My 50 gallon tropical community tank

[MrWaxhead]

Still running with next to no ferts iron and trace only and things still seem to be growing well under bio load.

Photos taken today Sept 21, I had to retie down a major clump of riccia as it got so heavy with oxygen bubbling it was tearing the java moss right off hehe. You can see its starting to happen again on the clump left of the anubis, I will have to tie that one down again real soon.


Side shot to show the riccia fan fatten up even more.

[COBettaCouple]

Your tank looks great!

[atmmachine816]

I'm very impressed with your tank. I enjoyed reading through your progress in your thread very interesting. Your tank is very pretty, though when I look at it, I'm instantly drawn to the left side with the bright riccia. Is that one of the species of hornwort next to it, or is it cambomba (I think that's the name, have been getting away from planted tanks), looks more like cambomba from the pictures.

On your question, I glance at my fish in the morning when I wake up before I go to school and make sure everything is in order. When I get home after sports I check on my fish first thing for about five to ten minutes per tank. I do my homework and studying in my room which is next to one of my tanks and I am able to watch it most of the night. I will also spend about ten minutes watching during feeding time and before I go to bed. So I usually incorporate at least a half hour total, usually more for observing my fish a day.

On your expierment, my tank isn't quite the way I'd like it but I have figured out a cycle in which I let my plants use up most of my fish poo and only do a small water change per week in my 29gallon low light tank. I shall be interested in following your progression in your expierment and your new tank that you hope to build.

[MrWaxhead]

Thanks very much, and yes the riccia is a bit overpowering, especially in photos where it catches the light so strongly, in person its not as overpowering. Every thing is still going very well on this experiment, I have yet to see any signs of deficiency on this tank. But that could slowly start to change if the plants are living on there reserves, but as of yet, any new growth has not started to canabalize the the old growth, and everything is still growing very strong healthy and fast. I still have all my old N P K ferts if I think I need to spike certain nutrients, but as of yet I have not.

And yes that is cabomba, I basically start all my tanks with a fair pile of cabomba and hornwort, until the other plants take hold and start growing strong. That little clump is basically the tail ends of it, I will be replacing it on Oct 11, the 2 months date of the fert test if all is still going well. Its a good fast grower that oxygenates very well. But with the riccia pearling like it does, o2 is not a major concern atm. Basically everything in this tank pearls, but the riccia is the strongest at it. It is in full pearl 4 hours into the light cycle, where everything else really only pearls in the 6 to 8 hour stage of lighting, and not nearly as stong.

I am thinking of replacing the cabomba with some green indica, I have some of the red variety in Rotala rotundifolia in one of my 29g tanks. But I think I already have a very large start red area, so I will be going with its green family member. My only concern is again its a very strong pearling species, so that end of the tank will be a 02 bubble fest, I may have to change things around abit.
here is a pic of the red version in my 29g, green indica looks the same but well green hehe.

[atmmachine816]

Ah looks very nice. yes cambomba does grow rather fast.

[Allie]

Awesome tank....hoping to have a 40-50g someday which is fully planted like that.

[agsansoo]

What type of filters are you using ? You mentioned two of them. Also what type of substrate did you use.

[MrWaxhead]

This tank has a Aqua clear 70 on the right, and a whisper 30/60 on the left. Basically spare filters I had on old 29g tanks. I will also be taking a old 29g tank of mine and housing it under the tank in the cabinet as a wet dry trickle for added filtration and to up the water content of the tank as the fish start to mature to make sure they have ample clean water.

My substrate is as follows, regular sand on the left under the riccia and java moss cave system, and the center section of the tank where all my rooted and plants are is redsea flourabase. And the right of the tank is all plain gravel with larger rocks with a large twisted knots of wood that the java fern and lace java fern tied on about 2 inches up off the substrate, to leave a mangrove effect under the plants for the fish to take shelter in if they don't want to be in the light.

My corries tend to play in the root mass or the cave system in the day, and hit the center of the tank through the moonlight phase of lighting, and my cardinals etc, do the opposite, they spend the day in the open and slowly head to the shelters at night. Really fun to watch the transition.

[MrWaxhead]

I am pretty stoked as well, my wife was out garage sale shopping today, and found a 75g 48Lx18W20T tank with stand for free today. I just finished taking it apart and cleaning it up and re silicone of the entire tank (i was just going to redo the upper seals, but upon inspection I noticed the side seals had some lift to them, minor but I really don't want 75g of fish and plants on my floor hehe). I am going to load test it mid week and get it going as soon as possible. Have to take it slow though as the wife is pregnant again so she would not be to happy if I drop a bunch of money on fish atm hehe.

LFS has a great deal on cardinals atm too, $1.25 a peice when you buy 50. So I think this tank will be getting cardinals too hehe.

[agsansoo]

Originally Posted by MrWaxhead

This tank has a Aqua clear 70 on the right, and a whisper 30/60 on the left. Basically spare filters I had on old 29g tanks. I will also be taking a old 29g tank of mine and housing it under the tank in the cabinet as a wet dry trickle for added filtration and to up the water content of the tank as the fish start to mature to make sure they have ample clean water.

A wet/dry trickle filter like the old saltwater tank use to have (with bio-balls)? Is your tank drilled, or will you be using a external overflow box ? This is interesting to me because when I purchased my Ehiem 2227 wet/dry canister filter for my saltwater tank, they said it was good for planted tanks also !

[MrWaxhead]

Yes canisters with spraybars are fantastic for planted tanks, but I try to do as much as I can with what I have already, to keep cost down. Its not a drilled tank, so I will be routing a acrylic overflow with syphon break holes on my cnc at work to feed the wet dry below. And yes I will be creating a acrylic insert for the 29g with chambers for bio balls and floss inserts, for bacteria load, and just plain extra water load for the system.

I thought about breaking down and buying a nice canister filter as they are much better then HOB filters, but I also want he extra water load that the wet dry will add to my tank. And I already have all the material I need for that. Acrylic for the chambers and overflow, a spare 29g now that I have found the 75g, the 29g was just a plant nursery at this point and those plants will now be going into the 75), and a spare pump to return the water to the 50g etc.

[agsansoo]

I've done this a few time on my saltwater tank, so if you have any questions about return pumps, overflow box types or plumbing, LMK (let me know). Your're going love the consistent water level a sump gives you.

[MrWaxhead]

Nice I will for sure, I have hit a few sites and have a fairly good idea in my head on how to safely do it with minimal risk or loosing syphon and overflowing etc. But I would love to pic the mind of someone who is already running one.

And not only consistant level, I am looking forward to the mass area for good bacterial and the extra water load in the system for the fishes well being.

Thanks in advance, I will pm ya, when I am getting ready to route up my acrylic etc.

[SDMatt]

Very, very nice.

I wish I had the tank space (and patience) for something like this.

-SDMatt

[MrWaxhead]

I don't get what you mean by tank space, I have planted tanks as small as 10g, I just used mosses and grasses and avoided real big bushy plants so they did not dwarf out the tank. And it really does not take alot of patience, my fastest growing tank, only takes about 30 min a week in trimming, and ferts really only take a few secs every couple days.

[Allie]

Originally Posted by MrWaxhead

I don't get what you mean by tank space, I have planted tanks as small as 10g, I just used mosses and grasses and avoided real big bushy plants so they did not dwarf out the tank. And it really does not take alot of patience, my fastest growing tank, only takes about 30 min a week in trimming, and ferts really only take a few secs every couple days.

I agree...all of our tanks are/were planted. You need a certain amount of lighting to get certain plants to grow better. Our 120g needs to be trimmed up about every 2 weeks...but that's the faster grown types.

[Stradius011]

Awesome tank! Which fertile substrate did you use and what plants?

[MrWaxhead]

Hey thanks, my tank is basically the following,

The left of the tank is Riccia fluitans and Vesicularia dubyana (java moss) tied down onto a system of hollow rock caves on a sand substrate with some cabomba in the rear. The center of the tank is all ludwigia repens, Nuphar stellata (dwarf red lily), Eleocharis parvula (dwarf hairgrass), Echinodorus tenellus (Pygmy Chain Sword), and a few crypts in flourabase (fertile substrate) , with a anubis on the wood that seperates the wood from the sand. The right of the tank is Microsorum pteropus (java fern) regular and Windelov (lace java fern) rooted onto a twisted pile of roots about 2 inches of the plain gravel with larger rock substrate, to create mangrove effect under them for the fish to find shelter. And a lonely crypt off in front of them.

[Stradius011]

Originally Posted by MrWaxhead

in flourabase (fertile substrate)

Do you mean florabase?

[MrWaxhead]

Why yes I did mean florabase hehe, the red sea stuff hehe.

[MrWaxhead]

Well its my tanks 3 month of running date, and 2 months of my fert test which is still going strong.

A little backtracking,
Aug 11 07 last day of normal ferts.


Sept 11 07


Oct 11 07

And I got a little present today when I got home from work today too, my anubis started to blow a flower spike a couple days ago and it started to open today

[COBettaCouple]

awesome growth!

[Neil]

Gorgeous tank !!!

[swords3711]

love the neons
i had a school of 10 with 2 glowlights and 4 gold tets

[MrWaxhead]

Ya the neons are nice looking with plants, there are only 10 of them the rest are cardinals but they are very happy together and sometimes shoal as a big group.

[Tayful]

Your tank is beautiful, and all of those tetras make it look absolutely stunning! You inspire me with all of those live plants and for some reason I'm very interested in your substrate. Keep up the great work!

[Jim]

Originally Posted by MrWaxhead

Ya I like having the moonlight as it makes a nice transition to total tank darkness so there is not a major snap from light to complete darkness. I run a few different timers, one for main lighting , one for my moon one and one for my red LEDS that comes on before my lighting kicks in (my sad attempt as sunrise in my tank, looks more like then sunrise though hehe, I should probably try amber LEDs instead) and another for my c02 as I like to run my c02 a bit longer then my lights it comes on 2 hours before lights on and stays on during lights and runs for one more hour after lights outs, balances my pH better that way. I also have my filters hooked up to a ups unit, so if my power ever goes out my filters will keep running for a while to keep my bacteria alive. I have a gen in my garage that I plug the whole tank into if the power ever stayed out longer then the ups can run the filters. I have only had to do that once so far (knocks on wood).

MrWaxHead... well, turns out I'm NOT the only one here that's running multiple lights on overlapping timers, and with a dawn/dusk light. But I've only been running mine for a couple weeks, I'm curious how yours have been working out over a period of months.
I have my llighting schedule listed on this post somewhere:
The Great Rebuild... with Pictures

[TheEssigs]

Jim - I know I am OFF TOPIC here... sorry... but I noticed that you have 2 75g filters running on your 46g... I have the same tank and I am running just one... I was curious as to why the 2?

[MrWaxhead]

Originally Posted by Jim

MrWaxHead... well, turns out I'm NOT the only one here that's running multiple lights on overlapping timers, and with a dawn/dusk light. But I've only been running mine for a couple weeks, I'm curious how yours have been working out over a period of months.
I have my llighting schedule listed on this post somewhere:
The Great Rebuild... with Pictures

Hey Jim I have had my tanks on timers now for about 2 years and it have never had a problem with it at all. Just makes things much smoother, and gives me more time to enjoy and take care of my fish with one less thing to worry about being that my life is usually pretty busy for the most part.

Oh and theessigs I too run my tanks on dual filters, each one that could run the tank on their own. The reason I started doing it was because a few years back one of my filters died on a tank, and when I replaced the filter and used some mature floss it still mini cycled. Now I could change a whole filter out and still have a mature one running with no worries. I also can swap up my filter cleaning and always have a nice dirty bacteria filled one on the go.

[MrWaxhead]

Wow just realized how long I have been away, been real busy working 7 days a week 10 to 12 hour days. Just noticed the date, I will have to take some pics tomorrow when its lit if I get home from work in time, as its been a month since the last update on this tank.