# Rballi's 75 Gallon Planted



## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i guess i need a couple more posts to be able to copy links and pictures....so sorry for the double posting...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

here is the link

russellsaqurium.blogspot.com


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)




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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Wow- nice job with that stand! And welcome to the forum!

Your stocking list looks good. I wouldn't add more than that though.

For diffusing your co2, just pick up a glass co2 diffuser online or from a LFS (like this one).

I doubt that one Eheim 2217 classic will be enough for a tank of this size... i had one on my 68g and it wasn't nearly enough.

Good start. :thumbsup: Keep us updated!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

with a really heavy plant mass do i need to add more filtration or just more circulation?


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

rballi said:


> with a really heavy plant mass do i need to add more filtration or just more circulation?


If i were you, i'd add another 2217- overkill filtration never hurts. BUT you could probably get by with one 2217 and a few power heads. 

Start out with the 2217 and see how it works. If it's not enough, then fix the problem accordingly. :smile:


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Well it's obvious you were worrying about nothing for your first woodworking project. that turned out great.roud:

I agree with Az on adding a second filter when the time comes for extra flow, especially since you're planning on discus.

I've never been much on using powerheads myself. They work great and get the job done, I've just always felt that if I'm going to run another motor it may as well be filtering.


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## jwm5 (May 9, 2010)

^ ha true on the flow/filtering comment but $150 filter vs $20 powerhead, if you dont need the extra filtration, you can save a lot of money.

OP stand looks good.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

it isn't the over-filtration that worries me, just the price tag of this project. I would do another 2217 if I had oodles of money, but my budget is running out and my wife keeps reminding me. I think i might just pick up a sunsun filter that you see on ebay for cheap and if it doesn't filter really well, at least it will add a lot more circulation?


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Awesome job on your stand. Especially for being your first ever. Bravo!

I will have to agree that one 2217 will not be enough filtration for keeping Discus in a 75g. I run one 2217 and a 2275 on my 65g and it's perfect. Keep in mind I also use 2 powerheads which is probably overkill but I'm sure you get the picture.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I have seen lots of DIY Co2 reactors but I was wondering if anyone had a link to a really successful design?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

So i have a lot of updates since I haven't had internet for a while. We finally moved into our apartment and go the tank set up. After failing to hook up one of the filters properly, I spilled about 10 gallons on the floor which was really fun. I was able to get a 2215 and a 2213 for 60 bucks that included everything from craigslist. The impeller was a little messed up but some superglue fixed that and it is a little noisy, but when i get to it i will replace it. I ordered some manzanita from manzanita.com but they were a little behind so it wont get here next week which is kind of inconvenient cause my plant shipment from sweetaquatics.com is going to be here monday.....so i will have to figure out what to do with it all until i can get the hardscape in. My 2x55 watt kit from ahsupply.com got here today so i installed it and tried there new 3-6-10 which is "A daylight bulb with more blue and red output and less green. Makes the red colors in your tank a richer, more saturated red." I really like the color in combination with the 6500K bulbs I have in there already.
















That was one long stinking day after work....

































Picked up a school of bronze corys to get the cycle going. 









Instead of the Rena Heater I decided to do a combo co2 reactor/inline heater using a heyco compression fitting. I forgot to take pictures before i put it behind the tank. I will get down in there and take some photos. I am really anxious to get this scaped, it is just so empty and it is driving me nuts....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Here is the plant list that I ordered
-Cryptocoryne Crispatula
-Cryptocoryne Lucens
-Cryptocoryne Walkeri
-Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green
-Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red 
-Cryptocoryne Cilitia 

-Alternanthera Reineckii Var. Roseafolia
-Hygrophila Corymbosa
-Shinnersia Rivularis
-Rotala Indica (Rotala Rotundifolia)

-Echinodorus Bleheri (Amazon Sword)
-Echinodorus Bleheri Compacta (Amazon Compacta Sword) 
-Echinodorus Cordifolius 'Marble Queen'
-Echinodorus Kleiner Bar
-Echinodorus Ozelot
-Echinodorus Tenellus

Updated stock list....
http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?AquTankName=Russell+Discus+Tank&AquListBoxTank=Choose&AquTankLength=48&AquTankDepth=18&AquTankHeight=20&AquListBoxFilter=Eheim+2217&AquTextFilterRate=160+&AquListBoxFilter2=Eheim+2215&AquTextFilterRate2=95+&FormSubmit=Update&AquFilterString=discus&AquListBoxChooser=Discus+(Symphysodon+aequifasciatus)&AquTextBoxQuantity=&AquTextBoxRemoveQuantity=&AlreadySelected=200909300118:12::,200909300034:8::,200912051330:9::,201003241259:2::,200909300048:2::,200909300058:5::&FilterMode=Display+all+species&AqTempUnit=F&AqVolUnit=gUS&AqLengthUnit=inch&AqSortType=cname&FilterQuantity=2&AqJuvMode=&AqSpeciesWindowSize=short&AqSearchMode=simple


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I finally got my order from manzanita burlworks and I spent most of the evening getting everything setup how I wanted it. I am not concerned about tanins etc..so i just drilled some holes in some slate and attached some of the larger pieces to it and stuck everything else in everywhere to get this giant stump looking thing. I am happy how it turned out and am excited to plant this on monday when my plants get here from sweetaquatics. Since last time i added a school of lemon tetras and rummynose tetras. It is fun to watch all three different schools swim around and bump into each other.


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## x_stephanie_x (Aug 5, 2010)

This tank is looking great so far! I'm excited to see how it turns out


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Subscribed

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Whoa, that's some serious manzanita there sir. You must have dropped a pretty penny or two on that beast.


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## crash cbmnz (Dec 20, 2009)

Which Aquarium Pack did you purchase from Manzanita burlworks?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I spent 47 shipped, not too bad i think. I even have enough for another tank.  

Really bad news though, all of my tetras died overnight, but all of the corys are totally fine. I am really confused, I didn't think that leaching tanins into the water could kill fish? I was pretty devastated this morning cause I lost about $50 in fish. Oh well, I guess you learn. I should have done a better job cleaning it I guess, but I am still confused as to the reason why they died and the corys are doing just fine....any help on this?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

crash cbmnz said:


> Which Aquarium Pack did you purchase from Manzanita burlworks?


aquarium pack 1 i think? it was the $35 one...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Let me know what you think about the plant placement? Too much plant mass?


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I don't think its to much I'm just wondering if the stem plants are going to be behind the wood?

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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

yeah, i tried to do a shot from the top as much as i could so i could show that...i want to frame the focal point of the wood with the stems as much as a i can...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

The Colorado Aquarium Society had their biannual auction today and I wanted to go to find some dwarf south american cichlids. A guy was there selling some that he had personally collected while in peru and bred them here in Denver. They are Apistogramma cf. eunotus "fin stripe". I got 6 juveniles and they are sure cool fish. I will get some photos posted here soon of them. My stocking has now changed a bit with that random die off of tetras so now it will these apistos, 8 bronze corys, 10-12 cardinal tetras, and 5-6 discus.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Here is a video of the new guys...


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## kingfisherfleshy (Jun 4, 2010)

Thats funny...when I saw you added cory cats to a brand new tank I was bracing myself to read on the next page how they were all dead. Seems to me that these guys need to have a pretty good food source and a nice, mulmy substrate to be fat and happy. 

Guess everyone has their own experience. Things look like they will be awesome. Waiting to see it planted.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

the corys are the only ones that survived. It was all of my new tetras that i put in. My corys are doing great and eating well. The tetras died from too much tanic acid in the water? I have no idea. I put some driftwood in there and the next morning all my tetras were dead. I have never read or heard of big die-offs from tanins leaching out? could there be other things that manzanita leaches?


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

Nice tank and driftwood. Now we need pictures of the discus =D


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

VadimShevchuk said:


> Nice tank and driftwood. Now we need pictures of the discus =D


Thanks! I am still trying to figure out what to do about discus. denver tropical fish wholesale here has some good looking juveniles at about 3 inches that with the sale right now I can get for 20 a piece. There is also a breeder in town that sells them for $10 an inch on most fish. I know the wholesale place brings there fish in from thailand and the adult fish they have there are pretty spectacular, but this is my first time buying discus and even with the research I have done on selecting young discus, I still don't trust myself 100%. I have read that young fish shouldn't have the same coloration as the adults do, but I am not sure what they are exactly since there are many variations in the same tank. Mail order just might be too expensive for me right now, any tips would be appreciated greatly when it comes to picking out fish.


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## kingfisherfleshy (Jun 4, 2010)

Discus picking tips? Its best to go through a breeder...Im in contact with several right now trying to get myself some. Its the culmination of reading about discus for my whole fish keeping life. Now its looking like I might have some within the week.


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## FastTimes (Oct 16, 2008)

nobody really addressed the dead tetra issue, but tannis leaching from wood wouldn't have killed them. Was your tank actually cycled before you added the fish? You mentioned adding the fish to get the cycle started, i would check your water parameters before adding anything else.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i have been doing 50% water changes every day since then and i know it wasn't a cycling issue because only the tetras died. The corys were perfectly fine...


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## Kratos (Apr 25, 2008)

Looks good so far, sorry for your losses but glad the cories are doing fine! Can't wait to see it when it's planted and my all time favorite species of fish (discus) go in.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Tetras are a fish you don't cycle with.when ammonia spikes they are the first to respond to it and left undetected they will die. Cories are much hardier in the sense but will still be effected. I have used cories many times to cycle because they are always a fish I'm going to have long term.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

I think you have grossly underestimated the size of the swords you've picked based on your drawing....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Planted!










I am not crazy about the left side yet...mainly cause the e. tenelus is in the emersed form and is really tall (I have read that it will loose these leaves are grow back smaller ones? i am hoping so....) The hard scape kind of fell a little bit and isn't quite the same, but it works, and once the plants grow good roots in i think i will be able to move things around a bit. Everything is kind of one height so i am anxious to get things growing in. Does look better though with some green in there and my apistos are loving all of the hiding places.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Can't wait for growth either for you.i can see why you would be do anxious


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Those are E. tennellus "normal" and will remain tall. If you want something short, try E. tennellus "micro". They're a red plant but will stay 3" tall max and form a nice foreground. Both plants grow like your everyday weed, super fast (under high light).


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

mary at sweet aquatics said that those leaves will melt and new shorter more compact leaves will grow back...I hope so atleast. I have 4x55 watt kit from AH supply under the hood...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

They should be fine really.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I picked up a 6 ft. hampton bay rope light from home depot and installed it in the canopy for a moonlight of sorts. It looks great in person and we messed around with my wife's canon 5d till we got a shot that somewhat resembled what it looks like in person. I am assuming that it is ok to run this light 24/7? I dont want to have to put this on a timer...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Could cause some algae but I think a timer would be smart


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i think the photo is even brighter than in real life...each bulb is .25 watts and the are every inch of the rope light (total of 18 watts)...unless it is completely dark you cannot tell they are even on...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Oh rope light....nevermind ur fine


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Tank has been almost been planted a week and wanted to show the progress. Lots of plants are melting old emmersed leaves, but stems are growing well and hopefully the plants will get more acclimatized and growing faster. Things are starting to pearl a little more...but absolutely no signs of algae anywhere. 


































That last photo is from tonight. One weird thing though is that my drop checker is always staying green, getting an almost yellowish towards the day, but it never goes back to atmospheric equilibrium. Both spray bars are 3-4 inches below the surface pointing slightly upwards to a bit of a surface ripple. Could it be that the tank is not totally not gassing out completely? Co2 goes off 2 hours before lights out...At first I think it was just surface scum building up on the opening of the drop checker, but i have been cleaning out every night and morning and it still doesn't seem to get back to blue.

I really wish the driftwood would have stayed in the same position as I orginally had it, i will just have to wait until the plants get some root mass going and then I can try to pop some of those pieces back up...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Here is the last photo after 2 weeks of growth before I changed the hardscape a little bit, once the driftwood became waterlogged it kind of fell over a bit, so I pulled everything other than the tenellus and redid the driftwood, i like how it looks better now anyway. 










Here is the scape with just the swords planted...










And with the crypts and stems....










Things are growing nicely, the tenellus is sending runners all over and the submergent leaves are coming in nicely, the new leaves are only about 3-4 inches max. Finished quarantining a couple more cardinals and some black neons so the stock list right now is 9 cardinals
6 black neons
8 bronze corys
6 apistogramma eunotus "fin stripe" juveniles

This week I will be picking up 5-6 juvenile discus and start the quarantine process. oh boy


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

any comments on the new hardscape or plant placement?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

as promised I picked up a couple of fish. At some point I want to have a school of 5-6, but this is my first time ever caring for discus and i want to make sure I can do 2 before i put a lot more money into this. These two are super reds and the adult fish that came from the same place look amazing. 
















































and a fun picture of one of my apistos checking out his new friends


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

Tank looks great!!! Where did you get your discus from? I would jump over to the simply discus form and get some from there sponsers next time. Discus are not that bad to take care of as long as you get good stock.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i got them from an LFS here in denver that imports them from thailand. I really just dont have the funds to do any mail order. I got these for about $20 each, hard to beat pretty much anywhere. Maybe when I have a job where I really should be involved in this hobby, I will order from central ohio, i have heard really good things about them.


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

Thats where all of my discus came from besides my smallest one. She came from a LFS about four years ago. Mike from central ohio is a super nice guy to deal with, you can call him for any info you need and he is very helpful on any purchase you have made even if it's been a few years. He is the only one I will deal with on discus.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

a little worried....i know it is normal for discus to turn darker when they are stressed and I am not sure how long that should go on for without getting too worried about it. They are really jumpy, won't come out unless you are on the other side of the room. I think it is a couple factors...1. there are only 2 on them, need bigger school (that has to wait till i find a new job) 2. they aren't by the window, but the north facing window in the morning brings in lots of ambient light which makes everything outside the tank very visible to them. (at night they cruise around all over the place) 3. at the LFS they were in stright RO water and I am just using tap because the KH is only 4 and GH is 7 so i think they might be experiencing some shock from that as well? (Ph is 7.5 or so but with co2 it drops to about 6.5) I am going to do a 50% water change to maybe help them out? I just did one the night before i got them (wed) so I dont know. Any experience on this would help a lot. They were feed mostly live black worms at the LFS so i picked some up from them, but I haven't really seen them eat cause they freak out when I get too close to the tank....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

here are some pictures to show you what i mean, i think some of those are the lighting, they look darker when they are close to the glass where the lighting doesnt hit them directly....


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## BMueller777 (Feb 5, 2008)

great tank man, gj


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

BMueller777 said:


> great tank man, gj


Thanks!

I am just starting to get some random diatoms after the tank has been set up over a month, no other algae though, so that is good. Plants are growing fast and tenellus is shooting runners all over the place. Did a 50% water change last night and discus got a little bit lighter, maybe there was some excess nitrates. They look happy and swim all over the place. They need some friends though still. I am selling some of these stems almost all of which have reached to the top of the tank and need to be trimmed, no place to replant and cuttings....

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/118555-fs-big-trim-stems-swords.html


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## Lee (Feb 13, 2007)

That last picture of the discus on the bottom looks really sick. Did you buy him like that? Not sure if hes not eating enough or just poorly shaped.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

that last picture was from beneath, i think the image was just distorted from the glass. There are only two, and you can see them in the first couple images i posted, body shape looks fine to me (though i am surely no expert). From the research I have done it seems pretty normal for new discus not to eat in front of you for up to a week or so. They are happily swimming all over the tank and are quite active when I am on the other side of the room. I think everything is ok with them. I am feeding a mixture of frozen brine, live black worms, flake, and shrimp pellet...I haven't seen them eat in front of me, but the tank is densely planted and I think they are just settling in....i hope at least, first time with discus....


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

I wouldnt worry to much about your discus at the moment. Give them a week and then get worried, also if they are eating then there's no worries. Discus should be round by the time they are are 3 to 3.5 inches. If they have not had the right nutrition they will be oddly shaped for good and stay smaller then a good quality adult discus. That doesn't mean that they cant turn into buitiful fish. Also I noticed your substrate is black and your background is black as well, this will cause the discus to turn dark to blind in. They will turn solid black and be very reclusive probably wont eat just swim up to the food.You might want to watch there pooh and make sure it is black or the color of your flake food. Also you might want to get a few meds. to have on hand(metro and a good medicated flake) angels fish plus has a good choose of flake food. Here's a picture of a adult discus(bigger than my hand) and you can see what I mean about being round.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

are you saying that the dark substrate will cause them to turn solid black and stop eating? or that just they will appear darker than they would be in a BB tank?. The solid black thing is if they get sick? These guys are about 2-2.5 inches, and plan on doing 50% bi-weekly water changes. Do these guys look typical for fish this size? Beautiful fish by the way!


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

I am sorry for the confusion, they will turn solid black if sick. They appear darker because of they substrate. There eye's seem to be a little big for there size so somewhere along the way they probably didnt get feed right. That what I can tell from the pictures. The main reason people put them in BB is for maintance and trying to grow them out. I would bump up your feeding for the next couple of months as much as you can feed them and do more water changes will you are fatting them up. Also a really great place to find information is over at simply discus. They helped me save my discus when they got some kind of disease. Thanks for the complement shes one of my favorites.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

yeah, i know i could have found better stock out there, but as this is my first time keeping these fish, my wife wasn't thrilled about spending 80$+ just to ship these fish from a breeder. I got them from an LFS that has some really good looking adults as well. You can say they are my trial fish. Once I get the hang of it (and a better job) she said we can order some in, but until then I will probably be dealing with these guys. It is also hard to find good pictures of juvies online so I wasn't sure how big the eyes really should be on a fish like this...


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

I have seen a growth chart some where before, but I cant remember where. Yeah I can understand that, I dropped over $300 on my fish but I also started with three from a local LFS only have one left. One dies three weeks after I purchased it and the other dies from my disease I had. Once you get hook on discus it's kind of hard to not want more. Also when you get the ok to by somemore maybe go with some albino's they will stand out in your tank. There are so many different strands out there,but I cant have them all. At least until I can get a bigger tank.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

New scape! I think it was just too busy and I started getting some really nasty algae growing like mad on the tops of the branches. I am pretty sure it was staghorn but seemed too flimsy to be...if it grows back I will take some photos and maybe some people can help out. I think I am having problems with my reactor, the Co2 is building up at the top of the reactor because the co2 tubing is drilled too high on the reactor? could that be a possibility or will it always build up? (i am sure it isn't oxygen because it starts filling up as soon as the solenoid comes on before the lights). I am considering building a new one or trying to reposition the co2 inlet on the reactor somehow. The other possibility could be a nitrogen deficiency as the leaves on some of my swords is turning opaque. I am just thinking my bubble rate is a bit high for having so much algae.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I wasn't getting the results out of my Co2 reactor and figure it was because of the top, being an elbow and not producing the type of turbulence needed to get my co2 levels up. This is a combo inline heater/co2 reactor so on the reactor portion I added a 22.5 degree elbow to get more turbulence. (I have heard that about 20 degrees gives more turbulence?). This is on the outflow of the 2217. The discus are now eating a bunch, going nuts for live blackworms, they are still a little skidish when I approach the tank, but the will come out and eat when I drop some worms in the tank. Though their color is still pretty dark...hoping that is purely environmental, i think so because they are quite active and seem healthy.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Great looking discus!
How is the algae coming along? I have a 72 gallon, which I assume is similar in dimensions to your tank. I also have 4x55 AH Supply lighting. I read some of Hoppy's posts in the lighting forum regarding PAR values measured with AH Supply lighting. I now have my lights suspended about 22 inches above the substrate. That should give me medium light. I thought I'd mention that just in case you're still having algae issues. Of course you can't raise your lights (from the canopy design... nice job BTW), but you could cut back on the amount of time both lights are on.

Any new pics?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Well, the discus started doing great and were eating really well and really coloring up. I switched out the eco for pool filter sand and that seemed to help their coloration too. The plants were a little neglected for a time and had a nasty BBA outbreak. In an effort to clean things up I did some spot treatment but i cleaned out the filters again (flow had been reduced to a crawl) and i had a hard time getting the going again. I am pretty sure what happened is my discus and a couple cardinals got messed up from concentrations of the excel and without very good circulation, they died. Really stinks big time...One survived but definitely dont have the dough to get a nice school back of those guys. I just think they are too expensive for right now so I am going to get some nice F1 angels or something close to them. I miss the movement from the angels that I had before. Here is my tank before I lost all of my fish.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

This have been rough for the fishies as of late. I lost all but one of my cardinals, a couple of my black neons, 3 angels, 2 apistos, and a cory....I got a UV sterilizer to work on the green water and get rid of any parasite problems, which i think was the cause of all of the deaths. But in the meantime all of my plants have been doing terrific. I wanted to add some more dward cichlids so I but in a bunch of what looks like red granite that I found locally to make some territories and caves. I really like how it turned out. Also I found someone who was selling a used 2217 so I picked it up for $40 and it is an awesome condition. Here is a video of what things look like now. 



This was right after a water change so, things haven't really settled yet.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Been quite a while since an update...

My wife has been getting on me cause of how many species of plants I had in here so I decided to get rid of some. 

I now only have 4...
blyxa japonica
Limnophila aromatica
Crypt. Wendtii "red"
Rotala Macandra "green" (still recovering and growing from bleach treatment)

The first picture is from a couple weeks ago when I redid the scape and then from the other day when I seperated the blyxa pieces and replanted. I started with 4 little plantlets about 2 months ago or so, maybe less and I now have enough to plant the whole 75 footprint. I got some BBA until I got the Co2 situation figured out. I got one of the inline GLA atomizers and it has worked great. BBA no longer growing at all and am seeing much less fuzz algae (nutrient issue I think). I think i can actually see this scape staying and set up long term like this, maybe a first for me....

I changed the lighting schedule. 8 hours total, front bulbs run for 5 hours, and back bulbs run for the last 5 hours, so there is a 4 hour over lap during the day where it is getting both. Seems to reduce a bit of the algae as well. 

Overall it has been nice enjoying my tank more and not stressing about it! That is why we do this right? Or do we enjoy stressing about things too? 









sorry it's crooked









still cloudy from water change....









How it looked tonight...got some floaters, need to replant them....









view from the side

















male apist. Eunotus "fin stripe"


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

recorded a video with my wife's 5D mark II. 

http://s900.photobucket.com/albums/ac210/rballi/?action=view&current=MVI_3297.mp4


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## Gotcha38 (Apr 13, 2010)

I like the new hardscape with the rocks. Gonna look great once the plants get some more time to grow.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i added another 6 lemon tetras, and today my angels spawned! I thought they were too young for that still. Well see how the eggs do and if they start to develop, if so i will get another little tank going to grow them out in!


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

Are those Altum Angels?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

no, i wish. maybe in the someone near future i will try to find some though.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

eggs were eaten when i was at work i think, but they were back at it tonight. here are some more pics.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

MAJOR UPDATE!

Moved the tank to the other side of the room so I had to break it down which allowed me to do some things I have been wanting for a while. I got rid of all the lemon tetras, black neons, the two remaining eunotus males and some of the silver angels that i wasn't loving, i would love to get some altums in here at some point. Re did the scape completely and added a couple of different plants. Found some diplis diandra locally, as well as a HUGE portion of narrow leaf java fern and a really nice batch of anubias nana petites. Started a little lawn of micro sword that will hopefully grown in over the next couple of months. Picked up 4 female double red apisto cacauctoides and 2 males. Here is my current stock list. 

2 silver angels (going to add a few more)
6 Apistogramma Cacatuiodes "double red"
3 Calico bristlenose plecos
3 otos
8 rummynose tetras (going to add a couple more)
11 cardinal tetras (going to add another 10 or so)


The right side of the scape needs to grown in, but my vision is that the right side of the tank is completely packed with stems once it grows in and that left side is kept wide open with just some blyxa and micro sword as foreground. I have struggled with some fuzz algae (completely covering that big rock) and i think it has just been because of too much lighting. My lighting schedule is now 2x55 ah supply for 8 hours with the other 2x55 on for a 2 hour burst in the middle of my photo period. I redid the returns on the eheims, the spray bars werent able to target the specific areas I wanted the flow, these out of pvc work just fine and in conjunction with the GLA inline atomizer, i have seen the algae growth stop. With so much more plant mass, the fish have a lot more places to hide...I guess I just have to beef up those schools so they will come out more.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Sweet!!!!! That fuzzy algae is awesome! Almost looks like marimo..


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

yeah....it kinda looks cool, but not the look I am going for. I started spot treating with metricide and hopefully i can make some progress on the algae...tonight you can see it already starting to turn brown in those sections that I treated this morning....


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

wow that looks really good. I know my apisto's will love that tank.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

there are a ton of nooks and crannys for them to hide and hang out. The females are tiny though compared to the males in there now....Do you have any pictures of the male that you had?


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

I like it. Very nice.


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## ElectricBlue (Jun 29, 2011)

The 2 angels pictured are those the 2 silver angels? 


They look like they are young Altums.. 

Beautiful Apistos, Where did you pick them up from? 
Im wanting to pick up a Male and 2 or 3 female Apistos.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Yeah, they are silvers, I got the males from about fish in westminster, co. I am hoping they color up a bit more. Thanks For looking!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i meant the male apistos, not the angels, does anyone know a good source to get altums? i would much rather have a couple of those than the regular scalare?


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

This tank is amazing! I like the new scape. I think the algae on the rock is awesome.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

algae is gone....apistos are breeding all over the place....i will get some pics up later with what things look like now...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

updated picture....

Added some new things, I pulled all of the microsword, it wasn't spreading for me at all so I replaced it with dward hairgrass and picked up some C. Wendtii 'tropica' and c. lucens. The stems are filling in really nicely, I have a huge bush now of L. Aramatica and the two types of rotala, my diplis diandra stems started melting because too many stems were planted next to each other, so i had to start over with that patch, tank would be looking pretty good if only that part was as filled in as the other stems. The blyxa recovered nicely and now is growing pretty huge. I planted the dwarf hair grass probably 3 weeks ago and is now starting to send out a good number of runners. 

I have had multiple succesful spans with my apistos, succesfully transfered some of the fry to a 10 growout tank, but didnt have the micro worms ready so they died....trying to get them to spawn again. I am thinking about moving all of my apistos to a 30 gallon that i can set up here and getting rid of the angels and throw my colony of cherry shrimp in there. Maybe finding a nice breeding pair of silver, or wild angels. 

Does anyone know where to find a wild pair of apisto cacatuoides? Here are some updated photos. 

















Picked up a koralio 750 to increase the circulation and just recently extended the noon burst to almost 2 hours from an hour to get some intense growth. Let me know what you think!


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Very good job on the hard scape! The plants look like they are doing well too. I look forward to having the right back section of the tank filled in with stems. 

Congrats on the Apisto spawns. I hope you are able to get some fry! 

The angles kind of make the scape feel a bit out of scale. I guess I like big schools of small fish in a tank.


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## tharsis (Oct 9, 2009)

The tank looks great! Although I did like the fuzzy rock  

I really like the little bit of pink poking out the top there. Looks really good. 

I also have a koralia 750 in my 75G and I think it is great. It provides the perfect amount of flow in the tank, the plants are all just gently blowing in the breeze.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful tank, great hardscape


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Looks great.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I am getting rid of the angels and putting my colony of cherries in here and beefing up my schools of cardinals and rummys. Thanks for looking everybody. I am excited how this scape is turning out. We are planning on moving next summer so I really hope it all comes together with time before I have to break it down, will be upgrading tank size though if that is any consolation to myself, going to a 6 foot tank, would love to go to a 180, well see though.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

rballi said:


> I am getting rid of the angels and putting my colony of cherries in here and beefing up my schools of cardinals and rummys. Thanks for looking everybody. I am excited how this scape is turning out. We are planning on moving next summer so I really hope it all comes together with time before I have to break it down, will be upgrading tank size though if that is any consolation to myself, going to a 6 foot tank, would love to go to a 180, well see though.


I can't imagine a 180G tank in my house.... I don't think that would fly! I am actually quite happy about my move from a 55G to a 75G. I have seen some pretty sweet big tanks but it would just be too much for me to run.

Good move with the angles. Do you happen to have cherries with your apistos? I am thinking about Bolivian Rams with my cherries. Just wondering how many end up as food!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

i am moving my apistos to a 30 gallon that will be divided to raise fry a long with a 10 for spawning and things....IF i run out of space I might have to put the male back in the 75 and the extra female as well, the huge mass of needle nose and the thick stems, and hopefully the think dwarf hairgrass will provide enough cover to keep a colony thriving, i am sure there will be many casualties...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Need help with what stem plant to put inbetween the l. aramatica and the r. macandra. The Diplis Diandra just isn't doing well for some reason and it is killing my scape right now. The circle in both these are representing the area where I want to put in a stem plant. What suggestions do you have?

















Friday I am getting rid of the angels and putting the cherries in here. Might have a ton of trimmings too that I will be putting on SnS this weekend.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Please?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Pretty please?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Traded the angels in and picked up 25 cardinals, they definitely school the more there are. Added the cherries and setup a 29 just for the apistos, might add them back as the shrimp colony grows...tank looks much better with smaller fish. Thanks for the tips and advice!


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## rockwood (Jun 19, 2010)

What about shifting the texture (finer leaves) and color up with something a little more coarse and red? Maybe aAlternanthera reineckii rosefolia (link) or ludwiga glandulosa.

If you want to stick with green, maybe some type of hygro?

In either case, I think something that is going have a bit bigger leaves, and in effect look a little more coarse will break up that area between the rotala and limno.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

yeah, i actually had that idea....I love l. glandulosa...The l. aromatica has pretty decently sized leaves, but maybe something a little broader....i dont want to go to big and lose the scale of the tank. I have even thought of just planting more rotala and limno in the bare area to fill the space...thanks for your suggestions, i will look into finding some glandulosa.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I recently acquired some red stems of ludwigia and rotala. Maybe you might be interested in some of them. I don't have much at the moment but I am sure we could work out some kind of trades.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Yeah, what varieties are they?


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Ludwigia arcuata, Ludwigia senegalensis, Rotala singapore, Rotala H'ra.

The r. singapore seems to be doing the best right now. I am barely keeping the ludwigias alive but I am not running any co2. 

I am just down 1 25 at Dry Creek.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

sweet, pm sent


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## jameslibtech (Sep 20, 2011)

i live in los angeles and went down to manzanita burlworks by san diego...dude has soo many awesome pieces, loved it!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

jameslibtech said:


> i live in los angeles and went down to manzanita burlworks by san diego...dude has soo many awesome pieces, loved it!


Can't beat the prices either...think i might do it differently though next time, so many great center pieces at the S&S here....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Photo update with a movie in 1080P!

anywhos...

I have added a couple of things lately and got rid of a couple of other things. This tank is too tall for the macandra to do really well, so while the trimmings i was getting were nice, the stems are too fragile or something for a taller tank. I am floating those in a different tank till i decide what to do with them. Decided to just grow out a huge mass of Rotala Green (i think that is what it is, doesn't turn color at the tips hardly at all) and going to squeeze 12 or so stems or A. Reinickii in between the L. Aromatica and rotala for a really nice color focal point. I ripped out a bunch of narrow leaf which i am going to replace in the front with some hygro kompact (all supplied by Gordon). The hairgrass is starting to fill in much better now, looks better in person as you can see more of the runners i guess. Everything is really thriving in here, no algae other than a bit of BBG on the rocks that i have killed (and succesfully killed off about 20 cardinals and rummynose in the process) and a spot of BGA which is melting away now...But the plants look fantastic with the lighting cycle and everything seems pretty balanced at this point. The Koralia i think has helped a ton with that. I also have a stem of Ludwigia senegalensis and 2 stems of rotala sp. 'singapore' which you can't see other than for a bit in the video. growing them out and maybe will see what to do with them once healthy. Also new additions are about another 25 or so CRS, C. Wendtii Undulata. There is also 35 or so cardinals that looks FANTASTIC right now, but wont come out from the fern until after dark...kind of weird, i think they are still adjusting. Anyway, too much ranting. Enjoy the pics!


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## HiepSTA (Aug 23, 2011)

it looks awesome


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

HiepSTA said:


> it looks awesome


Thanks! My video taking FOREVER to load, that will be posted here shortly if photobucket can actually get it done before morning....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-AaxY2IzVk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Finally got the movie to load...wow that took forever.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

uh, link not working....stupid youtube......


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl9TxxJLA-E

Finally! again.....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Added a couple new things. Two pairs of blue rams really round out the livestock nicely. Picked up a couple albino long-finned bushy nose plecos. Also added some ludwigia peruensis, crypt lucens, and ammania gracilis. Took all the photos with my new iPhone and I have to say I am pretty impressed.


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

Nice! Looks good.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Video


I forgot about the video


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

I really like the scape. What kind of stones are those?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Tell you the truth I really don't know. Some stones I found outside by the canal by my house. I have a feeling they are raising the hardness of my water, but not by much. I kind of want to find another one of the similar color and put in the left side to balance it out little bit. I am really loving dynamics of this tank now, the blue Rams really adds interest to the bottom portion of the tank. Wish I had picked up one more pair though, adding another couple of rams at this point might cause some issues. In some ways I'm still not convinced I got two pairs, trying to determine gender for blue rams has been difficult for me, I have found conflicting information on the web about this.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Now that basketball season is coming to a close, I have been thinking more about what to fill some of my time. (who really wants to watch the spurs beat the heat anyway)

I am do for a major re-scape and I wanted to work with a really heavy slope with a nice hardscape with stone and manzanita to create a river bank type look. Here is a rough draft of what I have so far. No manzanita yet as I am waiting to find the right pieces. The nylon bag is full of lava rock, which I will need to add another 30 lbs or so to get the back terrace high enough. 

I wanted a nice shallow area where I can plant some really nice colorful stems at the top, with all of the gaps toward the bottom filled in with Anubias nana and narrow leaf java fern. The bottom will be dhg and blyxa towards the right with various crypts filling in the spaces on the slope on the right. This will be all capped with Ecocomplete. Looking for some tips on some things I can change up now as I do have several weeks before any of the is going to get setup. 

My biggest concerns right now are being able to maintain the slope without all the ecocomplete coming off of it until I get some roots down to hold it together a little better. I know it looks like a
Lot of hardscape, but I am planning on most of it being covered by plants, I am over compensating, and it also needs it to get the terrace about 10-12" from the surface.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

You have to use your imagination a bit the think of the manzy branches coming down into the water to look like roots.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Here is an idea of how it might be planted. 

Manzanita comes down from the back rim looking like some nice tree roots. 

-carpet of dhg
-dark green is Anubias nana and nana petite
-light green in back left rotala rotundafolia
-pink in back is a. Reneikii
-orange l. Aromatica
-light green up front is blyxa japonica
-brown various crypts
-dark green on right narrow leaf java fern 

Any suggestions for some different stems that would look really nice on the terraces portion that will be only 10-12" inches from the surface? At first I was worried that it was too much rock but I think a good part of it will get covered as the plants grow in... Any suggestions would be welcome....


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Forgot the picture...


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

The rock looks like your typical granite you find here in Colorado, I am looking forward to see what you do with it


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I ordered some nice pieces of manzanita from Tom Barr that should be here in two weeks so I have some time to tweak things. I feel like the rock needs to have one spot that is a bit more dramatic or more of a focal point...I might go look for one other piece that is a bit bigger than the others...


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

A couple of last shots before I break down the tank to do a rescape.


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

New hard scape in!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Finishes planting!


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Great looking scape, well done and congrats


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Looks great!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Thanks! I spent the better part of my weekend working on it. I used 2 big bags of lava rock placed in poly laundry bags from the dollar store underneath to get the slope. Probably need another bag of substrate to get the back portion deep enough for planting some more stems though. The idea is to get a nice bush of a single species in the back center, with the Aromatica on the left and the crypts to grow in in the back right. I think my hair grass should fill out better this time...


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

It is too hot to go outside anyway. Do you know which hairgrass you are growing?


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

New toy! Man is this nicer than my old setup.


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## rustbucket (Oct 15, 2011)

Is this tank still up??? Any new pics if it is? 
The last fts was epic btw!!


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## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

I broke the tank down about 5 months ago as we moved into a bigger place...which means bigger tank...

You can check out my build here:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=241898


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