# Fish Dork's 80g - Ancient Relic? Aug 28, 2011



## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

This is my first planted tank. The tank is 80 gal and was started in June 07

Substrate: peat/sand covered with black gravel. Kitty litter (pure clay) added in balls later for iron content

Filtration: Marineland Pengiun HOB, carbon removed, cheap filter floss and pot scrubbers as media

CO2: 10lb pressurized, added in April 08, previous CO2 was DIY yeast method

Lights: 4 X 55 T5HO on 12 hours/day 2 X 6500, 2 X 10000, brand cheap... one ballast has since been replaced, now runs under the tank.

Plants: Rotala Macrandra, Rotala rotundifolia, Hygro. Polysperma, Hygro. Corymbosa, Java Fern Wind. and Java Fern. ??, Val. Americana, Java Moss

Fish: Rummy Nose Tetra, Cardinal, Assorted Rainbows, Tiger Barb, Black Skirt tetra, danios

Tank pics from June 07



























From August 07










From November 07










From Jan 08



















And these are from earlier in May, before a trim was done





































And here's some after the tank was trimmed, same month


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Awesome jungle


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

thanks orlando, this thing is a first attempt and it's killing me to not tear it down. But there is a little fish dork coming in the next couple of months, so no time for that at present. I really was trying to get the hang of plant growing and algae control with this setup. Now with trimming every week just to keep light going in, I think I've got that! Next I want to get the hang of trimming and shaping the plants, then eventually I will set this tank up with a nature scape... and get rid of the decorations altogether.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Sounds like your on the right track..Well executed.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

your progress is really great. the tank looks good. i have no doubt you will be shaping perfectly round bushes, something that is still far beyond many of us (me for example).


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

nice tank.

What is the green plant on the left side of the tank?

I also love how you added decor but made it blend in and look natural with the tank


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## froghair (Jan 5, 2008)

fish, those are *Fantastic*! I'm getting my CO2 setup this week from Orlando and if I can do half as well as you I'll be tickled. Grreat tank!!


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

Great lookin tank! With that lighting, I would add some sort of reddish colored plant to add some color, but aside from that I wouldn't change a thing.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

CobraGuppy said:


> nice tank.
> 
> What is the green plant on the left side of the tank?
> 
> I also love how you added decor but made it blend in and look natural with the tank


The left side has bacopa monieri (baby tears) in the very front corner, and the prominent plant is hyrgo. polysperma, with val. americana behind it.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

crudnugget said:


> Great lookin tank! With that lighting, I would add some sort of reddish colored plant to add some color, but aside from that I wouldn't change a thing.


Believe it or not there is rotala macrandra in there, but it blends in with the brown wall behind the tank. Also it's not as red as it could be, I think it may be that the nitrate levels are too high. It has started to redden since I added iron to the base of the plants with kitty litter clay balls. Sometime soon I plan to add a black background to this tank, then maybe the contrast will show the red better.

There is also a red tiger lotus in there, but the bulb went dormant (and I can't get it back for some reason) and the remaining plant won't do anything but fire up lily pads.


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## octopus44 (Apr 23, 2007)

What a change from the begining! Great looking tank. My only complaint is the pottery.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

octopus44 said:


> What a change from the begining! Great looking tank. My only complaint is the pottery.


 
I agree... this tank will be going more along a natural line. I'm thinking DW and no more fake stuff. Currently it's in the planning mode.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

I've added a black background and done some trimming. I'm working on making the macrandra and rotundifolia more bush-like, so it hasn't grown back fully in the very back of the tank. But, here are some current pics.




























And here's the macrandra, after some touch up










And... the DW is currently soaking! ....


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## kittytango (May 7, 2008)

I'd also like to see some red plants in your tank, but it does look good


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Here's some more recent pics... the back plants are starting to show nicely. These were taken after the most recent trim was done. These shots may be a little dark as I have had another ballast go just recently and have not had time to rewire the spare I have.


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## MikeS (Apr 27, 2008)

I was going to say something about the pottery, but the one on the right looks like it fell to the bottom of a river/pond, and has been there forever. I think I actually like it.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks! This tank's going to be redone soon, it actually needs to change location... ugh. But that was the original intent... to make the decorations look like they were part of an overgrown river bottom.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Well I cleared out the left corner of the tank to make room for some new plants and for some driftwood that's been soaking for a couple of months

Here's some pics of the corner cleared out, wow what a job!




























Here's the work area in front of the tank... a bucket full of plants and some tools.










A java fern that may go for sale if it doesn't sell locally



















The same fern in the tank



















The driftwood that was going in the corner of the tank... amazingly it's exactly the right height.



















And new pics will follow, I'm waiting to take pics of the tank until the java is gone... it's blocking the view of the corner that was rebuilt.


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## Birds'nBunny (Sep 3, 2008)

Wow, you did all that with an HOB filter?! Very nice tank. I even like the pottery, and I'm not usually a fan of decorations. Thanks for including the Before and After pics from the trim in May. Seeing that transformation is informative, for a newbie such as myself. I'm not a fan of cluttered tanks, and I'd been assuming that lots of plants = clutter. But seeing the before and after pics makes me realize that good pruning will keep a tank from looking chaotic, even with lots of plants.


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## dooboogoo (Apr 19, 2007)

Wow! I wish my first planted tank looked like that! I can't wait to see pics when you add the driftwood. Good job!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Birds'nBunny said:


> Wow, you did all that with an HOB filter?! Very nice tank. I even like the pottery, and I'm not usually a fan of decorations. Thanks for including the Before and After pics from the trim in May. Seeing that transformation is informative, for a newbie such as myself. I'm not a fan of cluttered tanks, and I'd been assuming that lots of plants = clutter. But seeing the before and after pics makes me realize that good pruning will keep a tank from looking chaotic, even with lots of plants.


Yes it is with an HOB... a slightly smaller one than I should've used as well. There is also a powerhead on the other side of the tank that has a sponge fitted to the intake. It works mostly as a CO2 diffuser, but does filtering as well. The next planned purchase for this tank is a pair of XP3 canisters. I think the biggest problem with the HOB is the loss of CO2. I believe I go through maybe twice as much to maintain the level that I want as compared to using canisters.

This tank has been running now for over a year and has been successful for the most part. The next incarnation is coming soon... there will be no artificial stuff in the next one. The design I have in mind should be nothing like this one... I want to do a complete tear down as the tank is to be moved to the other side of the room as well. I have some ideas in mind, but still plan to use just as many plants. And using lots of plants doesn't mean lots of clutter, it just means lots of trimming!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Oh, I forgot to say, thanks for the comments! 

I think I'm nearing the end of planning for the tear down. I am a little nervous as this scape is finally where I want it! I am looking forward to concentrating more on the initial hardscape for the next scape though. I am also planning a change in substrate material as well, I was thinking about going on the mineralized soil idea, but then changed gears and am going to try cocopeat and worm castings instead. I'll lay out the prep work for the substrate in a later thread. I also plan to take lots of pics of the setup the next time around as well. I think the hardest part of the whole job may be trying to catch/trap the fish!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Wow.. I really need to update this thread. No new pics since way back. Ah well, just a teaser for now I suppose as I still have no new pics! The teardown still hasn't happened. I have everything in place now, I found some sweet driftwood that is a tangle of roots and is about 3 feet long. The new scape will be built around it. I now have the XP3's! One is in place and running as well as the HOB that was originally used. When I've had the first XP3 running for a while I will remove the HOB and add in the second XP3. I built a Rex Grigg style CO2 diffuser, it works great! I have cut the CO2 injected down to 3 BPS ( it used to be higher but I don't know exactly how much). 

I've recently changed my light bulbs too. I now have 2 sunblaster T5 55W 6400K and 2 aquamedic planta T5 55W 6400K running. They are the same temp but the visual colour out of each is quite different. The aquamedics make the rotala macrandra POP.

Once the second XP3 is running I will be doing the teardown, the DW is currently in the yard soaking (or rather sitting in a big rubbermaid ice cube... that should be interesting to get out). I thought I would wait until the new filters are up and running as then I can get the tank closer to the wall. I'll take some new pics sometime this week.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

New pics as promised. There really is not enough definition in here right now. The plants are doing ok, with the exception of the Java Windelov and the rotala rotundifolia which used to fill in the back middle section.










left side



















right side










Aus. Rainbow










Rams - getting ready to breed again!


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## fishyface (Oct 7, 2004)

nice lookin' tank fish dork! are you gettin ready to put a new one together with mineralized wormy poop? when are you planning it if that's the direction you're going?


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

That is the idea. It's coming soon I'm waiting for the new filters to be established and then I'll be doing a total teardown.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Some of those pics were quite dark. Here's the originals


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## fishyface (Oct 7, 2004)

nice...i like the jungle look:thumbsup:


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

That is some astounding plant growth! Very natural looking tank!:thumbsup:
Great progress throughout thread. Thanks for sharing!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks FishyFace and Ed!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Left the second light cycle on after the water change today... the macrandra seemed to love it!










This one is like playing where's waldo except with otto's
The Otto Tree!










And a discovery! I thought the fissiden that I was trying to attach to this DW had melted away. When the water was low I noticed that there still is moss there... it will maybe take after all!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

*Fish Dorks 80 - New pics, new scape Jan 23 09*

Well I was having problems with a few plants and it was enough of a push to finally do the reset to this tank. Bit of a pain as the DW was in a block of ice in the backyard, but looking back it was worth it!

Here's the hardscape plan:




























The fish had a temporary home in one, the plants in the other:



















I started the last scape with 3 jungle vals and this is a regular bath towel :
(and my toes )










The old gravel cleanup was a big job, I had peat moss, clay and sand under it before. What a mess to clean! Now it's coco peat, worm castings, clay, dolomite and potash capped with gravel. I lost one false SAE due to jumping out of the temporary home, but no other casualities! Here's some new pics
































































Thanks for looking!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I love the new look. Nice toes  That macrandra is beautiful!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks! That plant does really well for some reason. I think it's a combo of the lights and relatively low nitrates. The vals behind it go red while they float on the surface so it's probably more the lights. (I think I'm actually burning the vals). I am currently trying a run without the 4 hour 'burst' of light to see what happens. I have 4 bulbs total, T5 55W. Currently there are 2 running for 8 hours, without the burst that I was using before of the other 2.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Well after some growing out the tank now is in need of a trim (actually that wisteria weed needs it weekly). I've planted glosso and blyxa jap. as well. Here's some new pics


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Very nice!! 

I wish my tanks would look that good.


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## Northern_Wind (Nov 1, 2008)

oh, nice tank! Oh to have a tank that big.. 
What type of crypt is that in the 8th picture on the right side?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Looking great! Did you plan for the golden ratio or did you just get lucky?  This is a very pretty tank.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

demonbreedr16 said:


> Very nice!!
> 
> I wish my tanks would look that good.


 
They will I'm sure... look what it looked like when I first started. There is definately a learning curve.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Northern_Wind said:


> oh, nice tank! Oh to have a tank that big..
> What type of crypt is that in the 8th picture on the right side?


 
It's crypt. wendtii bronze or brown. It experienced a severe melt right after I got it. It came from a member on a local forum and was about 3 times that size. I had it planted in the old scape and thought it was a complete goner until I did the teardown and discovered it growing in the val jungle. 

I'm glad you asked about that one and not the green one because I don't know what that crpyt is! It was an extra that came with some other plants.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

sewingalot said:


> Looking great! Did you plan for the golden ratio or did you just get lucky?  This is a very pretty tank.


 
Ahha! Yes it was part of the planning. That's why the wood was laid out outside the tank first. It really helped in the planning with the ratio in mind. 

And thank you all for the kind words! I still don't consider myself very good at this... there is always something new to learn!


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

How's the tank doing?


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Well, new pics should be soon I believe. I had a magnesium def. that did some damage. Before that it was BGA. I did a blackout and lost the glosso (hang my head in shame, I killed glosso, DOH). I guess it didn't have enough time to root and get established. I lost quite a bit of the Blyxa too. The good news was the BGA died. Once I started dosing Magnesium Sulphate the plants started growing and using the nutrients in the tank. I think that solved the nutrient imbalance in the tank as well. Now I have BBA but it seems to be receding. The plants are growing great again! 

I also started dosing Calcium Sulphate as well. I was using GH booster before, but I don't think I was dosing enough.


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## skratikans (May 23, 2008)

What are the dimensions of your tank? What's your wc and fert schedule like? How are you diffusing your co2? You have an amazing tank.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Not sure why I haven't mentioned that before? No one asked I suppose, so good questions! The tank is 48"W x 18"D x 22"H. I do 50% WC weekly and follow the EI method for dosing. I have very soft water (go figure, I live in the mountains with natural hot springs everywhere) so I dose calcium sulphate and magnesium sulphate as well. My CO2 is diffused through a 'Rex Grigg' style DIY reactor that runs inline with one of the canisters.

And thank you! It's a never ending WIP!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Well, I suppose it's time for an update. I'm currently battling BBA in at least 2 different forms. The good news is everything is growing like mad at the moment. I upped my light period to 12 hours. I run the front 2 54W for 6, overlap by one hour, then run the back 54W for the remainder. I've noticed since upping the light cycle that I seem to have 2 different variations of R. Rotundifolia growing in here. They looked the same before, but now some stems, the ones with three leaves on each node, are now growing more rounded, orangish leaves. The rest of the stems have 2 leaves per node and grow more pointed and tend to be reddish towards the light. I've had them for over a year and never noticed!

I found some gluteraldehyde in Metricide 14 that I'm now using to try to battle the BBA. There's too much of it on the gravel and plants to manually remove it all. So far I haven't melted the val forrest. Not a huge issue if it happens, I have some in another tank to re-establish if need be.

I also have bad GDA at the moment so no new pics till it runs its length. I don't see any new growth so I expect to let it die and then I'll clean the glass and take some new pics.

I've re-planted glosso as well recently. It seems to be growing up instead of spreading. I'm in the process of building a new light system, all tubes will be on seperate reflectors when it's completed. I think this will bring more light to the area I'm trying to grow the glosso in.

The rotala could be responding to higher nitrate levels as well as the higher light levels. I started adding more nitrate with the second planting of the glosso. I read somewhere that it is a real big nitrate user (maybe that's what brought about the BGA the last time).

New pics soon... the GDA is starting to go brown already!!!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Well the lights are done, and I love it! I ended up having to use 3 reflectors instead of all 4, for some reason the 4 didn't fit. So there are 2 bulbs on the front reflector, but it seems to be working well anyway. The new lighting brought on a round of diatoms, then the BGA came again. I did a blackout and I'm afraid but have to admit I believe I've done in another round of glosso. DOH! It may be time to try a different type of foreground. At any rate the rest of the plants are doing well and the BGA, GDA and BBA are under control for the moment. 

Here's an updated pic:


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

New pics, please excuse the algae and the blurry pics. Still working on the algae and didn't use the tripod today...


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

wow... been a year and a bit since I updated this!! New pics soon!

I ran out of CO2 about 6 months ago... I then used Metricide to keep the plants growing. I own my own CO2 bottle and no one around could refill it. I found a new supply just recently, and my LPS is selling my plants (which means I buy more fish!).


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

fish dork said:


> wow... been a year and a bit since I updated this!! New pics soon!
> 
> I ran out of CO2 about 6 months ago... I then used Metricide to keep the plants growing. I own my own CO2 bottle and no one around could refill it. I found a new supply just recently, and my LPS is selling my plants (which means I buy more fish!).


Call your local doctor/dentist and ask who refills their medical tanks. They will be able too fill your co2 tanks.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

I found someone! That was suggested to me locally too. Now, to get the tank back in shape.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Pretty tank! That anubias is really sweet! You have a lot of nice colors and textures going on in the tank. Get a few of the bunches of stems in a neat bush and this tank will be outstanding!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Well without CO2 for about 6 months the tank survived on Metricide. Now it's in recovery mode. I did lose a few plants, but the Anubias is about 6 times that size. I've been removed pieces for friends tanks too... so it keeps branching out.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

It is GREAT to see how the tank did over the last few Years! Man You have a great understanding of aqua scaping!!! I wish I could get my tanks looking as good as Yours! The 80g tank is a GREAT size tank to work with too! I have had 75g, 90g, and 125g all being 48" wide, and by far I like the 80-90g tanks! As long as you have the correct lighting you can make a heck of a display with the extra height, but not take up too much floor space! The 125g was the worst!!! At 48x20x30 (LxWxH) it was a booger bear to get to the bottom of the tank! And the stand was almost 31" tall to boot! me at 5'9" I had to almost swim to reach the gravel!:icon_eek:

Anyway keep up the AWESOME WORK, and I look forward to seeing it fill out!!!

Take Care,
Drewroud:


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

looking good! really awsome to see the tank evolve, cant wait to see recent pics!


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the comments!! The lights over this tank are 2 54W T5HO. I'm currently using Geissman Midday bulbs which grow plants great, but give the tank kind of a yellowish look. There are actually 4 bulbs over the tank. The back ones come on in for the first half of the day, then the front ones for the last half. I'd like to try some other bulbs but I ended up with 6 of them so I have to use them up first. (the company that sent them screwed up the order then sent me 2 extra as penance, wasn't that nice??) These bulbs seem to keep plants growing forever, do they ever wear out??

I will take some new pics soon, I'm in the middle of reshaping the rotala and there is a ton of Crypt Wendtii taking over the right side.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

Ancient Relic

Nah! It's a cucumber!


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