90 Gallon Planted Journal

[TASloat615]

Hello, BarrReport forums,
I've been keeping aquariums for about 10 years now, and its been a pretty fun ride, but I'd like this iteration of my tank to be well-kept, and an exercise at record-keeping. I have made all the mistakes one could possibly make in the hobby, and a few that keep me awake night. I started in 2014 hoping that this hobby could provide a stable base of positive feedback in my life based on the effort I put in, and a decade later am overjoyed to see that the passion I started with has put me in position where I can confirm with certainty that it has. Ive accidentally bred Hillstream Loaches during a heater failure that killed off a large amount of tangerine tiger shrimp, I have tried purchasing Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish from local guys in FL, gotten milk jugs filled with corpses and only a few survivors, only to turn them into a stable breeding population. In terms of plants, Ive had limited success simply due to not digging for the right information deep enough, which interestingly has brought me here. My last 90 gallon setup was amazing, but I has added mosses into a tank where I intended them to be accents, and let my Buce become the stars of the tank. Not a big deal until the moss started growing on the Buce roots and pruning became an excersize in Sysiphian futility. Thus, I had to gut my tank and after a bunch of grinding work, the rockscape fell to pieces. At that point I started this tank, a brand-new setup, and WILL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE BE ADDING SPORE-BASED SPECIES ...unless I can get by hands on some Psathyrella aquatica...

With that being said, I intend on making a landscape-type aquascape inspired from shorelines in Ark: Survival evolved. It features driftwood that is placed vertically to best mimic sequoia-like trees, with a sandy river delta in the middle that, with some care and careful planting, I intend on keeping free of loose aqua soil. I used a few medium-sized river rocks towards the front of the tank and a band of small purple clam shells to give the impression of a beach, as if one is standing with their back to the horizon. It's the first time I've tried working with depth-of-field & scale, which was fun given my other hobby is miniature painting. My favorite part of that hobby is basing the miniatures I paint and making dioramas...which makes sense, I suppose. After all, what is a landscape aquarium but a live diorama? I did my best to put larger rocks and accents up front, and little ones in back. I also did my best to break up the terrain and rockscape more as it reaches the back of the tank. I'm hoping that with the addition of plants, and the miniature versions of them, I can create enough of an illusion to give a good depth-of-field effect. I want this to be a high-light tank, but will adjust if need be. I also intend on doing a dry-start method, unless advised otherwise. My plants were all bought from Aquatic Plant Factory (APF) and are trimmings from emersed plants.

EQUPMENT:
Fluval 3.0: suspended from the ceiling, 30" from the lowest substrate. 25" average distance from the substrate to the light
Oase 350 Thermofilter, modified: Built-in heater. Spraybar most likely to be replaced with a plastic lily pipe attachment. Filled with foam in ascending order according to ppi, 5lbs of sintered glass biomedia, final layer of filter floss.
10Lbs CO2 tank: 600psi readings on average refill, 800psi on a good day.
CO2 Art Reactor Gauge: Electronic component will need replacement or repair soon, wires have come loose from its power supply housing)
Nilocg CO2 Reactor: cerges-style
Chihiros Fertilizer Pump: dual channel


FERTILIZER:
NilocG Thrive S (subject to change)
Salty Shrimp Bee Shrimp GH/KH Plus - Switching from Neocaridina remineralizer in order to promote softer water for the plants

RESIDENTS: (Currently in a holding tank)
Marbled Hatchetfish: Carnegiellia strigata spp. Columbia
Galaxy/Dwarf Emerald Rasbora Hybrids: Danio hybrid spp. margaritatus & erythromicron
Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish: Elassoma hybrid spp. okeefenokee & gilbertii
Scarlet Badis: Dario dario
Tiger Hillstream Loach: Sewellia spp.
Dwarf Anchor Cats: Hara jerdoni
Annie's Dwarf Gobies: Stiphodon annieae
Amano Shrimp: Caridina multidentata
Blue Dream Shrimp: Neocaridina davidii
Tangerine Tiger Shrimp: Caridina serrata

PROSPECTIVE RESIDENTS:
Pygmy Khuli Loach: Pangio cuneovirgata
Threadfin Rainbowfish: Iratherina wernerii OR a species of blue-eyed rainbowfish
Babaulti Shrimp caridina babaulti OR a different caridina species, depending on parameters
Thai Micro Crabs Limnopilos naiyanetri, depending on financing, parameters and resident response. (Fever dream)

PLANTS:
Rotala Indica (Ammannia Bonsai)
Staurogyne Repens
Pogostemon Helferi
Alternanthera rosanervig ’Mini’
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
Lobelia Cardinalis Mini
Hydrocotyle Verticillata ’Small Size’
Ranunculus Inundatus
Anubias Nana
Anubias Nana 'Mini'
more Anubias species
Bucephalandra Catherinae
Bucephalandra Catherinae 'mini'
many more Buce species
Crypt Parva "mini"

HARDSCAPE/SUBSTRATE: Substrate configuration: .5" of aquasoil with a egg crate grid placed on top to reduce hardscape pressure points; 1" of volcanic rock mixed with ADA bottom plus, with 2-3" built up against the hardscape as a retaining wall capped by aquasoil around the edges to avoid pressure points on the glass of the tank; and capped by 2-3" of aquasoil. In summary: .5in of aquasoil/eggcrate, 1in of volcanic rock/ADA bottom plus, 2-3in of aquasoil, with 1.5in margins of aquasoil on the sides and back of the tank reaching the bottom.

Ohko stone (reinforced with reef putty and egg crate scaffolding...if anyone can tell me how this is geologically formed, let me know. I'll flip if its petrified wormwood.)
Malaysian Driftwood Logs
Cut up Grapewood branches
American Fireglass 1 - 2" crushed Lava Rock
UN fine black aquasoil
Super Naturals 'Gemstone Creek'
Super Naturals 'Peace River'
Stoney River 'White Sand'
Small Oceanic Clam Shells

 

[TASloat615]

Started with the first layer of aquasoil and eggcrate. I decided to go with this seeing how scratched the bottom of the tank was from soil without the additional support. This will distribute the weight more evenly across the width of the tank and stop heavier things from sinking in. Same principle behind the tracks of an armored vehicle. The wider the tracks, the less chance you have at getting bogged down in the "rasputitsa."

Above: 1.5in of aquasoil with eggcrate superstructure

It was then off to the races with making the aquascape. I had a loose idea of the layout, and knew I wanted to make a large cave at the front, as well as a shallower inset closer to the shore. I also knew I wanted some type of stone arch towards the back, as well as a pathway that seems to leave the tank. I used foundations of eggcrate to elevate the pieces as well as distribute weight, and cemented everything in place with grey reef putty.

Above: the cave, rear, and front inset pieces.

After that I started working on a few more decided features: a cave running vertically along the left side of the tank, also making a wall, featuring overhangs at the lip of the cave. I wanted its bottom border to be a small rocky outcropping, and threw these together with some reef putty and eggcrate scaffolding. I also filled the space between the cave and the rear piece of the tank on the righthand side, which was pretty straight forward.

Above: the left-hand cave and the final addition to the right side retaining wall.

The next part that fell into place was the sheer cliff I wanted running along the front of the tank, and the pathway to the upper part of the tank to allow for proper draining. I ended up running out of horizontal space but was glad I did, though I did not yet know what I wanted to do on the margins of the tank. So, I placed my driftwood, but would come to re-arrange it after some thought and the realization thatI still wanted to add some little cholla wood logs and mini driftood trees. You can also see the volcanic rock on the lefthand side, which gives a pretty good idea of its depth and distance from the sides of the tank. I had also filled in the cave with sand and some rocks at this point, having tested it out for possible leaks.

Above: examples of the lava rock, aquascape, and the right part of the layout.


The next step was completing the left side of the tank. I made a second segment of a cave with an overhang to join the rear piece and the pre-existing cave. Added a nice overhang, and added the capstone to the left front wall. I ended up deciding to fill the gap in there as well as the one on the right side of the tank with driftwood to create a miniature logfall. The rock ramp look ended up reminding me of a place in Ark: Survival Evolved, on The Island Map. Feeling inspired, I added some grey river stones to the front of the tank to mimic the oceanic boulders one can find in the game, and to create a depth of field. I then started piling in aquasoil.

Above: completed logfalls, re-arranged driftwood, rocks placed in front of tank, and left side captstone finished.

I finished adding in the gravel and aquasoil, then added sand and more river stones. I was so happy with how this looked. The order, the immaculateness of the sand...after adding accent gravel, I started filling the tank with drip lines to stop anything from stirring up, and to measure how much water my aquascape displaced. After about 55 gallons, I absentmindedly poured a tiny remainder of water into the tank directly, and it scattered the aquasoil all over the sand. Devastated, and with my LFS closed, I made the mistake of buying imaginatarium sand, which floated, and clumped up underneath the surface. I was devastated that this last little part had ended up undoing hours of patience, ended up making the problem worse by trying to clean up, then did my best to remedy everything and move on. I will never buy anything from Petco, save the Aqueon tanks they sell at a loss from time to time. I added the clam shells to the very front of the tank and a few in the middle to make the impression of a tidal zone, and did my best to ignore the clumping sand. I'll end up fixing the affected areas after planting and letting the roots establish some sort of structure in the areas I wanted them to be in, then vaccuum out the loose aquasoil and crappy sand. I might even use the opportunity to mix in a different color sand and make the landscape look more riverine. Lesson learned, moving on.

Above: The tank before a final bag of white sand, and accent gravel.

The tank filled. You can see in the center where the aquasoil got loose, and in the area in front on the right.

Finally, the tank emptied and ready for a dry start. Plants are on their way and might be here by the end of the week. Im gonna go painstakingly put the aquasoil grains back where they belong. Stay tuned!

 

[Don C]

Cant wait to see how it turns out when you are finished.

 

[TASloat615]

UPDATE:
So, its been a few weeks, and I successfully dry-started my tank. Unfortunately, I underplanted at first and wasn't able to get certain species, so not everything managed to get enough time in the tank. What I learned through the dry-start method is that most of our aquarium plants live within 3 feet of the water's edge, or in shallow habitats, so when I was forced to fill my tank a few weeks ago upon the arrival of some Red Stem Parrot's Feather that was grown submerged and was too long to plant in a dry tank, I decided to do it incrementally. I raised the water level a few inches at a time to mimic an influx of seasonal precipitation.
Here's a picture of the dry start:

At this point I felt like something was lacking, and went down a Bonsai rabbit hole. I ended up learning how to make my own trees anchored to the substrate using some reef putty and a small driftwood root for a spike. I covered up the areas to make it look natural, and added them to the tank. You can see them below. I also added more substrate to areas where it sunk in, and put some driftwood fragments at the base of the tree in the back. As for the Bonsai trees, I plan on putting Buce Catherinae "Super Mini" on the back one and Catherinae "Mini" on the front. After filling the tank with more and more water, it became apparent that I must've added daphnia to the system. They are a welcome addition, and I've seen the water get visibly cleaner after the colony was established. I hope the filter doesn't totally wipe them out, as micro-organisms are some of the best things to have in a tank.
I filled it to cover all of the plants, but forgot to take a picture.
This is the tank filled up:

Setback: I ran into a hiccup. Turns out the Eheim filter I have has Type G British electrical plugs. Fortunately, the power brick for the wifi is dual voltage, so I ordered a C8 cable from amazon with a US plug. Issue solved. For the main power, I had to get a step-up/step-down transformer to take the 110V from the outlet, boost it to the British 220 voltage, and provides 500 watts. I only need around 210 watts for the heater to run. Basically, I had to pretend like I was from Britain, in America, and needed a way to plug in my curling iron. Hopefully the thing isn't loud and I did my due research.

As for the plants, I need to update the information at the starting post for my species layout. I didn't include some species and added others. I intend on covering the area under the tree with Buce once there's a bit more shading, and when the rest of the tank is more established. I'll probably add them when I can't see most of the substrate to totally avoid any issues.

I also changed my water parameters and will be using BeeShrimp GH/KH to maintain softer water more suitable for the Tangerine Tigers (or whatever Caridina I choose in the future.)

I'll follow up when this all works out.

 

[Don C]

Looks awesome so far. I really like the stonework in the hardscape..

 

[TASloat615]

Yeah turns out the filter just isn't going to work out. $605 dollar 'mistake'. Never buying off of ebay or from a non-US retailer ever again. I doubt Eheim's gonna help at this point, and without CO2 my plants are starting to do poorly.

 

[Koan]

If you need CO2 replacement equipment, Orlando has a big reputation for standing behind his parts, GLA has the best guarantee and support in the business:

Green Leaf Aquariums

 

[TASloat615]

If you need CO2 replacement equipment, Orlando has a big reputation for standing behind his parts, GLA has the best guarantee and support in the business:

Green Leaf Aquariums

I'll be sure to look into those, thanks!

 

[TASloat615]

I ended up going with an Oase 350 Thermofilter instead. I have to say I've found my favorite brand of canister filter. Eheim setups were always sweaty, profane, and stress-filled. Not only was my Oase easy to set up, but it comes with a ton of options for the spraybar, has more than enough tubing, and an extra gasket if you didn't want to run the heater.

the prefilter is pretty cool too.

Good thing too, as Eheim sent me this email yesterday. I won't be doing business with them in the future if they are essentially Top Fin. Gonna try to sell the other filter and pretend I payed express shipping on the Oase so I can say I broke even.

 

[TASloat615]

Looks awesome so far. I really like the stonework in the hardscape..

thank you!