# Critique my 1 month old 75G high tech planted tank



## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

I learnt so much from keeping a 10 gallon planted tank and reading for countless hours through this forum/internet for the past year. Thanks to all the fellow members who have taught me so much!

I decided to go big and setup a 75 gallon a month ago, hoping to not repeat any mistakes I did with the 10 gallon. The tank has been running for a month now and I feel it is stabilizing well. 

I would be glad to hear any feedback on the aquascaping and what I could do to improve the look. I am still experimenting with a few plants, but would like to not move the hardscape around. They are catered towards keeping a pair of Apistos in the near future.

Please do not mind the geeen dust algae on you see on the stones/caves. I have not brushed them off since the tank was setup and they are due for a scrub this weekend. There is a barren spot in their middle of the tank and I need to figure out what to grow there.

Thanks for your inputs!






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## jsankey88 (Nov 6, 2016)

Nice scape bud

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## lisals (Jun 21, 2017)

Very pretty


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Thank you! 


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Looking nice! I am liking the anubias attached to the wood. Could add some Buce to it for added color/variety. Honestly though, I am looking forward to seeing this in another month! Nice work!


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## Perch02 (Jul 26, 2017)

Love it very well scaped.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

katas said:


> Looking nice! I am liking the anubias attached to the wood. Could add some Buce to it for added color/variety. Honestly though, I am looking forward to seeing this in another month! Nice work!




Thank you! I wanted to attach other plants to the driftwood. Buce could work out really well. I will try it out for sure! Any inputs on which species to try? I have not grown them before. Will prefer something that does not grow tall and has leaves that are oval/rounded in shape and not long/slender. 


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Perch02 said:


> Love it very well scaped.




Thanks!


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Plenty of colors and shapes. Take a look here for ideas https://buceplant.com/collections/bucephalandra




vijay_06 said:


> Thank you! I wanted to attach other plants to the driftwood. Buce could work out really well. I will try it out for sure! Any inputs on which species to try? I have not grown them before. Will prefer something that does not grow tall and has leaves that are oval/rounded in shape and not long/slender.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## slipfinger (Jun 8, 2016)

Looking really good. Your AR leaves look to be nice and flat without stunting.

Do you have a journal or somewhere you have posted all the details? Substrate used, lighting and photoperiod, yada, yada, yada.....


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

I love all that Anubis on that wood. When it fills in it will look like an overgrown ivy bush (in a way). I'm exited to see it mature and really fill in.


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## MasterofCloak (Jun 27, 2017)

What lights are you using? Very nice scape 


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

slipfinger said:


> Looking really good. Your AR leaves look to be nice and flat without stunting.
> 
> 
> 
> Do you have a journal or somewhere you have posted all the details? Substrate used, lighting and photoperiod, yada, yada, yada.....




Thanks! I don't have, but will try to get one going.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> I love all that Anubis on that wood. When it fills in it will look like an overgrown ivy bush (in a way). I'm exited to see it mature and really fill in.




Thanks! That was my idea too. I might add some Buce plants also on the driftwood.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

MasterofCloak said:


> What lights are you using? Very nice scape
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




I am running 2 Fluval Fresh and Plant 2.0 LEDs on a Fluval Wifi controller. Started off with 70% intensity for 6 hours and currently at 100% intensity for 7 hours. I do a 30 minutes sunrise, 6 hours siesta and 30 minutes sunset apart from the 7 hours of photo period. 

I will try to start a journal to record all the stuff going on with the tank.


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

May I ask about your lights? I currently own 1 [email protected] 2.0 on a 48 by 18 by 18in tank. It's 65 gallons in total and I was debating if I need to buy a second light. What do you think. Do you like the lights so far? Sorry to pick your brain but I was wondering what an actual user thought about it? 

Thanks skye

Ps: the tank is going to be high tech, co2 injected.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> May I ask about your lights? I currently own 1 [email protected] 2.0 on a 48 by 18 by 18in tank. It's 65 gallons in total and I was debating if I need to buy a second light. What do you think. Do you like the lights so far? Sorry to pick your brain but I was wondering what an actual user thought about it?
> 
> Thanks skye
> 
> Ps: the tank is going to be high tech, co2 injected.



Mine is a 48 by 18 by 20 high with 3" of BDBS substrate. I also did a sprinkle of Osmocote plus balls (5gm/sq. Ft) under the BDBS when I set up the tank.

I had rented PAR meter from hoppycalif and measured anywhere between 80 to 125 PAR on the substrate (I do not use glass lid). My feeling is that one LED will cover a 10 inch wide area without a significant drop in PAR. With one light and at 18 inches wide, the PAR would drop a bit at the front and back edges of your substrate. My guess is you that you might see 35-40 PAR in those areas. Hence it depends on what you want to grow in those areas.

Another thing to note is that your tank is 2 inches shorter than mine. So you would get higher PAR than mine if you go with 2 LEDs.. assuming you have at least 2-3 inches of substrate.


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

Well if you think it will cover ten inches then it really sounds like I need two. ): Alright thanks a lot for your help.


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## Deedledee (Sep 13, 2016)

vijay_06 said:


> Mine is a 48 by 18 by 20 high with 3" of BDBS substrate. I also did a sprinkle of Osmocote plus balls (5gm/sq. Ft) under the BDBS when I set up the tank.
> 
> I had rented PAR meter from hoppycalif and measured anywhere between 80 to 125 PAR on the substrate (I do not use glass lid). My feeling is that one LED will cover a 10 inch wide area without a significant drop in PAR. With one light and at 18 inches wide, the PAR would drop a bit at the front and back edges of your substrate. My guess is you that you might see 35-40 PAR in those areas. Hence it depends on what you want to grow in those areas.
> 
> ...


I also have the Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0. I am curious about your PAR ratings. My lights are about 18 and inches from the substrate and I get a Par rating of about 66 ? Which is what Fluval rates it for, so I still need to run my lights on the dimmer, as full power is just too much light ! Very nice set-up by the way


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## Stacy1 (Dec 15, 2016)

Tank looks GREAT! My first big tank was a train wreck! Yours is going to look amazing as it fills in. The only thing I would maybe do different, and it all comes down to preference, is maybe add some color in the back somewhere just to break up some of the green. Without changing a thing though youve hit a homerun!


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Deedledee said:


> I also have the Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0. I am curious about your PAR ratings. My lights are about 18 and inches from the substrate and I get a Par rating of about 66 ? Which is what Fluval rates it for, so I still need to run my lights on the dimmer, as full power is just too much light ! Very nice set-up by the way



I am running 2 of these LEDs on my 75G and saw 80 to 125 PAR on the substrate with the PAR meter I rented. Thanks for your compliment!




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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Stacy1 said:


> Tank looks GREAT! My first big tank was a train wreck! Yours is going to look amazing as it fills in. The only thing I would maybe do different, and it all comes down to preference, is maybe add some color in the back somewhere just to break up some of the green. Without changing a thing though youve hit a homerun!


Thanks! I am going to plant some A.Reineckii Rosaefolia in the background next week. Hopefully it works out like the mini I have.




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## Deedledee (Sep 13, 2016)

vijay_06 said:


> I am running 2 of these LEDs on my 75G and saw 80 to 125 PAR on the substrate with the PAR meter I rented. Thanks for your compliment!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh okay, sorry I missed that detail ! I didn't see the 2 lights in the original post. Humble apologies 

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## slipfinger (Jun 8, 2016)

Are you running Co2?


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Deedledee said:


> Oh okay, sorry I missed that detail ! I didn't see the 2 lights in the original post. Humble apologies
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk


No need to apologize 




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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

slipfinger said:


> Are you running Co2?




Yes, am running pressurized CO2 from day one. I am doing EI with Micros being on the extremely low end (CSM+B calculated for 0.01 to 0.015 Fe thrice a week and 0.01 Fe from DTPA Chelated Iron 10% daily). I am dosing such low Micros based on what some of the senior members have posted on this forum. 

My water parameters are close to what burr740's tank has and his posts/journal has been extremely helpful.


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## slipfinger (Jun 8, 2016)

vijay_06 said:


> Yes, am running pressurized CO2 from day one. I am doing EI with Micros being on the extremely low end (CSM+B calculated for 0.01 to 0.015 Fe thrice a week and 0.01 Fe from DTPA Chelated Iron 10% daily). I am dosing such low Micros based on what some of the senior members have posted on this forum.
> 
> My water parameters are close to what burr740's tank has and his posts/journal has been extremely helpful.
> 
> ...


If you follow Burr's lead you will definitely have success. I have read both his 75 and 120 journals back to back multiple times, the info within those journals is worth more than gold. 

Once again, tank looks great and all plants look happy and healthy. Pat yourself on the back man, great job!

Start that journals so you don't have to keep answering the same basic questions over and over again. When people see success, they sure as heck want to know all the secrets.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

slipfinger said:


> If you follow Burr's lead you will definitely have success. I have read both his 75 and 120 journals back to back multiple times, the info within those journals is worth more than gold.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks! Yep, will start a journal this weekend.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

love seeing another good tank with super-long photoperiod

people recommend to reduce photoperiod all the time to remedy issues. it's all about the light intensity IMO


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

klibs said:


> love seeing another good tank with super-long photoperiod
> 
> 
> 
> people recommend to reduce photoperiod all the time to remedy issues. it's all about the light intensity IMO


Having consistent and good CO2 has helped the tank work out well so far. 

I have stepped up the CO2 slightly this week (would guess around 45ppm now) and that seems to have controlled the green dust/spot algae on the glass. Anubias is still showing a lot of the algae I anticipated this issue with Anubias, just need to figure out how to keep it under control so that I don't have to trim a lot of leaves every week.




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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Lookin good man! I like what you did with the mini limno


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

burr740 said:


> Lookin good man! I like what you did with the mini limno


Thank you! Your journal has been of immense help. 

To be honest, I let the Mini grow without much plan and the jungle it has created seems to be working out well. It's due for a trim this weekend.



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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

Gorgeous aquascape. I love the Anubia too. I am quite new to this so could you tell me what type of plants we're looking at?


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Your tank looks incredible. You've quickly attained a substantial understanding what is needed for success. I hope that my tank does half as well.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> Your tank looks incredible. You've quickly attained a substantial understanding what is needed for success. I hope that my tank does half as well.




Thank you! I noticed that green dust algae is spiking in the past 2 days after 3-4 days of being on the wane. I also see some hair algae on a couple of leaves on the ludwigia. Only parameter that seems to have varied much is the phosphate spike from around 1.5 ppm to 3.5-4 ppm. Phosphate spike causing algae bloom seems to be a divisive topic, but going to do a water large water change today to bring it under control and se what happens.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Brian Rodgers said:


> Gorgeous aquascape. I love the Anubia too. I am quite new to this so could you tell me what type of plants we're looking at?



Thanks! I am planning to start a journal in a couple of days and will post back the link to it. I will be listing all the plant names in the journal.


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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

vijay_06 said:


> Thanks! I am planning to start a journal in a couple of days and will post back the link to it. I will be listing all the plant names in the journal.


Oh cool. thanks


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## micahm2002 (Aug 10, 2017)

Amazing planted tank, The only I would change is get some red stem plants for the background and get some more fish.

What substrate are you using?


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

micahm2002 said:


> Amazing planted tank, The only I would change is get some red stem plants for the background and get some more fish.
> 
> 
> 
> What substrate are you using?



Thanks! I am using BDBS that has Osmocote Plus sprinkled at the bottom.

The first 3-4 weeks were great with all plants including AR Mini growing crazy. Pics posted at the start of this thread were taken during that time. The next 5-6 weeks were not great - Green water and lot of GDA/GSA. Plant growth slowed down considerably with a lot of stunting and leaf curling. 

I have stopped dosing Micros for the past 2 weeks and things seem to be improving. Micros were being dosed super low to start with and was gradually increased in the 2nd month. Plants do not seem to have taken that well.

Once I can get majority of the plants (if not all) to thrive, I am planning to introduce red stem plants in the background.


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

I just ran across this thread. Really nice set up you have put together there.

Sorry to hear you are having some issues now, but you'll get it figured out. It takes quite awhile of tweaking things to get things in balance. Really it never ends, as it seems like there is always something new on the horizon. 

I find your micro dosing interesting. You are really at the low end, but keep in mind that too little micros can cause issues just like too many. Not all tanks can survive on Burr low level micros, and even he is dosing quite a bit more now with his custom micro mix. And you might be seeing some effect from the Osmocote. If it's run out, you may to need to up the macros a bit. 

At 80 to 120 PAR at the substrate, you are on the high end, so you are driving the tank pretty hard. I just mention it as that also increases the need for CO2 and ferts. My PAR level is similar, and my tank likes lots of everything. 

And a quick cure for green water (and I think GDA) is an UV light. It's not the end solution, but might help short term.

Good luck and I look forward to more updates and seeing where this goes. And I know it's tough, but have some patience, and I'm sure you'll get things worked out before long. Subscribed.


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## Vinster8108 (Sep 1, 2016)

Looks great, I like it a lot! 

In the 4th pic, I would plant/grow out the red AR to replace the S. Repens just to the left of it. Still keeping the S. Repens as the foreground across the whole tank. So, the AR would be planted directly in front of the almost whole driftwood length, say starting just after the 1st anubias plant and continuing across to where it ends on the right. Basically double its length to the left. Hopefully this makes sense lol. 

Just my thoughts, subscribed!


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

@Greggz - Appreciate your feedback. I am quite confident on having enough CO2 (drop checker, PH meter) and water column fertilization (3 water tests every week).

When the plant growth started to slow down /stunt, the only thing that had changed was the fact that I almost doubled Micros. I kept dosing double Micros for a couple of weeks, but things worsened. This is the rationale why I want to try out no Micros for 2-3 weeks and then start it again slowly. It has been 2 weeks since I stopped dosing Micros and a number of plants seem to have recovered well. Still a couple of them look bad. If things don’t improve greatly in next 2-3 weeks, I have to rethink my plan (maybe do Micros closer to half EI guidelines).

I am not sure how to confirm whether the Osmocote Plus is still there. Should I be poking the substrate to check? Do you have any thoughts?
@Vinster8108 - Thanks! I had a similar thought when I started out - S. Repens in the middle with AR Mini on both sides. Unfortunately, my SAEs decided to chew on the S Repens one night. I was out that weekend and came back to see almost all the Repens leaves either floating or stuck to the canister intake. Things looked pretty bad and I pulled out all the Repens stems. Right now the small portion of AR Mini that is left is making a comeback. Will do something similar to your suggestion one day 😊


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

vijay_06 said:


> @Greggz
> I am not sure how to confirm whether the Osmocote Plus is still there. Should I be poking the substrate to check? Do you have any thoughts?


Well that's the general problem with Osmocote. It contains NPK & traces, but how much it releases and when is anybody's guess. It may be releasing heavily now, who knows? But then again, at some point it will run out. 

As a general rule, I believe it's better to use very sparingly if at all. In Burr's journal, he describes placing just an individual ball or two around select plants (Not trying to speak for you Burr, and I'm sure you can chime in and elaborate). The problem with too many is that you really have no idea of how much you might be dosing or when it's releasing.

And it's hard to really tell if micros are the main issue or not. You might want to post some new pics of the tank, a detailed description of everything you are doing, and details on individual plants. There are plenty around here who may have seen similar issues, and can offer their thoughts.


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## TheLordOfTheFish (Mar 11, 2017)

Can someone link me up to those Burr journals? I'd love to read them!


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

TheLordOfTheFish said:


> Can someone link me up to those Burr journals? I'd love to read them!


He (Burr740) posted in this thread just above, and the link to his 120G journal is in his signature. Just click on it and you are there.


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## TheLordOfTheFish (Mar 11, 2017)

thanks!


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## Tom43 (Sep 24, 2017)

Looking great, the plants look really healthy.

In terms of maturing the tank design over time, if you like the 'slice of nature' look about some aquascapes then there's an interesting article here from Reefs.com (I'm not into salt water tanks, but stumbled over this whilst searching for something else) about aquascaping design. Worth a read, and some of these principles could easily be applied over time in a scape like yours.

https://reefs.com/magazine/aesthetics-of-aquascaping-i-84/


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Tom43 said:


> Looking great, the plants look really healthy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks! I would love to evolve the Aquascape as the tank matures. Maintaining a small thriving and beautiful ecosystem feels very rewarding and time well spent.
@Greggz - I am overdue to start a journal for my tank. Definitely planning to do it over the weekend. I will post specific pictures and seek inputs from all the experienced hobbyists. 


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

Love to see an update on this, beautiful tank.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Hey there,

If you're still looking for aquascaping advice, I'd move the Alternanthera to the left where the wood starts coming out of the substrate and the pile of rocks are. That way the red plant will grow into the left side focal point and help enhance the wood's effect. Right now it's a bit too centered to maximize visual tension. Could you please post a more recent pic to give us an idea of how the rest of the tank's looking? 

Cheers,
Phil


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## SocalAquatics (Jan 15, 2018)

Wow I am jealous, that is a fantastic tank.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> Love to see an update on this, beautiful tank.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Today the scape does not look anything like the pictures I posted at the start of this thread. There were a few issues I started running into with the hardscape - 

1. The driftwood became a site for Detritus to accumulate (both on it and under it). This made keeping the organics to a minimum a challenge.
2. It restricted water movement in the back left corner of the tank. 
3. Anubias on the driftwood started getting a lot of GSA/GDS being so close to the lights.
4. The driftwood felt like taking up a lot of floor space.

I ended up removing all hardscape from the tank. 

Outside of this, I started experiencing deteriorating plant growth across the board. Main issue being lower/old leaves of any plant getting covered in green/brown dust (not sure whether this is Diatoms or GDA). This issue still persists. Some of the plants ended up getting severely stunted with new growth coming out extremely slow. One good thing is that I have not run into any other major algae problems yet.

For the past 3 to 4 months, I have been playing with dosing amounts and custom Micros (courtesy of @*burr740**) *trying to get consistent good growth. Other big change is that I have swapped out the Fluval 2.0 LEDs with 4 T5HOs a couple of days back. 


I will post current pictures of the tank later today.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Here are some current photos of the tank. Just trying to get majority of the plants to grow at a good rate consistently before focusing on doing some sort of ‘scape’.







































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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

That's looking really good. Why don't you start a journal?


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Thanks Phil! I will start one. 

Btw, based on your profile I live nearby - Fort Mill.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

No kidding! As soon as I'm home and can have visitors I'd love to have you over and vice versa. Once all my healthcare stuff is over with and I'm a "free man" again I'm going to start up an aquatic plant club for our area. The local Charlotte club started out as a planted tank club when it was just me and two or three other guys. Then it blossomed into a fish dominated club and I stopped participating. 

Cheers,
Phil


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

Thanks for the offer! I would love to be a part of such a club and share/contribute. Planted tanks fascinate me!

Wish you a speedy recovery and abundant good health.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

@Phil Edwards, Fish, who has time for that....  

1.5 hours from spartanburg (my closest relative). If I'm ever up there visiting him, I'll try to meet up with you guys. 
@vijay_06 very nice plants (and fish). I wished I was able to grow AR like that back in the day when I tried. I miss your hardscape. It was very nicely done. I was going to say.. whoa.. what happened before I read your update thoroughly.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

vijay_06 said:


> Today the scape does not look anything like the pictures I posted at the start of this thread. There were a few issues I started running into with the hardscape -
> 
> 1. The driftwood became a site for Detritus to accumulate (both on it and under it). This made keeping the organics to a minimum a challenge.
> 2. It restricted water movement in the back left corner of the tank.
> ...


Your 75g sounds a little like my 75g with regards to annoying algae issues and odd growth issues.
Current tanks pics look like you now have some health plants.
Funny thing about driftwood hardscapes - they don't last forever. Ended up pulling one of mine as it pretty much rotted away - pretty sure that did not help water quality any.


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## vijay_06 (Apr 11, 2017)

@Immortal1 Thanks for the feedback. Agree with your point about driftwood. The one I had was supposed to be a Malaysian driftwood. I could see the wood thinning out considerably in the 3-4 months it was inside the tank.


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