# 90G journal - 1st time (56k warning)



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Well, here it goes. I'm about to start my first attempt at aquascaping and at maintaining a planted aquarium.

Tank size = 90 gallon
Lighting = Coralife 4x65W
Substrate = Soilmaster Select Charcoal
Pressurized CO2 with a MA957 regulator and pH controller. DIY CO2 reactor.
Hydor ETH inline 300W heater
Filters = fluval 403 and rena xp3
Dry Ferts from Greg Watson
Malaysian Driftwood

ummm not too sure what other information people want, but ask and I'll let you know!

Sorry for the blurriness in some pictures.

1st - Set up with peat and SS charcoal



















2nd - Set up with just SS charcoal










3rd - layout of rock and driftwood.










or maybe this way ...










The difference is how close the second and smaller piece of driftwood to the right is set.

The plants I plant on purchasing (so far) are:

Anubias nana 
Cyperus helferi
Micro sword-lilaeopsis
Dwarf spoon leaf Sag
Ludwigia repens
Moneywort
Rotala indica
Red Temple

I'm gonna purchase the plants from aquabotanic probably on monday or tuesday, hopefully perfect for a friday set up date.

I want to stock with SAEs, ottos initially. Add about 15 neon or cardinal tetras and ultimately end up with about 7 angels. I like the wild type coloration for the angels the most but any of them are great.

I chose many of the plants, like the brazilian micro sword and the cyperus helferi and the sag to repeat the stripes of the angels.

Let me know your ideas, comments, or criticism. Anything's welcome. It's my first time though so be gentle!

Oh yeah, ignore the tubing in the back, that'll be cleaned up appropriately when I actually set it up.


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I really do like the look of the soilmaster. I think you got a great start up going right now. I'm not all that thrilled with the pair of the driftwood and rocks. I think it may be a good idea to stick with one particular hardscape and focus on that as the accent pieces to the plants. If you do decide to stick with the wood only, try arrange the wood to create some one shape/contour as described in 

The substrate is a little flat and level, and may need some movement in terms of deeper in the back and sloped to the front.

-John N.


----------



## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

Hmm... starting of great, haven't heard of someone who started with SS Charcoal before but i'm assuming it safe? Anyways, I think you should deinately put some more effort into the hardscape. It looks like as if you just threw everything in, coordination of where the pieces of driftwood and rocks will go will definately improve the look and outcome of your tank. Keep working on it and keep us updated, we'll be glad to help!


----------



## skinns (Apr 8, 2004)

New setups are awesome to see. Gets me excited everytime. Was wondering bout the spraybar placements. Are you keeping them vertical or horizontal? I actually ran my Ehiem 2213 spraybar horizontal on the side glass after I cut 3 inches off. Works great.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I actually did fill up my tank with water when there was nothing in it, no substrate or anything to see how much surface movement the spraybar would cause exactly where it was. So, vertically, it did not have much if any surface movement. I plan on keeping it basically the same way it is, unless someone has good reason otherwise.

Trimming down the spraybar to a shorter length is a good idea.

Question though, when you have your spraybar horizontal, does it cause much surface movement when you aim the holes kinda downward? I imagine putting the bar this way would move the surface and also kinda screw with the taller plants.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Removing the rocks and ordered a ton of malaysian driftwood of all sizes today. I really like the big one I have so whatever I don't use, I figure I can sell. More updates when I get them in.


----------



## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

hi Alex.. would it be possible to include smaller pics the next update.. i'm having difficulty visualising..haha.. perhaps maybe if you can. Thanks..


----------



## skinns (Apr 8, 2004)

What I have noticed bout the spraybar being horizontal is that it allows the water to be pushed across the whole tank, instead it being shoved to the glass and then dismersed. Only type of surface breakage i get is a hint of moving water. Whats interesting with this position is you can place the spraybar at different levels on the side glass and rotate the bar so the water exits at different angles.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

There, I fixed the pictures. Lemme know if people are still having trouble with them being too large. Sorry about that! I'll fix em before posting them in the future!


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Ah, much better Alex! Thanks for resizing those images. Quick question,

If you trim the spray bar, will that mean that the flow in more powerful coming out a smaller number of holes? Do we lose a bit on the flow rate? I was never good with physics. If you do trim that spraybar let use know what you experience.

-John N.


----------



## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Nice start, you will like the look of Soilmaster Select. For those that have not use it it is an inert gravel used in golf courses and is distributes by Lesco.

The rocks alone would looks very nice. Also, you might want to try some manzanita wood.

Good luck,
Pedro


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I would imagine that would be the case. Taking that the amount of water going into the filter remains constant with the amount leaving the filter and the flow rate stays the same, the velocity of the water coming out of the spray bar would have to increase. Sort of like when a pipe decreases in diameter, the water speeds up to get through it. 

Unlike in real life, such as on the highway, when the same amount of cars are on a 4 lane merging into only 2 lanes, we get traffic. Too bad we're not more like water.

Does that make sense to everyone else? I think it's called Bernouli's principle or at least that's where I'm taking my ideas from.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

i already like the look of the SS charcoal. Even dry it's attractive. When wet, it's awesome. At least, IMO.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I have 4 potential setups unless anyone has any advice. Now I only have malaysian driftwood in the tank. Comments, criticism and advice are always welcome as usual!

Set 1:










Set 2:










Set 3:










Set 4:










Let me know which one you guys like the most or let me know if you like none of them!


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Ah yes, Bernouli's principle. You're correct about all of that information. The flow is the same, velocity is increased when the spray bar is cut short. So you technically can get more water movement inside the tank. Thanks for the physic's reminder.

I personally like setup 3, but would like to see a sharper angle of the all the wood pieces. You got a great "V" shape going in that particular setup. If you can invert that large piece of driftwood like you did in #4 but the facing the other way to complete the "V" in #3 I think you got a nice setup going there.

My second choice is #1 with the big piece removed and the small point piece pushed back in its place. OR small point piece behind the big wood.

-John N.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Kinda like:


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Well sort of like this photo, but going for something like the picture from the Aquascaping contest.

-John N.


----------



## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

I would do #4 with a few mods. Take the big piece on the left and flip it over so that the large branch has about the same angle & direction, the branch that's pointing straight up will be flat on the gravel and angled toward the front glass, & the hook looking branch will be flat on the gravel (may dig in a bit) and toward the middle of the tank. 

On the right side, I would take the 2 pieces to the left and point them toward the big piece so that they are slightly lower than the top of the big one. I would leave the piece on the right towards the front where it's at, and remove the piece behind all together. 

I think it will look more natural that way from what I can see in the pics. Those small branches (on the big piece) will look like above ground roots. Put some rocks up around there, and I think it'll look good.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Ajax, like this?


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I actually really like that. I can get some of those smooth pebbles and spread them around the big piece.


----------



## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Set 3 was actually nice a couple post back.


----------



## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Yeah, that looks good to me. With that layout I think you utilize the height of the tank better, and it will make a nice concave layout. I didn't think that sawed off branch on the left side of the big piece was going to be as visible. You might consider sawing it off since it's already been sawn on before. It looks a little unnatural to me. Plus it will give you more room to surround it with plants.


----------



## Tankman (Feb 19, 2006)

Hope you don't mind me saying but I'd put in the grass and plants before refining the hardscape composition... I don't really know how it's really done but this is just how I'd do it... ;-)


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Update!














































My otto and one of my SAEs.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

the plants:

Bacopa (any ideas on what type specifically? looks like caroliniana)
Ludwigia repens
rotala indica
Anubias nana
ozelot swords
dwarf sags
Sag subulata
green italian vals


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

There's some plant that I don't have a clue what it is. Only one stem. Girl was going to throw it away. You can see it on the top right in the 4th and 5th pictures.

Fish:

9 SAEs, 9 amano shrimp, 1 otto, and 3 baby platys that were apparently stowaways with the SAEs.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I forgot to mention. I did NOT wash the SS charcoal. I just took about 1 hour + to fill it all up - real real slow


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I seem to be having a problem maintaining my pH.

My co2 is not running, it has been shut off by the pH monitor/controller. The pH dropped from about 6.4 - 6.5 last night to about 5.0. The fish are all doing well. I have double checked the pH with my test kit. Any ideas? I can't figure it out.

I did a small water change, about 5-10% and got the pH up to 5.8. I don't want to change it back too drastically. My fish are acting normal, they're exploring/eating.


----------



## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I'd suggest taking a look at your KH reading, if you haven't allready, it should be atleast 3 degrees for CO2 injection. You can raise it by adding a little baking soda. I add approximately 1tsp baking soda every 50% waterchange because my tapwater has a KH of 0, it takes me to roughly 4degrees KH


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Hi there! I'm in the Boston area and was wondering where you got those rocks you had in back on the first page? I'm looking to do an iwagumi scape but can't find any decent rocks! Any help would be appreciated.

-Andrew


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I got them from around the local reservoir. In Lexington, we have "the old reservoir". It's not used for drinking anymore, it's used as a swimming area, but there are rocks all arond it. First I scrubbed them. Then I soaked them in a dilute bleach solution overnight and then soaked them in a salt solution and then soaked them in water a few times to make sure they were cleaned.

The rocks actually look very different out of the water. They're darker, then they kinda lighten up when they're in the water with lights on.

If you're still interested, let me know. I could either give you the 4 rocks I have or I can give you directions.

Alex


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Oh yeah, I got a acidic solution using pH down and checked for fizzing. Nothing happened on any of the rocks so i assume they're safe.


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Hmm...well I can walk to the Chestnut Hill reservoir so I might go take a look over there for some rocks first. I'm doing a 20 long so your rocks may be too big for my layout. Thanks for the offer though, and the help!

-Andrew


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Chestnut hill reservoir, I used to live right next to that. I lived at 33 chestnut hill ave, the apartment building right above the 7-11. I bet my name's still on the callbox.

Be careful around there though, I think it's illegal to go past that fence and we know how brighton cops can be. I doubt it'd be an issue though.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

July 21st update!

Whole tank:





































Here's one of the baby stowaway platies. The best I could get of him, at least. Too quick for my camera. I love the colors on the ozelot green sword.










2 of my YoYo Loaches:


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Updates:


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Looks like I need to trim down some plants!

I plan on rescaping a bit in the coming days. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Wow, things are growing fast for you.. Looks pretty good. Those zebra looking loaches are really cool looking, any chance of getting a good shot of them?

As for scaping it, well, everything looks so lush and green but there's no focus for me really. There's so many fine leaf plants in there that aren't drawing my eye to a direction. I think maybe putting all the rotalas that are on the left side, behind all the driftwood would bring some sort of balance and focus from the driftwood. Then let the foreground be completely covered with the dwarf sags.

I can't wait to see how this all turns out and changes.

-John N.


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

I agree with John N. Maybe a red plant near the "golden rule" line? It's just a lot of green and fine leaves of all the same color, so your eyes wander. Perhaps an Anubias or a plant with darker green leaves to contrast the bright green? It may just be your lighting or camera settings as well, since I see you have an Anubias Nana var. Petite on the driftwood. Without adding new plants it may be tough, but like John said, you can try to expose the driftwood a bit more so that it draws your attention.

I LOVE those Loaches. They're right behind Sidthimunki (also called Dwarf Loaches I think?) which are like a smaller version of those in terms of my favorites. Favorite are Clown Loaches though. Always thought of doing a "Tigers in the Grass" aquascape with all Clown Loaches. Alas, I don't have a tank big enough for their final size yet!


By the way, what LFS do you use? Tropic Isle?


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Loaches and most of the otos are from Tropic Isle. The loaches are botia lochata or sometimes called Botia Almorhae (YoYo Loaches). The SAEs are from uncle ned's in Millis. A bunch of the plants are from All Things Fishy in Marlborough, Tropic Isle, Uncle Ned's, and PJ's in Saugus. It was a long day driving to all of them to get my plants haha. 

I'm going to go to a store today and get a red plant and trim down the plants in front of the driftwood. I'll rescape a bunch of the plants so they flow a little more.

I think my bulbs are making the lighting look the way it does. What bulbs do you guys recommend to bring out more color? Right now I have the bulbs that come with the coralife aqualight, i think they're all 6500K.

Thanks for your input guys!


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

I have the same issues with the Coralife. They are 6700K bulbs and it makes everything look yellowish green since they have a huge green spike in their output. The 6400k lights I have on in addition help to soften it up a bit. I've been thinking and trying to ask, how do the All Glass 8000K bulbs compare? I've heard 8000K is ideal, it's what ADA uses for their bulbs. Best part is the All Glass actually have the right pin arrangement! I guess I'll give them a try once mine burn out in a year or so. Otherwise you have to try to use Photoshop to balance out the colors.

I've been to Tropic Isle and Uncle Ned's, but not the others. Have you been to Skipton Pet Center yet? If you're in the city, stop by. It's right next to Boston Medical Center. My top pick in Boston by far. It's clean, the people are friendly and some actually are planted tank buffs like us, and they always have a great selection (and will order anything they don't have for you). They had some Rotala Macrandra last time I was there that might have fit the bill for your red plant.

Post a picture when you've finished rescaping, I'm interested to see what it looks like!


----------



## dodgefreak8 (Jul 26, 2006)

looks good


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

You know what I just thought of? My ludwigia is Ludwigia Repens, a red plant. Either my dosing routine is not encouraging the red colors or my lighting is not showing the red colors. 

So what's the deal? Higher levels of phosphates and unshaded light help bring out reds, right? Replacing two of my bulbs with a higher temperature bulb will help accent the reds too, right? I want to try some of these ideas out before throwing anything else into the mix and overloading on reds.

I've moved the rotala indica out from in front of the driftwood and replaced it with some of the dwarf sags' runners. I'll take a picture tonight!


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

_Ludwigia repens_ has most of its red coloring on the underside of its leaves, at least mine does, so it only looks truly red as it approaches the surface of the aquarium (so you see more of the undersides of the leaves). In order to get a true bright red, you'd have to get _Ludwigia repens_ "Rubin." But try the dosing changes to see if it helps, I'd be interested in seeing the results!


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

That's actually what I have been noticing. The ludwigia is near the surface now and definitely looks much more red at the top. Might just be that I'm seeing the bottom of the leaves!


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

update


----------



## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Wow!


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Looks great! Now all it needs is time to grow out. It may need a little balancing as it does though, there seems to be a lot of focus on the far right side of the tank (red ludwigia, driftwood). Thanks for keeping us updated, it's great to see the tank progress! :biggrin1:


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Wow, an inspiration to us all. Great planning = great results! 

Now I think it may be time to think about putting in a backing board to hide some of the equipment. White foam board or maybe simple black.

-John N.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Here are some of the new fish I got, cardinal tetras and a pair of blue rams:


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

So I went ahead and got a pair of the 9325K bulbs and put them in with my 6700K bulbs. I took a before and after picture, I don't know if the pictures do the difference justice.

Before (All 6700K):










After (2 6700K and 2 9325K):










The difference can also be seen in the sags, especially:










Like I said, I don't know if the pictures are doing the difference in colors justice. I feel like my tank is less of a yellow-green jumbalaya now.

Here are some of the fish showing off:


























Look how big one of those baby platys has grown:










She/He was literally a speck when I first set up the tank. I feel bad knowing that when they're full grown, they'll be taken out of the tank.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I forgot to add, I replaced some of the dwarf sags in front with lilaeopsis brasiliensis (brazilian microsword). It's expensive, so I got 2 pots for 20 bucks. I'm going to see how well it grows and slowly exchange out most of the dwarf sags for the microsword. The microsword was my original intention for the foreground. I'll keep some sags for the midground, however.


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

The 9325K bulbs definitely make a difference. I, for one, agree with you when you say it makes it look less yellow-green. I like the 9325k mix, I think it shows contrast much better and brings out the reds, especially the Ludwigia. The 6700k just tends to wash out everything in yellowy-green-ness. Things are filling in well and it looks great! I love the dwarf sag, it's very lush and nice looking, maybe move it to more of a mid-ground position? It's tough to combine two very similar plants in the same tank though (like HC and glosso or pygmy chain swords and dwarf sags and microsword). But I certainly agree that you should keep some of it, it's just too pretty and healthy to get rid of!


I'm also now seriously considering swapping out one of my 6700k bulbs for something else, seeing what a difference it made for you. Maybe those 8000k All Glass bulbs...hmm.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I got my 9325K's for around 15 bucks from atlanta light bulbs. It's an online site, I forget the whole address offhand.


----------



## violentray (Jul 20, 2005)

thats an awesome micky mouse platty you got there. why are you going to take him out when he gets older? i think the bright orange will be a good contrant to the green of the plants.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

Next month or the month after that, I plan on getting 3-5 discus, not sure of the coloration yet. I guess the platys didn't fit into my original plan. Who knows? Maybe I'll keep them! I probably will, I'll feel bad.


----------



## lailastar (Aug 28, 2006)

*Will you cover the back?*

Like a big fluffy wall of green...


----------



## lailastar (Aug 28, 2006)

*Have you considered a backing wall of green'ry?*

It would be interesting to see cork with moss on it. I've read about it--and sounds gorgeous..the dutch style...You platy looks so happy!:nerd:


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

haha I haven't thought about covering the back with moss, but I've thought about using some sort of background. Not one of those forest backgrounds, like a blue one or a black one.


----------



## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I dunno about you but I'm really partial to the black ones because of the contrast and depth they give. The dark or bright blue ones to me are better in marine aquariums... Just seems like looking off into a blue abyss doesn’t make sense in a Freshwater river/lake setting. definitely up to you and your personal taste though. I have definitely seen aquascapes where the blue looks right of but it’s very rare. Another thought would be one of those poster/foam board things in a really light blue, white or whatever a couple inches away for that fade look, that’s definitely cool. I'm not sure how permanent they are though. 

DIY idea, maybe if it were mounted to a wood frame mounted to the wall, then the equipment could go behind it and be out of site, only affecting the fade when the equipment is there.


----------



## Aspire (Aug 29, 2006)

Hi AlexTal,
Plants growing well, mind telling us your dosing pattern.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

I dose roughly according to the EI method.

Sunday
50% Water Change with 1/3 tbs of baking soda (to raise kH)
1 tsp KNO3
1/2 tsp KH2P04
1/8 tsp K2SO4
1/16 tsp chelated iron

Monday
1/2 tsp Plantex CSM+B
1/16 tsp chelated iron

Tuesday
3/4 tsp KNO3
1/2 tsp KH2P04
1/8 tsp K2SO4

Wednesday
1/2 tsp Plantex CSM+B
1/16 tsp chelated iron

Thursday
3/4 tsp KNO3
1/2 tsp KH2P04
1/8 tsp K2SO4

Friday
1/2 tsp Plantex CSM+B

Saturday
Nothing!

That's roughly my dosing routine. If I notice any signs of nutrient deficiency, I change accordingly, but that hasn't happened yet. At one point my sags starting melting/dying off. My cousins were over for a week and a half and kept blowing the fuses in the room with the tank and not telling anyone so the light would be off for days with no filtration, etc. It was also difficult getting around with people sleeping in the room at 5:30 AM to dose before work. I cleared out a bunch of the sags and threw in some other stuff (moneywort, alternanthera reineckii, more giant hygro). There's an empty spot, but it'll fill in quickly.

I have to get more pictures on this weekend. I got a little lazy with the trimming but I did a big trim last week.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

New pics:














































The discus are babies, they're already growing strong though. It seems one has become dominant and will chase one of the other two around especially. Maybe they're forming a pair, I'm not too sure yet. The discus might not be of the best quality, but I'm happy with them. They're colorful and healthy and I had no idea if I could keep them alive since my rams seem to die easily. I didn't want to spend 300-400 on fish to have them die the following week. So far, so good though. They're growing, eating, and showing some really nice colors.

I took out all the dwarf sags. I was having a problem where they were growing WAY too fast. They started out competing everything else and then outcompeting themselves, then a few patches would die, once removed, the others would send out runners into the vacant spots and start the process over again. That was also one of the longest run on sentences ever. So, I replaced the sags with crypts. I don't know how well they'll grow, but they're looking nicer.

Any suggestions for plants to replace the plants on the left? the bacopa and the ludwigia, that is.


----------



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

About your dosing schedule...are you sure you didn't confuse K2SO4 and KH2PO4? As you listed it, you are adding a ton of phosphate to your tank from the KH2PO4, way more than needed and not enough potassium. Phosphate should be roughly 1:10 ratio with nitrates. I think you must have just mixed up the two, because you're K2SO4 dosing level is about what you should be dosing KH2PO4.

Pretty discus! Looks like the tank is up for a big trim soon, too.


----------



## AlexTal (Mar 23, 2006)

That's what I started out dosing, but my phosphate dosing actually has not been that high. It's higher than most people, but not that high. My Potassium dosing is mainly in the Nitrate and the phosphate dosing, but I do add a small amount.


----------

