how did u get your lights to go together? So im looking ofr a 24" hopefully t5 lights, possibly 2x bulbs. Go to home depot and buy the fixture? Whats the price on putting a 24" t5 lights together?


lets see if i can help here. what i did was gut a cheap shop light and add a small t5 fixture inside it. you can find them at the home depot. the shop light was from walmart. honestly, you could by a coralife t5no fixture for cheaper. 

i already had a shop light that wasn't being used. the one at walmart is about $10. if you don't mind the look, you don't even need it. so far, i've made one 24" and one 36" fixture. you need to be able to cut the shop light down to the desired length is you're going to use it. 

at this point, all you have to do is drill some holes and bolt the the two fixtures together. then i used 2 sided tape to attach the reflector in behind the bulbs. 

here's some pics.





































let me know if there's anything else you need to know. 



lauraleellbp said:


> Tropica swords stay tiny- about 8" max. Melon swords may stay less than 20", IME they usually stay on the small side of that.


thanks luaralee, i'm going to keep an eye out for those.


----------



## itzchow

Dam, what u mean by shop light? How mcuh u put all that together for? cheaper than those coralife T5no dual lights? i found one for like 45$.


----------



## itzchow

Oh nvm, so if i go to home depot and buy a 24.99 buck shop light, what else will i need to purchase? Have no idea what those thing for t5 call. If you can enlighten me


----------



## mightyoak

Very Nice!!!!


----------



## oldpunk78

cheap walmart shop light - 12.00
home depot 24" 2 bulb t5no fixture - 24.00(i think)
2 suitable t5no bulbs - 20.00?
reflector - i forget 10.00?
hardware - 3.00

$69.00 

the coralife fixture is quite a bit cheaper.


----------



## Capsaicin_MFK

E. Bleheri "compacta" stay smaller than 12".

http://www.aquariumplants.com/product_p/sw035.htm

I got 4 of these in my 55g and they are no where near as tall as the regular swords.


----------



## itzchow

Alright man, thanks!.


----------



## wkndracer

Work has been a 7 day a week drama for too long. 
Angel spawns have me up to 9 tanks now and while I still enjoy it all forum posting has not been in the schedule much. Waiting on another craft at work I pulled up the site,doing a search for Tim’s posts just to see what he's doing. (never know where the jester might land) Started at the end and bounced back to page one reading the whole thread. Nice set up. 
The tank has a nice 'feel' to it based on the posted tank shots. 
Question on the spawns, are the eggs turning white the second day?


----------



## oldpunk78

you know, now that i think about it, i don't think i've heard form him in a while. hope things are still well. thanks for the comments about the tank. it's in transitional state as of now. i'm hoping the swords start to over take the tank soon. (trying for an amazon feel.) 

anyway... about your question. some do, but most of them don't. are the one's that turn white infertile?


----------



## wkndracer

Yes white means the male didn't get the job done. Always a few get missed but large numbers can mean an issue. I get blasted every time I post this by somebody that spawns angels in harder water but results for me weren't good until I softened the water below 5dGH.


----------



## oldpunk78

^ hey man. i managed i pic of the spawn. this is about 48hrs. later. you probably right about the water conditions. the ph in this tank is about 8 and the water is pretty hard.


----------



## lauraleellbp

Yeah, those do not look fertile to me.


----------



## mattrt09

LOVE the angels! i want the same ones


----------



## oldpunk78

^ i loved them too. it's a shame that they started having a death match. they went to the lfs. then i got bored with the tank.

this tank is going brackish. planted low-tech brackish to be exact. so far the new substrate has been added and some rocks picked out. i just filled it again yesterday.

i'm trying something new with the substrate for this tank. i'm going to be mainly using vals and dwarf sag so i needed something with a lot nutrients. 

i mineralized a number of things all at once. some dirt from a coastal rain forest, a little bit of bagged top soil, some amizonia II that was the bad stuff that disintegrated, and some sifted eco complete. then i capped it with aragonite. i'm hoping it works out. lol

updates to fallow...


----------



## Taari

The first light you showed, the 2 bulb T5 strip, I have that exact same fixture that I am going to use over my 45g terrarium project. Does anyone know what light spectrum the bulbs that come with it are? Are they any good for plants?


----------



## oldpunk78

i believe the bulbs that came with my fixture were 3,800K. not so good for plant growth.


----------



## oldpunk78

short update:

here's where i'm at so far.










i still need to get a bunch of vals and some narrow leaf chain swords or dwarf sag, i haven't made my mind up yet.

oh man, i just noticed a couple of my java ferns moved themselves, lol.


----------



## oldpunk78

picture update time!









puffers go in tomorrow(i hope). anyone wanna raok me some dwarf sag? lol


----------



## Trallen44

What kind of puffers? I have a Abei puffer that is freshwater that is prett cool. It loves to munch down on small marbled crayfish. New tank design is interesting. I liked the way it was before, but all your different designs have been great.


----------



## oldpunk78

^ figure 8 puffers. snail eating machines! this tank is different because i got tired of looking at two tanks that looked a lot alike. this should be challenge too. there's not really a whole lot of folks out there doing planted/brackish so the info is hard to come by. i couldn't even find a decent picture of a brackish biotope. this is really just my guess of what one might look like.

keep fighting man!!! we're all pulling for you. :icon_smil


----------



## speedie408

I like what you did OP. Something different.


----------



## angelsword

Looks good! I've got a planted brackish 55 gallon.


----------



## oldpunk78

speedie408 said:


> I like what you did OP. Something different.


yup, that's why i'm trying it. still need to get my rock-work skills down though.


angelsword said:


> Looks good! I've got a planted brackish 55 gallon.


thanks. any advice for a newbie?


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## angelsword

I've got GSPs in a planted brackish 55 gallon. Do you know what you plan to keep the salt at? I'm at .005. I really like what you're doing with the scape!

EDIT: I didn't think my other post posted. Couldn't see it on my phone.

Advice for Puffers would be to figure out the whole deworming thing. My tank has 108 watts T5HO and EI ferts and DIY CO2. Ok let's say intermittent EI dosing - I'm kinda lazy. From what I have read I will lose the plants at higher than about .008 so I'm trying to stay under that for as long as I can. Right now I'm trying to find something to eat algae that can live in brackish and not be a Puffer snack.


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## oldpunk78

don't the gsp's reek havoc on the plants? (that's just what i've read...)

the sp will end up at no more than 1.005. right now it's fresh. i'm trying to let the plants get acclimated before i start adding salt.

thanks, i think it will look a lot better when everything starts filling in. i'm probably going to add a few more small rocks to try and get it to not look so much like a mound.


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## angelsword

I switched mine from fresh too. I like the rocks. Mine just has driftwood like my other tanks lol

The GSPs haven't bothered the plants at all, in fact, I had no idea they did that.


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## oldpunk78

i messed with the rock some yesterday. i like it better like this:










going to start adding salt in tomorrow.


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## Trallen44

Looks good, can you get a closer pic of the fish for me to check them out?


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## oldpunk78

sure, i'll try and get one this evening.


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## oldpunk78

here ya go tim!










so far, they're the only fish i've had that i don't mind when the take bits out of the plants...


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## Trallen44

Thanks!!! I like those!! Very cool looking!


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## oldpunk78

time for another update! 

(...although it's not much of one)

just finished removing some diatoms. a lot of the vals melted on me. they're growing back, slowly. i just upped the photo period today so maybe they'll grow a little faster now. SG is currently up to 0.002 (half way there, lol)










questions and comments welcome


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## HX67

So neat to find someone giving a shot at planted brackish. I'm doing it with a 140 gal mudskipper paludarium and feel a bit uncertain on how to help the plants to make it.

Good start you've got there. Please keep updating it, possibly even specifying your success plantspecieswise.

Thanks for sharing this.


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## speedie408

I saw these fish the other day for $5 bucks each and thought about your brackish setup: Mono sebae









They were super cool in person.


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## lauraleellbp

I've always wondered if Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) would do well in a brackish tank? It grows really well in estuaries...


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## oldpunk78

HX67 said:


> So neat to find someone giving a shot at planted brackish. I'm doing it with a 140 gal mudskipper paludarium and feel a bit uncertain on how to help the plants to make it.
> 
> Good start you've got there. Please keep updating it, possibly even specifying your success plantspecieswise.
> 
> Thanks for sharing this.


sorry i missed your posts guys.

thanks! so far it looks like the vals and ferns are still doing alright. the sg is only at 0.002. i think the trick might be acclimating the the plants very slowly. 



speedie408 said:


> I saw these fish the other day for $5 bucks each and thought about your brackish setup: Mono sebae
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They were super cool in person.


monos are cool. too bad they eats your plants...



lauraleellbp said:


> I've always wondered if Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) would do well in a brackish tank? It grows really well in estuaries...


doesn't it grow above the water? haha - if you've seen it locally growing underwater, please send me some!!


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