55 Gallon Beta Sorority Project

Okay guys, I am 99.9% sure what I want to do with the 55 gallon now. After much soul searching, I have decided that cichlids are not for me. After briefly considering selling the 55 gallon, I realized that I am super inspired by @Auquaphobia's betta sorority. I know they can be risky, but my hope is that in a 55 well planted tank things will work out.

Here is the learning curve: I know nothing about planted tanks. Can anyone point me to a good resource on that? Also, the first issue is finding a spot for the tank. Could I place it by a window? Is that good/bad/indifferent for plants? I know algae will grow, so what is the possibility of having some type of algae eater (BN Pleco perhaps?) with the girls? Too risky?

Sooo many questions...but really excited.

 

Placing it next to the window will definitely promote algae and it might not be the kind of algae that a BN pleco will eat.

Are you looking to do a low, mid or high tech tank? For a Betta sorority I think a low tech tank will be fine. You should look up some low tech plants and go from there. There are lots of low tech plants that are easily obtainable.

 

Woohoo! How exciting;D

My tank is pretty low tech. Ok, very low tech but I've got some nice plant growth in there! Java Ferns, Swords, Aponogeton natans, Subwassertang/Susswassertang, Nuphar japonica, Hygrophila polysperma, all do well with almost no special care, though I do throw the occasional dose of micronutrients in the tank.

 

Woohoo! How exciting;D

My tank is pretty low tech. Ok, very low tech but I've got some nice plant growth in there! Java Ferns, Swords, Aponogeton natans, Subwassertang/Susswassertang, Nuphar japonica, Hygrophila polysperma, all do well with almost no special care, though I do throw the occasional dose of micronutrients in the tank.

Perfect thanks! I will look it up. There was some concern on another thread I started...long story....that the 55 might be too tall for the betas to surface regularly. In your experience do you think I need to downsize?

 

Not as long as you have lots of tall plants they can rest on. Then it should be fine. Height I think us more of a concern with heavy-finned males anyway. Females are not so burdened.

 

Not as long as you have lots of tall plants they can rest on. Then it should be fine. Height I think us more of a concern with heavy-finned males anyway. Females are not so burdened.

Okay awesome. I am sure I will be picking your brain a lot on this project. Hopefully I can nail down a location in my house for the tank today.

 

Can't wait!

 

Just make sure it's away from a window or if you're into algae and like how it looks then you can put it next to one.

 

Just make sure it's away from a window or if you're into algae and like how it looks then you can put it next to one.

I am not huge into algae, especially since I seem to grow diatoms in my aquariums in abundance. I think I have found a spot that is away from the windows!

 

Nice. I think oto cats or a pair of Bristlenose plecos will work with your sorority. Just make sure you supplement the plecos or otos diet if they run out of algae to eat in the tank.

 

Alright so I am doing plant research. So far here are my questions:

1) It seems like I can put in plants during my fishless cycle. Is that right?
2) Can I use LED lighting for low-light plants? The tank I bought does not have a hood or top included. Would you guys suggest a glass top with a hanging light fixture?
3) With low-light plants, no CO2 injection needed, correct? But I should use a layer of ferts under the substrate? Do I need an airstone? I remember something saying that plants consume more O2 at night or something....? I have forgotten most of 8th grade biology....

 

1) yes. Plenty of people do that for their planted tanks.

2) yes again however I wouldn't buy a light that is too strong for your tank. If you have the budget I'll suggest the finnex planted 24/7 only because it's dimmable and you can adjust your light to the liking of your plants.

3) co2 is not needed for a low tech tank but flourish and excel will be preferred by the plants. But only dose according to tank size and stocking of the plants. You can also do root tabs underneath the substrate for extra nutrients specially for the root feeders.

 

1) yes. Plenty of people do that for their planted tanks.

2) yes again however I wouldn't buy a light that is too strong for your tank. If you have the budget I'll suggest the finnex planted 24/7 only because it's dimmable and you can adjust your light to the liking of your plants.

3) co2 is not needed for a low tech tank but flourish and excel will be preferred by the plants. But only dose according to tank size and stocking of the plants. You can also do root tabs underneath the substrate for extra nutrients specially for the root feeders.

Low tech = low light?
What is the difference between the flourish and excel? These are for the plants that get nutrients from the water and are not rooted I the substrate correct?

 

Flourish is a fertilizer and excel is a liquid carbon product. A word of warning, excel killed a good amount of my plants. Research excel and plants together to make sure it won't harm anything. From experience, I know it kills mosses and anachris.

EDIT: A good thing about that though is it makes for an excellent algaecide.

 

Low tech = low light?
What is the difference between the flourish and excel? These are for the plants that get nutrients from the water and are not rooted I the substrate correct?

Low tech refers to a low to medium light without a CO2 injection system.

Since the substrate is generally devoid of nutrients or is quickly depleted of them, the plants need nutrients elsewhere and have adapted to pulling nutrients in by the leaves as the major uptake process instead of roots, even though they still use them

 

I am not married to LEDs either. I just really have no clue where to even start. For instance do I get a light fixture that hangs above my tank or do I get a hood? The three tanks I have setup (a 29 gallon community, a 10 gallon betta, and a 10 gallon QT) are all box starter kits that had junky hood with leds and heater/filter etc. all in the package.

I need advice regarding the best lighting setup.My budget is somewhat flexible but nothing too crazy.

 

There's a few things about lighting and they apply to all lighting types. It comes down to research in the end. LED are fine to use.

Color temperature- measured in Kelvin as K. It's the band of light spectrum in its output. Plants require around 6500K to grow. Higher temps have more blue and less red, like most marine and office lights, generally 10,000K. It's quite easy to find online or on the box somewhere.

Lumens- the intensity of the light, how bright it actually is. Higher lumen leads to more light on the bottom of the tank.

Watts- how much energy the light uses from the outlet. More watts generally leads to more lumens, which lead to the watts per gallon guideline.

PAR- Photo Activating Radiation, current measurement for lighting. PAR values indicate the lighting for the plants. These can be obtained by googling the light fixture and PAR ratin. It's a much better guideline than the Watts per Gallon. Ideally, the 30-40 PAR range at the substrate is the best for low light to medium light plants, and those are the numbers to shoot for a non CO2 injected tank.

I would recommend a glass lid you can find online, or possibly having a hardware store cut a piece or two of acrylic/glass.

There's a 48" beamswork LED that is around $60 online I've seen with enough PAR for a low tech tank. I like the idea of LED because you don't have to keep replacing bulbs at $15-20 a pop

 

There's a few things about lighting and they apply to all lighting types. It comes down to research in the end. LED are fine to use.

Color temperature- measured in Kelvin as K. It's the band of light spectrum in its output. Plants require around 6500K to grow. Higher temps have more blue and less red, like most marine and office lights, generally 10,000K. It's quite easy to find online or on the box somewhere.

Lumens- the intensity of the light, how bright it actually is. Higher lumen leads to more light on the bottom of the tank.

Watts- how much energy the light uses from the outlet. More watts generally leads to more lumens, which lead to the watts per gallon guideline.

PAR- Photo Activating Radiation, current measurement for lighting. PAR values indicate the lighting for the plants. These can be obtained by googling the light fixture and PAR ratin. It's a much better guideline than the Watts per Gallon. Ideally, the 30-40 PAR range at the substrate is the best for low light to medium light plants, and those are the numbers to shoot for a non CO2 injected tank.

I would recommend a glass lid you can find online, or possibly having a hardware store cut a piece or two of acrylic/glass.

Wow! So much to learn! Thanks for the breakdown.

 

I've posted it like 3 times to help others too. I might have to make a primer at this rate.

Edited the post while you replied

 

Grimund is on point. Beams work is the cheaper led option I believe it's on eBay and it's about 0.5w which I think would work well for a low tech tank.

Unless you're gonna do some sort of aquasoil then I would definitely suggest root tabs specially for heavy root feeders. A quick Google search will show you low tech plants that will benefit from root tabs or just ferts in the water.

 

Flourish is a fertilizer and excel is a liquid carbon product. A word of warning, excel killed a good amount of my plants. Research excel and plants together to make sure it won't harm anything. From experience, I know it kills mosses and anachris.

EDIT: A good thing about that though is it makes for an excellent algaecide.

It will also melt val. But, generally you can acclimate your more sensitive plants and mosses to it easily. I would wait until you have the bulk of your planting done before you start using the Excel. When you are ready to start dosing it, start with a mere fraction of the recommended dose. You can even just do every few days or every other day. Once you get to daily dosing, you slowly increase the amount of the dose. I like to spread it out over a few weeks until I'm at the desired dose on a daily basis. I use a bottle of just glutaraldehyde which is the main ingredient of Flourish Excel. You can buy it as a disinfectant and toss the smaller bottle of activator that will come with it. Look online for dosing instructions if you go this route. But seriously, per ounce it saved me a small fortune between my 4 tanks! (All planted)

The side effect of it being an algaecide is sweet too, no lie.

 

The one ingredient in it will melt Vals. It's Glut-something. Your dry micro ferts are generally are free of the ingredient.

The Beamswork I'm referring to is actual on amazon too

Edit: Glutaraldehyde- a CO2 replacement that acts as an algeacide as well. It has the ability to inhibit fungus in mixed micro ferts (wet). There are plants sensitive to it and will cause them to die off.

I'll add the link to the beamsworks light:


Just noticed that Kwig beat me to the glut. It works for people

 

The one ingredient in it will melt Vals. It's Glut-something. Your dry micro ferts are generally are free of the ingredient.

The Beamswork I'm referring to is actual on amazon too

Edit: Glutaraldehyde- a CO2 replacement that acts as an algeacide as well. It has the ability to inhibit fungus in mixed micro ferts (wet). There are plants sensitive to it and will cause them to die off.

I'll add the link to the beamsworks light:


Just noticed that @ beat me to the glut. It works for people

If I use a layer of soil, then I should put gravel or sand over top right? Any suggestions on whether that is necessary or even a good idea?

Excel sounds like it could get tricky. Is it necessary? Is any CO2 replacement necessary?

Finally, I have heard about plant dips and QTing plants. What is standard practice on that? I am not a huge fan of snails (even though I know some people love them and I wish I did too).

 

I just went on an excursion for driftwood and rocks in my backyard area (I live on a branch of the elizabeth river). Here is the view from my bedroom.



Here is what I found:



What do I need to do to disinfect?

Also, I took some pics of aquatic vegetation and snails by the shoreline. Can anyone ID them (@Bithimala)?
Are they usable (rather not use the snails but curious)? The water does have a salinity content but I do not know how high it is.

 

Yes put a layer of sand on top of the soil. Otherwise your water will be cloudy.

Excel is used mostly as an algaecide for tanks that don't diffuse co2. But as someone mentioned on here that some plants don't do well with excel but can be acclimated to it. I would still look up low tech plants that would do fine with excel.

They dip the plants in bleach with water (I forgot the ratio) to kill off the snails or any other pests that are attached to plants.

 

1:19 bleach to water ratio.

Excel isn't needed persay. It's needed as both a carbon source for plants and an algeacide for the light if your plants don't do so hot.

Soil isn't needed as root tabs are cheap and last around a month. I find that just using normal substrates are easiest and least messy

 

They dip the plants in bleach with water (I forgot the ratio)

1:20 bleach to water

 

You might want to do a vinegar test on the rock you picked out. If it bubbles it may affect your pH and KH, though if your water is anything like mine you may want that

Can you get a closeup of the snails? They kind of look like Chinese Mystery Snails or possibly periwinkles. The Chinese Mystery Snails are invasive in some places and I don't know how they'd fare with salinity, I think they're strictly freshwater.

And the driftwood you'll want to soak in repeated changes of fresh water to get rid of the salt and then bake it in a low oven for a couple of hours. If it doesn't fit then bleach may be necessary and then many, many more changes of fresh water!

 

You might want to do a vinegar test on the rock you picked out. If it bubbles it may affect your pH and KH, though if your water is anything like mine you may want that

Can you get a closeup of the snails? They kind of look like Chinese Mystery Snails or possibly periwinkles. The Chinese Mystery Snails are invasive in some places and I don't know how they'd fare with salinity, I think they're strictly freshwater.

And the driftwood you'll want to soak in repeated changes of fresh water to get rid of the salt and then bake it in a low oven for a couple of hours. If it doesn't fit then bleach may be necessary and then many, many more changes of fresh water!

I think I will skip the rocks. I am not sure I like the way it looks in the tank. I think just driftwood and plants.

As for the driftwood, I broke it in half and sanded and shaped it. I love how it looks and will update with pics later. So far I have boiled the pieces for 30 mins and now they are soaking in water. I am going to change the water today. How long should I bake it for?


I looked up the snails on a page about Lafayette River species. You were right! They are periwinkle snails. There are also salt marsh snails.

 

I think an hour at 200F should do it. Just don't leave it unattended

 

I think an hour at 200F should do it. Just don't leave it unattended

Yeah if I accidentally burnt down the house while disinfecting driftwood I might have the all-time worst story for the "Worst thing you've every done to your aquarium" thread

 

LOL! Too true You might actually be able to go higher with that thick piece of wood you have, I go with 200 or even 150 when I bake sticks for my chinchillas because they tend to be thin twigs and dry in an instant but need to keep the heat going for long enough to sterilize them. I have got those one smoking! Chinchillas seem to enjoy smoked sticks though, go figure

 

LOL! Too true You might actually be able to go higher with that thick piece of wood you have, I go with 200 or even 150 when I bake sticks for my chinchillas because they tend to be thin twigs and dry in an instant but need to keep the heat going for long enough to sterilize them. I have got those one smoking! Chinchillas seem to enjoy smoked sticks though, go figure

OMG I love chinchillas. You need to start a new thread somewhere to showcase them

 

I did start one a while back! I could add some more pictures to it if you like

 

I did start one a while back! I could add some more pictures to it if you like

Ohh do you have the link?

 

Started a new thread and tagged you

 

Started a new thread and tagged you

Yay!!!

 

Soo I am in the process of looking for a tank stand. I am having trouble finding ones that look sturdy though. My husband won't make one for me even though he just made himself a paddle board / surf rack.

Anyway as I continue my search, I am now thinking about substrate. I think I want to use sand. I have not used sand in my other tanks, so I am wondering what I should get. Pool sand? Black Diamond blasting sand? White sand from the Florida Keys?


Also need to think about filtration. I am debating whether I do a aquaclear HOB or a canister with a spray bar to reduce the current....I don't think I sponge filter is going to quite do it in a 55 but I could be wrong.

 

Simplest stand I've seen that actually looks surprisingly nice if done right is a cinder block stand. You can paint the blocks or cover them after with a skin of nice veneer or fabric.

For sand, I know that solid colours like white and black are very elegant looking but I've also found that they show dirt and poop more than something like play sand, which is made up of multiple colours of particles.

I don't think a sponge filter is going to work either. There's a thread under way right now on the forum about HOB vs canister that might help you decide.

 

1) yes. Plenty of people do that for their planted tanks.

2) yes again however I wouldn't buy a light that is too strong for your tank. If you have the budget I'll suggest the finnex planted 24/7 only because it's dimmable and you can adjust your light to the liking of your plants.

.

Found the Finnex Planted Plus 24/7 on sale for $103 for the 48 inch one. Should I get it? Sounds like a good price, but I have not done much comparison shopping.

 

Found the Finnex Planted Plus 24/7 on sale for $103 for the 48 inch one. Should I get it? Sounds like a good price, but I have not done much comparison shopping.

What?! $103?! I got my 36" for $115. I feel ripped off now. If that's not too much for you then I saw you should go for it. I have two and I really like them. My tank is high tech and the plants are doing great.

 

What?! $103?! I got my 36" for $115. I feel ripped off now. If that's not too much for you then I saw you should go for it. I have two and I really like them. My tank is high tech and the plants are doing great.

Drs. Foster & Smith website is having a 2 week sale!
Just one 48 inch is good for the 55 right?

 

I would get it if I were you

 

Drs. Foster & Smith website is having a 2 week sale!
Just one 48 inch is good for the 55 right?

Yes, and a solid deal to boot.

If it's too intense for the plants or algae bloom, I believe the planted plus output can be toned down

 

Yes, and a solid deal to boot.

If it's too intense for the plants or algae bloom, I believe the planted plus output can be toned down

Yes. That's why I suggested this light because it's dimmable.

I'm so jealous. I can't believe you got it for cheap. lol

 

Yes. That's why I suggested this light because it's dimmable.

I'm so jealous. I can't believe you got it for cheap. lol

I am a sucker for a deal lol. So this is going to sound dumb but do you ever have to replace the lights?

 

I am a sucker for a deal lol. So this is going to sound dumb but do you ever have to replace the lights?

Yeah, after like 10 years haha.

I mixed black blasting sand and pool filter sand and sprinkled very small gravel around bases of rocks and plants and such. I really like how nothing shows on it.

 

Latest update: The Finnex Planted+ 24/7 came in the mail today! Also, I think I am going to try out the Hydor Pro 450 for a canister. Haven't decided on that 100% yet, but so far that is where I am leaning.

After looking on every website and pet store available, I determined that there is no 55 gallon tank stand that I love. I have commissioned my husband to build me one from scratch...much to his dismay. Any one out there who has built a tank stand, any advice would be appreciated!

 

You could use an all steel stand and use a fabric skirting. Just have an access slit for equipment maintenence

 

You could use an all steel stand and use a fabric skirting. Just have an access slit for equipment maintenence

That is a good idea! I will look into it. Honestly though I am starting to like this idea of a custom wood stand. Also I have a 6 month old who is trying his hardest to crawl around. I can see him potentially tugging on the fabric skirt. While I doubt he could pull 650+ pounds down, you never know I do not want to find out! It is a good idea though!