# 57g Oceanic Rimless Aqua Forest!!! [1/5/11 - Death of a planted tank :(]



## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

The old 55 is amazing, I know this one will eventually achieve or exceed it in beauty...

Best of luck to you!

Is that anubias on the left one huge plant or a bunch in order to form a "tree?"


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

thanks! that anubias are one big mass on a branch. purchased it from another member 

cool little shot i just took after the lights went out!


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## xJaypex (Jul 4, 2009)

Love the tanks and the moonlights!

What did you use to hang the lights?


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

was the old 55 gallon run without pressurzed co2?


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## soundgy (Jul 8, 2010)

I don't want to make this sound insulting if you paid a lot for your stand, but your stand looks identical to my petco stand I just purchased for my 55gal long tank. Where did you get it? If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it?

You have a beautiful setup, this is going in my favorites. Your a great inspiration to my setup, which is pretty much completely bare. Only thing I have in mind is a tiny fake log and 4 20lb bags of eco-complete with some struggling stems.


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

VadimShevchuk said:


> was the old 55 gallon run without pressurzed co2?


Doesn't look like it, he has a drop checker in there.


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Both tanks look beautiful. When is the blyxa going in? The ground is waiting for some cover:hihi:


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

*Re: 57g Oceanic Rimless Aqua Forest!!!*

Thanks guys! Yes, my old 55g had co2, and lots of it! Plants will be going in any day now, just got to find them in the swap and shop 

The stand was about $110 if I remember correctly. It's actually a decent stand. Could have saved money by building it myself but I didn't want to deal with it. I built a stand for my 210g before and it wasn't fun ha! Remember that price shown includes about 9% sales tax

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Great start! Looking forward to watching the progression.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

xJaypex said:


> Love the tanks and the moonlights!
> 
> What did you use to hang the lights?


sorry i overlooked your question. i used these adjustable hanging brackets --> http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/pro...=1462&osCsid=809b528f9b81b230d1e20f87724b55fb

the actual support is just regular conduit that i bent using a pipe bender (i returned the pipe bender to lowes after i used it haha!) and some misc chains/hardware which i put together. total cost to hang the fixture was about $15


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

WOW your tanks look great! cant wait TO SEE MORE.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

As usual jCordona1! I only expect good things from your works


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## J.farrand (Jul 12, 2010)

All your photos of the plumbing were great! I am trying to become what it takes to install and maintain tanks of this nature. I have graduated to canisters and look forward to making a sump at some point. When I fully understanding installing one. Your tanks look amazing!! How many years in the hobby?


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Green Leaf Aquariums said:


> As usual jCordona1! I only expect good things from your works


thanks orlando! and your ferts package arrived a few days ago so i'm ready to roll!!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

J.farrand said:


> All your photos of the plumbing were great! I am trying to become what it takes to install and maintain tanks of this nature. I have graduated to canisters and look forward to making a sump at some point. When I fully understanding installing one. Your tanks look amazing!! How many years in the hobby?


thanks for the kind words. ive been keeping fish ever since i was a kid, and my parents said i was always mesmerized by their little goldfish tank. thats what got me started. here's a few other of my little projects. 

i built the koi pond at my gf's parents house, been up and running for about 8yrs now. the tank was 400 gallons, 6x3x3. i recently tore it down and sold all the fish and the tank. just small planted tanks for me now


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

great tank dude. this really makes me want a rimless tank


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

sorry here's the pics, couldnt copy/paste from another site...


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Great start.roud: I'm curious, did the tank come as a rimless top or was the top trim removed then polished?

I have an Oceanic 30g cube that I considered taking the top rim off of at one time because it honestly doesn't appear to be holding much. It's a 4 piece rim from the looks of it.

<Edit> I didn't see the posted pics of your big fish on my first post. Are you in the Sac area? I just recently seen some of those pics on a Craigslist ad.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

jinx© said:


> Great start.roud: I'm curious, did the tank come as a rimless top or was the top trim removed then polished?
> 
> I have an Oceanic 30g cube that I considered taking the top rim off of at one time because it honestly doesn't appear to be holding much. It's a 4 piece rim from the looks of it.
> 
> <Edit> I didn't see the posted pics of your big fish on my first post. Are you in the Sac area? I just recently seen some of those pics on a Craigslist ad.


yeah the tank comes like that from Oceanic. a little pricey, but its worth it IMO, beautiful tank. and yup, i'm from Sac!!! i used some of these pics to show the driftwood i'm selling. also used them when i was advertising the tank. small world


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

jcardona1 said:


> yeah the tank comes like that from Oceanic. a little pricey, but its worth it IMO, beautiful tank. and yup, i'm from Sac!!! i used some of these pics to show the driftwood i'm selling. also used them when i was advertising the tank. small world


That's what it was...3 big nice pieces of wood if I remember correctly. (And yes I'm a Craigslist addict...lol)


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

jinx© said:


> That's what it was...3 big nice pieces of wood if I remember correctly. (And yes I'm a Craigslist addict...lol)


still got 'em if youre interested  theyre monster!


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

jcardona1 said:


> sorry here's the pics, couldnt copy/paste from another site...



These are nice! How bog of tank did you keep those peacocks in?


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

thanks! cichla were in a 400g, 6x3x3


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Did you get rid of the whole set up? Must have been fun


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

yeah i did. it was too hard to maintain. nitrates were hard to keep in check, even with a 24/7 drip system. cichla are extremely messy fish. i then sold all the cichla and started keeping a few fish which i cant disclose publicly ( ) then i got bored of that as well. i always found myself missing my planted tank. so i decided to just get rid of it all. took a few months but i finally found a buyer for the tank. not easy selling something so expensive!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

...


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Ok finally some action here! First of all I got my regulator all hooked up and the co2 flowing. After a few hours my two drop checkers were both a nice green/lime green color, indicating good co2 levels. Fish all looked fine so that's a good thing, and so far so good! 

Also, I took a drive over to Tom's house and picked up several pieces of Staurougyne Repens 049. Lots of them are buried in the substrate so I'm hoping they do ok. Tom's a really nice guy by the way, nice to live just a few minutes from him









Also bought a ton of plants from folks here. Should be here next week, so I'll put new pics up then. Enjoy!!





and the high pressure gauge is upside down because i requested they swap the stem to the other side. if not, i would have had to move my tank over and it wouldnt fit my cabinet right. everything is for a reason


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That's a top notch system! High quality all the way. And those monster fish were incredible. Beautiful pics


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Went to a LFS store and picked up a pack of Rummynose Tetras and some fish they had labeled as Brilliant Tetras. However I can't find anything online based on this common name, not even sure it's a tetra species. Any idea on the yellowish fish? Also picked up some moss that I tied to the driftwood and a few bunches of Ludwiga Glandulosa. 

That's it for now. More plants scheduled to arrive this week


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## teah (Jul 25, 2010)

OMG! beautiiiiful tank!!!

1.7K wow...


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## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

Man I followed you as you built that Monster tank, I'm sad you got rid of it! I would have loved to have bought it lol. 

What are you shooting with, your shots are amazing, especially with 400g and the shot with the moon lights.

Your current tank is looking really good man, orlando is right, we should only expect the best out of you bro.

Later.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

*Re: 57g Oceanic Rimless Aqua Forest!!! [updated 7/25/10]*

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm using a Nikon D90 with a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens, along with a sb-900 speedlight. Hopefully I'll have some nice pics once this fills in 

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Beautiful pictures!!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

*Update!*

Update time!!

What's New:

- re-did my driftwood since I wasn't happy with the last layout. Picked up some really cool manzanita pieces from Tom. Transferring the moss from the old pieces was a PIA









- several new plants added; lots of Blyxa japonica and several various Pogostemon stems. they're still a little ragged from shipping so hopefully they'll bounce back quickly. the blyxa looks very yellow in the pics, this just arrived Friday. 

- Finally got my roseline sharks (Puntius denisonii)!!! A LFS had a great special on them, got them for $9 each! This is unheard of. All my other LFS sell them for $18-20. They're still a little young. I can't wait for them to color up. Truly a magnificent fish. 

- A ton of Rotala Indica stems and a huge mass of Needle Leaf Java Fern scheduled to arrive in a few days. 

And that's it for now. Everything is doing good, not one sign of algae yet. Water is beyond crystal clear. Those 25 micron filter socks do a great job. Didnt use my Speedlight for the pics so they aren't the best...

Enjoy


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Beautiful pictures! I can't believe I didn't see this thread before. Is that Staurogyne and Blyxa in the foreground?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

i like that wood a lot better. this is going to be a beautiful scape. i have a question about the overflow and co2. how are you diffusing and how much co2 are you having to pump in there? oh, and those pics are great!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

thanks guys, cant wait for it to fill in! as for co2, im running a 2ft DIY regular pvc reactor. bubble rate is pretty fast, i'd say 5-6bps+. but that gives me a bright yellow color in a few hours. im sure i'm losing some through the sump, but it's not bad. the flow rate seems similar to the last tank i had with a canister filter. by having a valve on the drain line and closing it down a bit, it eliminates all the splashing and gurgling of a typical overflow/sump setup


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## Emerica88 (Oct 16, 2009)

The d90 takes stunning pics


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Nice tank!... but dang it'll never live up the 400g tank with peacock basses and arowanas. Those pics are insane! That may just be me who has a preference for really cool and big fish, but whatever!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

macclellan said:


> Nice tank!... but dang it'll never live up the 400g tank with peacock basses and arowanas. Those pics are insane! That may just be me who has a preference for really cool and big fish, but whatever!


Coming from the guy who's going to be stocking his 210 with a few angelfish and some smaller fish :hihi:

The tank is looking great. The rimless Oceanic sure is a qualiy piece of workmanship.:thumbsup:


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

thanks guys! and yeah that 400g was a site to see. feeding time was pretty intense too!


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

That tank is gorgeous. Your pictures are great too. It looks like a magazine shoot.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

*Big fish photoshoot!!*

I'm particularly proud of this set. I think these are my clearest and best exposed pics to-date! Used the upside down rain gutter trick and bounced two speedlights into it. Slapped on my 70-200mm f/2.8 and sat back about 6ft. Then i just sat back and took some pictures. These were the best ones. 

Shutter speed was 1/200th, ISO 200, and aperture f/8 to f/11

Enjoy!!


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## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

Unreal dude. Really great shots! The tank looks really good. Did you ever think about making the 400g a planted tank?


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Great shots man! Tank looks awesome. Would love to get some roselines sometime but cost is too much. Beautiful fish.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

FDNY911 said:


> Unreal dude. Really great shots! The tank looks really good. Did you ever think about making the 400g a planted tank?


thank you! i thought about it, but then i thought about the maintenance and quickly decided against it. it would have been a nightmare. working on a 3ft tall tank thats on a 3ft tall stand would be no fun. can you imagine trying to plant that thing?!?! would have to go scuba diving everytime i want to add a new plant :|


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

dewalltheway said:


> Great shots man! Tank looks awesome. Would love to get some roselines sometime but cost is too much. Beautiful fish.


thanks! i always wanted some as well but was never willing to pay $20+ for them. that was until a LFS has a huge sale on them for $9 each, i wasnt about to pass that one up


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

do you have buenos aries teras in there? those guys will eat your plants. 

too bad i'm reading this on my phone, those pics look great!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

oldpunk78 said:


> do you have buenos aries teras in there? those guys will eat your plants.
> 
> too bad i'm reading this on my phone, those pics look great!


thanks! and yeah, i have 4 of them in there. really, they eat plants!?! i didnt know that. ive kept them before and never noticed it, or in this tank. but ill keep an eye on them. thanks for the heads up


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Mine eat plants, mostly stem plants but they eat moss too. Not sure about ferns or swords.


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

jcardona1 said:


> thank you! i thought about it, but then i thought about the maintenance and quickly decided against it. it would have been a nightmare. working on a 3ft tall tank thats on a 3ft tall stand would be no fun. can you imagine trying to plant that thing?!?! would have to go scuba diving everytime i want to add a new plant :|


You would just need a ladder and a 4ft long pair of tweezers lol.
But seriously it would have been a nightmare trying to light the 400g you would need like 6 400 watt MH's running on that thing.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

ok here's some full-room and full-tank shots! everything is doing great. my blyxa is a little ragged since i moved it around a bit. should bounce back quickly though. enjoy!


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## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

J your house looks great man. Photos are sick as usual! Damn bro you got skills.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

thanks man, glad you like 'em


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Looks good! Wish my photography skills were that good!!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow that is looking great. The tank is perfect with the rest of your interior decorating too.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Slick setup man, I like it!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Tank is so amazing. I am glad you are able to capture it so well, very inspirational tank. I can't wait to see it fill in completely. Looks excellent at all points so far.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

thanks guys, appreciate it!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Ok here's the one month anniversary pics!!!! Not bad for having the tank been set up for a little over 4 weeks









As you can see I've pulled out the driftwood I had in there. It was taking up too much room since I wanted to get this thing packed with plants. So now I think I'm going in the direction of a dutch/nature style tank I suppose. Been picking up a lot of reddish plants, I just love the colors!! Lots of iron helps keep them looking their best. 

Algae is not much of an issue right now. Been seeing a little GSA on my glass, and on my Ludwiga Glandulosa. This is usually due to low phosphate levels with EI dosing so I've increased the dosing of phosphates. Other than that, no algae problems









Cant wait for the taller platns to fill in. Till the next update...


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## The_Finglonger (Jun 21, 2010)

Super sweet setup man! I would love to have a similar setup but for a larger tank.  In time, in time...


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Here's some more pics that I forgot to post in this thread


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Holy cow look at those awesome colors and the picture-taking. It's amazing!

You must have a good camera with nice lenses.


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## sidefunk (Apr 22, 2010)

Man your picture really are incredible! I was reading TFH today and saw an add with a picture of the same fish you have but they were all blurry in motion and I immediately thought of your pics. It a real treat to see. Thanks.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


> Holy cow look at those awesome colors and the picture-taking. It's amazing!
> 
> You must have a good camera with nice lenses.


Thank you! I do have a couple grand invested in my camera equipment. Photography is another [expensive] hobby of mine.



sidefunk said:


> Man your picture really are incredible! I was reading TFH today and saw an add with a picture of the same fish you have but they were all blurry in motion and I immediately thought of your pics. It a real treat to see. Thanks.


Thanks! Now if I could only figure out how to make money with photography I'd be all set haha


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Just a quick pic


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

That looks amazing, dude. Open top tanks are the best :hihi: 
I wish I could make my D90 do what yours does - I'm still feeling it out


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

Wow.. those pictures are magnificent =) that's some awesome growth


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Thanks for the feedback


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

very good pictures!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Photos are awesome and I love your fish stocking. Pretty much my dream community stock list, haha. I can't get over that rainbow yawning pic. It's great!

Anyway the tank looks great. At two months I'm jealous, I can't wait to see it really fill in!

As for making $$ off photography, I have no room to talk personally, but a former coworker of mine started off doing wedding photography. He's amazing, but he started off doing "budget" weddings to get a following, then built a website with examples of all his photography skills and really took off from there.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice!


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## Hussain (Nov 17, 2009)

Nice tank.........


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## Clavius (Sep 30, 2010)

Incredible photos of a beautiful tank!


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Anybody care for some updates?!?!

Did some more re-scaping, thanks to my buddy Chonh saying I had too many plants lol! The rotala on the left side wasn't doing too good so I pulled it out and trashed it. Not sure why, ever since I got that batch of rotala it's been scraggly and leggy, with bits of algae on it. It never grew too good while my other rotala plants grow great. 

Also gone is the cabomba furcata. Nice plant, but it only looks good from up top unless you give it a crapload of light. Otherwise it looks bare and leggy. 

In the background I added a bunch of hygro (not sure what species). It goes like a weed and looks great as a background plant IMO. The hygro on the left side was planted from trimmings so it will be a few weeks before it reaches the top. 

In other news, I switched out my no-name bulbs for some Giesemann bulbs. Huge difference in color! Hard to capture in pictures, but the bulbs really make the colors pop, all the reds and greens. I got the Aquaflora and Midday bulbs. Lately I've found that regular 10,000k bulbs were too blue, and 6,500k were too yellow. The Aquaflora is very pink, and the Midday is very crisp white. They go great together for a planted tank. 

Well that's it for now, enjoy!


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

those fish add a nice touch of color to the tank!


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## Jaggedfury (Sep 11, 2010)

Nice tanks! Love the peacock bass species tank! Amazing.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

fish go perfect with this scape. Good job!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Jan 27, 2006)

jcardona1 said:


> Anybody care for some updates?!?!
> 
> Did some more re-scaping, thanks to my buddy Chonh saying I had too many plants lol!


I think adding the wood back into the tank gives it some much needed accenting.

I've heard that the Giesemann tubes are very pleasing in terms of colour rendition, but have not used them yet. Will have to try some.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Thanks guys! I think I am liking the driftwood back in there


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)




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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

Awesome pictures. What are you using to fire your Speedlights?


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

hbosman said:


> Awesome pictures. What are you using to fire your Speedlights?


Thanks! I have a D90, so sometimes I use the built-in Commander mode, and other times I use the cheapy CowboyStudios radio triggers. These are on Amazon for about $25/set. They work incredibly well for such a low price. Great reviews too.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)




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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Awesome tank JC. I like the break in the middle with the red stem. Beautiful fish as well.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

nice tank!!! what is the foreground plant??? and have you trimmed it at all??? it looks like it hasn't grown any taller but has filled in horizontally


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Thanks! Foreground plant is blyxa japonica, with a few riccia stones on the far left. I trim the plants about once a week as they reach the surface


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## 2wheelsx2 (Jan 27, 2006)

That's awesome. Didn't know of anyone trying Blyxa for foreground, but it looks great. I really really like the forest look with the branches poking out.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

ALRIGHT!!!

Lots of changes this time! I pulled out most of the plants, leaving only hygrophila polysperma as the background plant and blyxa japonica as the foreground. The tank looked cool before, but it was not meant to be a long term setup. I was having issues with algae on the lower portions of my stem plants. I think this current layout will work best in the long run. It will be easy to keep the plants pruned and nothing should get so thick that it obstructs the light and co2 for any other plants. 

I also trimmed the blyxa along the front edge of the glass, which I think looks pretty cool! On to the pics!


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## tom855 (Jan 31, 2006)

Absolutely stunning!!!!

I take it this is where you to the PAR readings for the 2x30W Catalina that you posted in Hoppy's thread?

Nice to know that's what the tank looks like. I take it the light is about 12" off the top of the tank?

Thanks!

Tom 

.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Honestly, I think it looked a lot better in previous stages.


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## bigstick120 (May 23, 2005)

Nice photos, are you using the speedlights in your full tank shots as well?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

I like it. I think it would look better with a strong hard scape though.


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## LICfish (Oct 9, 2010)

Beautiful tank... I love it! The wood looks amazing. Where did you get it?


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## mountaindew (Dec 10, 2008)

Nice! I like displays with just a few types of plants. Maybe not as pretty as some, but to me it looks more natural. Anyone that views my journals can see my preferance for this.
md


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

tom855 said:


> Absolutely stunning!!!!
> 
> I take it this is where you to the PAR readings for the 2x30W Catalina that you posted in Hoppy's thread?
> 
> ...


Thanks Tom! Yes, this is the one. Currently my lights are about 8-9" off the tank. 



FSM said:


> Honestly, I think it looked a lot better in previous stages.


I actually like it more now. I do miss the hardscape, but I like the simpler look in terms of plants. I may add some more wood in the future, just have to find the right piece. 



bigstick120 said:


> Nice photos, are you using the speedlights in your full tank shots as well?


Thanks, no speedlights for full tank shots, just available lighting 



oldpunk78 said:


> I like it. I think it would look better with a strong hard scape though.


Thanks, I may add some more back in. My issue is the black background. I don't really like it, so I try to fill it with plants so I don't see any open black space. That doesn't leave a lot of room for a hardscape. I should have left the background clear!



LICfish said:


> Beautiful tank... I love it! The wood looks amazing. Where did you get it?


Thanks, those are manzanita branches, all local to me 



mountaindew said:


> Nice! I like displays with just a few types of plants. Maybe not as pretty as some, but to me it looks more natural. Anyone that views my journals can see my preferance for this.
> md


Thanks! I do like the more simpler scapes now. Mine doesn't really have a natural layout to it, but it's less busy, which I like.


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## slickscustoms (Nov 8, 2010)

now thats just showing off. haha just kidding! that tank looks amazing!!!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

If you got trimmings of the blyxa and hygro send them this way! I need them for my tank


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

Looking good, Jose. The plants look healthy and vibrant, love all the green. There's nothing like a little change in scape to keep things fresh and interestiing


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

I like the simple look.


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## Jaggedfury (Sep 11, 2010)

Awesome! I like the new greener look of the hygrophila polysperma added in the rear.


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## Xalyx (Sep 26, 2010)

I wish you would of crossed out the plants you took out in your plant list instead of taking them off the list completely (sad face)

Where are you buying your Staurogyne Repens 049? I can't find any stores selling it only individuals on forums and such.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

I really like the new incarnation of this tank, and I'm not usually big into "dutch-ish" tanks. Very minimal, and healthy, and it looks great in the room. Nearly the entire point of an aquarium is to look nice and add to a room, in my opinion. The barbs add a great bit of color and movement too. I'm a fan of this tank.

Also, I'm definitely going with an overflow on a rimless tank the next time I'm able to set something nice up. The lack of equipment is fantastic. Very nice work.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

slickscustoms said:


> now thats just showing off. haha just kidding! that tank looks amazing!!!


thanks!



problemman said:


> If you got trimmings of the blyxa and hygro send them this way! I need them for my tank


Haven't had any blyxa lately, since I've used the runners to the thicken the carpet. As for the hygro, I trim that weed several times a week. Problem is, it's a federal noxious weed so the mods won't let you sell it here. I usually just toss it, or I just mailed some to a buddy of mine 



Jeff5614 said:


> Looking good, Jose. The plants look healthy and vibrant, love all the green. There's nothing like a little change in scape to keep things fresh and interestiing


Thanks Jeff! I still don't know how you managed to keep your tank so densely planted and all the plants happy. I had to throw in the towel 



jman said:


> I like the simple look.





Jaggedfury said:


> Awesome! I like the new greener look of the hygrophila polysperma added in the rear.


thanks folks 



Xalyx said:


> I wish you would of crossed out the plants you took out in your plant list instead of taking them off the list completely (sad face)
> 
> Where are you buying your Staurogyne Repens 049? I can't find any stores selling it only individuals on forums and such.


Actually, I never did update that list at the beginning. That list was from day one, and I added/removed all sorts of plants since then. The stauro I got locally from Tom Barr though. 



Dr. Acula said:


> I really like the new incarnation of this tank, and I'm not usually big into "dutch-ish" tanks. Very minimal, and healthy, and it looks great in the room. Nearly the entire point of an aquarium is to look nice and add to a room, in my opinion. The barbs add a great bit of color and movement too. I'm a fan of this tank.
> 
> Also, I'm definitely going with an overflow on a rimless tank the next time I'm able to set something nice up. The lack of equipment is fantastic. Very nice work.


Thank you! I'll be honest, I LOVE dutch tanks. Even though mine was never a true dutch style, I still had trouble with having so many plants. Maybe one day I'll try it again. 

As for a sump/overflow setup, definitely! I'm so glad I went with an overflow. Not only do you remove all equipment from the tank, but you don't have to top off the tank at all, just add water to the sump! And not to mention it keeps the surface free of all scum, which I really hate.


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

That Hygro is crazy. I've already trimmed it 2 times since you gave it to me. It has now move to my mini L as well. Cool plant that grows crazy fast. I thought at 1st I would be cussing your name for it, but I really like the stuff.

The tank looks great, but it's missing something now. What happened to all the red plants?


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

antbug said:


> That Hygro is crazy. I've already trimmed it 2 times since you gave it to me. It has now move to my mini L as well. Cool plant that grows crazy fast. I thought at 1st I would be cussing your name for it, but I really like the stuff.
> 
> The tank looks great, but it's missing something now. What happened to all the red plants?


Ha I told you! Once it fills in I think it's an awesome plant and looks really nice. I tossed a bunch of plants. I think I was having circulation/co2 distribution issues because lower parts of my stem plants weren't doing so well. So I'm going for a very simple scape now. I may add some wood/rocks, but for the time being I don't want to disrupt my blyxa carpet, I love that plant too much!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Don't toss it next time just send some and I'll cover shipping


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Look what I did!!!


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## SkyGrl (Jan 7, 2010)

AWESOME!!!! oh they are so cute!!!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Jan 27, 2006)

Sweet! Did you jack up the temps and how is that going to affect the plants.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Sweet! Did you jack up the temps and how is that going to affect the plants.


Thanks! Discus were kept in 85-86 degree water at the fish store. I kept mine at 78. I did a long drip acclimation (over an hour) and added hot tap water to the tank at the same time. This slowly raised the temps in the tank to 83 or so. 

I have a 500w titanium heater on a controller on this tiny tank, so I can get the temps where they need to be fairly quickly, and it will NOT fluctuate with 500w lol. So right now the tank is running at 84. As for the plants, only time will tell how they react. 

Since I'm only running two species of plants right now, I don't have much to worry about. Given that the hygrophila polysperma is a federal noxious weed, I have a feeling this plant won't mind it all  Blyxa is pretty hardy too from my experience so I'll have to keep an eye on them..


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

They look great! I was thinking of getting some but the eruption patterns


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Real pics of the discus 









BONUS SHOT - denisonii yawn


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Great shots as usual and even better looking fish


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Nics pics Jose. Looks like the blyxa are doing well. What made you decide on discus? Theyre beautiful. I was always scared of them because of the upkeep, although theyre way easier than they used to be.


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

Looks great Jose


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

problemman said:


> Great shots as usual and even better looking fish


Thanks!



chad320 said:


> Nics pics Jose. Looks like the blyxa are doing well. What made you decide on discus? Theyre beautiful. I was always scared of them because of the upkeep, although theyre way easier than they used to be.


Thanks! I've always loved discus, but never got around to trying them out, so I figured, what the heck! As for the care, yeah, I treat them just like any other fish. Captive bred discus are easy to care for these days. There simply to go overboard with water changes and soft water. I also have a buddy that has 15-20 wild caught discus, and he gives them no special treatment. Weekly 50% water changes, straight from the tap with dechlor only. 

The sensitivity of these fish is overhyped 



NJAquaBarren said:


> Looks great Jose


Thank you!


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

any chance you can post up a nice video of the tank in its entirety?? you have the two fish I ultimately plan to keep....super jealous right now


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

chris.rivera3 said:


> any chance you can post up a nice video of the tank in its entirety?? you have the two fish I ultimately plan to keep....super jealous right now


Thanks! I'll see what I can do. And you know it's funny, my D90 records HD video at 720p but I never use that feature!


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

jcardona1 said:


> Real pics of the discus
> 
> 
> 
> ...


These are awesome! May I ask what kind of a camera you're using?


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

^ Thanks! I'm using a Nikon D90 and two main lenses I shoot with; the 17-55mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

jcardona1 said:


> Thanks! Discus were kept in 85-86 degree water at the fish store. I kept mine at 78. I did a long drip acclimation (over an hour) and added hot tap water to the tank at the same time. This slowly raised the temps in the tank to 83 or so.
> 
> I have a 500w titanium heater on a controller on this tiny tank, so I can get the temps where they need to be fairly quickly, and it will NOT fluctuate with 500w lol. So right now the tank is running at 84. As for the plants, only time will tell how they react.
> 
> Since I'm only running two species of plants right now, I don't have much to worry about. Given that the hygrophila polysperma is a federal noxious weed, I have a feeling this plant won't mind it all  Blyxa is pretty hardy too from my experience so I'll have to keep an eye on them..


My blyxa does fine at 84. Beautiful Checkboards.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 3, 2010)

How'd I miss your journal before now? Beats me! Nice to see the Discus in there Jose! Just what your planted tank needed.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

how is this tank doing?? haven't seen an update in awhile...any chance you can post a video?


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Well lemme tell you, TERRIBLE!!!!! 

Went away a few days for Christmas, and apparently the power went out. Came back to find my discus almost dead and most of my plants melted away. The power was on by the time I got home, so who knows how long everything was off. My blyxa was in terrible shape. But that wasn't the only problem. 

One of the discus wasn't eating before I left, and he looked even worse when I came back. So I added some Bifuran which treats internal parasites just in case. Well, this stuff as it turns out, is like Roundup for a planted tank. It pretty much finished the job that the power outage had started. I wished the bottle would have said something about this







I did some searching on other forums and sure enough, everybody that used this in a planted tank said it turned everything into wilted lettuce. By new years day everything was melted. So I went ahead and tossed the last couple of plants that were left. The hygro would have bounced back, but by then I was so pissed that I just threw it all away. 

So, I have no motivation whatsoever at this point to start again with plants, so I went for a hardscape using only rocks and wood. I think I'm pleased with the layout for now, although I'm leaning towards removing a few pieces of driftwood. 

I also picked up two Turquoise discus from a guy on CL. They are awesome! Great colors and eat like pigs, maybe my others discus can learn from these two. Hoping to pick up a few wilds from John too









If I ever feel like getting back into plants, I may try a glosso carpet in between the rocks and wood, and maybe some blyxa in the back right side. But not at this time. Well, onto the pics. Water is still a bit cloudy since I just scaped it this morning. 

Enjoy, even though there's no plants!


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Now I wants to cry . . .


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## chilled_fire (Jun 4, 2010)

Sorry to hear about that ! but atleast ur fish is doing fine 
the hardscape looks good, but i dont think the black background is doing any justice to the scape , IMO just remove it . 
BTW, lovely discus and driftwood.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

i'm sorry to hear about what happened...I really like your new hardscape though!! why don't you put some low demanding plants...maybe some jungle val or cyperus helferi in the back left corner behind the rocks and driftwood and maybe a few anubias and crypts scattered


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

You'll get some more plants sooner or later. Your hooked, just like the rest of us.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Betta Maniac said:


> Now I wants to cry . . .


tell me about it!! 



chilled_fire said:


> Sorry to hear about that ! but atleast ur fish is doing fine
> the hardscape looks good, but i dont think the black background is doing any justice to the scape , IMO just remove it .
> BTW, lovely discus and driftwood.


Thanks! Got 4 wild discus coming in next week. I cant remove the background it's painted! believe me, sometimes I wish I wouldnt have painted it. but then again, it has an overflow box in the center, so there would be a black stripe down the middle anyways.



chris.rivera3 said:


> i'm sorry to hear about what happened...I really like your new hardscape though!! why don't you put some low demanding plants...maybe some jungle val or cyperus helferi in the back left corner behind the rocks and driftwood and maybe a few anubias and crypts scattered


Thanks, yeah I'm sure I'll do plants sooner or later, I just need some therapy right now lol



kcrossley said:


> You'll get some more plants sooner or later. Your hooked, just like the rest of us.


Haha yeah I am. It's just a matter of time. So much time and effort invested. My blyxa carpet was beautiful. So tall and bushy


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Hardscape looks sweet... you better send me those roselines before the next power outage kills them...  I have 5 friends for them...


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## chilled_fire (Jun 4, 2010)

jcardona1 said:


> Thanks! Got 4 wild discus coming in next week. I cant remove the background it's painted! believe me, sometimes I wish I wouldnt have painted it. but then again, it has an overflow box in the center, so there would be a black stripe down the middle anyways.


Opps , i can see that now.
But as kcrossley said , its gona happen


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## R33 GTR (Mar 13, 2009)

looks awsome do a amazone bio with tetras and swords


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## sundragon (Jan 10, 2011)

I think your tank/setup is amazing. I also started a 57 G Oceanic - in my signature. What happened?


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## cujarrett (Dec 11, 2011)

Love your tank!


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