Isabella

OK, now I feel like I can post something here, lol I've really had nothing to show before but I've just re-planted my 75 gallon tank and I think it looks much better now!

General Tank Stats: 75 gallons (48" long x 18" wide x 20" tall) / Coralife Freshwater compact fluorescent fixture with two 65 watt 7,600K lightbulbs - this gives me a total of 1.73 WPG of lighting / 100% Eco-Complete Substrate / Rena Filstar's XP3 canister filter + Eheim's Aquaball powerhead for better water circulation / dosing Seachem's Flourish liquid fertilizer once a week / thinking of addding a CO2 system

Plants: Amazon Swords, Uruguay Swords, Green Melon Sword, Red Rubin Sword, Ruffled Swords, Anubias Nana, Anubias Coffeefolia, Java Ferns, Java Moss, Willow Moss, Cryptocorynes Balansae, Crypts Willisii var. Lucens, Crypts Wendtii Red, Jungle Vals, and Crystal Vals

Fish: 2 Angelfish, 6 Cherry Barbs (+ 1 baby Cherry Barb in a breeding net that you can see in the pictures), 6 Harlequin Rasboras, 2 Zebra Danios, and STILL STOCKING (will add 6 more Zebra Danios, 4 more Harlequin Rasboras, 3 German Blue Rams, and perhaps a few Otos + a true SAE)

Butterfly

Isabella that is gorgeous!!!! I like babys home too
Carol

Isabella

Carol, only let us hope all of this doesn't go to waste. That would be a huge waste of money. I hope the plants don't die, or else I'll have to resort to CO2. Hmm

P.S. I hope the baby likes its home too! It won't have to stay in the net too long if it grows fast

jsalemi

Looks great -- nice job! You're inspiring me for my 56g.

COBettaCouple

wow! will you come over and do a tank for us?! looks awesome!

Isabella

Jsalemi, please don't get inspired by the big Swords, unless you like your plants sticking out of the water, lol. I think I'm gonna gave to cut many leaves off the Amazon Swords. I thought they were going to come much smaller.

Dave, sure, I'll come over the day that I bring you my camera, OK? LOL That will be also on my way to Tom, haha.

COBettaCouple

you're doing up a tank for us AND bringing me your camera!? wow.. that's very generous!

Allie

LOVE it!!!

Richard

Is that the tank you bought a few months ago?!.. I love what you've done with it, and it looks like the fish do too!..good stuff Isabella.

lilsoccakid

i was just wondering, how do u vacumn this tank?

Isabella

Yes, that's the same tank, lol And my fish indeed do love it. My Angels won't get out of the Swords - they just sit there all the time, lol .

In a planted tank, where the substrate is filled with plant roots, you don't poke the gravel with the siphon tube because you'll destroy the plant roots this way. You just hover your siphon tube above the plants. To prevent substrate compaction, you only gently poke the substrate with some thin stick. That's what I do. Besides, a plant substrate filled with plant roots actually needs all the fish waste accumulated there. Fish wastes are an excellent natural fertilizer for plants. One guy on Plant Geek told me he never even poked his planted tank's substrate for many years already and he says nothing happens. Theoretically, plant roots - if the tank is fully planted and if the plants are healthy - should help prevent compactionin the substrate. You can also get Malaysian Trumpet Snails in a planted tank - they stir the substrate for you and they don't multiply as pond snails do. I should get some of these.

Barbrella

Are you sure that's not a painting? It's so beautiful it doesn't look real.

Lucky fish!

Isabella

LOL, I'm pretty sure it's real . I've set ty camera to give a nice contrast to pictures so maybe that's why the tank looks so vivid in these pictures.

armadillo

Wow, Isabella. Am speechless.

You sure managed to get that java moss going on the driftwood. That little experiment's resulted in only killing my moss, LOL.

Your tank is soooo awesome, sooo green. A true work of art. I am seriously in awe.

So you've started on the CO2, then?

FishnFry

WOW!!!!!!!!!! Tank looks amazing!

I'm so jealous with all those plants. I could use those big leafy swords you got.

Nice job Isabella!!

Isabella

Armadillo, actually, the mosses (Java Moss and Willow Moss) are very crappy looking as of now, lol. They came already crappy looking from the two online plant stores that I've ordered them from. I am hoping they can recover in my tank. Most of the mosses on the two driftwood pieces are browned. There are, however, a few small clumps of green moss strings - it is these green clumps that I *hope* will recover and grow into full green mosses. As for CO2, I am not using it yet. But am thiking about it. I may buy a CO2 system in about 1 - 3 months. I'll see. Not sure yet.

BoSox Fan7

First off, NICE TANK! and second what kind of plant is in the back?

Isabella

Well, all the way in the back of the left corner of the tank are Crystal Vals and Jungle Vals, and the little shorter plants in front of them are Uruguay Swords. The plants all the way in the back of the right corner are Amazon Swords, Ruffled Swords, Green Melon Sword and Red Rubin Sword.

armadillo

I knew you were reading up on CO2, I wasn't sure what stage you were at in your enquiries. So I can have a tank like that WITHOUT CO2??!! Am going to start reading the books you read, young lady! You're obviously doing something VERY right.

What do you do to the Java moss to put all the chances on your side? I just tied it to my driftwood and hoped for the best.

jsalemi

Well, my tank is 24" tall, so it may take a while for them to poke out.

agsansoo

Great tank ! It's an inspiration to all of us !

Isabella

Oh, then that's great I don't think my Swords are taller than 24". So if you bought XL or L Swords, that would be just perfect for you I think.

I'm very sure you can grow a lot plants in low-light tanks without CO2. The growth won't be fast, but they'll grow. I don't know if every single plant kind that I just bought will do well without CO2 (for now) but that's what I'm about to find out, lol. From my first plant order, most of the plants did well, but there were some that I had to throw out. This time, it may be no different, but I am hoping for the best. Anyway, like I said, I am thiking of adding a CO2 system so that the plants don't die (if they are to die).

If you look at my plant list above, I can tell you right now that Vals, Crypts Wendtii Red, Crypts Balansae, Crypts Lucens, Java Ferns, Anubias, (+ Water Sprite and Water Wisteria that I moved to another tank) will do well in low-light; that is in at least 1.5 wpg. As for all the Swords that I just bought, I'm about to find out how they'll do. The Uruguay Swords, Ruffled Swords, Red Rubin and Green Malon Swords, may and may not do well. I still have to see this. But Amazon Swords definitely should do well because I've grown Amazon Swords before, under less than 1.0 wpg, in plain inert gravel, on fish wastes alone, for a whole year ... until my baby Angels destroyed them, lol.

As for my Java Moss, I did exactly the same thing with mine that you did with yours, lol. And I'm hoping for the best too, heh

zpecialt

I am so jealous! That is absolutely beautiful!

I would love to do a planted tank but we don't have room for another large one and my oscars simply wouldn't have it. I can only imagine how much time you have put into this setup but well worth it. I can't grow plants outside of the water, I can only imagine what I'd do to them in water.

fishbum

very cool.post more pics when you get all your fish in there!

Isabella

FishBum, I already have some fish in there Unless you mean when I have finished stocking my tank? Sure, I'll post more pics then

P.S. You can see my fish kinds and numbers in my signature.

UPDATE: The new plants haven't been in the tank for more than 2 weeks, and I am already getting new Vallisnerias (remember: with no CO2 and under low-light). The mosses have gotten a bit "greener" too Let's hope that's a sign of recovery.

Isabella

Another update

My Swords are flowering and producing new plants! The mosses are even greener. They look like they're now beginning to really grow and green

Here are the pictures of the Amazon Sword flowers and one baby Amazon Sword plant. I'll try to take pictures of the mosses later.

craigd

Beautiful tank, Isabella. You do realize that this inspires me to find room in my home for a 150 gal tank to plant and fill with fish. I just don't have the room.

Isabella

Craig, I'd also love some 150-200 gallon tank fully planted. But I don't have room (and the time) for it either. Which is why I settled on a 75 gallon tank for now. In the future though, I definitely have to get that 150-200 gallon tank! Maybe you can find room for a smaller tank. Smaller doesn't have to mean less beautiful. You can have a really beautiful planted tank, even if it's smaller - depending on how you aquascape it .

COBettaCouple

great pics of the swords isabella!

MrWaxhead

WOW looks fantastic, I am glad everything is going very well, and looks fantastic, great work. I really like the way you set everything out, and every thing looks very healthy.