75 gallon redo

[Green Thumb Aquatics]

Hi all, I am planning on a redo for my 75, to give a little backround, this was my second real planted tank, it was DIY co2 for months and this is the condition it was in

then went pressurized and this was before it was kind of taken apart

sorry for pic quality

then took out driftwood to setup a 55 gallon breeding tank for my aulonocara cichlids, 75 was basically turned into a farm

here it is about 3 weeks ago, since the pulled out remaining rocks, have a ton of dwarf hydrocotyle which was just planted in this pic, along with stargrass, baby tears, glosso, lots of riccia, one is a slimmer version, some mini pellia which is doing pretty horrible, blyxa, some awesome unkown super small stem plant, smaller than baby tears and looks good as a foreground plant... rotala, ludwigia inclinata var veticall cuba, chinese ivy, dipidilis diandra, and maybe one or two other, in bottom tank is a ton of good looking anubias of various sizes which I plan on robbing for some of the more shaded spots, I also plan on gettin some needle leaf java fern as I only have the reg and lace...

just got 5 bags of up aquasoil, ordered 5 more

have 4 discus in quarantine and its a good thing as I had six, they are in perfect conditions 84 degrees under, 100 ppms, ph a steady 6, some driftwood for coverage, they are not eating well and unless they get in better health I may be looking to go with some cool nanofish instead as I am planning on using some thinner branchy driftwood anyway and I think they may compliment it better..

waiting on some wood from Tom

all rocks, have a ton of them are for the most part fist sized and smaller as I plan on layering them and building the substrate as high as possible in the middle rear have a few bigger ones and some nice contrast to them, rocks are black with white striping throughout, similar to some of the stuff amano uses but the texture and lines of the rock as not as standout ish, plus they are free...

style of scape will be perspective such as amano has been doing lately with the bushes of plants in the front on each side, and then foreground plants in the middle,, unless I really like the look of the driftwood on the sides, I may leave them somewhat bare and just do foreplants in the middle, let some of the dwarf hydrocotyle mingle in through the driftwood and maybe a few spots of anubias nana petite and need leaf java fern,might even try the stargrass as a front foreground as the big leaves will be good if tryin to gain a look of perspective..... all opinions are welcome...

just wanted to start journal now and get some opinions

also have never completely redone a tank to the point where I removed all water and replaced subtrate, any info on letting the least amount of algae make the journey into my new scape would be highly appreciated, will post pic of fish, material ect soon, and the wood as soon as I get it...

 

[dutchy]

Many times the driftwood will be the focal point in the tank, The plants will just complement the wood in contrast and structure. IMO the best way is to first place the wood where you want it and then see what plants you want to use where, since it will show where and how much space you have.

Try to avoid rocks being stacked in a "human made" way. All rocks have to touch and if there's a pattern, this should all point the same way.

Emptying the tank is the same as starting over again. Don't use high light and change half of the water two times per week for the first two months or so. Plant densely from the start, take care of good dosing and CO2.

Good luck with your new scape.

 

[Green Thumb Aquatics]

Thanks Dutchy,

Driftwood from Tom should be here anyday, so after picking out some pieces I really like, I am going to try to tightly bundle real brachy pieces and have some bushes of DW, around them will be some smaller black rocks with white running through them such as amano uses, only less dramatic lines,, I am planning on doing this on both sides, as well as leaving room for bunches of plants,,

in the middle will be foreground plants, dwarf hydrocotle(spelling) and a sm rad plant I found in PA, that makes a great forground plant, somewhat similar to HM, but less leaves and smaller, and some random others with riccia in the back stuffed between the nices of the rocks I am putting in tank...

the dwarf hydrocotyle will be planted near the bushes of driftwood and I want them to wrap around and between the pieces, I think it will give it a really nice look...

I notice not very many people use the real branchy DW, but I have been drawn to it since getting in to the hobby, I hope this will not be the normal scape or look like one you have already seen..

just picked up another regulator as well, so I will be getting a 20L going at the same time, using some of the flourish that will be taken out of this tank to do the substrate in the other

question? where is a good place to locate some accent sand, something white-ish but still natural looking and easy to vacume, also cheap as my budget is starting to get very thin.

design for the 20L will be 2 islands with whitish sand in middle, a large piece of driftwood will form a bridge connecting the 2 and have some riccia growing on it, light sand in the middle with some pieces of stone and a few small riccia rocks to look like little bushes.., the island will be built up pretty high and have alot of moss and some smaller plants on them along with maybe a little bit of stems or blyxa toward the rear, here is a pic of the wood.. and a few of the rocks I have collected... its hard to see in the pic as I couldnt get it stay up but the DW has a very nice arch to it, I may also use a few small pieces sticking out of the islands to keep it looking a bit more natural.. depends on how I feel about them when setting up..

 

[Green Thumb Aquatics]

here is the 20 long... just hung the light..

right now its a holding tank for a coupla aulonocara juvies and an astotalapia... also threw in some blyxa I just removed from the 75 untill I get it over to the LFS

 

[Tom Barr]

Good on the CO2 gas tank set up, those will make things 10X easier vs DIY...........