# My 55g journal



## J.farrand (Jul 12, 2010)

Swords are easy, Java fern, micro chain is a good easy ground cover. Mosses also very easy but watch out they will clog your filter suction.


----------



## sp33drhno (Jan 8, 2009)

You don't want a T5HO fixture if you goal is low tech. That fixture will put you in the medium to high light range and requires fert dosing and Co2 injection. I have a 2x54 watt T5HO on my own 55, and get plenty of algae if I don't keep up with fert dosing and Co2. The Coralife Freshwater Aqualight T5NO fixture would be much better.

This one... http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...7/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight48


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Hi welcome to the forum. 

A 2x54w t5ho fixture is going to put you in the high light category. take a look at the coralife t5no fixtures at big al's. You might also want to pick up some flourish comprehensive. Filtration, I like 10x per hour.


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Ops


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Wow, cant believe I didn't look at that. I knew I needed to look for T5 NO, but saw someone link this on another forum, and liked the low price.


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yes, a bigger filter is in order. Probably not a necessity at the moment, but youll be happier with more flow. Perhaps you could get another one just like it? As for substrate ferts, id just sprinkle some osmocote down before you put in your sand.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

I will have the filter from my other 55g when I move the fish over, but that would be a while down the road. So I can definitely look at getting another one. I actually planned on doing some research on canister filters tonight; since they seem to be recommended a lot here 

Is there a specific type of osmocote you would recommend? When I googled it, I can up with many types from that company.


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

I use this kind from wal-mart...


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

it got a 19-6-12 analysis


----------



## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

Since you are just starting out with the plants, and want to go low tech low light. Save your money on a new light fixture for now and just go buy some new bulbs for the lights you curently have on your tank. Get a 6500K to 6700K rated bulbs and they will grow everything you mentioned and then a little more. And it will probably cost you around $10 at Lowes or Home Depot. That is what I will be doing tomorrow myself to keep from replacing my 48" light fixture on my tank. You can grow the anubias, java fern, moss, crypts. I haven't had the best of luck with sword plants, but if you keep the temps around 75 to 78, you can grow madagascare lace leaf. And that can be a center peice plant. I really like that plant. With the different varieties alone in Java fern, anubias, and the crypts you can end up with a pretty amazing looking low light tank. Just be carefull not to plant the stolons on the anubias or the java ferns. You can plant right up to them and get away with it, but not over them.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

One of my current bulbs says 15w, 8000k. the other doesn't have a kelvin rating on it though. Is it just the K that matters? Not the watts? I knew the watts were less important, but do they really not matter at all?


----------



## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

waya81 said:


> One of my current bulbs says 15w, 8000k. the other doesn't have a kelvin rating on it though. Is it just the K that matters? Not the watts? I knew the watts were less important, but do they really not matter at all?


I just got my lights going. I think it was less than $15 for 2 new T-8 18" 15 w 6500K bulbs. They also had 10,000K 18w bulbs for about the same price, but I didn't want to go that bright on my tank right now. Yes, the watts are important as well, but when we have the lower light tanks we can do more on less with the strict low light plants. But when we want to get up into the medium and higher light plants, we will need to pay more attention to the watts and everything on our lights. The old rule of thumb I think for low light was 1 watt per gallon of T-12 light. T-8 lights are a little more intense, so it takes less watts. So we can get by with the 30 watts and grow all the plants I mentioned in the above post. Yes with more watts, and ferts and co2 they will grow faster, but then it is more upkeep for us. I was breaking most of the rules before I knew about them, but it has worked for me. Not everything works the same for everybody, so we have to find what works best for us and our own tanks. The K rating, is the light spectrum, and the 6500 is the closest to daylight I believe. the 10,000, is whiter and can really show off colors in fish that you don't see with the 6500k. But I am wanting to see the plants do good in my tank right now, and the colors are looking good in the fish.


----------



## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

With the plants mentioned so far, I am not sure that you will need to use any flouish to fertilize. I think that is may be something you have to wait and see what is needed with the pool sand. I have no experince using the sand myself or the osmocote. But I do like that idea. It should take the place of the root tabs that I use in my gravel I would think. I would get the sand and all in the tank, and add water to get several inches above the sand and then work on planting all of the plants. After they are all planted, I would then work on filling up the tank slowly with declorinated water so that you don't disturb the plants. I would think that the 100lbs of sand would be enough, but since I don't use sand, I can't say for sure. I haven't had any luck really with the dwarf hairgrass, not sure if it is my gravel, or the low light. With sand it may spread better and do good for you. Like I said before not everything works the same for everyone. But it is worth it to try different things and see what works for you and your tank. I really like red leuwdwiga(sp). But it doesn't stay looking good in my tank for more than a month. So that is one plant I don't try anymore until I decide to go with a higher light tank. One thing I will warn you about, is crypt melt. Crypts don't allways like change, and they will look good one day, and the next the look like they have died and you want to pull them out. You need to leave them alone and most if not all will come back on their own and then be adapted to your tank and grow good unless there is another major change. If you plant your tank fairly heavy, you will be able to put more fish in there or at least let your mollies spawn in the tank to increase your fish population without any worries for a bit. But you will need a sponge over your filter intake to keep the babies from being sucked in. I use having more fish in my tank to keep my plants with the nutrients they need along with the root tabs and that works for me. You will have a pretty big poluter in the regular pleco, so that should help you.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Thank you for all the suggestions! I have the flourish comprehensive and the light fixture bookmarked. I am going to get new bulbs for my current lights, and see if they work first, as that is the cheapest option. 

I bought the osmocote. Do you only put that in at first or over time as well to fertilize? And should I put the whole bottle worth under the sand or just a little?

Now I just need a second filter or a bigger one, and to buy some plants.


----------



## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

How big of a bottle of the osmocote did you get?


----------



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Scatter the Osmocote across the bottom. Perhaps each pellet 2-3" apart.

To make more feeding easy freeze some Osmocote in ice cubes so you can push them into the sand easier. 

For another substrate that is tan in color look into Turface, a sports field product sold at irrigation and other landscape stores. 

I do not think that 1 wpg of T-8 is enough light. Try it, if your tank is near a window, but be ready to upgrade.


----------



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Turface can be tan (several colors) and holds nutrients better. 
Scatter the Osmocote about 2-3" apart. 

I do not think that 1 wpg of T-8 is enough, unless the tank is near a window. Certainly anything less will not grow plants very well, if at all.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Do you think subwassertang would do well in this tank?


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You could probably keep Suesswassertang alive I think.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Heres how it looks so far. Pretty basic and bare, but I wasn't happy with any of the other rocks I tried, or the cave I was trying to make. 










The lens on my camera has water spots on it...just realized that. 


I ordered some subwassertang from aquabid, and I'm waiting for coryloachfreak to get back to me before I order some java fern and anubias.


----------



## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

Looks like a good start!! Jeff will treat you right on plants. He is who I got my last plants in from except my Java fern. He is one of three that I know of that sell really great plants at a great price. And do a great job shipping. He usually has some great looking crypts too. I am really happy with my last shipment from him.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


>


I get page can't be found when I click on these links.


waya81 said:


> I was thinking of starting with java fern and a few anubias. For a carpet my husband likes willow moss; and I like dwarf hairgrass. *Are there other good beginner plants that might do well in my setup? *


My favorite is wisteria. Got 5 small stems from Asia and it grew into a bush.

What is your present light system? My favorite bulb is the Aqua-glo.


waya81 said:


> I have seen a few posts on immersed and emmersed growing, *which would be better for me to start with?*


Here is some info on emmersed.


----------



## barbarossa4122 (Jan 16, 2010)

waya81 said:


> Is there a specific type of osmocote you would recommend? When I googled it, I can up with many types from that company.


 I use Osmocote Plus but, you can search this forum to find out more. I read that Plus also contains traces. 
http://www.amazon.com/Scotts-279010...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1284591047&sr=8-1

Guaranteed Analysis 15-9-12
Total NITROGEN (N)
8.0% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
7.0% Nitrate Nitrogen	15.0%
AVAILABLE PHOSPHATE (P2O5)†	9.0%
SOLUBLE POTASH (K2O)†	12.0%
CALCIUM (Ca)†	1.9%
MAGNESIUM (Mg) (Total)†
0.7% Water Soluble Magnesium (Mg)	1.4%
SULFUR (S) (Total)†
4.0% Combined Sulfur (S)	4.0%
BORON (B)†	0.02%
COPPER (Cu) (Total)
0.05% Water Soluble Copper (Cu)	0.05%
IRON (Fe) (Total)†
0.42% Water Soluble Iron (Fe)
0.03% Chelated Iron (Fe)	0.45%
MANGANESE (Mn) (Total)†
0.06% Water Soluble Manganese (Mn)	0.06%
Molybdenum (Mo)†	0.02%
Zinc (Zn) (Total)
0.019% Water Soluble Zinc (Zn)†	0.05


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Hilde said:


> I get page can't be found when I click on these links.


Oops, I had organized my photobucket a bit, and moved those pics. Thanks for letting me know


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Well how about some new pictures.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Anyone know if and how much these sponges would cut the water flow?

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?filteration&1284812539


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Depends on how often you clean them.

I'd look for the Fluval Edge or Zoomed 501 mechanical sponges at Petsmart, though- they're cheaper.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Should I wait for the white algae stuff thats coming out of my driftwood *to stop coming out* before I tie plants to it?

edit* sorry, when I re-read it I realized I didnt finish that thought.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Nah, that's just fungus and will die off on its own. It's normal and harmless. If you have any Amano shrimp or Otos they usually love eating it.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> Should I wait for the white algae stuff thats coming out of my driftwood before I tie plants to it?


I haven't had it but I have seen other tanks with the white algae. It is harmless. The fish usually eat it.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Still waiting on plants to arrive, but they will be here sometime! 

I'm looking at a second filter to put on this which would be better, a sponge filter, or 

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16729


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I'd go with either the sponge filter or an AquaClear HOB, those will save you tons of $$ in the long run since you won't have to keep replacing the stupid disposable cartridges. 

I'd personally go with the AC HOB just since I like keeping as much equipment out of the tank as possible- looks cleaner inside.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Do I need to use the disposable cartridges? I dont remember where I got it from, but I thought in a planted tank you dont need to use the carbon filters. I had planned on using just the floss filters in them. 

Better get that right before the plants come in, lol.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> Do I need to use the disposable cartridges? I thought in a planted tank you don't need to use the carbon filters. I


You were right. Some use the cartridges for a few weeks after the set up.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

*Update*

Got the plants in yesterday, I'm worried about the stem plants actually being able to grow for me, but time will tell. And I never though tying plants to rocks would be so difficult... And now theres little leaves and stem pieces floating all over my tank, sigh. I am planning on giving it 1-2 weeks and then start moving a few fish over at a time. 






































I found out a few days ago that I will be heading back to the middle east in a few months. Between work and kids, and everything else my husband will have to do, the only thing I can really expect him to do for the tanks is feed the fish. So I may have to start all over when I get home, lol.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I have left my tanks for 2 week and all was still there when I got back. Plants were a little thinner. Perhaps you can hoop up a diy Co2.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

waya81 said:


> I found out a few days ago that I will be heading back to the middle east in a few months. Between work and kids, and everything else my husband will have to do, the only thing I can really expect him to do for the tanks is feed the fish. So I may have to start all over when I get home, lol.


Best of luck with your trip and stay safe!


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Thank you


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Finally got a hardness test kit today. kH of 7, and my GH was off the chart that comes with it. The chart stops at 12 drops, I had to put in 15 drops to make the water turn green. So how bad is that? I've been raising fish in it for 3 years now, so it has to be survivable at least. 

Heres an update on the tank too. All the Bacopa Australis melted except one, so I put in more anubias and added java fern, and windelov on the branch. I've also already found a baby molly in the subwassertang I have hiding in the corner. I really like having it in there for the fish to hide in, but since I havent gotten it to attach to anything, the cories scurry through it, spreading it around the tank and I have to put it all back every other day.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> Finally got a hardness test kit today. kH of 7, and my GH was off the chart that comes with it. The chart stops at 12 drops, I had to put in 15 drops to make the water turn green. So how bad is that? I've been raising fish in it for 3 years now, so it has to be survivable at least.


Well, at least you have the right type of fish for the environment. Platys are probably bread in your area. 

If it works don't fix it.

I love most of it. Just one thing bothers me, the light wood on the left.

How was the trip?


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Havent gone yet. Still have a couple months. 

Wood on the left?


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> Wood on the left?


The light block on the left in front of the heater. It doesn't match that nice tree you have.

I finally read you avatar. Tis the funniest I have read.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Thats actually a rock, I have a bunch of it in my garden beds. Its a light red color that I thought would get darker in water. I liked it when I first put it in, but the longer its there the less I like it.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

*55g in the desert*

Well I've been and back again. Most of my plants survived my absence. They weren't really growing, but they weren't dead either. I actually thought that maybe I had gotten over my obsession with the tanks, cause I didn't really care to do anything with them for a while after I got back. Then I decided to change the substrate and back came the need to come here 20 times a day, and think what else I could do, lol. 

I upgraded the lighting to a 48" T8, 2 bulb, 32w "shop" light from home depot a couple weeks ago, and some of the plants showed improvement after that. The Anubias however starting getting black spots of algae on them. I decided to change the whole thing up, and put in MTS with Tahitian moon sand. I'm loving it so much better than the tanish PFS right now.

I have a piece of manzanita coming that I plan on putting trimmings of flame moss from another tank on. A piece of mopani that I am going to try growing a marimo ball carpet on. I still have anubias barteri, anubias nana petite, susswassertang, a type of sword whose name I have forgotten, and java ferns. I'm really surprised the java ferns are not growing for me at all, and are actually slowly dying off. 

The flame moss in my other tank is the best growing plant I have. 

The first pic is me mixing the MTS. It was looking more like mud soup than mud pies, so my mom pulled out her dog grooming hair dryer stand, hehe. Then mud cake, and plants awaiting wood delivery to get placed, and hubby to be off work to help with scaping opinions. The fourth is my 15g, crs/ tiger endler tank. The water is really not that yellow, must have been the flash; but you can see how tall the flame moss is. The shrimp love it, so I feel bad cutting it, but it must be done! The last pic is the plant whose name I can not remember.

What would you suggest for a background plant?


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> I'm really surprised the java ferns are not growing for me at all, and are actually slowly dying off.


Possible that dosing potassium sulfate will help. Best form Brighwell Aquatics FlorinK


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Starting to get a scape going. I found this awesome little piece of mopani wood at a fish store in Reno, and my husband did the design. 

I think my kids were messing with me and put some PFS back in the tank when I wasnt looking. I know I didnt leave that much in there...

I'm still waiting on that manzanita wood  So the rest of the plants are in temp spots till I can really decide what to do. I'm thinking of getting rid of the anubias's though. I've been trying for months to get the roots into the sand in a way that the rizome sits on top of the sand..not an inch above it. Hubby tried to do it today too, and he couldn't, so I'm really tempted to just remove them completely. Maybe I'll put some kind of stems or carpeting plant in their place.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

Oh yeah, any ideas on how many years it will take for the marimo balls to completely cover the mopani? heheh


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> I've been trying for months to get the roots into the sand in a way that the rizome sits on top of the sand..not an inch above it.


You need to tie them to a rock or piece of metal.


----------



## metallicanick78 (Apr 26, 2011)

I know with my anubis congensis and my crypt wendtii, I like to shove it way down into the substrate and give it a day or four for the roots to stretch their toes. then pull them up by the stem a little bit each day untill I get them at the right hight. but I have gravel, worth a shot though.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I wouldn't cover up that wood, not even with the pretty marimo. That wood is beautiful, would love to have a piece like that. I think your tank looks nice just the way it is. Get that anubias figured out and you will have a really nice tank.


----------



## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

agreed.. that piece of wood is beautiful. cover it if you must, but there will be people like me crying for wood like that


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

I was very happy with that little piece of mopani. I wasn't looking for wood when I went to the store that day, but it was just too nice. 

Here's an updated picture. I'm calling it Home on the swamp. Its mostly my husbands scaping, and he made the mopani cave/ house looked like it has hedges and eventually a manicured lawn, while on the opposite side it looks like something you'd see trekking though a bog. The cories decided they didnt want a plant right in front of the opening, so theres a "swimway". They kept pulling the anubias petites out, so I pulled them out. I'm not sure if I will put them back in, I'm at least giving the plants time to root before I decide. 

I put a red tiger lotus in between the mopani and mazanita. It came in really tall with small leaves. How do I get it to be short with large leaves?


----------



## firefiend (Sep 3, 2009)

Hilde said:


> You need to tie them to a rock or piece of metal.



I've found these plant anchors just recently... haven't used them but they look promising.

Love that mopani, btw... tanks looks great, will be wonderful once it grows in .


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

waya81 said:


> I was very happy with that little piece of mopani.
> 
> I put a red tiger lotus in between the mopani and mazanita. It came in really tall with small leaves. How do I get it to be short with large leaves?


What an amazing piece of wood. Love the wild look.

You can train the lotus to stay low by cutting all but 2 of its leaves.

Here you can anchors for $2.73 with no shipment cost.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

*Couple of questions*

I have lost 3 or 4 mollies, 2 Killi's (pretty sure these were lack of oxygen), and 2 mystery snails in the last 5 weeks. The water parameters are good and the plants are mostly fine. Temp stays around 78.

The microsword(? thats what I ordered but not exactly what it looks like) is covered in algae and has not grown at all in the month since I put it in. And the anubias nana petite has several new leaves, but again, all the old leaves are covered in black algae. The Red lotus is growing very quickly, and Vals are growing slowly, the anubias barteri is growing slow, the flame moss is slow and dirty looking. The susswassertang is doing better now than it ever has, the cryptocoryne wendtii is doing fine and and the cryptocoryne moehlmannii is doing well but looks dirty, and the dwarf sag hasn't had any new ones poping up.

None of the fish look sick, a couple looked like they had nipped tails. I have swordtails, mollies, and killifish in the tank. The swordtails chase each other, but have no other problems. The killifish have chosen their spots in the tank and chase others away. A couple like to bite me when I'm cleaning the tank, but I see no overly aggressive acts from them. There are 4 mollies left, and they are the most placid ones. 

I'm leaning toward the killi's just being jerks when the lights are off, but I have no proof. I would like to give each couple their own tank but dont have, space, time or money right now.

Can you think of any other reasons? About all I can do right now is pull the mollies out and put them in the 27g with the tiger endlers that are going to find new homes when the weather cools down, and the cories that were banished for pulling my plants out. 

Also I have worm cultures (walter, banana, and micro) that I've been playing with it for a while, and have been able to keep them alive; but they are still not going how they should. At first they would liquefy in about a week, so I added less yeast, and they still liquefied quickly along with getting moldy. Then I added less of the previous culture, and this batch, started about a week and a half ago, is still solid; but smells horrid and is moldy in places and dead; there is no shimmer at all or worms on the sides. My next trial I was going to try a bit more yeast with the lesser amount of culture. But my good culture stock is getting pretty low, so I may need to get more soon. Any suggestions? I've followed the directions that came with them pretty closely, but obviously I'm doing something wrong.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Are you dosing ferts? Dosing Excel?

Seachem excel can also be bought at LNT.com. Cheaper alternative is http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/general-planted-tank-discussion/108382-cidex.html#post1438829Cidex(@ 3.4%) Here is a thread on how to dilute it to excel strength

Vals melt when excel is suddenly introduced... just do 1/4 of recommended dose for a week then 1/2. Most people talk about melting when they use it for algae treatment at 2x the dose rate. Then vals and most grasses will react very badly. Eser21 #7

Normal dosage is 5ml (1 capful) for every 200L (50G) daily or every other day.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm not dosing any ferts right now. I was doing dry ferts 2 times a week, but it didnt seem to help at all, and some plants did get holes in them. But that makes sense with what you said.


----------



## waya81 (Aug 13, 2010)

After watching the tank for a few days, I've realized the Killi's only chase each other. And one of my female swordtails was being overly aggressive and chasing another female all over the tank; not just out of her territory. And she kept biting at the snails. I've taken her out, but now my male female ratio is off. It seems that I just keep taking fish out of this tank.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Seems like you need a tank for the killifish. I had read that they aren't community fish. Thus was amazed that you had them in a community tank. Why not check craigslist for a cheap 10 gallon tank and put some moss in there for them.


----------

